UPEI field hockey squad full of new faces

As a result of the recruiting efforts of current players, the UPEI women's field hockey team has at least ten new faces for the upcoming season. Eight PEI high school graduates and two first-year university students from off-Island are making UPEI their field hockey home this fall.

Head coach, Sheila Bell said, 'For the past four years, UPEI field hockey players have made an excellent effort to recruit PEI high school players. They have taught the National School Program, coached at a number of junior and senior high schools, and umpired a large number of PEISAA games-activities which have all influenced our recruits.' Due to this involvement and ‘playing it forward', UPEI has collected a group that includes PEISAA League All Stars, Tournament All Stars, MVPs and provincial champions.

The eight first-year players from PEI are Hillary Waugh from Three Oaks Senior High School; Michelle Clow from Bluefield High School; Jenna MacLellen, Victoria Leard, and Marcellaine Collings from Montague Regional High School; and Vanessa French, Eliza MacLaughlan, and Stephanie MacKinnon from Charlottetown Rural High School.

MacLauchlan, from the PEISAA championship-winning Charlottetown Rural squad, was a PEISAA League All Star and the PEISAA Provincial Tournament MVP for 2010. She said, 'I am extremely excited about attending UPEI and playing for the Field Hockey Panthers! I played with a number of UPEI players at the nationals in Victoria and that was a great experience.'

Also joining the Panthers will be first-year players, Nicole Babineau from Riverview, New Brunswick and Kristy Wu from, Calgary, Alberta. Wu played with the Alberta senior women's team that competed at the nationals earlier this summer.

Having won five AUS championships in the last six years, UPEI hopes this combination of new and former players will lead to further success regionally, and on to the OUA Championships. They will get their first chance to play as a team when they attend the McGill Field Hockey Tournament, August 27 to 29. 'If you want to compete at a higher level, the team must play OUA teams whenever possible, and this tourney provides that opportunity,' stated team manager Barb Carmichael.

Even with a solid start on the 2010 roster, the field hockey team welcomes all players to attend tryouts in September. Contact Carmichael at bcarmichael@eastlink.ca for more information.