Aug. 21, 2006
IOWA CITY – The STX – National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Preseason Poll was released on Monday and the Iowa Hawkeyes are ranked 12th in the nation.
Defending national champion Maryland holds on to the top spot in the poll. They received 35 of the 45 first place votes. The best represented conference was the Big Ten, with six teams ranked. The Hawkeyes were the fourth-highest ranked team in the Big Ten after No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Michigan, No. 10 Indiana, and ahead of No. 15 Ohio State and No. 16 Michigan State.
Ten of the 20 ranked schools are on Iowa’s 2006 schedule. Five in Big Ten Conference play, five on the non-conference schedule. The Hawkeyes open regular season play Saturday with No. 2 Wake Forrest and Sunday against No. 5 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC, as part of the Big 10/ACC Challenge.