Nov. 11, 2003

2003 NCAA Field Hockey Bracket in PDF Format
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina will open play in the 2003 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament Saturday against sixth-ranked Michigan in East Lansing, Mich. The top four teams in the field of 16 are seeded and UNC, 16-5 and ranked fourth in the nation, was seeded fourth in the bracket, announced Tuesday evening.

Host Michigan State, the Big Ten Champion and No. 5 team in the country, will face unranked Louisville in the site's other first-round game Saturday with the winners meeting on Sunday for a trip to the NCAA Championships Nov. 21 and 23 in Amherst, Mass.

The Tar Heels, who received an at-large bid, return to the field after a one-year absence. Last season, UNC finished 9-11 and missed out on postseason play.

"We're excited to play in the tournament, especially after missing the opportunity last year," UNC coach Karen Shelton said. "As this point in the season, there are no easy games for anyone. We're just going to pack our bags, pack our long underwear and go up there to do the best we can."

The matchup will be the second of the season for UNC and Michigan (15-5). The teams met Aug. 31 in Ann Arbor, Mich., to open the season with a game Carolina won 4-0. They also met in UNC's last NCAA appearance, when the Tar Heels lost 5-2 at Michigan in the first round of the 2001 Tournament.

The weekend's games will be played at MSU Field Hockey Complex (capacity 1,000). Times are to be announced.

The Tar Heels are one of four Atlantic Coast Conference teams to receive at-large bids to the tournament. (With only five teams, the league does not get an automatic bid.) Wake Forest earned the field's top seed and will travel to Storrs, Conn., to face Boston College in the first round. Duke, the No. 2 seed, will host American, with Old Dominion meeting Richmond in the other first-round game in Durham, N.C. Maryland, the No. 3 seed, will host California. All eight first-round games will be played on Saturday, with all four second-round games on Sunday.

Carolina, which is making its 20th appearance in the NCAA field, is the winner of four national titles, in 1989, 1995, 1996 and 1997. The Tar Heels have finished as the NCAA runner-up on five occasions, most recently in 2000.