November 12, 1998

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - After winning the ACC title last weekend, Maryland (16-5) received a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. The Terps will take on the winner of the first-round matchup between Kent and Virginia on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Field Hockey Turf Facility. Kent and Virginia will square off at noon on Saturday, also at the Field Hockey Turf Facility. Maryland is making its fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

SCOUTING MARYLAND
Maryland enters the NCAA Tournament on a nine-game winning streak. This past weekend, the Terps captured their second-ever ACC championship as they defeated North Carolina 2-1 in penalty strokes in the semifinals last Friday and upset host Virginia 1-0 in overtime on Sunday in the finals. At the ACC Tournament, the Terps were led by senior back Jen Pratt (Greene, N.Y), who was named the ACC Tournament MVP. She leads the Terps with 18 assists. Pratt, sophomore goalie Angela Platt (Coleraine, North Ireland), freshman midfielder Caroline Walter (Relingen, Germany) and freshman back Autumn Welsh (Macungie, Pa.) were named to the ACC-All Tournament team.

MARYLAND'S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Maryland is making its 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its fourth in a row. The Terps won the NCAA title in 1987 and 1993, advanced to the NCAA finals in 1995 and the NCAA semifinals in 1991. Last season, Maryland advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals before losing to Princeton 4-0.

SCOUTING VIRGINIA
Virginia is making its ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and is seeking its second straight trip to the Final Four. Last season, the Cavaliers advanced to the semifinals before losing to Old Dominion 3-2. Senior back Lori Mastropietro, who was named this season's ACC Player of the Year, and senior forward Michelle Vizzuso, who scored 13 goals and tallied 23 assists, are among Virginia's nine seniors in the starting lineup.

THE SERIES AGAINST VIRGINIA
Maryland leads its all-time series against Virginia 18-17-2. Last Sunday, the Terps defeated the Cavaliers 1-0 in the ACC championship game to win their first conference title since 1992. Earlier this season, Virginia defeated Maryland 3-2 on Oct. 4 behind two goals from Meredith Elwell. The last tie between the two schools was a 1-1 deadlock on Sept. 19, 1986. Maryland and Virginia have never faced each other in the NCAA Tournament.

SCOUTING KENT
Kent is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Flashes defeated Ball Sate 5-0 for the MAC title this past weekend. Kent is led by sophomore forward Elsbeth Vesterre, who is first in the NCAA with 37 goals and 92 points, and senior forward Beth DeCapua, who leads the NCAA with 30 assists.

THE SERIES AGAINST KENT
Maryland and Kent have never faced each other.

SCOUTING OLD DOMINION
Old Dominion (20-2) captured the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title for the third straight year and is seeking to advance to its third straight Final Four. The Monarchs are making their 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and are seeking their eighth national title. They won the crown in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1991 and 1992. Last season, Old Dominion advanced to the NCAA title game before losing to North Carolina 3-2. Sophomore forward Marina DiGiacomo leads the Monarchs with 25 goals and 21 assists.

SCOUTING PENN STATE
Penn State (17-4) enters the NCAA Tournament for the 17th consecutive season. The Nittany Lions advanced to the semifinals in 1982, 1986, 1990, 1991 and 1993. They won the Big Ten Conference title this season for the fourth consecutive year. Penn State is led by Dawn Lammey, who has scored 19 goals, tallied 20 assists and recorded 58 points this season. Five of her goals this season were game-winners. Last season, Penn State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Virginia 4-2.

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina (12-7), three-time defending NCAA champions, is making its 16th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Last season, the Tar Heels defeated Old Dominion 3-2 in the championship game. North Carolina has advanced to the NCAA title game five straight years and the Final Four 10 times in a row. Senior forward Nancy Pelligreen leads the Tar Heels with 21 goals and 49 points this season.

SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
Boston College (15-5) is making its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles advanced to the second round in 1994. Last season, Boston College was defeated by Princeton 3-2 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Senior back Joy Ramsbothom, who was named the Big East Conference Player of the Year, leads the Eagles with 13 goals and 30 points. Senior forward Ann Marie Ambrose, who was named the Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Year, leads Boston College with 17 assists this season.

SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire (14-6) won the America East title and is making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats advanced to the NCAA title game in 1986. Senior forward Becky Craigue leads New Hampshire with 12 goals, 14 assists and 38 points this season.

