June 16, 2008

AMHERST, Mass. - Three UMass field hockey players and one coach traveled to Virginia Beach this weekend to compete in USA Field Hockey's High Performance National Championship. Senior midfielder Mary Shea, sophomore back Jackie Tait, and assistant coach Kelly Dostal are playing for the New England team, while incoming freshman goalkeeper Alesha Widdall is playing for the Pennsylvania/California team. The six-team tournament began on Saturday, June 14 with pool play and concludes with the medal round on Saturday, June 21. The US team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be selected following the tournament.

USA Field Hockey's High Performance Training Centers identify and train potential National Team athletes through comprehensive training/skill enhancement sessions and premier level competitions. The Centers allow athletes to train in regional areas close to their homes by some of the country's top coaches. UMass head coach Justine Sowry assisted with the selection and coaching of this year's New England team. She has been involved in coaching with the High Performance program since 2003. Tryouts for the New England region were held at UMass and Boston College last month. The other regions are: Pennsylvania/California, Maryland, Midwest, New Jersey, and South.

This is the first time competing in the High Performance National Championship for Tait, Widdall, and Dostal. Shea competed for the New England team last year.

UMass junior forward Cher King and sophomore midfielder Makaela Potts were also chosen to train with the New England Region team, but as citizens of Barbados and Australia, respectively, they are ineligible to compete at the National Championship.

The tournament marks a return to the playing field for Hatfield, Mass. native Dostal. The former US National Team member has been sidelined for the past year with injuries. The second-year coach with Minutewomen was a three-time national champion at Wake Forest and was named Honda-Broderick Cup winner in 2004 as the nation's top collegiate female athlete.

Some former UMass players are also coaching at the tournament. Ainslee Lamb, who helped lead UMass to the Final Four in 1992 and currently coaches at Boston College, is head coach of the New England team, while Zowie Tucker ('01), who led UMass to four-straight NCAA Tournaments in goal and coaches at Northeastern, is one of the assistant coaches.

The Minutewomen begin the 2008 campaign on August 23 with an exhibition game vs. Boston University at Garber Field. The regular season kicks off on August 29 at Boston College.