Defending national champion North Carolina has been selected to repeat as ACC field hockey champion in a vote of the league’s seven head coaches.
The Tar Heels are coming off a perfect 2018 season in which they posted a 23-0 overall record, captured the program’s seventh NCAA field hockey title and claimed the ACC championship for the second consecutive season. UNC received six first-place votes and amassed 48 total points in this year’s coaches’ preseason vote.
Duke earned one first-place vote and placed second with 43 total points, followed by Virginia (29), Louisville (25), Syracuse (18), Boston College (17) and Wake Forest (16).
Duke led all schools with three players recognized on the preseason All-ACC team, while North Carolina and Virginia each had two players selected. The preseason All-ACC team includes three All-America selections from last season – first-teamers Erin Matson of North Carolina and Margaux Paolino of Duke, and second-teamer Mercedes Pastor of Louisville.
ACC teams have won 19 of the 38 NCAA field hockey titles, including 12 of the last 17, and at least one ACC squad has advanced to the national championship game in 19 of the last 20 years. Four ACC teams earned bids to the 2018 NCAA Field Hockey Championship, marking the sixth consecutive year that the field included at least four ACC teams.
The ACC’s 2019 field hockey season officially gets underway Friday Aug. 30, with all seven league teams set to play non-conference matches.
2019 ACC Field Hockey Predicted Order of Finish
1. North Carolina (6) – 48
2. Duke (1) – 43
3. Virginia – 29
4. Louisville – 25
5. Syracuse – 18
6. Boston College – 17
7. Wake Forest – 16
(First-place votes)
2019 Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team
Fusine Govaert, Jr., M, Boston College
Margaux Paolino, Sr., M, Duke
Jillian Wolgemuth, Sr., B, Duke
Sammi Steele, Sr., G, Duke
Mercedes Pastor, Jr., M, Louisville
Yentl Leemans, Sr., M, North Carolina
Erin Matson, So., F, North Carolina
Claire Webb, Sr., B, Syracuse
Rachel Robinson, Jr., M, Virginia
Amber Ezechiels, So., B, Virginia
Anne van Hoof, Jr., B, Wake Forest
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Chris Graham
