Jan. 18, 2005

Virginia field hockey student-athletes Katherine Blair (Louisville, Ky./Kentucky Country Day) and Mia Link (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) have been named to the USA Under-21 team as announced by USA Field Hockey after A Camp this weekend in Virginia Beach, Va. Blair was named to the team after A Camp last year, while this is Link's first tour of service with the national side.

Blair served as the starting keeper for the Junior Nationals in the summer of 2004 during the US Field Hockey Summer League Series and was in the cage as the Juniors won the title in strokes. She has previously served on the USA Under-19 team, winning a bronze medal at the 2002 Cal Cup.

Link earned third team All-American honors in 2004 after Link led Virginia in scoring with 15 goals and five assists, giving her 35 points on the year. She ranked among the national leaders all year long and had one of the highest point-production days of the year with a four-goal, two-assist performance in the Cavaliers' opener against Bucknell. Her 10-point performance is the second-highest single-game total in Virginia history. The next day Link scored a pair of goals against Appalachian State, and she was honored in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd for her performance on the week.

Link had two game-winning goals and a game-winning assist in 2004, including a reverse-stick chip shot in extra time against James Madison to help Virginia defeat the Dukes on the road. She played for the Philadelphia Fury in the 2004 Summer League.

The USA Under-21 Team is under the direction of legendary USA player Tracey Fuchs, the Junior Nationals Coach. The team will compete in the Junior Pan Am Games March 16-27 in San Juan, Puerto Rico as the Stars and Stripes looks to qualify for the Junior World Games which will take place in September 2005 in Santiago, Chile.

A Camp also marked the debut of new USA Technical Director of High Performance Terry Walsh, who assumed his role in December of 2004. Walsh was the coach of the Dutch men's team at the Olympics in Athens, leading the Netherlands to a silver medal. He is classified as a Master Coach by FIH.