Set for Indoor Field Hockey Nationals

Contributed Photo

The Niagara-Orleans League will be represented at an upcoming national field hockey competition as Newfane junior Mia Ludwig and her Western New York Whalers Field Hockey Club U19 Blue team have qualified to compete in the USA Field Hockey National Indoor Tournament at Richmond, Va. February 26-28. The WNY Whalers U19 Blue team includes, in front, Hayley Skidmore, Leah Rogers and Danila Casseri from Williamsville East and Kaylee Pistner from Sweet Home. In back are Coach Kate Kurzanski, Marnie Reidell from Williamsville South, Mia Ludwig from Newfane and Chantel Gauthier and Mia D’Amato from Iroquois. The U19 Blue team qualified for the nationals, which will have 120 teams from around the country taking part, after a successful competition at the recent Siena Tournament. The appearance at the nationals is a first for the WNY Whalers Field Hockey Club which was organized in 2011. “This is the classic story of the underdogs,” said Coach Kate Kurzanski. “It is a group of girls that nobody thought could compete on a national level. I believed, and we went out and competed and proved people wrong. The underdogs came through and I am extremely proud of my girls.”