SCOUTING MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts (14-7) is making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Minutewomen advanced to the 1981 title game and the 1983, 1987 and 1992 semifinals. Freshman sweeper Anke Brummer leads Massachusetts in scoring with 12 goals and two assists this season. Last season, Massachusetts lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 5-3 to Penn State. <>> SCOUTING PRINCETON
Princeton (14-2) won the Ivy League title for the fifth consecutive year and is making its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Princeton advanced to the finals in 1996 and the semifinals last season. The Tigers are led by senior forward Kirsty Hale, who is the school's all-time leader in goals (67), assists (52) and total points (186).

SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
Northeastern (14-7) is making its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies reached the semifinals in 1988, 1995 and 1996. Last season, they were defeated by Ball State 5-0 in the first round. Northeastern is lead by senior back Hillary McHugh, who scored 18 goals and recorded 40 total points this season. Freshman goalie Kathleen Madasu, who has a 1.26 goals against average, was named the America East Conference Rookie of the Year.

SCOUTING CONNECTICUT
Connecticut (18-3) won the Big East Conference title and is making its 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Connecticut advanced to the second round before losing to eventual champion North Carolina 4-0. The Huskies won the NCAA title in 1981 and 1985, advanced to the finals in 1982 and 1983, and reached the semifinals in 1984. Carrie Mahoney leads Connecticut this season with 13 goals, 10 assists and 36 points.

GROWING UP FAST
What makes the Terps' 1998 accomplishments all the more impressive is that they have had only two upperclassmen in their starting lineup this season and only three returning starters from last season. Senior back Jen Pratt and senior forward Kasey Heiser (Schaefferstown, Pa.) are the only upperclassmen in Maryland's starting lineup. Pratt, sophomore midfielder Carla Tagliente and sophomore forward Keli Smith are the only returning starters from the 1997 squad. Maryland has only four upperclassmen on the team this season, including Pratt, Heiser, senior midfielder Ellen Wolf (Wyomissing, Pa.) and junior forward Emily Ward (Ellicott City, Md.).

TERPS AGAINST NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
Maryland went 4-3 this season against teams that are in the NCAA Tournament. They won two games against North Carolina, including a 5-0 victory on Oct. 11 and a 2-1 penalty stroke victory in the ACC semifinals last Friday. The Terps split a pair of games against Virginia, losing 3-2 on Oct. 4, but rebounding to win the ACC finals 1-0 in overtime last Sunday. Maryland defeated Massachusetts 3-0 in the finals of the Terrapin Invitational on Sept. 20. The Terps lost to Princeton 1-0 on Sept. 30 on a goal with 39 seconds to go. Old Dominion defeated Maryland 7-0 on Oct. 8.

WORKING OVERTIME
Maryland won all four of its games this season that went into sudden-death overtime, including both games in the ACC Tournament. Senior Jen Pratt scored on the winning goal in the penalty stroke series, giving the Terps a 2-1 victory over North Carolina last Friday in the ACC semifinals. Sophomore back Rachel Hiskins scored the championship-clinching goal as the Terps beat Virginia 1-0 in overtime last Sunday in the ACC finals. On Sept. 5, at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the Terps defeated then No. 11 Michigan 2-1 in double overtime on a penalty stroke goal by sophomore midfielder Carla Tagliente. On Oct. 18, they defeated then No. 18 Boston University 5-4 in single overtime on another game-winning goal by Carla Tagliente. Maryland's four sudden-death overtime victories this season breaks the program record for the most overtime wins in a season. In 1982, 1985 and 1993, the Terps also went 2-0 in overtime games.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Terps finished the 1998 regular season with an 11-0 record in home games. It marked the fourth time in school history that Maryland went undefeated at home during a regular season. Each time Maryland has finished the regular season unbeaten at home, it has won either an ACC or NCAA title. The Terps finished with a 9-0 home record in 1987 and a 10-0 home record in 1993. Both years, they went on to win the NCAA title. In 1992, Maryland finished with a home record of 8-0-1 and went on to win the ACC Tournament. Last weekend, the Terps also won the ACC title.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Maryland has eight players on its roster who have competed on the international level and two other players who could soon join them. Sophomore midfielder Carla Tagliente and sophomore midfielder Keli Smith were both alternates to this year's U.S. World Cup team and were members of this year's U.S. Under-23 team. Tagliente was also a member of the 1997 U.S. National Team. Senior back Jen Pratt was a member of the 1997 U.S. Under-21 team. Sophomore Molly Kauffman (West Lawn, Pa.), freshman Autumn Welsh and sophomore Dina Rizzo (Walpole, Mass.) were all on the this year's U.S. Under-19 team. Sophomore Angela Platt (Coleraine, Northern Ireland) was a member of the Irish Under-21 team in 1997 and freshman Caroline Walter was a member of this year's German Under-21 team. In addition, sophomore back Lindsay Gorewitz (Rockville, Md.) and freshman midfielder Megan Kelly (Gaithersburg, Md) have been invited to this year's USFHA (United States Field Hockey Association) A Camp, which is the official tryout for players being considered for one of the U.S. teams. A Camp is held the final week of December each year.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Five players on Maryland's field hockey roster were named to the 1997-98 ACC Honor Roll and four of those same players were named to the 1997 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Academic Team. Seniors Kasey Heiser and Ellen Wolf have been to the ACC Honor Roll three consecutive years. Heiser has also been named to the NFHCA Academic Team three years in a row while Wolf was named to the team for the first time in 1997. Junior Emily Ward, who redshirted in 1995, has been named to both the ACC Honor Roll and the NFHCA Academic Team three consecutive years. Sophomore Zoe Ehrlich (Morristown, N.J.), who redshirted in 1996, has been named to the ACC Honor Roll twice and the NFHCA Academic Team last season. Sophomore Carla Tagliente was named to the ACC Honor Roll last season. In order to be named to the ACC Honor Roll, a student-athlete must attain a 3.0 for an entire academic year. To be named to the NFHCA Academic Team, a student athlete must have earned playing time during the season have at minimum GPA of 3.3.

