LEXINGTON, Va. - The Washington and Lee field hockey team is predicted to win its fourth Old Dominion Athletic Conference title after claiming 61 points in the annual ODAC Preseason Poll announce on Tuesday afternoon. 

Receiving six of the eight possible first place votes, the 2021 ODAC Champions are predicted to repeat the success in Head Coach Gina Wills eighth season leading the Generals on W&L Turf Field. 

Undefeated in the regular season, W&L boasted a perfect 18-0 record before falling to Rowan in the NCAA Regional Final.

2022 ODAC FIELD HOCKEY COACHES' POLL

1. Washington and Lee University (6) 61 pts.
2. University of Lynchburg (1) 56 pts.
3. Shenandoah University (2) 53 pts.
4. Roanoke College 42 pts.
5. Randolph-Macon College 38 pts.
6. Bridgewater College 28 pts.
7. Eastern Mennonite University 19 pts.
8. Virginia Wesleyan University 18 pts.
9. Ferrum College 9 pts.

NATIONAL POLL

The Blue and White broke into the 2021 NFHCA National Coaches Poll in the third week of the season at No. 16. Washington and Lee cracked the top-10 in the final poll finishing ninth. 

The NFHCA will release the 2022 Pre-Season Poll on August 30. 

SCHEDULE RECAP

The Blue and White open up on Thursday, September 1, at 4 p.m. on the road at Johns Hopkins and just three days later will host the first game at home, a 3 p.m. contest against Sweet Briar. 

No. 2 Hopkins, the 2021 national runner-up, owns a 15-1 lifetime record over the Generals. The last matchup, a 2-1 defeat, came in 2019 in Lexington. 

Following the Sunday afternoon contest, W&L spends the next weekend on the road, a trip to Kentucky, with a September 10 game at Transylvania and at Centre the next day at noon. 

Dickinson, No. 17 Christopher Newport, Kenyon and Mary Washington round out the non-conference slate. 

The Generals host Ferrum on October 1, Young Alumni Weekend, at noon for the ODAC opener. 

Washington & Lee travels to Lynchburg for a rematch of the 2021 ODAC Tournament Finals on Wednesday, October 5. 

The field hockey seniors will be honored on Saturday, October 15 at 1 p.m. as the Generals take on Virginia Wesleyan. 

The final regular season home game comes on Wednesday, October 26 at 7 p.m. against Shenandoah University

The University of Lynchburg and Shenandoah received votes in the 2021 final coaches poll.

The 2022 ODAC Tournament kicks off on Tuesday November 1. 

The NCAA Division III National Championship is being played at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey over the weekend of November 19-20.  

Note: The above rankings are based on the final Penn Monto/NFHCA 2021 National Coaches Poll found here.

KEY RETURNERS

The Blue and White return a strong core for the 2022 season headlined by NFHCA All-American and ODAC Offensive Player of the year, Tess Muneses (Howard County, Md./Glenelg). Classmate and co-captain Kailey Fitzgerald (Chevy Chase, Md./Georgetown Visitation) garnered all-region and First Team All-ODAC honors. 

Muneses ranked in the top-5 ODAC finishers in assists (nine) and points (37). Her 14 goals and nine assists led Washington and Lee's attack during the 2021 campaign. Muneses, like Fitzgerald, claimed All-America and All-Region recognition

Freddie Tobeason (New York, New York) will continue to enable the offense to fire on all cylinders, scoring 15 goals and five assists in her third year on the W&L Turf Field. 

The Generals offense commended respect atop the ODAC in nearly all of the team statistic categories: shots (468), goals (89), goals per game (4.7).

TEAM CAPTAINS

NEW FACES ON STAFF

2021 ODAC Coach of the Year, Wills, announced the addition of two coaches to the staff this summer. Blaine Donnelly joined the field hockey staff as an assistant coach and Katherine Berman '22 will be a familiar face on the sideline, but with a whistle and clipboard rather than uniform. 

Donnelly comes to W&L after having spent the last year as the Assistant Field Hockey Coach & Recruiting Coordinator at Oberlin College. In her role, Donnelly constructed scouting reports, conducted 1-on-1 individual practice and film sessions, wrote all practice plans and specifically worked with the forwards and goalkeepers. As the Recruiting Coordinator, Donnelly also attended NFHCA and USAFH recruiting tournaments and brought in the largest recruiting class for the program in recent years.

Prior to her time at Oberlin, Donnelly spent a season as the assistant coach for the Lebanon Valley College field hockey team, where she led team and 1-on-1 film sessions and assisted the head coach with all day-to-day operations.

Donnelly earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management and Sport Management at Wittenberg University, where she was also a four-year letter-winner on the field hockey team. On the field, Donnelly tallied the sixth-most goals in Wittenberg program history (46) and also finished tied for the sixth most points in program history (103). Donnelly was a two-year team captain, four-time All-NCAC and two-time all-region selection, and she was also named the 2015-16 SAAC Newcomer of the year.

Katherine Berman '22 returns the Blue and White on the sideline for the 2022 season while enrolled in the Washington & Lee Law School. 

A four-year letterwinner, Berman was named Second Team All-ODAC as a senior defender, helping lead the Generals to 11 shutouts, the programs fourth ODAC Championship in program history, an NCAA Regional Finals appearance and 18-1 record. 

The Houston, Texas native served as a captain during her final season and will assist Coach Gina Wills on the defensive side of the ball as W&L looks to repeat at the top of the ODAC.