UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - With preseason practice about to get underway the defending Atlantic 10 Champion Richmond field hockey program will look to continue the momentum from a summer of success.

Junior goalkeeper Anna Zarkoski, who was named to the U.S. Developmental team earlier in the summer, was selected to compete with the American under-21 team at the Junior Pan Am Games in Mexico this September.

And a pair of incoming freshmen from Ireland had successful summers overseas.

Kerri McDonald competed for the Irish under-21 team at the EuroHockey Championships in Lisbon, Portugal in July, helping lead her team to the title. McDonald's performances from this event led to her being named to the Irish National Squad.

Amy Cooke was selected to the Irish under-18 team and helped captain the team to a gold medal in the 2012 Celtic Cup and success against the English under-18 team in a summer series.

The Spiders, who have won two of the last three Atlantic 10 Championships, open preseason practice this weekend in preparation for their Aug. 24th season opener at American.