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NCAA championship tournaments are usually jammed with teams trying to become the last one left.

The men's Division I basketball tournaments starts with 65. The Division III women's soccer tournament begins with 63 teams.

But field hockey is different. The field is much, much smaller with only 80 Division I programs across the country.

Just 16 teams make up the NCAA tournament, which starts today.

The winner will be crowned next Sunday at Kentner Stadium at Wake Forest University.

"There are a lot of field hockey teams and to have just 16 spots is very challenging," said Ohio State senior Melissa Hunter, an Ocean City High School graduate. "Anyone that makes one of 16 spots is very lucky. It's very competitive. Everyone crowds around a little computer and is sweating bullets because you're so nervous. You're never positive you are going to get in unless you won (the conference) tournament."

Hunter is one of four local women competing in the NCAA Division I tournament. The others include her sister Rachel Hunter, also at Ohio State, Ocean City graduate Kim Kryzk, who plays for Connecticut, and Egg Harbor Township graduate Erika Wachter at Syracuse.

Although the field to select from is smaller, it's still difficult to get in to the tournament since half of the spots go to at-large teams that did not get the automatic bids that come with winning a conference tournament.

"It makes me proud that people from our area are succeeding in the next level," said Wachter, a redshirt freshman with one goal in nine games. "I played all three (locals) in the regular season. EHT and Ocean City always had a rivalry. Seeing them at the next level and having that competition again was great for everyone."

Syracuse (17-3) will face Boston College (13-6) at Princeton at 2 p.m. Ohio St. (13-6) visits third-seeded North Carolina (16-2) at 11:30 a.m. Both Syracuse and Ohio State got at-large bids.

UConn (19-2) won the Big East, defeating Syracuse in the final. The Huskies play Drexel (18-3) at top-seeded Maryland at 2 p.m., and could see the Orange later in the tournament.

Connecticut and Syracuse could meet in a national semifinal, where Ohio St. would only see Syracuse or UConn in the national championship.

"That would be awesome," said junior forward Rachel Hunter when she thought of the prospect of meeting UConn in the final. "It's always fun when you get a chance to face someone you played with in high school."

All three teams have a tough bracket, but none probably more difficult than UConn. If the Huskies move out of the first round, they will likely face undefeated Maryland, which has won the national title three of the last four years.

Initially, UConn was concerned about Maryland, but players quickly wiped away that fear. They remembered last weekend where they won the Big East title despite losing six starters from last year's team.

"We started thinking about the opportunity to knock off the first seed," said Kryzk, who has 16 assists. "We thought we could show people what UConn field hockey really is. If we beat Maryland, then everyone will be scared to play us."

If any of the locals should end up playing each other, they will think about the national title first.

The high school memories and catching up will have to wait.

"On the field, you're my enemy. It's tough sometimes, but when the whistle blows you're friends again," Melissa Hunter said. "It's a challenge, but fun at the same time."

Contact Susan Lulgjuraj:

609-272-7187

slulgjuraj@pressofac.com

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