Trio of Field Hockey Players Earn Invites to
U.S. Field Hockey's Junior National Camp
Meghan Wheeler, Melissa Gonzalez and Ali Blankmeyer to compete for spots on U.S. Field Hockey National Squads

STORRS, Conn. (June 29, 2008) - University of Connecticut field hockey players Meghan Wheeler (Canton, Mass.), Melissa Gonzalez (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) and Ali Blankmeyer (Convent Station, N.J.) have earned invitations to participate at U.S. Field Hockey's Junior National Camp, being held from June 28-July 1 at Babson College in Babson Park, Mass.

Wheeler and Gonzalez are competing as current members of the U.S. Under-21 Field Hockey National Team, while Blankmeyer is eligible for a spot on the U.S. Under-19 Junior National Team.

UConn associate head coach Paul Caddy is also participating as a member of the Junior National Camp coaching staff.

Wheeler, a senior back/midfielder, started all 25 games during the 2007 season in which she totaled four assists and was named as a first-team All-BIG EAST selections and second team NFHCA All-America. She recently helped lead the New England entry to the USA Field Hockey’s High Performance Training Center National Championship in Virginia Beach, Va.

Gonzalez enjoyed a tremendous collegiate rookie season in which she established herself as one of the nation's top freshman.  The speedy forward ranked fourth on the UConn squad with 22 points while tallying nine goals and four assists in 25 starts.  Gonzalez earned second team All-BIG EAST and All-Mideast Region honors following her freshman camapaign.

Blankmeyer recently competed at at U.S. Field Hockey’s Nationals Futures Championship. As a prep, Blankmeyer totaled 44 goals and 43 assists at Morristown (N.J.) High School.  She was named as the Morristown Daily Record Player of the Year and was also recognized as a second team All-State choice as a senior.  She helped guide the Colonials to a pair of conference and sectional titles.