Three Former Terps Join U.S. National Field Hockey Team In World Cup Qualifier
12/10/2001 7:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Dec. 10, 2001
By Debbie Lieberman
Maryland Athletics
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Three former University of Maryland field hockey players will represent the United States in a World Cup qualifying tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa, early this spring.
With their NCAA eligibility completed in the fall of 2000, Carla Tagliente and Keli Smith will graduate in December, just in time to train with the U.S. national field hockey team for the Feb. 9-17 Champion Challenge. Kate Kauffman, a 1997 Maryland grad, has been a part of the national team residency program since the summer and will also be back in action for the Stars and Stripes.
The winner of the Champion Challenge will play in the World Cup that will be held on Nov. 26-Dec. 8, 2002, in Perth, Australia. The four countries that will compete in the Champion Challenge are Lithuania, Ireland, India and U.S.A.
England, Germany, South Africa and Korea have already secured World Cup berths.
Kauffman, who also serves as a Maryland assistant coach, is the most honored athlete in Terp hockey history on the international level. She most recently helped the U.S. to a silver medal at the 2001 Americas Cup in Kingston, Jamaica, and also played with the squad at the Korea Telecom Cup. A two time All-American for the Terps and a 1996 Olympian with the U.S. national squad, Kauffman will add South Africa to her international resume.
Smith, a three time All-American for the Terps, will join the U.S. Team after her experience captaining the U.S. Under-21 and Under-20 squads in 2000 and 1999.
Tagliente, one of only two four-time All-Americans in Terp history and the program's all-time leading goals and point scorer, has been on the U.S. national team since 1997. She was a member of the qualifying team for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and played with the Senior National Team in the 2001 Korea Telecom Cup and Americas Cup.
Senior back Autumn Welsh, who was recently honored with the Honda Award recognizing her as the nation's top collegiate player, has been a part of the U.S. National team, but will not attend the Champion Challenge in order to finish academic requirements at Maryland.
Related stories and information about the Champion Challenge can be found at planetfieldhockey.com.
