Field Hockey Holds Top Position In STX/NFHCA Poll
10/15/2002 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 15, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland field hockey squad held onto its top ranking in the sixth STX/NFHCA poll of the 2002 season, released Tuesday. The Terrapins (13-1, 2-1 ACC) have been ranked No. 1 in all six coaches polls this year, keeping the top spot this week after blanking No. 12 Duke and unranked Davidson. Included in the Terps' current six-game win streak is four straight victories over top 20 opponents.
With a starting line-up that includes six newcomers, Maryland opened the season with a seven-match victory streak and was rewarded with a No. 1 ranking. Maryland is 6-1 against this week's NFHCA top 20, and also defeated Delaware when it was ranked at No. 14 earlier in the season.
All five ACC field hockey schools rank in the top 15, with Wake Forest (12-2) ranking fourth and Duke (8-5) listed 10th. Also joining the Terps, Demon Deacons and Blue Devils in the top 20 is No. 12 North Carolina (7-7) and 14th-ranked Virginia (8-5).
The Terrapins take on No. 3 Old Dominion in a classic battle between the non-conference nemeses this Sunday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. in Norfolk, Va. Maryland plays a total of 10 regular season matches against teams listed in the sixth top 20 of 2002. Three more of the Terps' opponents received votes in this week's poll.
Here is a listing of the top 20 teams in the 2002 STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll, as voted upon by NFHCA member coaches, with records through Oct. 13, 2002, and total points (first-place votes are in parentheses). Terrapin opponents are in bold italics.
Rank Institution (Record) Points (FPV) Prev. 1. MARYLAND (13-1) 551 (22) 1 2. Michigan (12-1) 524 2 3. Old Dominion (11-2) 496 (1) 3 4. Wake Forest (12-2) 492 (5) 4 5. Michigan State (13-2) 454 5 6. Penn State (11-2) 416 6 7. James Madison (10-4) 383 8 8. Northeastern (12-2) 346 10 9. Louisville (10-5) 301 11 10. Duke (8-5) 265 12 11. Iowa (8-4) 264 13 12. North Carolina (7-7) 243 9 13. Kent State (8-4) 242 7 14. Virginia (8-5) 172 18 15. California (8-3) 139 16 16. Princeton (6-5) 136 15 17. Boston College (11-3) 131 14 18. Boston University (8-5) 71 NR 19. Harvard (7-3) 63 20 20. Central Michigan (10-4) 46 NR
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Connecticut (29), Lafayette (26), Delaware (24), Ball State (23), New Hampshire (11), Hofstra (10), American (6), Dartmouth (5), Richmond (5), Syracuse (5), Towson (1).
