Nov. 6, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest field hockey team, ranked second in the nation in the latest STX/NFHCA poll, will head to the University of Michigan for the first round of the NCAA Tournament which begins Saturday. The Deacons will meet Michigan State in a first round match. The winner will advance to face the winner of the Michigan-Ohio University match.

Saturday's match against Michigan State will start at 11 a.m. The second round match is slated for a 2 p.m. start on Sunday.

The 16 teams will participate at four first and second round sites including Ann Arbor, Mich., Storrs, Conn., College Park, Md., and Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Atlantic Coast Conference grabbed the top three national seeds with North Carolina earning the number one seed, Maryland the second seed and Wake Forest the three seed. Connecticut is the fourth national seed. The only team among the top four seeds not hosting is Wake Forest.

Wake Forest is a three-time national champion, claiming the national title in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The Deacons reached the semifinals in 2005 and were national runners-up in 2006. Wake lost to North Carolina 4-3 in the ACC Championship game on Sunday.

Michigan State is 16-5 on the year. The Spartans lost to Iowa in overtime in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament on Saturday.

The final four teams will meet at the University of Maryland. The semifinals are scheduled for Nov. 16 with the championship game on Nov. 18.

The complete tournament field follows:

Chapel Hill, N.C. #1 UNC vs Stanford; James Madison vs Duke

Storrs, Conn. #4 Connecticut vs Massachusetts; Iowa vs Boston University

Ann Arbor, Mich. #3 Wake Forest vs Michigan State; Michigan vs Ohio

College Park, Md. #2 Maryland vs Old Dominion; Penn State vs Virginia