May 17, 2006

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Three Wildcats -- Annie Bosslet (Granite City, Ill./Villa Duchesne), Amanda Care (Newtown, Pa./Pennsbury) and Jill Putnam (Greenfield, Mass./Greenfield) -- have been chosen for USA Field Hockey's Elite Performance Training Center Midwest Region training squad. The EPTC program gives the top field hockey players in each region of the country an opportunity to practice and play on a regular basis, giving them the chance to be seen by National Team coaches and possibly be selected for one of USA Field Hockey's elite teams.

"It is great to have some of our players involved in the select training squad for the Midwest Region," head coach Kelly McCollum said. "I know these three will compete hard toward the final selection process and represent us well."

These players will train with the squad through June, after which a final team will be selected to represent the Midwest Region at the National Championship Tournament in Virginia Beach from June 30-July 4.

Seven Wildcats tried out for the training squad, which consists of 33 players. Players were selected after a series of tryouts throughout the region over the past month.

"I am so proud of all seven of our players who attended the tryout weekends and helped better themselves and our program through exposure to the US Field Hockey Elite level of play," McCollum said. "Their commitment to challenge themselves in a competitive environment outside of Northwestern field hockey provided them great experience to grow for next fall."

USA Field Hockey's EPTC program identifies and trains potential National Team athletes through comprehensive training and 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.

For more information, visit USAfieldhockey.com .