Wake Forest Athletics
Two Former Deacs Named to U.S. Olympic Team
7/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
U.S. Olympic Team Roster Announcement | U.S. Olympic Team Schedule
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeHockey)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Two former Wake Forest student-athletes were named to the 2016 U.S. Women's Olympic Field Hockey Team, head coach Craig Parnham announced. Lauren Crandall and Michelle Kasold will both don the red, white and blue at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
A native of Doylestown, Pa., Crandall will be competing in the Olympics for the third time. Crandall played for the Deacs from 2003-06 and started in all but one of her 86 appearances in Winston-Salem. Now playing as a defender, she competed as a midfielder during her collegiate career and earned back-to-back spots on the NFHCA First Team All-American squads in 2005 and 2006. Crandall also guided Wake Forest to NCAA titles in 2003 and 2004, as well as a runner-up finish in 2006.
Kasold played for the Deacons from 2005-08 and is the school's all-time leader in both career assists (60) and assists in a single season (30 in 2008). The Chapel Hill, N.C. native started 92 contests and sits in fourth in program history with 51 total goals. She was a three-time NFHCA First Team All-American and earned spots on the All-ACC squad from 2006-08.
Both Crandall and Kasold played for Wake Forest head coach Jennifer Averill, who enters her 25th season with the school this fall.
The U.S., ranked fifth in the world, kicks off Olympic competition on Aug. 6 against second-ranked Argentina. Joining the United States and Argentina in Pool B are No. 3 Australia, No. 7 Great Britain, No. 10 Japan and No. 13 India. Pool play continues through Aug. 13. Quarterfinals are on Aug. 15, semifinals on Aug. 17 and the gold medal contest will take place on Aug. 19.
The squad will be looking to improve upon a 12th-place finish at the 2012 London Olympics and an eighth-place finish at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A gold medal would be the team's first in 32 years since the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
