Field Hockey Keeps No. 1 Position In STX/NFHCA Poll
9/24/2002 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 24, 2002
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The youthful Maryland field hockey squad maintained the top ranking in the third STX/NFHCA poll of the 2002 season, released Tuesday. The Terrapins (8-1, 0-1 ACC) have been ranked No. 1 in all three coaches polls this year after being tabbed the top team in six out of eight polls a season ago. 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, 2-1, on Sept. 21.
The Terps posted a 2-1 record in their five-day, three game away trip and now wraps up the road swing with fellow 2001 national semifinalist No. 15 Princeton (3-1) on Friday, Sept. 27. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the Tigers' campus. Maryland then hosts No. 14 California (5-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
All five ACC field hockey schools rank in this week's top 20, with Wake Forest (5-2) ranking third and North Carolina (5-3) listed seventh. Also joining the Terps, Demon Deacons and Tar Heels in the top 20 is No. 13 Duke (5-2) and 18th-ranked Virginia (4-3).
Including the Terps' Friday match against No. 15 Princeton and Sunday meeting with No.14 California, Maryland plays a total of 10 regular season matches against teams listed in the third top 20 of 2002. Four 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 September 22, 2002, and total points (first-place votes are in parentheses). Terrapin opponents are in bold italics.
Rank Institution (Record) Points (FPV) Prev. 1. MARYLAND (8-1) 646 (16) 1 2. Michigan (7-1) 631 (7) 3 3. Wake Forest (5-2) 613 (8) 5 4. Old Dominion (6-2) 578 2 5. Michigan State (8-1) 547 (2) 6 6. Penn State (7-0) 500 (1) 7 7. North Carolina (5-3) 481 10 8. James Madison (5-2) 418 4 9. Northeastern (6-1) 343 12 10. Kent State (5-1) 320 15 11. Louisville (4-3) 315 9 12. Iowa (5-3) 293 8 13. Duke (5-2) 278 16 14. California (5-1) 239 18 15. Princeton (3-1) 224 17 16. Delaware (5-3) 207 14 17. Boston College (6-2) 160 13 18. Virginia (4-3) 134 11 19. Ohio State (4-4) 54 19 20. Syracuse (4-3) 46 20ALSO RECEIVING VOTES: Hofstra (23), Maine (15), Ball State (13), Boston University (13), Ohio (8), Drexel (7), Lafayette (7), William & Mary (6), Virginia Commonwealth (5), Harvard (4), Towson (4), Central Michigan (3), Richmond (3), New Hampshire (1), Stanford (1).
