Michigan Pitted Against North Carolina in NCAA Opener
11/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan field hockey team will begin its quest for the program's second NCAA championship on Saturday (Nov. 15) when it travels to East Lansing, Mich., to face North Carolina at 11 a.m. in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship.
The Wolverines are making their fifth straight appearance in the tournament and will engage the No. 4 seed Tar Heels in a rematch of the 2003 season opener, won by UNC, 4-0. Michigan State is the host school for the event, and will face Louisville in the other first-round matchup at 2 p.m. on Saturday. All matches will take place at Ralph Young Field on the campus of Michigan State.
Saturday's winners will meet in the second round, which is scheduled for Sunday (Nov. 16) at 2 p.m., with the victor advancing to the national semifinals on Friday, Nov. 21, at Garber Field on the campus of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass.
Michigan received one of eight at-large berths to the tournament after posting an 15-5 record during the regular season. The Wolverines, who won the Big Ten Conference regular-season championship, fell to Penn State 1-0 in overtime of the Big Ten Tournament semifinals last Saturday (Nov. 8) in State College Pa.
U-M owns an 8-3 record in NCAA Tournament play and has advanced to the semifinals in two its four appearances, playing in the national title game twice. In NCAA Tournament play, the Wolverines are 1-0 against North Carolina, defeating the Tar Heels by a 5-2 margin in the first round of the 2001 event to open a four-game winning streak that led to the national championship, the school's first in a women's team sport.
The Big Ten is represented by three schools, but the Atlantic Coast Conference sports the top four seeds in the tournament. In addition to Michigan and Michigan State, Penn State will travel to College Park, Md., to face Princeton in a rematch of last year's second-round contest.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Marcia Pankratz
On the draw of the tournament ... "We are flattered and excited to be in the tournament this weekend and looking forward to the competition. We're happy that we don't have to travel that far and it's easier on the players. They can stay and go to class and we are just looking forward to playing our best hockey."
On playing North Carolina again ... "They are an excellent team and it is nice to have played them once already. If we are going to get to the final four we have to beat the best to be there. We are looking forward to the challenge and hopefully we can play our best hockey."
On the similarities to the 2001 postseason ... "Well, hopefully it will be good karma. We will see what happens. Obviously, it's a new year. Different teams and kids. So we are just going to do the best we can and be prepared to battle it out."
Senior Kristi Gannon
On getting into the tournament ... "I'm always nervous but I was more nervous that we would not get in. There is always a chance that you will not get in if you do not win the (conference) tournament. When we were filling out our brackets guessing who we were playing. All I wrote was 'I just want to play!' That's all that matters because that is all that matters. It doesn't matter who we are playing because I know we have the ability and the commitment to go through the next two weeks successfully."
On staying in the state of Michigan and playing North Carolina ... "I think it's a great circumstance for us and we can have a lot of fans up there. It's going to be another home game for us because we have amazing fans. All of our parents will be there and people from here. On top of that we get to play North Carolina again and redeem ourselves. We have improved a lot since the beginning of the season and I think we are peaking at the right time. It's going to be a great opportunity for us."
N O T E S
Michigan is 3-1 in the NCAA first round and has advanced to the second round in three of its four NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Wolverines are on the road for the first round for the fourth time in the last five years.
U-M is facing North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in its five appearances. The Wolverines downed the Tar Heels 5-2 in the first round of the 2001 event, held at Ocker Field in Ann Arbor.
Michigan is facing UNC for the second time this season. The Wolverines lost 4-0 to North Carolina in the season opener during the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Ocker Field.
Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423
