Field Hockey News:

USA Field Hockey Announces 2007-08 Women’s National Squad

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (June 24, 2007) – USA Field Hockey and women’s coach Lee Bodimeade announced selections to the 2007-08 U.S. National Squad following a week of play at the USA National Championships.

The selections of the squad come as the USA women prepare for next month’s Pan American Games and their first opportunity to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The 25-member squad includes Kate Barber (West Chester, Pa.), Kayla Bayshore (Shoemakersville, Pa.), Lauren Crandall (Doyelstown, Pa.), Rachel Dawson (Berlin, N.J.), Sarah Dawson (Berlin, N.J.), Jill Dedman (Orange, Conn.), Kelly Doton (Greenfield, Mass.), Katelyn Falgowski (Landenberg, Pa.), April Fronzoni (Larksville, Pa.), Michelle Kasold (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Claire Laubach (Bristow, Va.), Melissa Leonetti (Erdenheim, Pa.), Carrie Lingo (Rehoboth Beach, Del.), Angie Loy (Loysville, Pa.), Natalie Martarosian (Richmond, Va.), Caroline Nichols (Virginia Beach, Va.), Katie O’Donnell (Blue Bell, Pa.), Lauren Powley (Mountaintop, Pa.), Dina Rizzo (Walpole, Mass.), Dana Sensenig (Denver, Pa.),  Sara Silvetti (Wapwallopen, Pa.), Keli Smith (Selingsgrove, Pa.), Tiffany Snow (Escondido, Calif.), Amy Tran (Grantville, Pa.) and Barbara Weinberg (Louisville, Ky.).

Bodimeade also announced a nine-member developmental squad including Vianney Campos (Chula Vista, Calif.), Katie Evans (Newtown Square, Pa.), Maren Ford (Trenton, N.J.), Jesse Gey (Greenlane, Pa.), Jessica Javelet (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), Christina Kirkaldy (Afton, N.Y.), Mia Link (Jenkintown, Pa.), Katie Reinprecht (North Wales, Pa.) and Laura Suchoski (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.). A senior-to-be at Mt. St. Joseph High School, seventeen-year old Reinprecht is the youngest member selected to the squad. Developmental athletes can be called up for training sessions or other competition opportunities with the National Squad

 The newly-announced Pan Am Team - subject to approval by the USOC - includes Barber, Bashore, Crandall, Rachel Dawson, Doton, Falgowski, Kasold, Leonetti, Lingo, Loy, Powley, Rizzo, Sensenig, Smith, Snow and Tran.  The Games mark the third Pan Am tournament for Barber and the second for Lingo, Rizzo, Smith and Tran.

The winner of the Pan Am Games earns the continent’s automatic berth in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In addition, teams placing 2-6 in the women’s tournament will earn spots in one of three Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in early 2008. The winners of the three qualifying tournaments will earn the final three berths in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Following the Pan Am Games, the USA will continue international competition in October when the team hosts Japan in a five game series, Oct. 7-13 at the Univ. of Maryland. Japan edged the USA for fifth place in a 1-0 classification match at the 2006 World Cup and has already qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The new USA squad will also continue its effort to promote Sun Safe Play and its new sun safety program to promote the prevention and early detection of melanoma and skin cancer.

Sun Safe Play!: USA Field Hockey and the USA National Team promote healthy and sun-smart decisions through their sun safety program, Sun Safe Play. Dedicated to the memory of former field hockey coach and USA team member Maria Whitehead and in partnership with the Melanoma International Foundation, Sun Safe Play seeks to educate young athletes on the prevention and detection of melanoma and skin cancer. Whitehead died of cancer in November 2006 at the age of 25.