University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Trio Named To U.S. Olympic Team
June 11, 2012 | Field Hockey
June 11, 2012
UNC graduates Rachel Dawson, Katelyn Falgowski and Amy Swensen have been named to the 16-player team that will represented the U.S. in field hockey at the 2012 Olympics in London this summer. The three Tar Heels are among seven players who are returning to Olympic competition after representing the U.S. in Beijing in 2008.
Another former Tar Heel, goalkeeper Jackie Kintzer, was named as an alternate to the team. Swensen (Amy Tran during her playing days at UNC) is the team's starter in goal.
Dawson, Falgowski and Kintzer all played for the team that won gold at the Pan Am Games last fall to earn an Olympic berth for the U.S. Swensen was named to that roster but was unable to compete due to an injury, clearing a spot for Kintzer, who had been an alternate.
The team will depart for London on July 21 following a series of exhibition games in the U.S. At the Summer Games, the U.S. will compete in Pool B, which also includes No. 2 Argentina, No. 3 Germany, No. 6 New Zealand, No. 7 Australia and No. 12 South Africa. The U.S. begins play on July 29, and the field hockey competition finishes with the gold medal game on Aug. 10.
The Tar Heels will see a familiar face on the other side of the field when the U.S. plays South Africa. Illse Davids, who lettered for UNC from 2006-09 and was teammates with both Dawson and Falgowski, will represent her native South Africa in London.
The 2012 U.S. Olympic Team is as follows:
Goalkeeper: Amy Tran Swensen (Grantville, Pa)
Defenders: Lauren Crandall (Doylestown, Pa.), Claire Laubach (Centreville, Va.), Caroline Nichols (Virginia Beach, Va.), Julia Reinprecht (Perkasie, Pa.)
Midfielders: Kayla Bashore Smedley (Shoemakersville, Pa.), Katelyn Falgowski (Landenberg, Pa.), Melissa Gonzalez (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.), Katie Reinprecht (Perkasie, Pa.), Rachel Dawson (Berlin, N.J.)
Strikers: Michelle Kasold (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Katie O'Donnell (Blue Bell, Pa.), Paige Selenski (Shavertown, Pa.), Keli Smith Puzo (Selinsgrove, Pa.), Shannon Taylor (Midlothian, Va.), Michelle Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.)
