Field Hockey Remains In Top Position In STX/NFHCA Poll
10/8/2002 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 8, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland field hockey squad maintained its top ranking in the fifth STX/NFHCA poll of the 2002 season, released Tuesday. The Terrapins (11-1, 1-1 ACC) have been ranked No. 1 in all five coaches polls this year, keeping the top spot this week after defeating three straight top 15 opponents in then-No. 15 Princeton, then-No. 14 California and No. 18 Virginia.
With a starting line-up that includes six newcomers, Maryland opened the season with a seven-match win streak before falling in overtime to now-No. 3 Wake Forest on Sept. 21, and then put together another string of four straight victories. Maryland is 5-1 against this week's NFHCA top 20.
All five ACC field hockey schools rank in the top 20, with Wake Forest (9-2) ranking third and North Carolina (7-5) listed ninth. Also joining the Terps, Demon Deacons and Tar Heels in the top 20 is No. 12 Duke (8-4) and 18th-ranked Virginia (6-5).
The Terrapins play host to the No. 12 Blue Devils and unranked Davidson this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 12-13, both at 1 p.m. Maryland plays a total of 10 regular season matches against teams listed in the third 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. 6, 2002, and total points (first-place votes are in parentheses). Terrapin opponents are in bold italics.
Rank Institution (Record) Points (FPV) Prev. 1. MARYLAND (11-1) 567 (21) 1 2. Michigan (10-1) 544 (3) 2 3. Old Dominion (11-2) 516 (2) 4 4. Wake Forest (9-2) 510 (2) 3 5. Michigan State (11-2) 471 (1) 5 6. Penn State (9-1) 424 6 7. Kent State (8-2) 376 10 8. James Madison (9-3) 370 8 9. North Carolina (7-5) 359 7 10. Northeastern (9-2) 296 11 11. Louisville (8-4) 285 9 12. Duke (8-4) 270 12 13. Iowa (6-3) 219 13 14. Boston College (10-2) 184 15 15. Princeton (4-4) 176 14 16. California (7-3) 126 16 17. Delaware (6-5) 100 17 18. Virginia (6-5) 96 18 19. Maine (9-1) 42 NR 20. Harvard (6-2) 30 NR
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Ball State (22), New Hampshire (17), Lafayette (14), Ohio (13), Syracuse (12), Hofstra (11), Connecticut (8), Richmond (7), Central Michigan (6), Virginia Commonwealth (6), William & Mary (6), Boston University (5), Drexel (1), Ohio State (1).
