THIS WEEK

The seventh-ranked University of Iowa field hockey team opens the 2023 season at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  The Hawkeyes will face No. 12 Wake Forest on Friday at 5 p.m. (CT) for a neutral sight matchup at Karen Shelton Stadium before playing top ranked North Carolina on Aug. 27 at 12 p.m.

FOLLOW LIVE

• Friday’s season opener will be televised on the ACC Network with Leah Secondo and Suzanne Bush on the call, while Sunday’s game will be streamed live on ACCNX.

• Iowa field hockey fans can follow all contests via live stats on hawkeyesports.com.  Game updates are also available on Twitter/@iowafieldhockey.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The Hawkeyes return seven starters and 14 letterwinners from a team that finished 12-8, advancing to the Elite Eight for the 20th time in program history in 2022.

•  The Hawkeyes punched their ticket to the Elite Eight four consecutive times and for the 20th time in program history.

• The Hawkeyes made their fifth straight and 27th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history — the most of any team as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

• Fifth-year senior Esme Gibson (second-team) earned All-Big Ten recognition for the 2022 season.

• Head coach Lisa Cellucci is in her tenth  season at the helm of the Hawkeye field hockey program and her 24rd season overall.  Cellucci has been a part of 280 Iowa victories and in 2020, she led the program to the Final Four for the 12th time — the first since 2008.  Iowa has posted double digit win totals in eight  of her ten  seasons. The Hawkeyes have won three Big Ten titles (2019, 2019 (BTT), 2021) under her watch.

• Cellucci earned her third straight Big Ten Coach of the Year honor in 2021.  She is the first coach in Big Ten history to be named Coach of the Year in three consecutive seasons.