United Airlines Field Hockey League
Teams Choose Experience in
First League Draft
Coaches of
the United Airlines Field Hockey League selected experience over youth in the first
League draft of U.S. senior National Team athletes.
Olympians Jill Reeve (Hoosick Falls, NY) and Tracey Fuchs (Ann Arbor, Mich.),
the two National Team athletes with the most career international appearances, were
selected 1 and 2 in the draft by League teams Tidewater Tempest and Pennsylvania Pride.
Fuchs was later traded to the Philadelphia Fury for forward Kate Barber (West Chester,
Pa.) and midfielder Tracey Larson (Morrisville, Pa.).
A hard-hitting corner specialist and 1999 US Field Hockey Athlete of the Year,
Reeve has appeared in 98 international matches, while Fuchs, the 1995 Athlete of the Year
and FIH 75th Anniversary Presidents IX selection, is the all-time US leader with 194
international caps. Reeve played for the Tempest last season, while Fuchs, who tied for
the League scoring title in its inaugural season in 1998, moves to the Fury from the
Midwest Cyclones.
With the third pick in the draft, the Metro Rush selected goalkeeper Peggy
Storrar (Mahopac, NY), followed by the Fury's selection of Barber. Storrar earned US Field
Hockey Athlete of the Year honors in 1998, while Barber ranks second in career goals
scored among US active players with 11.
The New England Eclipse and Midwest Cyclones opted for offense with the next
picks of the draft, with the Eclipse chosing Univ. of Maryland All-American Carla
Tagliente (Cortland, NY) and the Cyclones selecting Univ. of North Carolina All-American
Kristen McCann (Allentown, Pa.). The 1997 US Field Hockey Athlete of the Year, Tagliente
scored 19 goals for the Terps in 2000, while McCann scored 27 goals for the Tarheels and
added three goals for the US at the First Americas Cup in March.
The two-time defending league champions, the Southern Charm selected
goalkeeper Amy Tran (Grantville, Pa.) with the final pick of the first round. An
All-American at the University of North Carolina, Tran returns for her second year with
the Charm and will also play in goal for the U.S. junior team at the Junior World Cup, May
14-26.
Members of the National Team are currently in residency in Virginia Beach,
Va. where they will live, work and train for the next four years in preparation for
international events such as the 2001 World Cup Qualifier, 2002 World Cup and 2003 Pan
American Games and 2004 Olympic Games.
The League's seven teams selected the 20 National Team players
over three rounds of the draft to supplement their 34-player rosters. Prior to the draft,
the League held regional tryouts for athletes in March and April, and members of the U.S.
Under-21 and Under-18 squads were allocated to each team.
Initiated in 1998, the United Airlines Field Hockey League seeks to
continually raise the level of play in the U.S. by providing athletes with an elite
playing opportunity.
The 2001 League season opens June 1-3 at the University of North Carolina and continues
with double round-robin play June 15-17 at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology. The
semifinals and finals are scheduled for June 30 and July 1 at the University of Maryland.
The complete draft of National Team players follows:
First Round
Tempest - Jill Reeve (Hoosick Falls, NY)
Pride - Tracey Fuchs* (Ann Arbor, Mich)
Rush - Peggy Storrar (Mahopac, NY)
Fury - Kate Barber* (West Chester, Pa.)
Eclipse - Carla Tagliente (Cortland, NY)
Cyclones - Kristen McCann (Allentown, Pa.)
Charm - Amy Tran (Grantville, Pa.)
Second Round
Charm - Tara Jelley (Greenfield, Mass.)
Cyclones - Kelli Gannon (Escondido, Calif.)
Eclipse - Katie Kauffman (West Lawn, Pa.)
Fury - Tracey Larson* (Morrisville, Pa.)
Rush - Melanie Meerschwam (Am,stelveen, NED)
Pride - Autumn Welsh (Macungie, Pa.)
Tempest - Kim Miller (Virginia Beach, Va.)
Third Round
Tempest - Jessica Coleman (Oceanport, NJ)
Pride - Carrie Lingo (Rehoboth Beach, Del.)
Rush - Abby Martin (Saratoga Springs, NY)
Fury - Kristi Gannon (Escondido, Calif.)
Eclipse - Kelly Dostal (Hatfield, Mass.)
Cyclones - Natalie Dawson (Berlin, NJ)
*Fuchs traded to Fury for Barber &
Larson
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