Aug. 21, 2006
NORFOLK, Va. -- Coming off their Final Four season of 2005, the Old Dominion field hockey team will start its quest for its 10th national championship ranked fourth in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Preseason Poll. The Lady Monarchs received two first place votes.
Leading the poll was defending national champion Maryland, who defeated the Lady Monarchs in the national semifinals last fall. ODU and the Terps spilt last year's season series with the Lady Monarchs handing Maryland one of its two total losses last season. The two teams will meet twice during the regular season.
Other ODU opponents featured in the poll include No. 3 Duke, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Michigan, No. 19 Richmond and Virginia, along with two CAA schools. Old Dominion was one of three schools featured in the poll which also included 2005 runner-up No. 13 Northeastern and No. 18 James Madison. William & Mary, Hofstra, Delaware, Drexel, and Towson also received votes.
The Lady Monarchs open the season this coming weekend traveling to State College, Pa. Old Dominion opens the 2006 campaign against No. 7 Penn State on Saturday and will take on Ohio University in a neutral turf match-up on Sunday.
This poll is available on the NFHCA website at www.nfhca.org. The first regular season poll will bereleased on Tuesday, September 5, 2006. The STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll has nobearing on selection to the 2006 NCAA Division I Championship field.
NFHCA Division I Poll in PDF Format
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2006 STX/NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll
Institution Points (first place votes in parentheses)
1. University of Maryland 879 (35)
2. Wake Forest University 819 (5)
3. Duke University 793 (2)
4. Old Dominion University 756 (2)
5. University of North Carolina 683 (1)
6. American University 615
7. Penn State University 605
8. University of Michigan 537
9. University of Connecticut 469
10. Indiana University 390
11. Boston College 368
12. University of Iowa 352
13. Northeastern University 312
14. University of Louisville 299
15. Ohio State University 292
16. Michigan State University 227
17. Boston University 195
18. James Madison University 154
19. University of Richmond 141
Tie University of Virginia 141
Also Receiving Votes: Princeton University (139), Villanova University (66), University of California, Berkeley (60),College of William & Mary (44), Hofstra University (23), Harvard University (20), University of Delaware (19),Miami University (OH) (13), Drexel University (8), University of Massachusetts (6), Providence College (5),University at Albany (4), Ohio University (4), Syracuse University (3), Lock Haven University (2),University of New Hampshire (2), Northwestern University (2), University of the Pacific (2), Towson University (1).