The Virginia club field hockey team returned last weekend from James Madison with another title in hand: The team won the 2007 National Field Hockey League Championships.
Senior Nicole Debien, co-president and forward, said the Cavaliers were part of the league's Elite Eight that went to nationals at JMU. Debien noted the Cavaliers' regular season record of 8-2-1 secured them a spot at nationals.
Debien said the team's path to the championship included a rigorous weekend with constant competition.
"We had four games on Saturday," she said. "Then on Sunday was the semi-finals and then we went to the championships, and we played Delaware and beat them 1-0."
This wasn't the first title Virginia club field hockey has secured in recent memory; the team also won the NFHL Championships in 2005.
In order to achieve this kind of success, the team holds competitive auditions. Debien explained that the club is open to anyone who wants to join, though tryouts are held in the fall for the travel team, which consists of about 26 players.
Those who don't make the travel team are able to "sign up, practice with us, pay dues and ... come to all the social events," Debien said, adding that tryouts for the travel team are competitive. "We have about 60 to 70 girls come and try out and we only took about eight to 10 people who weren't returning."
Junior Laura Finley, vice president and defender, said one of the most striking things about the Cavaliers is how independent they are in competition.
"One of the biggest things is that we have no coach, so it is entirely self-motivated," she said. "This year we had a really great level of commitment, a focus on what we wanted to improve."
Finley added that the team's seven-member executive board took leadership roles in coaching the team all the way to the championship.
Because of this self-motivation, one of the notable aspects of nationals for Debien was winning against a formally coached team.
"Immediately after the [championship] game there was just pandemonium," Debien said. "We were playing the University of Delaware who has a coach and 30 or more girls. We coach ourselves and people on exec run practices, so it was just really cool to win when it is just about how much heart we have."
Finley said she attributes the team's success not only to athletic talent, but to the way the athletes get along on and off the field.
"We have a really good balance because we have a close team," Finley said. "There is a great team dynamic. We enjoy playing with each other."
Finley, who still has another fall season ahead of her, said she foresees similar success next season if everyone stays as committed to the team as they are now.
"We are retaining a lot of our really strong players, so hopefully people will stay committed and see some good results," Finley said. "Hopefully we'll be back at nationals next year"
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