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American Field Hockey Ranked Ninth on
National Ratings Percentage Index Poll
Ranking puts AU among top programs in the country

The AU field hockey team was ranked ninth on the final NCAA RPI poll.

Feb. 6, 2004

WASHINGTON – The American University field hockey team has been ranked ninth in the final 2003 NCAA Field Hockey Ratings Percentage Index. Coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history, this ranking marks the highest in school history.

The RPI has been used in field hockey since the fall of 1999. Supplementing the selection of at-large teams and the seeding in the NCAA tournament, they are calculated using the strength of schedule, the opponent’s strength of schedule and the win-loss record.

With the high RPI, the Eagles add to the multitude of honors and awards for the 2003-04 season, including junior Javiera Villagra (Santiago, Chile/Santiago) becoming the third AU field hockey player to be named a STX/NFHCA Division I All-America Team member, in addition to a member of the STX/NFHCA Division I All-Region First Team.

Joining Villagra on the All-Region team is freshman, Camila Infante (Santiago, Chile/Santiago College), who posted eight goals and 11 assists for the season, and was also honored as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

Culminating the Eagles awards, Head Field Hockey Coach Steve Jennings was recognized by his peers as the Dita/NFHCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and the Patriot League Coach of the Year after leading the team to the school’s first Patriot League Championship and NCAA berth.

Finishing the season with a 17-4 overall record, and a 6-0 Patriot League record, the Eagles’ RPI rating places them among the nation’s top teams.

2003 NCAA Ratings Percentage Index Top Ten:

1.Wake Forest University
2. Duke
3. Maryland
4. Michigan
5. Universtiy of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
6. Michigan State
7. Penn State
8. Old Dominion
9. American
10. Connecticut