Weekly Release #2
9/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 14 -- vs. Boston College, 1 p.m.
Sept. 1 -- vs. Connecticut, 1 p.m.
What's Ahead For the Wolverines
The University of Michigan field hockey team (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten) returns home to begin a nine-game homestand. The Wolverines start by facing Central Michigan (2-0) on Saturday (Sept. 7) at 10 a.m. and close out the weekends play with a contest versus Ball State (0-0) on Sunday (Sept. 8) at 1 p.m. Both matches will be held at Ocker Field on the U-M campus.
Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
Marcia Pankratz (Iowa, 1987) is in her seventh season on the Michigan sideline and owns a 96-40 (.705) mark entering this weekend's action. The winningest field hockey coach in U-M history, Pankratz has averaged over 15 win a season in her coaching career and has guided the Wolverines to 15 or more wins in each of the last five campaigns. Pankratz led U-M to its first ever womens national championship, guiding the Wolverines to a 2-0 victory over Maryland in the 2001 NCAA championship game. In 1999 the team set a school record with 20 wins while reaching the NCAA title game. A two-time winner of the NFHCA's West Region Coach of the Year Award, Pankratz has also been named Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year on two occasions (1997, 2000). Under Pankratz's guidance, Michigan has claimed two Big Ten regular-season titles (1997, 2000) as well as a pair of Big Ten Tournament crowns (1999, 2000) and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons.
A Look at the Central Michigan Series
Michigan and Central Michigan will square off for the 38th time this Saturday morning with Michigan holding the series lead at 21-14-2. In a series that dates back to 1974 (U-M field hockeys second year in existence), Michigan has won the last 12 contests between the two clubs, outscoring the Chippewas 59-6 with eight shutouts.
Scouting Central Michigan
The Central Michigan Chippewas (2-0, 0-0 MAC) return only one of their top three scorers from last year, Meg Lewis (5-2-12 in 2001), after a season in which CMU finished with a record of 7-11 (4-6 MAC). Central Michigan is coached by Cristy Freese, who is in her 17th season. Freese, who earned MAC Coach of the Year honors in 1987 and 1989, holds a record of 116-175-6. Manning the cage for the Chippewas is senior goaltender Janel Spero, who started all 18 games last season and posted a .743 save percentage and a 2.04 GAA. Central Michigan has opened the season 2-0 for the first time in 13 years, when the 1989 team did so en route to a second-place finish in the Mid-American Conference. For more information on Central Michigan, visit www.cmuchippewas.com.
A Look at the Ball State Series
U-M will face off against Ball State for the 14th time this Sunday (Sept. 8). Michigan has won the last four contests and leads the series 8-5 in a battle that dates back to 1980. The last time the Wolverines fell to Ball State was during the 1997 season when the Cardinals shut out U-M 4-0 in Muncie, Ind.
Scouting Ball State
Ball State returns 12 letterwinners, including nine starters, from its 2001 campaign in which the Cardinals went 6-13 and advanced to the Mid-American Conference Tournament, where they nearly upended regular-season and eventual tourney champ Ohio. Guiding the Cardinals is second-year coach Jen Halliday, who became Ball States fourth coach in its 27-year history. Halliday holds an 8-13 record as coach of Ball State. BSU returns all three of its top scorers last year, including senior Allison Haynes, who finished the season with 13 goals for 26 points. Also returning are junior Afton Hess (6-4-16) and senior Heather Weinhold (2-8-12), who has started in all of Ball State's 61 games during her career, rotating between the midfield and forward positions. The two-time recipient of second-team all-league accolades has collected 13 goals and 17 assists during her career. Senior Susan McDowell returns as Ball States goaltender as she started every game during the 2001 season and posted a .745 save percentage along with a 2.04 GAA. Ball State will open its regular season on Friday (Sept. 6) vs. Indiana. For more information on Ball State, visit www.bsu.edu/sports.
