Princeton field hockey's Julia '14 and Katie
'13 Reinprecht have become staples on the U.S. National Field Hockey team since
taking a year off from school to compete fulltime in 2011-12. The duo and
assistant coach Nate Franks '07, a performance analyst for Team USA, helped guide the
Americans to a first-place finish and a 4-0-1 record at the International
Hockey Federation's World League Round 2 tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
from Mar. 4-10.
After going nearly perfect at the tournament,
the U.S. will advance to the World League Round 3 in hopes of advancing to the
World Cup. The Hockey World League semifinal tournament will run from June
22-30 in a familiar playing location for Team USA in London. The Americans are
in Group A with Argentina, China and Italy. Group B features host-England,
Australia, South Africa and Spain.
"It's obviously
very exciting for this team to have placed first at World League 2 and qualify
for World League 3 in London," said Katie. "Qualifying for World League 3 was
our ultimate goal upon entering into the most recent tournament in Rio. While
we are very pleased to have qualified, we know our work does not end here as we
hope to get some positive results in June following World League 3."
At the Rio tournament, Katie scored in the
U.S.'s opening match, a 6-0 win over Brazil, while Julia was a stronghold on
the defensive line that tallied three shutout victories at the five-game
tournament.
Franks is a member of first-year U.S. head
coach Craig Parnham's staff.
