June 3, 2008

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Providence College field hockey player Nellie Poulin (Oakland, Maine) has been named to the USA Field Hockey High Performance Women's National Championship New England Team. Providence College Head Coach Diane Madl will serve as the team's Assistant Head Coach. Former Friar and All-America selection Lauren Sickel has been named as an alternate on the team, while four current Friars will serve on the training squad.

The High Performance New England Team will participate in the National Championship Tournament in Virginia Beach, Va. on June 14th through June 21st. The team is coached by Ainslee Lamb, who is the head field hockey coach at Boston College.

Poulin completed her second season with the nationally ranked Providence College field hockey team in 2007. She earned All-BIG EAST First-Team and NFHCA Division I All-Northeast Region First-Team honors after posting 22 points on nine goals and four assists. Two of her team-leading nine goals were game winners.

Madl, who earned BIG EAST and NFHCA Regional Coach of the Year honors in 2006, joins Lamb on the sidelines for the second-straight season with the goal of winning the High Performance Women's National Championship. Additionally, former Friar and All-American Lauren Sickel `07 (Plaistow, N.H.) has been selected as an alternate on the New England Team. Current Friars Meghan Holden (Worcester, Mass.), Jessica Lane (South Windsor, Conn.), Kerianne Murphy (Walpole, Mass.) and Rachel Chamberlain (Branford, Conn.) will be members of the training squad.

USA Field Hockey High Performance Training Centers identify and train potential National Team athletes through comprehensive training/skill enhancement sessions and premier level competitions. The Centers allow athletes to train in regional areas close to their homes by some of the country's top coaches. The mission of the High Performance program is to prepare athletes in their respective regions to compete for and make the National training squad, ultimately yielding a chance to participate and train with the US National Team.

- FRIARS -