No. 1 Terps Face No. 13 Duke In Durham, Return To Host Rutgers

Oct. 5, 2001

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The No. 1 Terrapin field hockey squad (8-1, 1-0 ACC) has a home-and-away weekend as it travels down I-95 to meet Duke on Saturday in Durham, N.C., before making the return trip to host unranked Rutgers in College Park. Maryland meets the 13th-ranked Blue Devils at noon on Saturday and the Scarlet Knights a day later at the Artificial Turf Facility at 2 p.m.

Maryland remains the top-ranked team in the country after last week's 3-1 win over No. 5 Princeton and the 3-2 heartbreaking shootout loss to then-No. 11 Virginia. Even with the defeat, the Terps' 4-2 record against the NFHCA top 20 and three wins over top 10 opponents earned them 17 first-place votes and the No. 1 ranking for the second week in a row.

Promotions And Giveaways On Sunday

Poster Giveaway: Be sure to stop by the Maryland Sports Marketing table to pick up the 2001 Maryland Field Hockey schedule card and poster. The marketing table is located just inside the main entrance to the Artificial Turf Facility.

Terp Halftime Dribble N' Shoot: The wild halftime contest from the 2000 season is back for 2001, with a few new twists and surprises. Show off your field hockey skills at halftime and walk away a winner! Sign up to be a Dribble N' Shoot contestant at the marketing table and then listen for your name to be called during the first half.

Game Captains

Eight fourth-year players, nine newcomers, and seven in between. All will need to be ready to contribute for the Terps in 2001, and consistent with that theme, each member of the Maryland squad will experience captaincy at different points during the season.

Rather than having team captains in 2001, the coaching staff has decided to rotate different "Game Captains" for each contest. Dawn Christensen (Columbia, Md.) and Courtney Thornton (Columbia, Md.) will be the captain and vice captain, respectively, for the Terps' match against Duke, while Beth Hafer (Sinking Spring, Pa.) and Laura Blongiewicz (Gaithersburg, Md.) will be in those roles against Virginia.

Scouting Duke

The No. 13 Blue Devils (6-3, 0-1 ACC) are off to a strong start this season, remaining in the NFHCA top 15 for the entirety of 2001. Big wins for the Blue Devils have come against Michigna State (Sept. 8) and James Madison (Aug. 26).

Head coach Liz Tchou's squad put together a four-game win streak to begin the season after coming off a 7-12 year 2000.

Freshman forward Johanna Bischof has come on strong for the Blue Devils, leading the team in goals (7) and points (16). Senior Liz Bateman has four goals and five assists for 13 points, while veteran keeper Hallie Smith owns a 6-3 record in the cage and a 1.22 GAA.

The Terrapins are 16-3-3 all-time against the Blue Devils, with their last loss coming on Sept. 13, 1996 in Durham. Last season the Terrapins blanked the Devils, 4-0 on Oct. 8, in College Park to make it five consecutive wins over the ACC rival.

Scouting Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights enter Sunday's match-up with a 2-8 record (0-3 BIG EAST) after a 5-1 loss at Princeton on Wednesday.

Head coach Robin Petracco is in her 25th season on the Rutgers sideline. With 233 career victories Petracco lists tenth all-time among Division I field hockey coaches in wins.

Senior forward Andschana Mendes once again leads the Scarlet Knights with five goals and 10 points. Sophomore Stacy Gaenzle is the Knights' top netminder with a .750 save percentage.

The Terrapins lead Rutgers in the all-time series, 19-3-1. Last season's 6-3 win on Oct. 11 was Missy Meharg's 200th as a head coach.

No. 1 Terps Face No. 13 Duke In Durham, Return To Host Rutgers

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