MARYLAND HEAD COACH MISSY MEHARG
Head coach Missy Meharg, in her 11th season at Maryland, heads into the NCAA Tournament with a career record of 164-66-9 (.707). Including last weekend, she has won two ACC titles and has been named the ACC Coach of the Year three times (1992, 1995 and 1998). Meharg was also the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1993. She led the Terps to the 1993 NCAA title. 1998 marks the ninth time in her 11 years at Maryland that Meharg has led the Terps into the NCAA Tournament. Maryland has a record of 9-7 in NCAA Tournament games under Meharg's guidance.

PLAYER PROFILES

#1 ANGELA PLATT
A sophomore goalie from Coleraine, Northern Ireland, Platt transferred to Maryland prior to this season and has been the starting goalie in all but one game. She has recorded four solo shutouts, including the 1-0 overtime victory over Virginia in last Sunday's ACC finals, and has shared five other shutouts with Zoe Ehrlich. Platt was named to the All-ACC Tournament team last weekend.

#2 LINDSAY GOREWITZ
A sophomore back from Rockville, Md., Gorewitz has seen an increased role in her second season on the team. She cracked the starting lineup during the Terps' toughest part of the schedule in early October and has played in all but five games. Gorewitz has been invited to the United States Field Hockey Association's (USFHA) A Camp in December, where she will seek to make her first appearance on one of the U.S. national teams.

#3 AUTUMN WELSH
A freshman back from Macungie, Pa., Welsh has become one of the Terps' top defenders. She has held three of the ACC's top scorers without a point in their games against Maryland this season (Nancy Pelligreen of UNC, Neinke van Reuten of Wake Forest and Corey Ceccolini of Duke). Last week, she was named the ACC Rookie of the Year.

#4 CARLA TAGLIENTE
A sophomore midfielder from Cortland, N.Y., Tagliente led the Terps with 16 goals, 39 points, four game-winning goals and is tied for the team lead with three multiple goal games. She was named the ACC Player of the Week for Oct. 5-11, which marked the third time in her career she received that honor. Tagliente was the 1997 ACC Rookie of the Year and a third-team All-America selection.

#5 EMILY WARD
A junior forward from Ellicott City, Md., Ward has seen an increased role on the team this season. She cracked the starting lineup four times and has played in all but six games. In Maryland's final three regular season games, Ward scored a goal and tallied an assist. She is a three-time ACC Honor Roll selection and has also been named to the NFHCA Academic team three consecutive years. Ward redshirted in 1995.

#6 RACHEL HISKINS
A sophomore back from Victoria Australia, Hiskins transferred to Maryland prior to this season and has started every game. She scored the championship-winning goal against Virginia in the ACC finals last Sunday as well as the game-tying goal in the Terps' 2-1 penalty-stroke victory over North Carolina in the ACC semifinals last Friday.

