Field Hockey Receives First-Ever NCAA Tournament Bid
11/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 6, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The seventh-ranked Michigan State field hockey team (15-5) earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament as the 16-team field was announced Tuesday night. The Spartans will play 11th-ranked Kent State (13-7) Saturday afternoon (Nov. 10) at 2 p.m. in Ann Arbor, Mich. The University of Michigan is one of four schools hosting the first and second rounds. MSU is one of three Big Ten schools that earned a bid to the tournament along with Michigan and Ohio State.
No. 7 Michigan (14-5) and No. 4 North Carolina (14-6) round out the four-team region in Ann Arbor, and will also play Saturday. The winner of the MSU-KSU game will meet the UNC-UM winner Sunday afternoon. The winner of the Ann Arbor region advances to the Final Four, hosted by Kent State University, Nov. 17-18 in Kent, Ohio.
"We are really excited about making the tournament," said MSU coach Michele Madison. "This was the No. 1 goal all season long, and the girls never lost focus. This team has been breaking records all season long, and we definitely would like to set some more this season. We are also happy that we're playing so close to home. The support will surely help us this weekend."
The Spartans defeated Kent State earlier in the season (Oct. 14), 3-2.
"Kent State is an excellent team, and will be ready to go," Madison continued. "They have the No. 2 scorer in the nation, but we'll be ready as well. I'm anticipating a very competitive game."
Michigan State earned the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, but fell to Iowa, 3-2 in double overtime in the semifinal round. MSU tied with Ohio State for its first Big Ten regular season championship. The 15 wins this season are second-most in school history, trailing only the 1979 team who had 17 wins.
Madison earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors this past weekend at the Big Ten Tournament, the first Spartan coach to the win the award. Forward Bridget Cooper (Sr., Winnetka, Ill.), who led the Big Ten in scoring in the regular season, was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and selected to first-team All-Big Ten. MSU had a total of four players selected on the All-Big Ten teams.
