University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Host ACC-Big Ten Classic
August 25, 2006 | Field Hockey
Aug. 25, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The North Carolina field hockey team will open its 2006 season at home this weekend, hosting the ACC-Big Ten Challenge at Francis E. Henry Stadium. The Tar Heels will face Michigan on Saturday at noon, with Wake Forest and Iowa tangling at 2 p.m. The opponents will switch for Sunday's games, with UNC and Iowa playing at noon and Wake Forest meeting Michigan at 2 p.m. There is no charge for admission.
This year's games begin a second four-year cycle for the event, in which the four schools take turns hosting. Last year's games were played at Iowa.
"I credit the coaches that have committed to this," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "It's not easy to start off playing programs of this caliber, but these coaches have chosen to start with tough competition, hopefully to identify weaknesses as well as strengths as the early part of the season progresses. The tournament is a marquee event, a great tournament atmosphere that we all get to experience so early in the season."
All four programs are among field hockey's strongest and ranked among the top 15 teams in the nation in last season's final poll. Wake Forest reached the national semifinals in 2005 and Michigan is the defending Big Ten champion.
