Michigan
North Carolina
Wolverines to Open 2026 Campaign at ACC/B1G Challenge
8/26/2026 2:10:00 PM | Field Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan field hockey team will open its 2026 campaign this weekend at the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Kentner Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Wolverines will open the tournament against No. 2 North Carolina (0-0) at 3:30 p.m. on Friday (Aug. 28) before wrapping up the weekend against No. 7 Wake Forest (0-0) at 2 p.m. on Sunday (Aug. 30).
Now in its 24th season, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge has proved to be the premier early-season field hockey tournament on the collegiate slate. All four participating schools -- U-M, Iowa, North Carolina and Wake Forest -- have combined to win 55 conference titles and 27 national championships.
No. 11 Iowa (0-0) will face Wake Forest at 6 p.m. on Friday and North Carolina at 11 a.m. on Sunday to round out the weekend slate. All four games will be streamed live on ACCNX.
Notes
• Michigan owns an all-time record of 23-29-1 in season openers. U-M will open against North Carolina for the 23rd time over the last 25 years at the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Wolverines have claimed three of those openers against UNC -- in 2016, 2017 and 2021.
• The Maize and Blue return 21 players from last year's squad, including eight who started in 10 or more games. Three of the team's top five goal scorers return in Juliette Manzur (five goals, five assists), Eva Bernardy (four goals, two assists) and Dru Moffett (four goals), with nine returners scoring multiple goals. Redshirt junior Hala Silverstein, who started in 16 of 17 games and split time in goal with Caylie McMahon, returns to the cage after posting a 1.25 goals-against average and a .766 save percentage in 2025.
• Michigan graduated leading scorer Abby Tamer but added the two-time All-American to the coaching staff. Tamer scored eight of the team's 43 goals and posted three assists, while also firing a team-leading 47 shots with 26 on target and scoring three of the team's game-winning goals. U-M also graduated Emmry Tran, the team's leader in assists with six.
• The Wolverines added four freshmen to the squad in forward Tilly Gibson, midfielder Kate Huntzicker and defenders Kingsley Goldman and Lilly Mitchell, as well as junior midfielder Milaw Clause. Clause transferred to Michigan in the offseason after two years at UConn, starting 25 games before missing most of 2025 due to injury. The Stroudsburg, Pa., native registered two goals and six assists for the Huskies, earning 2024 NFHCA All-Midwest Region Second Team honors.
• This will be the second year of the Kristi Gannon Fisher era. The 2003 alum previously served as an assistant coach under Marcia Pankratz for nine total years. In Gannon Fisher's first year at the helm of the program, the Wolverines went 10-7 (4-4 Big Ten) for the program's 16th straight winning season.
• Last season, Michigan outscored its opponents, 43-26, including a 13-0 victory over Bellarmine in the home opener (Sept. 7) for the team's highest single-game goal output in 45 years. U-M held opponents to just eight goals off penalty corners, including three across two games against NCAA champion Northwestern, while allowing a conversion rate of just 10.5 percent (8-for-76).
• Abby Burnett, Kelsey Reviello and Hala Silverstein will serve as the 2026 team co-captains. The selection of captains is determined by a vote of the team, with all three serving as captains for the first time.
• The Maize and Blue open the 2026 slate with the No. 14 national ranking in the NFHCA preseason poll, released Tuesday (Aug. 25). Michigan is the fourth of five ranked Big Ten teams and will face eight teams ranked in the preseason poll.
