Brackets Released For ACC Tournament
10/31/2009 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 31, 2009
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the brackets for the ACC Field Hockey Tournament today. The tournament takes place next week on Nov. 5, 6, and 8. No. 1-ranked Maryland (18-0, 5-0) will serve as the No. 1 seed in the tournament field, which it clinched last week. The Terps will play their first game in the tournament in Charlottesville, Va. next Friday at 4 p.m.
The Terrapins earned the top seed in the ACC tournament for the second time in three years and the sixth time overall. Their performance this season earned them a first-round bye on Thursday. The Terps were the preseason No. 1 pick in the weekly Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll and never relented that spot all year.
North Carolina (16-1, 4-1) will serve as the No. 2 seed and also earned a first round bye. The Tar Heels' lone loss of the season came to Maryland last week in a 4-1 loss in Chapel Hill.
Virginia, the No. 3 seed, will face off against the No. 6 seed, Duke, Thursday at 3:30 p.m. No. 4 seed Wake Forest will take on No. 5 seed Boston College Thursday at 1 p.m. Maryland will play the winner of the Wake Forest/Boston College game. Virginia will host the tournament on its campus.
Maryland earned the first 18-0 perfect season in program history Friday night with a 6-2 win over No. 12 Stanford. The Terps beat seven straight ranked opponents to close the regular season, another program record.
The winner of the ACC tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins have won three of the last four national titles: 2005, 2006 and 2008.
The championship game on Sunday will be broadcast list on the conference's regional sports network (RSN-TV), which includes FSN South, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, and the New England Sports Network.
All 2009 ACC Field Hockey Championship information can be found on the official championship website, www.theacc.com/championships/09-fh-championship.html All of Maryland's games will be broadcast live on WMUCSports.com.
