June 27, 2003

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Six former North Carolina field hockey players have been named to the U.S. teams for the upcoming Women's Champions Challenge and the Pan American Games. Kate Barber, Carrie Lingo, Kristen McCann, Peggy Storrar, Amy Tran and Abbey Woolley earned spots on the rosters for both events.

The Champions Challenge is scheduled for July 5-13 in Catania, Italy, and includes the six teams ranked seventh through 12th in the world. Joining the ninth-ranked U.S. team in the field is No. 7 Germany, No. 8 Spain, No. 10 Japan, No. 11 New Zealand and host Italy.

Storrar, the team's starting goalkeeper, heads into the Challenge with 96 international appearances and could earn her 100th cap during the competition. Barber is just behind her in experience with 93 caps. Among those close to reaching the 50-cap milestone are Lingo (44 caps) and McCann (48 caps). Tran heads to Italy with six caps and Woolley, who will be making her first appearance at a major international event, has four.

The six Tar Heels make up a third of the 18-player roster for the Champions Challenge and are an even more dominating presence on the 16-player Pan Am Games roster. That competition is set for Aug. 2-13 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and the winner of the eight-team tournament earns a spot in the field for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

The U.S. will play in Pool B at the Pan Am Games, along with Canada, Jamaica, Uruguay. Pool A includes world-champion Argentina, Chile, Trinidad & Tobago and the Dominican Republic. The Pam Am Games trip will be the second for Barber and Storrar, who were members of the squad in 1999. Lingo, McCann, Tran and Woolley will make their first appearances.