May 27, 2009

Midwest Region High Performance Roster

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern junior Courtney Plaster-Strange recently received an invitation to the 2009 High Performance Team that will represent the Midwest Region at the national championship tournament in Virginia Beach, Va., June 20-27. Classmate Stacy Uchida was also named one of two alternates for the team.

Plaster-Strange, a forward, earns her second bid to the Midwest team after a junior campaign at Northwestern during which she scored seven goals, increasing her career total to 13, while leading NU with 46 shots. As a sophomore in 2007, she was one of three Wildcat players to start all 18 games and closed the season with five scores over the final eight games to finish second on the team in goals.

Uchida started at midfield in all 20 games in the 2008 campaign for Northwestern in her first year as a starter. The Connecticut native played a key role on the defensive penalty corner unit and recorded three defensive saves on the season.

The mission of the High Performance program is to offer the nation's best athletes an opportunity to be coached in technique and tactics by elite coaches while preparing them to eventually compete for the national training squad. By gearing training toward the National Championship Tournament, the program simulates an athlete's preparation for an international competition.

First-year Northwestern assistant coach Carla Tagliente is serving as one of three assistant coaches for the Midwest Regional team, which is under the direction of Michigan assistant coach Ryan Langford. Each member of the coaching staff--Tagliente, Langford, Iowa head coach Tracey Griesbaum and Iowa assistant Lisa Cellucci--possesses Level III accreditation, the highest coaching certification in the sport. In all, there are seven regions that will compete at the national championship event--California, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South.

Practices are held on-site at the University of Michigan through mid-June in preparation for the national championship tournament in Virginia Beach at the end of the month.

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