July 5, 2006
It may be the middle of summer, but there’s no off-season for members of the University of Iowa field hockey team. Several past, current and future Hawkeyes are participating in summer tournaments as part of the USA Field Hockey program, including the National Championships that were played over the last week in Virginia Beach.
Iowa Head Coach Tracey Griesbaum and assistant coach Lisa Cellucci led the Midwest Team to a third place finish in this year’s tournament. Senior Heather Schnepf, juniors Caroline Blaum and Kadi Sickel, plus sophomores Caitlin McCurdy and Lauren Pfeiffer represented Iowa on the team. Sophomore Roz Ellis competed for the Northern California team, as well. Former Hawkeye standouts Barb Weinberg and Sarah Dawson also participated in the tourney, with Weinberg playing the majority of time in goal for the Midwest and Dawson competing for the New Jersey/Pennsylvania squad.
Blaum scored an individual award as the top goal scorer in the tourney with seven goals and was instrumental in the Midwest’s victory over New Jersey/Pennsylvania on the final day. After McCurdy evened the score 3-3 in the 62nd minute, Blaum scored the golden goal on a penalty corner seven minutes into the overtime period to help the Midwest finish third.
All seven current Hawkeyes that competed in the 2006 National Championships are now invited to the Elite Team Trials later this summer. Athletes selected to the Elite Team are eligible for competition in events such as the Junior Pan American Championships and the Junior World Cup.
Held in conjunction with USA Field Hockey’s National Futures Championship, the National Championships tournament featured teams comprised of college-aged and older athletes including current members of the USA National Squad and recent college All-America selections. Athletes were selected to train at regionally-based training centers and then were selected to compete at the National Championships based on their performances during the spring. In addition to National Championship honors, the tournament serves as a selection opportunity to the USA National Squad and USA Junior National Camp