June 9, 2011
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Former Hawkeye All-American Lauren Pfeiffer has been named to the 2011 USA Women’s National Team. In addition, six current University of Iowa field hockey team members will compete in the USA Junior High Performance Women’s National Championships. The standouts will compete on various teams in which they were required to try out and were selected.
The tournament will be held June 18-25 in Virginia Beach, Va., and features a round-robin format featuring the top athletes from USA Field Hockey’s six regional High Performance Centers.
Pfeiffer, one of 20 former Hawkeyes who have competed on the U.S. National Team, led Iowa to the 2008 NCAA Final Four. She competed on the Senior New England High Performance team.
Pfeiffer, a member of the U.S. National Team since 2009, was a two time all-American at Iowa. During her career, Pfeiffer earned all-Region honors three times, first team all-Big Ten honors twice and was named Big Ten Tournament MVP twice. She was selected to play in the NFHCA All-Star game as a senior after leading the Black and Gold in points (44) and goals (20). She ended her career with 53 goals to rank ninth in Hawkeye history. Pfeiffer, who started all 83 games in her career, previously served as Iowa’s volunteer assistant coach.
“Lauren is a great representative of the Iowa field hockey program,” said Iowa Head Coach Tracey Griesbaum. “We are very proud of her accomplishments and wish her the best of luck as she strives for excellence on the international level.”
Iowa senior Becca Spengler also competed on the Senior California Team. Spengler, a native of Lititz, Pa., is a three-time NFHCA National Academic Squad member and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. She has been named Iowa’s field hockey Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree each of the last two years. Spengler has started 36 career games at Iowa and was a member of the 2008 team that advanced to the NCAA Final Four.
Sarah Drake, Geena Lesiak, Kelsey Mitchell, Danielle Peirson, Kathleen McGraw and incoming recruit Dani Hemeon will compete on the Mid West Junior High Performance team. Aubrey Coleman will serve as an alternate and Kelsey Boyce qualified for the training team. Griesbaum will serve as an assistant coach for the team.
“The Hawkeyes have done very well within the Junior High Performance program this year,” said Griesbaum. “They are working hard and bringing positive energy to every team session. They will provide positional balance to the Mid West Team as well as a sense of competitiveness. We look forward to the USA Women’s Junior National Championships.” Drake, a junior, has started all 36 career games played. The Ann Arbor, Mich., native was named second team All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten as a sophomore. She is a two-time NFHCA National Academic Squad member.
Mitchell, a sophomore forward from Berlin, N.J., saw action in all 17 contests as a freshman in 2010. She made 15 starts and tallied three total points. Mitchell was a two-time NFHCA High School First Team All-American and was a 2010 Junior National Team Camp participant.
Peirson, a sophomore who hails from Conestoga, Pa., was Iowa’s only true freshman to start every game in 2010. She was named to the NFHCA National Academic squad and tallied four points during her rookie campaign. In high school, Peirson was a two-time National Futures Championship participant.
McGraw, a native of Atherton, Calif., has started 33 of 34 career games played. The goalkeeper has notched five career shutouts. McGraw is a two-time NFHCA National Academic Squad member and was named Academic All-Big Ten in 2010.
Hemeon, a midfielder from Gilroy, Calif., was a 2008 and 2009 Junior Olympian. The 2010 team MVP at Gilroy High School, she was named MVP of the Mount Hamilton League. In 2009 and 2010, Hemeon was a Central Coast Section first team selection, a USA Field Hockey Junior National Camp selection, and was a 2009 USA Field Hockey Olympic Development selection. She competed on the California Senior High Performance Team at the 2010 Championships.
Each athlete competing at the USA Junior High Performance Women’s National Championships are up for selection for U-19 and U-21 team appointments.