NCAA FIELD HOCKEY SWEET SIXTEEN SET TO BATTLE ON ASTROTURF

Defending NCAA Champion Maryland To Defend Title

(NORFOLK, Virginia) - Saturday’s NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championships are set to begin on Saturday and the Sweet Sixteen promises no shortage of fireworks.

Top-ranked North Carolina (20-1) faces Stanford (16-6).  Number two Princeton (17-1), will play Drexel (15-6).  Third-ranked University of Connecticut (18-2) plays Northeastern.  Fourth-ranked Penn State (17-3) will take on Albany (13-7).

Other matchups include Michigan (15-6) taking on Old Dominion University, Syracuse (17-2) facing the University of Massachusetts (15-8), Lafayette (17-2) playing defending champion Maryland (16-5), and Virginia (15-5) against Iowa (14-6).

For the second year in a row, 15 of the 16 teams in the field play their home games on AstroTurf, the world’s leading surface for field hockey.

AstroTurf 12 systems were first used in an international field hockey event in 1975 in Montreal.  The same field hosted the Olympics in 1976.

AstroTurf surfaces were also used in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and 2008 Olympics in Beijing.  The AstroTurf System 12 has also seen play in the Pan Am games, World Cup and numerous other field hockey events.  The U.S. National team trains on AstroTurf in Chula Vista, California, and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

AstroTurf System 12 pitches are made of a short-pile, knitted nylon product which conforms to the sport’s need for high degrees of planarity, extremely tight tolerances, and sophisticated drainage systems.  AstroTurf System 12 pitches provide uniform traction and consistent footing.  The fibers are UV-resistant, have a low-glare surface, and reduce the need for watering and maintenance costs.  AstroTurf has the most extensive research and development department in the world dedicated to bringing the next generation of field hockey systems. 

If there is any doubt about the benefits of AstroTurf in developing a superior team, just look at the combined records of the teams in this year’s Sweet Sixteen.  The overall record of the teams in 2012 is 253-71.  That’s a winning percentage of .719.

“AstroTurf definitely plays a role in building better teams,” said Pam Hixon, Field Hockey Ambassador for AstroTurf, and a Hall of Famer who is one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history.  “We’re proud to have been a part in helping build winning traditions at these fine schools.”

Jeff Graydon, Associate Athletic Director for Facilities at number two ranked Princeton University believes in the AstroTurf playing surface and its ability to help teams. 

“We wanted to create a consistent surface that gives the team with the highest skill level the best opportunity to win,” said Graydon.  “A poor surface is a great equalizer, and a great field provides high level play with an advantage.  That’s what the AstroTurf system gives us.”

The field hockey playing surface is a source of pride and a valuable tool to each field hockey program in the tournament.

“We consider our AstroTurf field to be one of the top practice and game facilities in the country,” according to third-ranked UConn head coach Nancy Stevens.  “We have had several visiting teams install the same field after playing at Connecticut.  There can be no better endorsement.”

Over the past 31 years, every team that has won the NCAA Championship at the Division I level has played its home games on AstroTurf.  Twenty-seven of those championships are held by teams in this year’s Sweet Sixteen.  Old Dominion University has nine, Maryland has eight, North Carolina has six, UConn has two, and Iowa and Michigan have one each.

The NCAA Championships are played at a set location each year and there has never been an NCAA Championship that wasn’t won on an AstroTurf playing surface.  This year’s semi-finals and championship games are being hosted by Old Dominion University at the Powhatan Sports Complex on the ODU campus in Norfolk, Virginia.

News and information on the tournament can be found on the NCAA’s website at http://www.ncaa.com/sports/fieldhockey/d1.

PRINCETON FIELD HOCKEY GETS NEW ASTROTURF SURFACE

(PRINCETON, New Jersey) - The Princeton Tigers field hockey team is getting an all-new, custom-designed synthetic turf surface from AstroTurf.

The previous AstroTurf surface, which served the field hockey team, as well as the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, is due to be replaced.  The lacrosse teams have their own dedicated infilled field and, through the generosity of Princeton alumni, the field hockey team will have a dedicated AstroTurf surface designed specifically for the unique needs of high level field hockey.

The Bedford Field construction is the first step of a phased construction project which includes new lighting, grandstands for 1,500 spectators, new team rooms, and improved concessions.

