Two Tar Heels Named To ACC FH Preseason Team

North Carolina has been picked to win a seventh-consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference field hockey championship, and two Tar Heel sophomores have been named to the Preseason All-ACC Team, announced on Monday by the league.

Tar Heels Sietske Brüning and Ryleigh Heck, both of whom earned All-ACC honors last season, were among 11 players named to the preseason squad.

Heck, a forward, was the 2022 ACC Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-ACC first team. Brüning, a midfieder, was named to the All-ACC second team as a freshman. Both were in the starting lineup for every game last season as the Tar Heels capped an undefeated season with the program's 10th NCAA Championship.

The Tar Heels, who have won 25 total ACC championships and the last six in a row, received 45 points and four first-place votes in balloting by the conference's head coaches. Virginia finished with 42 points and three first-place votes to take second place.

UNC opens the 2023 season on Friday, hosting the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Karen Shelton Stadium. In the first game of the evening, Wake Forest takes on Iowa at 6 p.m. Carolina then plays Michigan under the lights with an 8:30 p.m. start. Both games will air on ACC Network.

2023 ACC Field Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. North Carolina (4), 45
2. Virginia (3), 42
3. Syracuse, 32
4. Louisville, 24
5. Boston College, 22
6. Wake Forest, 17
7. Duke, 14

First-place votes in parentheses

2023 Preseason All-ACC Team
Margo Carlin, F, Gr., Boston College
Hannah Miller, F, Gr., Duke
Julie Kouijzer, D, 5th, Louisville
Aimee Plumb, F, Sr., Louisville
Ryleigh Heck, F, So., North Carolina
Sietske Brüning, M, So., North Carolina
Charlotte de Vries, F, Gr., Syracuse
Eefke van den Nieuwenhof, B, Sr., Syracuse
Daniela Mendez-Trendler, M, So., Virginia
Nat Friedman, M, Gr., Wake Forest
Ellie Todd, So., GK, Wake Forest

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Ryleigh Heck

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