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UMW Field Hockey Checks in at 12th Nationally in NFHCA Preseason Poll

UMW Field Hockey Checks in at 12th Nationally in NFHCA Preseason Poll
Posted: Aug 30, 2016

CHANDLER, Ariz. – After winning the national championship in 2015, Middlebury will start the 2016 season as the top-ranked team in the country by earning the No. 1 spot in the preseason Penn Monto/NFHCA Division III Coaches Poll announced on Tuesday.

The Panthers accumulated 1,082 points and 39 first-place votes to receive the No. 1 ranking. The team the Panthers defeated in the national title game, Bowdoin, came in with the No. 2 ranking while totaling 1,066 points and 16 first-place votes. Both members of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), Bowdoin's only loss last season came against Middlebury in the NCAA title game after the Polar Bears had defeated the Panthers in the regular season as well as the conference tournament title game. The teams will face off at Middlebury on Sept. 24.

The College of New Jersey earned the No. 3 spot in the ranking, followed by Ursinus at No. 4 and Franklin & Marshall at No. 5. The rest of the top 10 included No. 6 William Smith, No. 7 Salisbury, No. 8 Messiah, No. 9 Wellesley and No. 10 Montclair State.

The remainder of the poll ranking included No. 11 Skidmore, No. 12 Mary Washington, No. 13 Tufts, No. 14 Christopher Newport, No. 15 Amherst, No. 16 Babson, No. 17 Rowan, No. 18 Rochester, No. 19 Catholic and No. 20 Mount Holyoke. View all of the point totals for the teams in the top 20 as well as the next five receiving votes in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division III Coaches Poll.

The 2016 season begins on Thursday, with the slate that day featuring No. 4 Ursinus at No. 17 Rowan and No. 8 Messiah hosting Shippensburg, the No. 6 team in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II Coaches Poll. Four games between top-20 squads are on tap for Saturday, including Ursinus hosting No. 6 William Smith in the first top-10 matchup of the year. Saturday's slate also includes Rowan at No. 5 Franklin & Marshall, No. 16 Babson at No. 11 Skidmore and No. 18 Rochester at No. 12 Mary Washington.

The next Penn Monto/NFHCA Division III Coaches Poll will be announced on Tuesday, September 13. The poll is voted on by NFHCA member coaches, and has no bearing on selection to the 2016 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship.