Teams: Field Hockey: Press Releases

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

JUMBOS EARN NCAA TOURNAMENT BERTH, TO HOST NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE WEDNESDAY

MEDFORD -- Tufts coach Tina McDavitt was so anxious about her Tufts field hockey team earning an NCAA Tournament berth that she couldn't sleep. She's sleeping better now, as the Jumbos secured at at-large berth into the NCAA's on Sunday night.

The Jumbos (12-4) were one of 24 teams in the country selected to compete in the 2007 NCAA Division III Tournament. They will host New England College (14-6) in a first round game on Wednesday (Nov. 7) at Bello Field. Game time is 4:00. This is the team's first NCAA berth of McDavitt's five-year tenure, and the program's third overall.

Tufts enjoyed one of the best regular seasons in its history this fall. They finished 11-3, tying for the second-most wins in team history for a regular season. After defeating Wesleyan 1-0 in the first round of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) tournament, they were eliminated in the semi-final by Middlebury, 4-3 in overtime. Early in the season, Tufts had defeated Middlebury 3-1 for the program's first win against the Panthers in 22 years. They were also the only team to score a goal against #1 in the nation Bowdoin during the regular season.

Despite the conference semi-final loss, the Jumbos had more than enough to qualify for the NCAA's. The Jumbos finished second during the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) regular-season this fall with a 7-2 record. They were regulars in the STX/National Field Hockey Coaches Association national poll, where they are currently ranked 15th. They have scored more goals than any other team in 34 years of field hockey at Tufts with 46. Senior co-captain Ileana Casellas-Katz (Denmark, ME/Fryeburg Academy) set a new single-season record for goals with her 15th in the loss to Middlebury. They flat-out dominated in some games, and finished the season with a 327-98 advantage in shots over their opponents.

The Jumbos receive contributions from all four classes. That is best exemplified by the team's scoring leaders. Behind the senior Casellas-Katz comes junior Brittany Holiday (Wellesley, MA/Wellesley) with eight goals and an assist for 17 points, sophomore Michelle Kelly (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West) with seven goals and three assists for 17 points and first-year Tamara Brown (Annandale, VA/W.T. Woodson) with five goals and one assist for 11 points.

Additionally, seniors Jennie Williamson (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Subury) and Katie Pagos (Short Hills, NJ/Newark Academy) have started games in all four years for the Tufts program. Juniors Tess Jasinski (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park and River Forest) and Marlee Kutcher (Chevy Chase, MD/Bethesda-Chevy Chase), along with sophomores Margi Scholtes (Grosse Pointe, MI/Grosse Pointe South), Amanda Russo (Garden City, NY/Garden City) and Emma Kozumbo (Baltimore, MD/Bryn Mawr School), all start. First-year goalkeeper Katie Hyder (Winston-Salem, NC/Forsyth Country Day) has seven shutouts, and classmates Jess Perkins (Barrington, RI/Barrington) and Amanda Roberts (Wenham, MA/Exeter Academy) played regularly off the bench.

The winner of the Tufts vs. New England College NCAA game will travel to Salisbury University in Maryland for the second and third rounds next weekend (Nov. 10-11). The Salisbury Sea Gulls (18-1), ranked #2 in the country behind Bowdoin, received a first-round bye and will play either Tufts or NEC at 11:00 am on Saturday. #6 Christopher Newport University (16-2) also received one of the eight first-round byes. The winner of a Springfield College (19-3) versus King's College (15-4) first-round game will also head to Salisbury to play the Captains on Saturday at approximately 1:30 pm.

This is the third NCAA berth for Tufts field hockey overall. The Jumbos also went in 1995 and 1998 under Coach Carol Rappoli, now the coach of women's lacrosse at Tufts. In the 1990s, NESCAC did not have a post-season tournament and therefore did not earn automatic berths into the NCAA's. They were selected as at-large teams. In both years, Tufts traveled to play national powers from New Jersey. In 1995 the Jumbos lost 2-0 at Trenton State (now College of New Jersey) and in '98 they lost 1-0 at Rowan in overtime. Not only will the 2007 Jumbos host their first NCAA Tournament game on Wednesday, they are looking to both earn the program's first NCAA win and score its first goal in NCAA Tournament play.

2007 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament Bracket

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