Marcia Pankratz Q&A: Big Ten Tournament Preview
11/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
• Tickets | Tournament Central | Game Preview
The Big Ten Tournament starts today (Thursday, Nov. 6) with four competitive quarterfinal matchups at Phyllis Ocker Field. As U-M gears up to kick off its postseason, head coach Marcia Pankratz took some time to talk about the parity within the conference and around the country, the Wolverines' preparation for the tournament and the opportunity to host at Ocker Field.
Q: Do you feel that there is more parity in the Big Ten this season? Is that a reflection of the larger national landscape as well?
A: Yes. It's a great conference, and there's a lot more parity. There's a lot of great coaching, and I think top players around the nation are realizing that the experience within the Big Ten as a student-athlete is phenomenal. and they're more willing to take a look at it. Once they really look at it, they fall in love. We've got a lot of great players from around the world playing in the Big Ten right now. I think that contributes to the greater parity around the country as well.
Q: Saying all of that about how competitive the Big Ten is, are you pleased -- but perhaps not satisfied -- to have finished second during the regular season?
A: The team is disappointed that we didn't win the championship. Certainly that was one of our goals, and we fell just a little short. But that's now in the past, and I think they're reenergized and refocused on Season No. 2, which in the Big Ten Tournament. Our goal is to win it.
Q: It was a shortened week of practice with the tournament starting on a Thursday. How has this week been?
A: Obviously, we played on Sunday, and Monday is always day off to get their legs back. This is the time of year where you're fine-tuning some things. We want them as fresh as possible and ready to go. Limiting distractions is also very important this week.
Q: Your seniors are leading the team right now in most statistical categories and have been major contributors all season, especially lately. Do they set the tone this week?
A: They're doing a great job. We got together Sunday night, and they were really excited to get refocused on this next season. They've done a great job of taking on the responsibility of leading the team, and I expect that they'll continue to do a great job.
Q: How excited are you to host the Big Ten Tournament?
A: I think that it's exciting to display our fabulous facility to everybody, and it's fun to have field hockey be a centerpiece and focal point of the weekend here in Ann Arbor. We'll have a lot of great fans. There will be a lot of great competition and give us an opportunity to showcase our sport.
Communications Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
