Sports > August 23, 2007

By Allison Lange | Asst. sports editor

After finishing second in the NCAA Championships last season, the Deacon’s field hockey team picked up where it left off in 2006.

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The preseason National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll was released Aug. 21, which ranked Wake Forest at No. 2.

“We take (being ranked second) as a compliment, but there are a lot of great teams out there,” Head Coach Jennifer Averill said.

“We’ll really look to evaluate ourselves after our third week of play.”

Joining the Deacs in the top 10 of the poll are ACC rivals Maryland, North Carolina, Duke and Virginia, ranked No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 8, respectively.

“Each year, we try to reiterate the strong points that our team does very well,” Averill said. “We’re not the same team we were last year.”

“I think we’ll be a very close knit group. Our team goal is to be competitive and win the ACC Championship first and foremost, and I think doing well in the NCAA tournament comes along with that.”

Boston College is the only ACC team not to be included in the top 20 of the NFHCA preseason poll.

“Playing in a tough conference definitely prepares you for playing the best out of your conference,” Averill said.

“It prepares us for postseason play, and you learn more about your team when you’re playing at that level.”

The Deacs travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., where they will play their first game of the season on Aug. 24 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The team will first take on No. 10 Iowa on Aug. 24 and then will face No. 12 Michigan on Aug. 25.

At last year’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Deacs beat Iowa, 6-0 and Michigan, 3-0.

The field hockey team finished the season last year with a record of 22-2, after losing 1-0 against Maryland in the NCAA Championship game hosted at Wake Forest.

After losing Lauren Crandall, Kristina Gagliardi, Kristi Harshman, Haley Scott and Tracey Scott to graduation, the Deacs will be turning to lone seniors, captains Chelsea Cipriani and Lauren Love.

“Love and Cipriani both complement each other really well,” Averill said.

“They’re both great leaders on and off the field.”

New to the team this year are freshmen Liza Casella, Emily Cummings, Alex Mann and Alex Wolfgang Price.

“We’re working on taking younger players and putting them into the line up,” Averill said.

“We want to give them experience.”

All four players joining the Deacons this season are highly touted.

“We’ve got four new faces this year. I’ve never had a class so flexible and versatile in positions they can play,” Averill said. “They really add great depth to the team.”