US Field Hockey News

USA Field Hockey U16 Men, Futures Elite Women to Compete in The Netherlands

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The next wave of  USA Field Hockey’s young stars will represent the U.S. in international competition this week when the men’s Under-16 team and two teams of the women’s  U16 and U19 Futures Elite programs compete in tournaments in the Netherlands.

            Selected in February, the men’s U16 team and coach Mike Whitehead will make its 2004 debut at the annual Valkenswaard Easter Tournament, April 10-11 in Valkenswaard. The young U.S. team will meet squads from Belgium, England, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Switzerland and the host Netherlands in the two-day tournament.

            Members of the U.S. team include Amrit Ahluwalia (Irvine, Calif.), Kevin Barber (Camarilo, Calif.), Jed Cunningham (Moorpark, Calif.), Jonathon Ginolfi (Moorpark, Calif.), Brian Gose (Camarillo, Calif.), Alex Grassi (Brookville, Md.), Michael Hawkins (Ventura, Calif.), Jacob Mahan (Camarillo, Calif.), Grant Mohr (Ventura, Calif.), Evan Munsing (Wyomissing, Pa.), Tyson Reeves (Ventura, Calif.), Colin Scally (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), Colin Smith (Moorpark, Calif.), Kurt Zweitzer (Moorpark, Calif.), Mathew Thomas (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) and Andrew Zyac (Columbia, Md.).

            The U16 Futures Elite team will compete on the women’s side of the Valkenswaard tournament while looking to improve on a Netherlands tradition that includes third place finishes in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003. The Futures Elite team is comprised of members of USA Field Hockey’s Under-16 team. In addition to the U.S. team, the tournament features squads from England, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Switzerland, Zimbabwe and the Netherlands.

Coached by James Madison Univ. head coach and 1996 Olympian Antoinette Lucas,  the team includes Hollis Barber (Toledo, Ohio), Meghan Beamesderfer (Lititz, Pa.), Christina Boarman (Fulton, Md.), Kelly Fitzpatrick (Palmyra, Pa.), Samantha Nelson (Rockville, Md.), Meghan O'Connell (St. Louis, Mo.), Kathleen O'Donnell (Blue Bell, Pa.), Brook Patterson (Emmaus, Pa.), Courtney Plaster (Elizabethtown, Ky.), Regina Shannon (West Chester, Pa.), Katelyn Shelley (Ephrata, Pa.), Amie Survilla (Mountiantop, Pa.)

            While the U16 teams play in Valkenswaard, U.S. Field Hockey’s U19 Futures elite team will compete in a series of games, April 9-11 in Ultrecht. Coached by Michigan State Univ. assistant coach Rolf van de Kerkhof,  the U19 team includes Michelle Cilberti (Prospect, Ky.), Taylor Florence (Louisville, Ky.), Maggie Hall (Annville, Pa.), Kathleen Kiper (Louisville, Ky.), Kaitlin Johnson (East Setauket, N.Y.), Michaela McDermott (Shaker Heights, Ohio), Casey Meisinger (Warrington, Pa.), Lauren Miller (Englewood, Colo.), Ashley Pultorak (Schwenksville, Pa.), Sarah Shute (Lincolndale, N.Y.), Veronica Sykes (San Jose, Calif.), Harriet Thayer (Briarcliff, N.Y.), Whitney Waugh (Briarcliff, N.Y.), Meghan Wheeler (Canton, Mass.) and Heather Winn (Virginia Beach, Va.).

A division of U.S. Field Hockey’s Olympic Development Program, Futures Elite represents the top 150 athlete in U.S. Field Hockey’s 4500-member Futures Programs.  Selected each year at the National Futures Tournament, Futures Elite athletes are eligible to participate in a variety of voluntary tour and tournament options designed to strengthen their knowledge of the game while implementing skills and tactics used by the U.S. national team. Futures Elite athletes will have additional opportunities for international competition when the teams travel to Australia in July.

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