The Fanatic Magazine - A student-run sports magazine for the UVA fanatic

Uncertainty Is A Terrible Thing

Written by Administrator

Saturday, 28 October 2006

Uncertainty is a terrible thing.

Just ask the Virginia field hockey team. Virginia has not reached the postseason since 2001 and despite a No. 10 ranking and a 12-5 record; the girls are still unsure if they will even be in the NCAA tournament going into the final week of the regular season.

Why the uncertainty? Answer: a 1-3 mark in the ACC. The ACC has proven itself to be far and above the best conference in the country. All six ACC schools that have a field hockey team are currently in the top 10, including Maryland and
Wake Forest who own a combined record of 33-2.

The problem lies in the fact that there are only eight at large bids available for the tournament after conference champions are crowned. This means that unless Virginia wins the ACC tournament, the committee would have to take all 6 ACC teams for the Cavaliers to get an at-large berth, only leaving three spots for every other conference in the country.

This means that things will not be any easier this week when Virginia must go down to Durham and try to take down the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils in their regular season finale. A win could cement Virginia as a postseason contender; a loss would put an immense amount of pressure on the Cavaliers in the ACC tournament.

Virginia knew that wins would be tough to come by in the ACC and that is why they looked to new coach Michele Madison to take over. Madison, the long time Michigan State coach, built the program up from scratch. She is a proven winner and has already improved Virginia’s program immensely.

In just her first year as coach Virginia has achieved its highest ranking in the history of the sport and has picked up a season resume-building victory over North Carolina. The Cavaliers had a chance to truly lock up a spot in the tournament against Wake Forest, but could not get the goal in overtime that they so desperately wanted.

The problem has been getting the team to play consistently. Despite tremendous wins there have been disappointments too. Losing to the Boston Terriers and the Old Dominion Monarchs are simply games that the team wishes they could have back, especially when it comes time to select teams for the NCAA tournament.

Still, Madison has a great mix of talented players. Freshman midfielder Traci Ragukas, in particular, was a late addition to the Cavalier roster and her 15 goals makes her one of the top scorers in the country.

Sophomore back Inge Kaars Sijpesteijn is from the Netherlands, a place where almost all the top field hockey players come from, and is currently second on the team in points. She is a very aggressive player on both sides of the ball.

There is also a great deal of senior leadership with six seniors all receiving major playing time. Senior midfielder Mia Link has proven to be one of the most consistent players on the team, evidenced by her 75 career points. This season has to be especially sweet for her considering her team never had a winning record prior to this year’s campaign.

All of these things add up to one thing: Virginia will be a dangerous playoff team

All of these things add up to one thing: Virginia will be a dangerous playoff team Quotation

. They have a number of different options on offense, their defensive intensity seems to be improving each and every game, and they appear to be a mentally tough team. The Cavaliers may be poised to do great things in the postseason.

They just hope they get the chance.