Last Weekends Action
Last weekend Michigan began its title defense by traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C., to play in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge against perennial powerhouses North Carolina and Wake Forest. In the first contest, junior April Fronzoni (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS) scored once in each half to help the Wolverines to a 2-0 victory over North Carolina Saturday afternoon (Aug. 31) at UNC's Francis E. Henry Stadium. The Wolverines were also up to task on defense, limiting North Carolina to a lone shot. U-M goaltender Molly Maloney (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest HS), who was not required to make any saves on the day, recorded the fourth solo shutout of her career.
In Sundays (Sept. 1) game, Michigan found itself on the other side of 2-0 shutout as U-M (1-1) was out-shot and out-cornered by the Demon Deacons 18-10 and 8-5, respectively. Maloney set a career best for saves in a game with four.
Oh Captain, My Captain
Senior Krista Meckley (Hanover, Pa./Southwestern HS) and junior Stephanie Johnson (Houston, Texas/The Kinkaid School) will serve as Michigans captains for the 2002 campaign.
I know what you did last summer
During the summer of 2002, five Wolverines C junior April Fronzoni (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West HS), junior Kristi Gannon (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS), senior Molly Powers (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park-River Forest HS), sophomore Katy Moyneur (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual HS), and freshman Lori Hillman (Gibbsboro, N.J./Eastern Regional HS) C played for one of the USA Field Hockeys national teams. Fronzoni, Gannon and Powers saw action with the U.S. Under-23 Team, while Moyneur and Hillman played for the Under-19 squad.
Maloney Starts Strong
Junior/sophomore goalkeeper Molly Maloney recorded five saves vs. the United States National Team on Aug. 23 in an exhibition contest, shut out North Carolina 2-0 last Saturday (Aug. 31), and recorded a career-high four saves vs. Wake Forest on Sunday (Sept. 1).
The Goals Keep Coming
April Fronzoni recorded the eighth multi-goal effort of her career, scoring two goals against North Carolina in last Saturdays (Aug. 31) action. The last time Fronzoni found the back of the cage at least twice in one game was her hat trick against North Carolina in last year's first round of the NCAA Tournament (Nov. 10). With the two goals, Fronzoni leapfrogged into a tie for eighth place on Michigans all-time goal-scoring list, equaling the 32 markers scored by Judy Burinskas from 1986-89. Fronzoni is now one goal away from tying Michelle Smulders (1993-96) for seventh place on the chart.
Just Pointing This Out
In addition to her climb up the Michigan career goal-scoring charts, April Fronzoni also made a move into the top 10 for career points, passing Michelle Smulders (1993-96) for 10th place with 72 points. Fronzoni is currently one point away from joining Lisa Schofield (1981-84) and Judy Burinskas (1986-89) in a tie for eighth place.
Closing In
Two Wolverines are closing in on milestones. Kristi Gannon needs seven goals (to 30), six assists (to 18) and 12 total points (to 70) to break into Michigans top 10 in each of those categories. Molly Powers will enter the top 10 goal scorers with one goal and the top 10 point scorers list with five total points.
A Rarity Early
In 2001, Michigan was shut out on only one occasion, against Ohio State (3-0) on Nov. 10 during the Big Ten Tournament. This year, Michigan has been shutout once already, last Sunday (Sept. 1) vs. Wake Forest. The Wolverines have not been shut out more than twice in one season since the 1996 campaign.
No Overtime This Time
Michigan's 2-0 loss to Wake Forest on Sunday (Sept. 1) marked only the second time in six meetings that the contest between the two clubs was not determined in overtime. The Demon Deacons lead the all-time series 4-2 and have claimed the last four meetings.
Next Up
Michigan will continue its nine-game homestand next weekend, hosting the Big Ten/Big EAST Challenge. Providence, Northwestern, Boston College, Connecticut and Iowa will all travel to Ann Arbor to participate in the event. Michigan will take on Boston College on Saturday (Sept. 14) at 1 p.m. and Connecticut on Sunday (Sept. 15) at 1 p.m.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