“Working with the fiber, coatings, urethane technical team at AstroTurf, we have created a system which we believe will become the product that meets the challenge set by the FIH (International Hockey Federation) to retain water while providing the most consistent surface for play anywhere,” said Jeff Graydon, Princeton’s Associate Athletic Director for Facilities.  “We considered alternate systems and compared the AstroTurf 12JG with other systems.  Our 17-year relationship with AstroTurf convinced us that they don’t follow a one-size-fits-all approach.  They were willing to work with us to meet our specific needs.  This willingness, coupled with our experience, made AstroTurf the obvious choice for an improved product at Princeton."

AstroTurf is the preferred system for field hockey teams around the world.  AstroTurf 12 systems were first used in an international field hockey event in 1975 in Montreal.  The same field hosted the Olympics in 1976.  

AstroTurf surfaces were also used in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and 2008 Olympics in Beijing.  The AstroTurf 12 system has also seen play in the Pan Am games, World Cup and numerous other field hockey events.  The U.S. National team trains on AstroTurf in Chula Vista, California, and Virginia    Beach, Virginia.  

Princeton’s Bedford Field will be lined with metric lines, making Bedford one of the few fields in the U.S. meeting the FIH metric line standard. This allows Princeton to host international events of any level. 

At the NCAA level, since AstroTurf was first used for competition, there has never been an NCAA Division I Championship that was not played on the surface.  At the 2011 NCAA Championships, 15 of 16 teams in the field play their home games on AstroTurf.

The Princeton system, which is tentatively being called AstroTurf 12JG, offers a few differences designed to maximize performance and playability.

“We wanted to create a consistent surface that gives the team with the highest skill level the best opportunity to win,” said Graydon.  “A poor surface is a great equalizer, and a great field provides high level play with an advantage.  That’s what this new AstroTurf system gives us.”

The biggest difference in the new system is drainage designed to hold a consistent amount of water over a longer period while providing fast enough surface drainage to prevent puddles.  Vertical drainage is a major component of synthetic turf systems, but there is a need to balance that drainage with a field hockey surface’s need to retain some water as a hydrophilic system, a key to top-level performance in the sport.  In addition, the water retention and drainage issues must be carefully balanced with sustainability issues.

Graydon worked with AstroTurf engineers and selected a system with a 3mm urethane backing created with a uniform pattern of drainage holes.  This allows the field to retain the right amount of water for the best hydrophilic properties, while still allowing the field to drain.  

“I spent time in the AstroTurf lab with the chemists and manufacturing engineers,” said Graydon.  “AstroTurf was extremely responsive in this effort. Further testing at Princeton defined our retention and drainage goals.”

Princeton worked with Clark Companies for the installation and base system.  The base measures 210’ x 330’ with a clean stone retaining area of up to 7’ deep, whereas most base systems are 9”-12” deep.  The under drain system and volume of stone allows 100% of rainwater to be collected by the field, vertically drain through the turf and elastic layer, and into the stone base.   The deep section of the stone base allows the water to infiltrate back, recharging ground water and eliminating runoff into the storm water system. The system is designed to retain 100% of the water of a 100-year rainstorm, exceeding Princeton’s sustainability goal for storm water management.

The field is also going to be outfitted with an Underhill water cannon system consisting of eight heads providing uniform water distribution over the entire playing surface.  The cannons will be able to do one pass of the field in six minutes.  In the past, the water cannon system used as much as 12,000 gallons of water to wet the field.  Now, a single pass of the field will only use about 1200 gallons.  In a worst-case scenario on a hot day requiring two passes, the cannons will use less than 2,000 gallons. The cannons also offer a unique control feature.  Coach Kristen Holmes-Winn will have a smart phone application which will allow her to control the water cannons remotely, without the necessity of being onsite. This is another new technology developed during the Princeton project.  The Princeton project also saw development of a method of turf placement at the irrigation heads that will eliminate the tearing often seen with high pressure retracting sprinklers.

“The new field at Princeton is a great venue,” said Pam Hixon, hall of fame field hockey coach and Field Hockey Ambassador for AstroTurf.  “This will be one of the premier fields in the world and Coach Holmes-Winn will be able to continue to build a championship program on the finest playing surface available in the sport.”  

“Jeff (Graydon) set up test plots with different turf products” said Holmes-Winn. “Our coaches and players aggressively evaluated each surface without knowing which was which.  We unanimously chose one product, which we later learned to be AstroTurf.  It was a totally blind test.  The commitment from Princeton has been awesome.  Jeff Graydon, Gary Walters, team members, and AstroTurf created an extraordinary combination, all working together to develop a stellar system.” 

“We believe this facility will have the best playing surface, as well as be the most environmentally friendly venue anywhere,” said Graydon.   

Construction of the new field will be completed prior to the start of the 2012 season.