Weekly Release #8

This Week's Schedule
No. 5 Michigan (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten) at No. 6 Michigan State (10-3, 3-0 Big Ten)
Friday, Oct. 17    5 p.m.   MSU Field Hockey Complex    East Lansing, Mich.

No. 5 Michigan vs. Hofstra (9-4, 1-3 CAA)
Sunday, Oct. 19    1 p.m.    Ocker Field    Ann Arbor, Mich.

Radio/Internet: None.

Series Information:  Michigan leads the all-time series with Michigan State, 27-21-6 and has won nine of the last 10 meetings with the Spartans, including each of its last three trips to East Lansing. Last season, the Wolverines topped MSU by a 1-0 margin in the regular season before falling to State in the Big Ten Tournament championship match ... U-M's match against Hofstra will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools in field hockey.

Opponent Information: For information on Michigan State field hockey, visit www.msuspartans.com ... For information on Hofstra field hockey, visit www.hofstra.edu/sports.

This Week's Storylines
There Can Be Only One -- Friday night's (Oct. 17) match at Michigan State will feature the only undefeated teams in the Big Ten, as the Wolverines and Spartans sport identical 3-0 records. Michigan carries a 10-match Big Ten winning streak into the contest, dating back to the 2001 campaign.

Another Point To Be Awarded For The Pontiac Challenge Cup -- Friday's matchup between Michigan and Michigan State is another contest in the Pontiac Challenge Cup, a trophy awarded three times throughout the athletic year to the University with the most success against the other. At the end of the year, the winning school receives a crystal trophy, while each school's athletic scholarship fund will split a $150,000 donation from Pontiac. U-M holds a 1-0 lead in the competition for the fall portion of the Cup by virtue of men's soccer's 4-2 win over the Spartans last Sunday (Oct. 12), while the winner of Friday's game will earn another point for the fall standings. Men's and women's cross country, football, women's soccer and volleyball also compete in the fall portion of the Challenge Cup.

The Defense Never Rests -- After allowing 14 goals in their first four games, the Wolverines have surrendered just seven goals in their last 10 outings and have won seven games by shutout during that time. In the span of the past six games, U-M has allowed only two goals and has won five of those contests by shutout, including two straight.

One Record Down ... -- Senior April Fronzoni, a candidate for the Honda Award as the nation's top field hockey player, established the school record for career points with a goal last weekend against Indiana and now holds the mark with 141, including eight points in her last four games. The old record was owned by Mary Callam, who notched 136 points from 1976-79.

... And One To Go  -- April Fronzoni enters this weekend just two goals shy of the all-time record at Michigan, held by Mary Callam, who recorded 64 from 1976-79. Fronzoni has 62 career goals, including a team-high 14 this season, to sit in second place. Fronzoni, who has scored a goal in three of her last four contests, may get a chance to break or tie the record in front of the current record holder, as Callam is expected to be in attendance at Sunday's (Oct. 19) match against Hofstra.

News and Notes ...
A Loss To The Field Hockey Family -- The U-M field hockey program received some bad news prior to leaving for Central Michigan on Monday (Oct. 13). Rachael (Geisthardt) Townsend, a four-year letterwinner and goalkeeper from 1992-95, passed away unexpectedly after completing Sunday's (Oct. 12) Chicago Marathon. Townsend was 29.

Holding Steady At No. 5 -- The Wolverines remained fifth in the latest STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. U-M is one of four teams from the Big Ten in the rankings with Michigan State (6th), Penn State (8th) and Iowa (9th) all behind Michigan.

On A Roll -- The Wolverines enter this weekend's action with victories in 11 of their last 12 outings, including a season-high seven-game winning streak.

Batting 1.000 -- Freshman goalkeeper Beth Riley, who has started each of the Wolverines' last seven contests, continues to post a perfect record on the season and owns a 9-0 mark entering this weekend's action. Riley ranks fourth in the nation with a 0.73 goals-against average and has only given up two goals in her last six outings.

Top 10 Trifecta -- Senior Kristi Gannon continues to move up among Michigan's career goal scorers and is currently tied for 10th with 33 markers, including a tally last Satruday (Oct. 11) against Indiana. Gannon, who has 25 career assists to rank sixth all-time, is also eighth on U-M's career points list with 91.

