Field Hockey Moves To No. 3 In STX/NFHCA Poll
10/22/2002 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 22, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland field hockey squad moved to No. 3 in the seventh STX/NFHCA poll of the 2002 season, released Tuesday. The Terrapins (13-2, 2-1 ACC) were No. 1 in the first six coaches polls this year and have been ranked in the top 5 in every poll of the last four seasons. The Terrapins moved from the top spot after falling, 1-0, to then-No. 3 Old Dominion in Norfolk on Saturday. The Terps had defeated the Monarchs by a 2-0 margin earlier in the season on Sept. 8.
With a starting line-up that includes six newcomers, Maryland opened the season with a seven-match victory streak and was rewarded with the No. 1 ranking. Now at No. 3, Maryland is 6-2 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 20, with Wake Forest (13-2) ranking fourth and North Carolina (8-8) tied for ninth. Also joining the Terps, Demon Deacons and Tar Heels in the top 20 is No. Duke (10-6) and 19th-ranked Virginia (8-7).
The Terrapins take on No. 9 Tar Heels and No. 8 James Madison Dukes as the regular season starts down the home stretch this weekend. Maryland plays a total of 10 regular season matches against teams listed in the seventh top 20 of 2002. Two 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. 20, 2002, and total points (first-place votes are in parentheses). Terrapin opponents are in bold italics.
Rank Institution (Record) Points (FPV) Prev. 1. Old Dominion (14-2) 597 (11) 3 2. Michigan (14-1) 584 (12) 2 3. MARYLAND (13-2) 566 (4) 1 4. Wake Forest (13-2) 542 (4) 4 5. Michigan State (15-2) 500 5 6. Penn State (12-2) 458 6 7. Northeastern (13-3) 381 8 8. James Madison (11-5) 376 7 T9. Louisville (11-6) 340 9 T9. North Carolina (8-8) 340 12 11. Iowa (8-5) 331 11 12. Duke (10-6) 314 10 13. Kent State (9-5) 237 13 14. Princeton (7-5) 178 16 15. Harvard (9-3) 143 19 16. Boston University (9-6) 111 18 17. Central Michigan (12-4) 89 20 18. Boston College (11-4) 76 17 19. Virginia (8-7) 72 14 20. California (8-6) 52 15
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Connecticut (37), Maine (35), Delaware (27), New Hampshire (21), Lafayette (19), Ohio (18), Richmond (15), Dartmouth (14), Syracuse (12), William & Mary (10), Cornell (6), Ball State (5), Rider (2), Villanova (2).
