Weekly Release #12

Upcoming Schedule
Sat-Sun., Nov. 12-13 -- at NCAA First/Second Round (Columbus, Ohio)
    Nov. 12 -- vs. Boston University, 11 a.m.
    Nov. 13 -- U-M/BU winner vs. Old Dominion/Ohio State winner, 2 p.m.
Fri-Sun., Nov. 18-20 -- at NCAA Championship (Louisville, Ky.)

This Week's Lineup -- at NCAA First/Second Rounds
The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team (15-7) will head to Columbus, Ohio for one of four NCAA first- and second-round sites for the 2005 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship on Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 12-13) at Ohio State's North Turf Field. The Wolverines will open tournament play against No. 17 Boston University (16-5) at 11 a.m. on Saturday while the other first-round match will pit No. 3 Old Dominion (17-5) against No. 11 Ohio State (15-6) at 2 p.m. The winners will advance to the second-round game, which is slated for a 2 p.m. start on Sunday.

Tournament Notes
The Road to the Final Four -- The Wolverines will compete in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight year, earning an automatic bid as the Big Ten Tournament champion -- it is the second time in as many years that U-M did not have to wait out an at-large selection. Michigan is one of 16 teams vying for the national title, which will be decided next weekend in Louisville, Ky, on the campus of the University of Louisville.

Haven't We Met Before -- U-M played two of the three teams in the regional field this season, earning a 4-3 decision against Old Dominion while losing to Ohio State 6-1. Senior/junior Katie Morris (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) tallied her first career hat trick to lead the Wolverines to a big early-season come-from-behind win. The Buckeyes' Leticia Fragapane proved a thorn in Michigan's side during the regular-season matchup between the two Big Ten rivals, scoring four times en route to the OSU victory.

Opening Weekend Success -- Michigan is 5-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and is 8-3 during the first weekend of NCAA Tournament play. U-M's only loss in the first round came in 2002 with a 4-3 setback against Princeton at State College, Pa., while its only other opening-weekend loss occurred in 2000 with a 3-2 (ot) loss to Wake Forest in the quarterfinals.

Last Season at the Regional -- The host Wolverines just narrowly squeezed past Pacific 2-1 in overtime in last season's first round despite outshooting the Tigers 33-3. Michigan rallied from a one-goal deficit at halftime as junior/sophomore Katie Morris (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS) netted the neutralizer midway through the second stanza and senior Adrienne Hortillosa ended the game 7:36 into the sudden-death period with her third OT goal of the season. U-M fell just short in the quarterfinal match the following day when Big Ten rival Michigan State scored twice in the second half to beat the Wolverines 3-2.

A Nail-Biter Expected -- Thirteen of Michigan's 16 NCAA Tournament games have been decided by one goal -- including both of last season's contests -- with U-M sporting a 9-4 record in those contests. Five of the Wolverines' five first-round games have been decided by a single marker, while all five of U-M's quarterfinal matchups have been determined by a single goal.

Working Overtime -- The Wolverines are 4-1 in overtime games in the NCAA Tournament and have gone into an extra session in the first round on two occasions, posting a 3-2 win in double overtime against William & Mary in 2000 and a 2-1 decsion last season against Pacific. U-M, which has advanced past the first round in five of its six tournament appearances, has played in overtime three of its quarterfinal games.

Michigan vs. the NCAA Regional Field ...
Boston University -- The all-time series between Michigan and Boston Unversity is all square at 2-2. The two squads played three consecutives seasons between 1986 and 1988 with BU taking a pair of victories, but the Wolverines dominated the last meeting between the two programs, on Sept. 28, 2002, kicking off a stretch of three straight U-M shutouts with a 3-0 decision. The Terriers own a 16-5 mark this season and earned their automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by defeating Central Michigan 5-3 in the play-in game. For more information on Boston University, visit www.bu.edu/athletics.

Old Dominion -- Michigan trails in the all-time series against the Monarchs by a narrow 3-4 margin but pulled things closer to even with a 4-3 win at Ocker Field on Setp. 10. Senior/junior Katie Morris scored her first career hat trick, which included a pair of unanswered goals in the second half, to lead the U-M attack. Old Dominion boasts a 17-5 record in 2005 and ranks as the tournament's fourth seed after earning an automatic berth by winning the CAA Tournament. For more information on Old Dominion, visit www.odusports.com.

Ohio State -- The Wolverines own a 27-21-1 record against the Buckeyes and have been dominant in recent years, winning 13 of the last 17 meetings. This season, U-M opened up the Big Ten portion of its schedule with a tough 6-1 road loss against the Buckeyes as Leticia Fragapane scored four goals for the OSU squad. Tallying a 15-6 record this season, OSU earned one of eight at-large bids to the tournament after falling in the Big Ten semifinals to Indiana. For more information on Ohio State, visit www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.

STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll
After capturing the Big Ten Tournament title and registering nine wins in their last 10 games, the Wolverines jumped three spots into the No. 7 position -- their highest ranking of the season -- in the final STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll of the 2005 campaign, released on Tuesday (Nov. 8). The STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll can be found by visiting the NFHCA's site.

STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll (11/8/05)

Rank, Team (Record) Points Previous 1. Maryland (19-2) 373 3 2. Wake Forest (19-1) 360 1 3. Old Dominion (17-5) 327 4 4. Duke (15-4) 322 2 5. North Carolina (14-6) 291 5 6. American (19-1) 288 7 7. MICHIGAN (15-7) 257 10 8. Penn State (17-3) 250 6 9. Indiana (16-4) 230 8 10. Connecticut (16-5) 197 14 11. Ohio State (16-6) 183 9 12. Louisville (14-7) 145 12 13. Boston College (13-6) 134 13 14. Iowa (10-8) 126 11 15. Villanova (15-5) 110 17 16. Northeastern (16-6) 100 16 17. Boston University (15-5) 97 18 18. Michigan State (12-8) 75 15 19. Richmond (15-5) 57 20 20. California (12-7) 18 NR

Wrapping Up the Big Ten Season
Bringing Home the Hardwear -- With its 3-2 victory over Iowa in the championship game, U-M captured its third conference tournament title in program history -- and first since back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000 -- and marks the second time that the Wolverines swept the regular-season and tournament crowns.

