Aug. 21, 2006
Park Ridge, Ill. - The Big Ten was well-represented in the 2006 STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Preseason Poll with six of the seven conference institutions ranked among the top 20 in the country.
Penn State, which won the Big Ten title last year with an undefeated mark of 6-0, earned the No. 7 spot. Michigan followed in eighth place and Indiana was rated 10th. Iowa (No. 12), Ohio State (No. 15) and Michigan State (No. 16) rounded out the top 20, while Northwestern also received votes in the poll.
All seven programs will open non-conference action this Saturday. Indiana begins the 2006 season on the road against Virginia. Iowa and Michigan will compete in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Hawkeyes will take on Wake Forest, while the Wolverines will face host North Carolina on Saturday. Michigan State battles Delaware in the first round of the Champion's Invitational in Durham, N.C. Northwestern travels to Oxford, Ohio to take on Miami (Ohio) and Ohio State opens its 2006 slate at Boston College, while Penn State hosts Old Dominion. Last season, the conference qualified four teams (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State) for the 2005 NCAA Field Hockey Championship. The Big Ten has now sent at least three teams to the NCAA's in six of the last seven seasons (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005).
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