University of North Carolina Athletics
Gab Major is the sole senior on the Tar Heels' 2017 roster.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Carolina Ranked No. 1 In Preseason Poll
August 23, 2017 | Field Hockey
CHANDLER, Ariz. – UNC will open the 2017 field hockey season as the country's top-ranked team. The preseason Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I national coaches' poll was released on Tuesday and the Tar Heels held a slight lead over a tightly packed field.
UNC, the NCAA runner-up in 2016, led the poll with 14 first place votes and a total of 1,137 points. Duke was a close second with 15 first place votes and 1,081 points. Delaware, the defending NCAA champion, was in the third spot with 1,003 points and seven first-place votes. Connecticut ranked fourth in the poll and Syracuse fifth, giving the Atlantic Coast Conference three teams in the top five. Rounding out the top 10 are Maryland, Penn State, Princeton, Louisville and Virginia.
Nine of the top 10 teams got at least one first-place vote in the poll.
"It's anybody's game this year," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "It's flattering to be ranked No. 1, but it's an overestimation of where I feel we are right now. We graduated an awful lot of talent from last year, and we have one senior on this team. This year will be somewhat of a rebuilding for us. On the upside, we have a lot of potential and a lot of room for rapid growth, so we're looking forward to taking it one day at a time, one game at a time and trying to get better and reach our potential by the end of the season."
All seven ACC teams will start the season ranked among the nation's top 15. After UNC, Duke, Syracuse, Louisville and Virginia in the top 10, Boston College is No. 12 and Wake Forest is No. 15.
Every ACC team has been ranked for the entirety of the last four seasons, a streak that dates to October of 2012 and includes 47 consecutive NFHCA polls.
An ACC team has topped 129 of the past 149 polls, dating back to 2003.
The Tar Heels open the season this weekend at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa, where they will face two top-20 teams. Saturday, UNC takes on No. 11 Michigan, and Sunday Carolina meets the host Hawkeyes, who are ranked No. 17.
Other opponents in the poll are No. 8 Princeton (Sept. 1), No. 15 Wake Forest (Sept. 8), No. 12 Boston College (Sept. 16), No. 19 James Madison (Sept. 17), No. 5 Syracuse (Sept. 23), No. 19 Albany (Sept. 24), No. 23 Old Dominion (Oct. 1), No. 10 Virginia (Oct. 6), No. 9 Louisville (Oct. 14), No. 2 Duke (Oct. 20) and No. 25 Liberty (Oct. 29).
The first regular-season poll will be announced on Sept. 5. The poll, which is complied based on voting by NFHCA-member coaches, comes out on Tuesdays throughout the season.
Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll (August 22, 2017)
Institution - Points (First-Place Votes)
1. North Carolina - 1,137 (14)
2. Duke - 1,081 (15)
3. Delaware - 1,003 (7)
4. Connecticut - 993 (4)
5. Syracuse - 978
6. Maryland - 949 (3)
7. Penn State - 879 (1)
8. Princeton - 808 (2)
9. Louisville - 760 (1)
10. Virginia - 746 (1)
11. Michigan - 673
12. Boston College - 666
13. Stanford - 617
14. Northwestern - 613
15. Wake Forest - 457
16. Boston University - 443
17. Iowa - 340
18. Albany - 329
19. James Madison - 295
20. Harvard - 289
21. American - 249
22. Massachusetts - 177
23. Old Dominion - 151
24. Maine - 124
25T. Pacific - 107
25T. Liberty - 107
UNC, the NCAA runner-up in 2016, led the poll with 14 first place votes and a total of 1,137 points. Duke was a close second with 15 first place votes and 1,081 points. Delaware, the defending NCAA champion, was in the third spot with 1,003 points and seven first-place votes. Connecticut ranked fourth in the poll and Syracuse fifth, giving the Atlantic Coast Conference three teams in the top five. Rounding out the top 10 are Maryland, Penn State, Princeton, Louisville and Virginia.
Nine of the top 10 teams got at least one first-place vote in the poll.
"It's anybody's game this year," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "It's flattering to be ranked No. 1, but it's an overestimation of where I feel we are right now. We graduated an awful lot of talent from last year, and we have one senior on this team. This year will be somewhat of a rebuilding for us. On the upside, we have a lot of potential and a lot of room for rapid growth, so we're looking forward to taking it one day at a time, one game at a time and trying to get better and reach our potential by the end of the season."
All seven ACC teams will start the season ranked among the nation's top 15. After UNC, Duke, Syracuse, Louisville and Virginia in the top 10, Boston College is No. 12 and Wake Forest is No. 15.
Every ACC team has been ranked for the entirety of the last four seasons, a streak that dates to October of 2012 and includes 47 consecutive NFHCA polls.
An ACC team has topped 129 of the past 149 polls, dating back to 2003.
The Tar Heels open the season this weekend at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa, where they will face two top-20 teams. Saturday, UNC takes on No. 11 Michigan, and Sunday Carolina meets the host Hawkeyes, who are ranked No. 17.
Other opponents in the poll are No. 8 Princeton (Sept. 1), No. 15 Wake Forest (Sept. 8), No. 12 Boston College (Sept. 16), No. 19 James Madison (Sept. 17), No. 5 Syracuse (Sept. 23), No. 19 Albany (Sept. 24), No. 23 Old Dominion (Oct. 1), No. 10 Virginia (Oct. 6), No. 9 Louisville (Oct. 14), No. 2 Duke (Oct. 20) and No. 25 Liberty (Oct. 29).
The first regular-season poll will be announced on Sept. 5. The poll, which is complied based on voting by NFHCA-member coaches, comes out on Tuesdays throughout the season.
Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll (August 22, 2017)
Institution - Points (First-Place Votes)
1. North Carolina - 1,137 (14)
2. Duke - 1,081 (15)
3. Delaware - 1,003 (7)
4. Connecticut - 993 (4)
5. Syracuse - 978
6. Maryland - 949 (3)
7. Penn State - 879 (1)
8. Princeton - 808 (2)
9. Louisville - 760 (1)
10. Virginia - 746 (1)
11. Michigan - 673
12. Boston College - 666
13. Stanford - 617
14. Northwestern - 613
15. Wake Forest - 457
16. Boston University - 443
17. Iowa - 340
18. Albany - 329
19. James Madison - 295
20. Harvard - 289
21. American - 249
22. Massachusetts - 177
23. Old Dominion - 151
24. Maine - 124
25T. Pacific - 107
25T. Liberty - 107
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