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2007 Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament Preview
Oct. 30, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
Ohio State plays host to the 2007 Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament from Nov. 1-4, at North Turf Field in Columbus, Ohio. This will be the fourth time that OSU has hosted the tournament. Michigan claimed the top seed in the tournament after earning its sixth Big Ten Championship in program history and first outright Big Ten title since 2002. Michigan clinched the title on Oct. 21 in its win over Northwestern. The Wolverines were a perfect 6-0 in conference play and finished with an overall record of 14-5. Michigan has won the Big Ten Tournament four times and has posted 14 wins in the event. The school earned its last tournament championship in 2005. With a season finale win over Iowa, Michigan State claimed the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Spartans finished the conference season with a 5-1 record and 14-4 overall. Michigan State's only Big Ten loss came at the hands of the Wolverines on Oct. 3. In last year's tournament, the Spartans were the No. 7 seed and pulled off a 2-1 upset of No. 2 Indiana before falling to No. 3 Penn State. The Spartans have won the tournament two times in program history in back-to-back years in 2002 and 2003. Michigan State was the No. 2 seed in both championship runs. With the loss to the Spartans, Iowa will be the No. 3 seed in this year's tournament. The Hawkeyes are the defending champions after winning the 2006 Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament. Iowa finished the regular season with a 14-3 record overall and a 4-2 mark in conference play. Iowa's three losses were all to ranked opponents - No. North Carolina on Aug. 26, No. 12 Michigan on Sept. 21 and No. 7 Michigan State on Oct. 27. As a No. 3 seed, Iowa is 4-1 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament, including a 3-0 record in 1994 when the Hawkeyes won the championship as a three seed.
No. 4 Penn State will battle No. 5 Ohio State in first round action. The game will be a rematch of last weekend's season finale as Penn State took the win over OSU, 1-0. The win gave PSU a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten standings, ending the conference season with a 3-3 record. The Nittany Lions were 12-6 overall on the season and finished runner-up in the 2006 tournament. Tournament host Ohio State finished the conference year with a 2-4 record and a 6-11 tally overall. The last time a tournament host won the Big Ten Field Hockey Tournament was in 2000 when Michigan took the title in Ann Arbor. |
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