Richmond The Top Seed For The 2009 Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Championship

Richmond, Saint Joseph's, Temple and Massachusetts make up the field

Sarah Blythe-Wood, Richmond

Nov. 1, 2009

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The University of Richmond earned the top seed for the 2009 Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Championship, which gets underway on Fri., Nov. 6, at Garber Field on the campus of the University of Massachusetts. It was the sixth time overall that Richmond earned the No. 1 seed and first time since 2006.

The Spiders (11-8/5-1) will take on fourth-seeded Massachusetts (12-8/3-3), the defending A-10 Champions, while No. 2 Saint Joseph's (7-10/4-2) squares off against third-seeded Temple (8-11/4-2). Saint Joseph's defeated Temple during regular season play to secure the second seed.

Vying for its sixth A-10 crown in eight years, Richmond enters the Championship having won seven of its last nine matches. The Spiders are led by senior midfielder Sarah Blythe-Wood who paces the Conference in goals scored (19) and total points (45).

Saint Joseph's is seeking its first A-10 Championship title since 1995 after reaching the finals in 2007. Temple last captured the crown in 1994 and its last appearance in the title game came in 2003.

Massachusetts, which was ranked as high as ninth this season by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA), is looking for its third straight tournament title.

The Championship commences on Friday, Nov. 6, with Richmond taking on UMass at 12:30pm, while the Temple-Saint Joseph's semifinal will begin at 3:00pm. The finals of the 2009 A-10 Championship will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 3:00pm.

The winner will face the champion of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in a NCAA play-in game to advance to the 2009 NCAA Field Hockey Championship.

Live audio and video streaming of the Championship will be available for $7.95 per day. Annual subscribers to All-Access for the four A-10 teams participating in the Championship and XXL annual subscribers will be able to view the action at no charge.

For complete coverage of the 2009 Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Championship, including live video streaming of all three contests, log on to www.atlantic10.org.