Sumfest Named to United States U-19 Junior National Team

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Rachel Sumfest, an incoming freshman on the Virginia field hockey team, has been selected to the United States Under-19 Junior National Team, USA Field Hockey has announced.

“I am very excited for Rachel as this is something she has really worked hard for,” Virginia head coach Michele Madison said. “She will add more international experience to our roster, which already has a number of players who fit into that category.”

Selections to the U-19 Junior National Team were made following the Junior High Performance National Championships held this summer at Old Dominion University, where over 100 of the nation’s top players competed in their respective age groups.

Members from the U-19 Junior National Team will be invited to a training weekend at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., in early 2012. Based on that training session, rosters for upcoming international tours will be named.

The U-19 Junior National Team is scheduled to compete in Canada in 2012 for a four-game test series; dates for that event are still to be determined.

Sumfest joins six of her Cavalier teammates who have national team experience. Rising seniors Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese are current members of the United States National Team while Rachel Jennings toured Europe last spring with the U.S. U-21 squad. Rising sophomores Elly Buckley and Chloe Pendlebury each have experience competing for the Australian Junior National Team, while incoming freshman Jess Orrett has played for England’s U-16 and U-18 national teams.