#7 ZOE EHRLICH
A sophomore goalie from Morristown, Pa., Ehrlich has shared five shutouts this season and has 4.5 total shutouts for her career. Her best performance this season was a scoreless 35 minutes against Richmond on Sept. 2 as she recorded a career-high eight saves. Ehrlich has made the ACC Honor Roll twice (she redshirted in 1996) and was named to the 1997 NFHCA Academic Team.

#8 CAROLINE WALTER
A freshman midfielder from Reilingen, Germany, Walter has started every game this season and leads all Terp newcomers with nine goals, 13 assists and 31 points. She assisted on Rachel Hiskins's winning-goal in the ACC finals against Virginia last Sunday and on the game-tying goal against North Carolina in Maryland's 2-1 penalty stroke victory last Friday in the ACC semifinals. Walter recorded three multiple goal games this season, including a three-goal outburst against Temple on Oct. 23.

# 9 JEN PRATT
A senior back from Greene, N.Y., Pratt leads the Terps with 18 assists this season and is the ACC's all-time leader with 71 career assists. She was named the ACC Tournament MVP this past weekend. Pratt is a two-time All-America selection, having earned third team honors in 1996 and second-team honors last season, and a two-time All-ACC selection (1997 and 1998). She is sixth on the Terps' all-time list with 101 career points.

#10 MOLLY KAUFFMAN
A sophomore back from West Lawn, Pa., Kauffman is second on the team with 16 assists and 30 points. She is in her first year as a full-time starter after playing in a reserve role last season. Kauffman has been a member of the U.S. Under-19 team the past two years. Her older sister Kate is an assistant coach for Virginia and played for the Terps from 1992-96.

#13 KELI SMITH
A sophomore forward from Selinsgrove, Pa., Smith is second on the team with 10 goals. She was named to the All-ACC team this season and was named to the Mid-Atlantic Region All-America team last season. Smith was named the ACC Player of the Week for Sept. 1-7. She was an alternate to the U.S. World Cup team this past summer and was also a member of the U.S. Under-23 team.

#14 SARAH RAPPOLT
A sophomore back from West Chester, Pa., Rappolt has started every game for the Terps this season. She has scored twice and has recorded two defensive saves. After a redshirt season in 1996, Rappolt was a reserve last season and played in all but four games. She was on the same high school team (Tower Hill) as Carol Senkler.

#15 CAROL SENKLER
A freshman midfielder from Hockessin, Del., Senkler has started in 11 games in her first season at Maryland. In the past three games, she has scored a goal and tallied an assist. Senkler was awarded an academic scholarship by Maryland this spring. She was on the same high school team (Tower Hill) as Sarah Rappolt.

#16 MEGAN KELLY
A freshman midfielder from Gaithersburg, Md., Kelly is seeking to rebound from a stress fracture that has kept her out of action the past six games. Before sustaining her injury, she scored three goals, including the game-winning goal in the Terps' 1-0 win over Wake Forest on Sept. 26. Kelly has been invited to this year's USFHA A Camp in December, where she will attempt to make her first appearance on one of the U.S. national teams.

#17 KASEY HEISER
A senior forward from Schaefferstown, Pa., Heiser has made the most of her first season as a full-time starter. She was fourth on the team with eight goals and sixth with 20 points. Heiser has recorded two multiple-goal games this season, including a pair of critical goals in the Terps' 3-2 win over ninth-ranked James Madison on Oct. 25. She has been named to the ACC Honor Roll and the NFHCA Academic Team three straight years.

#18 ELLEN WOLF
A senior midfielder from Wyomissing, Pa., Wolf has played in all but four games this season and has started once. She has been one of the Terps' top reserves the past four years. Wolf has been named to the ACC Honor Roll the past three years and last season, she was selected to the NFHCA Academic Team for the first time in her career.

#21 KRISTY PALCHINSKY
A freshman back from Leondardtown, Md., Palchinsky has rebounded from a leg injury that kept her out of action until late September. Since then, she has seen action in six games. Palchinsky redshirted last season.

#22 DINA RIZZO
A freshman forward from Walpole, Mass., Rizzo has scored six goals and recorded 13 total points in her first year at Maryland. In the last seven games, she scored four times. Rizzo recorded the game-winning goal in the Terps' 5-0 victory over North Carolina on Oct. 11. She has been a member of the U.S. Under-19 team the past two years.