Also In The Top 10 -- Senior Stephanie Johnson, who has scored a goal in two of her last three games, is currently ranked eight on U-M's career goal-scoring chart with 36 markers. Johnson has six tallies this season.

A Goal A Year... -- Junior Katy Moyneur has tallied a goal in each of her previous two season with the Wolverines and made it three years in a row with a marker on Monday (Oct. 13) at Central Michigan. Moyneur, who has three career goals, owns 1-1-3 totals this season

A Real Helper -- Junior Adrienne Hortillosa, who ranks fourth on the team with 3-8-14 totals, is on pace to eclipse last season's totals (3-13-19) and already ranks among Michigan's top helpers with 24 career assists. Hortillosa paces the squad with eight assists and has already matched her goal total from a year ago, recording her third marker at Central Michigan on Monday (Oct. 13).

Two-For-One Special -- Junior Jessica Blake has notched a point in all but five of her 14 appearances this season, totaling a career-high 7-5-19 to rank second on the team in points. Blake has already surpassed her career goal total entering the season (5) and has notched more points than her previous two years combined (15). Blake's assist totals match the total number of helpers she dished out in her freshman and sophomore campaigns.

Also Having A Career Year... -- Junior Anneke Huntzicker notched her third goal of the season last Saturday (Oct. 11) against Indiana and has three for the season. Huntzicker, who has seen action in career-high 11 games this year, owned 0-0-0 totals in 13 career appearances entering the 2003 campaign.

In A Sea Of Numbers, We Found This -- According to the latest national statistics, compiled by the NFHCA (as of Oct. 5), Michigan ranks in the following categories -- winning percentage (t-9th - .769), scoring offense (7th - 3.53) and margin of victory (10th - +1.95) ... Individually, April Fronzoni is listed in four categories -- points (11th - 30), points per game (12th - 2.31), goals (t-10th - 13) and goals per game (t-8th - 1.00) -- while Beth Riley is listed fourth in goals-against average (0.83) and tied for 19th in save percentage (0.800) ... In the most recent Big Ten stats, Michigan ranks first or second in all offensive categories ... April Fronzoni is listed third in both points and points per game and is tied for second in goals and goals per game ... Adrienne Hortillosa is tied for fourth in assists and assists per game ... Beth Riley owns the top GAA of any goalkeeper in the Big Ten.

Free Hits -- Michigan has limited its opponents to four shots or less in each of the last three games ... The Wolverines have not allowed a goal in Big Ten action this season and have shut out seven of their last eight conference foes dating back to last season.

Next Up - A Visit To The Monarchs and Buckeyes ...
The Wolverines will hit the road for a pair of matches in the second-to-last week of the regular-season. Michigan will visit Norfolk, Va., on Friday, Oct. 24 to face Old Dominion before traveling to Columbus, Ohio on Sunday, Oct. 26, for a Big Ten matchup with Michigan State. Following the weekend set, U-M will have one contest remaining on its schedule -- a home affair against Penn State on Saturday, Nov. 1.

If You've Been With Us All Season, These May Look Familiar ...
Not Afraid To Play The Tough Ones -- Michigan has nine of the 20 teams ranked in the latest STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll on its 2003 schedule, including three of the top four teams in the poll -- No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 2 North Carolina and No. 4 Maryland.

Tough To Swallow -- Michigan's three losses this season have come at the hands of three of the top four teams in the latest STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll, suffering setbacks against Wake Forest (No. 1), North Carolina (No. 2) and Maryland (No. 3).

Training in Europe -- The squad traveled to Amsterdam, The Netherlands, during the 2003 preseason to compete against club teams in the Amsterdam area as well as Cologne Rot-Weiss, the team junior Laura Woitkewitsch played for before coming to U-M. Details of the Wolverines' trip will be available soon on MGoBlue.com.

Freshmen 15 -- Freshman Jill Civic appeared in the first-ever edition of Sports Illustrated On Campus as one of the nation's top 15 newcomers - the Freshmen 15 -- in all NCAA Division I sports.

Five Alive -- With her Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week award on Sept. 8, senior April Fronzoni tied the school record for most Big Ten Player of the Week honors, held by Kelli Gannon (1997-2000).

2003 Honors and Awards ...
Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Week
   April Fronzoni - Sept. 8

Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week
   Stephanie Johnson - Sept. 15

Contact: Paul Thomas (734) 763-4423