University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Top ACC In Preseason Poll
August 23, 2011 | Field Hockey
Aug. 23, 2011
GREENSBORO, N.C. - North Carolina, the 2010 NCAA runner-up, received four first place votes and is the preseason favorite to claim the 2011 Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship, according to a vote of the league's six head coaches.
The Tar Heels matched their preseason point total from last year, collecting 24 out of a possible 25 points. First place votes were awarded five points, second place received four, etc., and coaches were not allowed to include their own teams in their predicted order of finish.
Maryland, the 2010 ACC and NCAA Champion, came in second with 22 points and two first place votes. Virginia took third place with 14 points, followed by Duke and Wake Forest in fourth place with 12 points apiece, and Boston College in sixth with six points.
Five different squads were represented on the preseason All-ACC squad. North Carolina and Maryland lead the league with three honorees each, Duke and Virginia both had two players and Boston College had one representative.
The 2011 All-ACC Preseason squad is headlined by UNC junior Caitlin Van Sickle, the 2010 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and Maryland sophomore Jill Witmer, the 2010 ACC Freshman of the Year. Two other Tar Heels, junior Kelsey Kolojejchick and senior Katelyn Falgowski, joined Van Sickle on the preseason squad.
North Carolina comes off a 2010 campaign in which it went 22-3 overall and 4-1 in league play. After defeating Maryland in 2009 to win the NCAA Championship, the Tar Heels fell to the Terrapins in 2010 in the finals in a double-overtime thriller.
Maryland enters the 2011 season as the defending ACC and National Champions, but will have to overcome the loss of Katie O'Donnell, the 2010 National Player of the Year. O'Donnell, who was also named the 2010-11 Mary Garber Award winner as the top ACC female athlete, led the Terrapins to a 23-1 overall record and 5-0 mark in conference play.
The 2011 season gets started Friday, August 26th with Boston College, Duke, Maryland, and Virginia all in action. UNC opens on Saturday, taking on Michigan in Ann Arbor as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
The 2011 ACC Field Hockey Championship will be held November 3, 4, and 6 at the University of Maryland.
2011 Preseason All-ACC Team (as selected by the league's coaches)
Team Player Class Position
Boston College Maike de Jager Senior Midfield
Duke Stefanie Fee Senior Defense
Duke Samantha Nelson Senior Goalkeeper
Maryland Megan Frazer Junior Midfield
Maryland Jill Witmer Sophomore Attack
Maryland Harriet Tibble Junior Defense
North Carolina Katelyn Falgowski Senior Midfield
North Carolina Caitlin Van Sickle Junior Back
North Carolina Kelsey Kolojejchick Junior Midfield
Virginia Rachel Jennings Senior Midfield/Back
Virginia Elly Buckley Sophomore Forward
