Katherine Blair and Mia Link are becoming quite a well-known duo on the national and international field hockey stage.
Most recently, the two led the Maryland Thundersticks to first place in the USFHA High Performance National Championship. The tournament -- which took place from June 28-July 4 in Virginia Beach -- pitted the top field hockey players from around the country against each other.
Blair and Link -- both seniors at Virginia -- also played together in the Junior Pan Am games in March, 2005 and at the Junior World Hockey Cup in September, 2005.
"It's great to have someone to do that with," Link said. "Just the support we can give each other -- it makes it more fun to have your best friends with you at these huge tournaments."
The tournament consisted of six teams composed of different regions: South, Maryland, New Jersey/Pennsylvania, Midwest, New England and North Carolina. The Maryland team compiled 10 points on a 3-1-1 record, finishing second to South in round-robin play.
In the national championship, Maryland downed South 4-2. Blair started the match in goal and recorded nine saves in the victory. Link also started the game for the Tundersticks. For the tournament, Link tallied three goals.
Thundersticks and University of Maryland assistant coach Tjerk van Herwaarden was impressed with Blair's steady play in the cage. Maryland rallied to beat South in the final despite dropping the round-robin match 2-0.
"She knows how to organize her defense, and in the crucial moments in the past three games, she stood up and played really well," van Herwaarden said. "I also think her experience makes it easier for her to step up in the right moments."
Blair will be a fifth-year senior at Virginia in the fall.
For Link, the chance to take part in the tournament was more than just a good summer training opportunity. On July 4, the Jenkintown, Penn. native was named to the USA Developmental Squad. The group will train for four days in July in preparation for the Four Nations Tournament, to be held in College Park, MD and Virginia Beach.
"Mia has awkward skills, and I mean that in a positive sense," Thundersticks and University of Maryland assistant coach Tjerk van Herwaarden said. "There's no one I've ever seen play the same way as Mia. Her skills are very hard to read for any defense. She's able to get around them, she's able to elude her defender and after that she has great scoring vision."
Blair and Link are among six returning seniors to the Cavaliers' field hockey program that limped to an 8-11 record and went winless in ACC competition in 2005. The team lost its last five games of the regular season, getting outscored 11-2 in those games.
With nationally recognized players such as Blair and Link returning and a new coach taking over in Michelle Madison, Virginia has high hopes for the upcoming fall season. The Cavaliers open against Indiana on August 26 at Turf Field in Charlottesville.
"Expectations are very high," Link said. "We have a great coaching staff and we have great players coming in. We've had a great offseason with our new coach to prepare for the new season."
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