Thursday, August 26, 2004
Contact: Chris Kilcoyne  

Virginia Wesleyan Field Hockey Takes Top Spot in ODAC Preseason Poll

SALEM , VA. –Virginia Wesleyan College has been selected as the favorite to capture the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) field hockey championship in 2004, as determined by a vote of the league’s 10 head coaches. VWC received six of a possible 10 first-place votes and totaled 90 points to take the top spot in the poll.

In 2003, the Marlins went 9-0 versus conference foes and 18-2 overall.  Despite falling 2-1 to Eastern Mennonite in the ODAC tournament championship, VWC earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament before being knocked out by Williams College .

Co-ODAC Coach-of-the-Year Kim-Michael Mertes returns ODAC Rookie-of-the-Year Chrissy Clancy, who led the team in goals with 13, ranked second with eight assists and totaled a team best 34 points.

Eleven-time and defending ODAC champion Eastern Mennonite comes in behind VWC with one first-place vote and 84 points overall.  The Royals finished last season with an overall record of 17-4 and 8-1 in the league.

Washington and Lee earned a single first-place vote and 76 points for the third slot in the poll.  The Generals went 10-9 overall, 6-3 in the ODAC and advanced to the semifinals of the league tournament in 2003.

Lynchburg College tallied one first place vote and 75 points for fourth-place.  Roanoke College (61 points), Randolph-Macon (47 points), Bridgewater College (40 points), Sweet Briar (40 points/one first-place vote), Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (20 points) and Hollins University (17 points) rounded out the poll.

  www.odaconline.com