All-Conference Team -- Senior Lori Hillman (Gibbsboro, N.J./Eastern Regional HS) and junior Mary Fox (St. Louis, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy) were selected to the All-Big Ten first team based on a vote of the conference coaches. It was Hillman's second straight appearance on the all-conferece first team and the first for Fox, who earned second team honors in 2004. It also marked the seventh straight season that U-M boasted at least two members on on the all-Big Ten first team.

A Valuable Commodity -- Senior Lori Hillman was named the Big Ten Tournament's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year and joins fellow-Wolverine junior goalkeeper Beth Riley as the Wolverines' Big Ten All-Tournament Team selections. Hillman is the third Wolverine to earn Big Ten Tournament Most Valuable Player honors, joining Kelli Gannon (1999) and Courtney Reid (2000).

Statistically Speaking -- Through the Big Ten Tournament, senior/junior Katie Morris holds the 10th spot in goals (11) and shares the seventh position in points (27) and fifth spot with three gamewinners. Senior Lori Hillman and junior Kara Lentz share seventh with seven, while Hillman also ranks third with three defensive saves. Junior goalkeeper Beth Riley leads the conference in saves (129) while ranking second in saves per game (5.86), and shutouts (5) and third in save percentage (.763). The latest standings and statistics from the Big Ten can be found by visiting the Big Ten's website.

Big Ten Weekly Honors -- The Wolverines boasted a pair of Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors during the 2005 campaign. Senior/junior Katie Morris nabbed her first career weekly honor on Sept. 12 after registering a four-goal weekend, which included her first career gamewinner and first career hat trick, in Michigan's wins over Miami (Ohio) and Old Dominion. Later in the season, junior goalkeeper Beth Riley claimed the defensive distinction (Oct. 10) in recognition of her performance in back-to-back wins against Michigan State and Connecticut. Riley tallied her third shutout of the season in Michigan's 1-0 decision at MSU and held UConn to just one goal in 100 minutes of play before allowing just one of four penalty stroke opportunities in the game-deciding stroke off.

News and Notes ...
Life of Riley (Part I) -- With Michigan's 4-3 win at Kent State (Sept. 25), junior Beth Riley earned her 36th career win to take sole possession of Michigan's all-time wins record. With nine wins in Michigan's last 10 games, Riley improved her own U-M record to 44 career victories. She ranks second among U-M goalkeepers in career games played after registering her 60th slate last Sunday against Indiana (Nov. 6). Riley will look to gain two more starts in the NCAA Tournament and tie the Michigan record in the category, currently held by Rachael Geisthardt (62, 1992-95).

Life of Riley (Part II) -- Junior Beth Riley also inched up on Michigan's career assists list after the Wolverines' 3-0 shutout against Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament final (Nov. 6). Riley currently holds sole possession of the fifth spot and needs just one more shutout to overtake Molly Maloney (14.5, 2000-04) for the fourth position. After the weekend's games, she has a career-best 129 stops in the U-M cage the season, more than double the total from her first two seasons combined.

Lending a Helping Hand -- Senior Lori Hillman recorded a pair of assists in Big Ten Tournament competition to bring her season total to nine. The U-M captain boasts 25 career helpers and ranks eighth among Michigan's all-time leaders in the category. She needs just one more assist to reach the seventh spot on the list, currently held by Kristi Gannon (26, 2000-03).

Iron Women -- Senior captain Lori Hillman also broke into the top-10 on the Wolverines' career games played list following the three contests at the Big Ten Tournament. Hillman has played, and started, 86 games for the Maize and Blue, placing her tied for eighth on the list with Kelli Gannon (1997-2000) and Erica Widder (1996-99). For the first time ever, Hillman missed U-M playing time when she was absent for four games earlier this season while competing with the USA Under-21 team at the Junior World Cup.

You're a Superstar -- Senior Lori Hillman and senior/junior Katie Morris were selected to participate in the 2005 NFHCA North/South Senior All-Star Game, scheduled to take place on Saturday, Nov. 19, in Louisville, Ky. The Wolverines have posted a strong 61-22 record over the last four years with Hillman and Morris on the roster. Hillman was a NFHCA All-America third team selection in 2004 and earned both Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Tournament MVP honors. Morris experienced breakout success last season, setting the U-M record for goals by a sophomore and ranking third overall in scoring. The U-M pair were named to the 19-player North squad, which boasts nine representatives from the Big Ten Conference.

Spanning the Globe -- Behind the play of senior captain Lori Hillman and guidance of assistant coach Tracey Fuchs, the USA Under-21 team posted a 4-2-2 mark en route seventh place -- its best finish in four appearances -- at the Junior World Cup, held Sept. 14-25, in Santiago, Chile. Hillman started every game in the U.S. backfield and contributed to just 14 goals allowed against the toughest junior teams in the world. Team USA wrapped up the competition with a 4-2 victory over South Africa in the seventh/eighth-place contest.

On the Horizon
If the Wolverines advance past the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament, they will travel to Louisville, Ky., for the 2005 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship, hosted by the Louisville. The semifinals are slated for Friday, Nov. 18, while the championship game will take place on Sunday, Nov. 20. All matches will be staged at Trager Stadium on the Louisville campus.