June 29, 2007

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Five current and former North Carolina field hockey players have been named to the 2007-08 U.S. National Team, announced recently by USA Field Hockey. The roster includes Kate Barber, Rachel Dawson, Katelyn Falgowski, Carrie Lingo and Amy Tran, all of whom are veterans of the squad. The selections followed a week of play at the USA National Championships in Virginia Beach.

All five Tar Heels also have been named to the 16-player U.S. roster for the Pan Am Games, scheduled for July 15-28 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Barber will be competing in the Games for the third time, while Lingo and Tran will make their second trips.

Barber (UNC 1994-97) and Lingo (UNC 1999-2001) are longtime national team members and the only players on the U.S. roster with more than 100 caps, Barber with 178 and Lingo with 111. Tran (1999-2002) is the starting goalkeeper for the team and has 68 caps. Dawson and Falgowski are two of only four players on the U.S. roster who are still playing for college teams. Dawson will be a senior for the Tar Heels in 2007 and Falgowski will be a freshman. (The others are Wake Forest's Michelle Kasold and Maryland's Katie O'Donnell.) Both Dawson and Falgowski have been National Team starters and have 44 and 33 caps, respectively.

The winner of the Pam Am Games title earns an automatic berth in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Teams placing second through sixth will earn spots in one of three Olympic Qualifying Tournaments to be held in early 2008. UNC, the No. 2 seed in the Pan Am Games, has earned four silver medals (1987, 1995, 1999 and 2003) and a bronze (1991) at the competition. Argentina has won all five previous Pan Am Games. The U.S. opens play on July 17 against Netherlands Antilles.

In addition to the National Team and Pan Am Games rosters, USA Field Hockey announced a nine-member developmental squad that includes Jesse Gey, a rising senior on the North Carolina squad. Developmental athletes can be called up for training sessions or other competition opportunities with the National Team.