May 1, 2006

ROME, ITALY - - Kelly Doton and Claire Laubach, both former Wake Forest field hockey players, will travel with the USA women's national team to the World Cup this September. The two former Demon Deacon have spent the last two weeks at the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Rome, Italy, where Team USA compiled a 3-0-1 record.

The team's 4-2 victory over Azerbiajan combined with Korea's 5-3 win over New Zealand at the World Cup Qualifying Tournament guaranteed the USA a berth in the tournament semifinals and a ticket to the World Cup.

The USA joins Korea, Japan and England as four of the five teams to qualify for the World Cup from the qualifying tournament. The final World Cup spot will go to the tournament's 5th place team.

The World Cup is scheduled for Sept. 26 - Oct. 8 in Madrid.

Seven teams had previously qualified for the World Cup including Argentina, Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, South Africa, India and host Spain.

With its qualifying berth, the USA earned its straight seventh appearance in international field hockey's world championship event. The team's best-ever finish was a bronze medal performance in the 1994 edition of the quadrennial event.

The USA is currently 3-0-1 at the Qualifier with wins over New Zealand, host Italy and Azerbaijan and an opening game 1-1 draw with Ireland.

The USA concludes Pool B play at the Qualifier against Korea on Tuesday.