Nine New Tar Heels On Board As UNC Opens Preseason

Day 1 is in the books for the 2021 UNC field hockey team.

August 10, 2021 | Field Hockey

2021 Carolina Roster

CHAPEL HILL – Just over three months ago, on May 9, the UNC field hockey team celebrated winning a delayed 2020 NCAA Championship on its home turf.

Tuesday, a new group was back at Karen Shelton Stadium for the first practice of the 2021 season. After a preseason-opening team meeting on Monday evening, the Tar Heels attacked fitness testing on Tuesday morning before practicing in the afternoon.

"The energy level and excitement to get going is so high," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "I'm impressed by our incoming class and how hard they worked over the summer, and our returners did, too. They've all been very active and I think that shows a love for the game and a passion to get better."

This year's roster includes nine new faces:
• Ava Borkowski, a freshman from Conshohocken, Pa., who will wear No. 28
• Kennedy Cliggett, a freshman from Warrington, Pa., who will wear No. 36
• Noor Dhaliwal, a freshman from Leesburg, Va., who will wear No. 30
• Alli Meehan, a sophomore from Norfolk, Mass., who transferred to UNC from Northeastern and will wear No. 32
• Ashton Odiorne, a freshman from Bryn Mawr, Pa., who will wear No. 31
• Lisa Slinkert, a freshman from The Hague, the Netherlands, who will wear No. 19
• Kelly Smith, a freshman from Downingtown, Pa., who will wear No. 6
• Jasmina Smolenaars, a freshman from Weert, the Netherlands, who will wear No. 22 and is the younger sister of Tar Heel senior Eva Smolenaars
• Abigail Taylor, a freshman from Cary, N.C., who will wear No. 82

"Some of the newcomers will contribute immediately and as always, especially with a large class like this, some will keep working hard hopefully grow to the point at which they can challenge our starting group," Shelton said. "They'll all play an important role as we develop as a team."

After a pandemic-impacted season in which UNC played only Atlantic Coast Conference opponents during the 2020 regular season, the Tar Heels are back to a mix of non-conference opponents along ACC rivals. The Tar Heels open the 2021 season on Aug. 27 in Iowa City, Iowa, taking on Michigan as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. That game is a rematch of UNC's last game of the spring, a 4-3 overtime win over the Wolverines for the NCAA Championship, UNC's third in a row. It marked the second time in program history that Carolina had accomplished a three-peat – Old Dominion also has done so twice and Wake Forest once.

No team has won four NCAA titles in a row. UNC's quest to be the first officially got underway on Tuesday.

• Starting strong: Sophomore Alli Meehan distinguished herself on Tuesday by winning the team's fitness challenge, the beep test, in her first official workout as a Tar Heel. The transfer student, relatively rare in the UNC program, spent part of her summer in Chapel Hill taking classes and working hard on her conditioning. "I'm really pleased with Alli Meehan," Shelton said. "She came in and won the beep test at one of the highest levels we've ever achieved. Kudos to her – I'm really proud of her and excited for what she'll bring to the team."