Wake Forest Earns Bid to the 2013 NCAA Tournament
11/10/2013 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 10, 2013
By Nick Sebesta, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeHockey)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - No. 15 Wake Forest earned an at-large bid into the 2013 NCAA Field Hockey tournament and will play No. 5 Old Dominion on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Chapel Hill, N.C at the University of North Carolina.
Wake Forest enters the tournament for the first time since the 2010 season with an 11-8 record and a 1-5 mark in the ACC. The Demon Deacons fell in a close 3-2 contest with No. 3 North Carolina on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Newton, Mass.
The Deacs and Monarchs will face each other for the first time since 2001. Old Dominion holds a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series.
The winner will advance to the second round of the tournament on Sunday at 2 p.m. North Carolina is the third seed in the tournament and will serve as the host. The Tar Heels will face the winner of the play-in game between Liberty and Delaware on Saturday.
Wake Forest has won three national titles in program history, claiming back-to-back-to-back crowns from 2002-04. The Deacs made the NCAA Tournament every season from 2000-2010 which included a run of nine-straight trips to the semifinals.
Old Dominion fell to No. 7 Connecticut 1-0 in overtime on Sunday in the Big East Championship. It snapped a 12-game winning streak for the Monarchs who come into Saturday's game with a 13-7 overall record.
Wake Forest is led by senior Taylor Rhea who has 16 goals on the season and junior Anna Kozniuk who has nine goals and five assists. Kozniuk was a first-team ACC selection while redshirt junior Christine Conroe was second team All-ACC. Goalkeeper Valerie Dahmen has 86 saves this season.
All seven teams in the ACC made the 19-team field of the NCAA Tournament. Wake Forest is one of eight teams to receive an at-large bid.
Old Dominion will host the semifinals and finals of the NCAA Championship on Nov. 22 and 24 at the L.R. Hill Complex in Norfolk, Va.
