BOONE, N.C. — After excelling with Team Dream at the 2019 Young Women's National Championship, Appalachian State field hockey senior
Rachel Gaines earned a chance to participate in the USA Field Hockey Women's Development Team Selection Camp.
"Words cannot express how happy and proud I am of Rachel," head coach
Meghan Dawson said. "This is a goal she has had since she transferred to App State, and I'm extremely excited for her to continue her hockey career after her final season and see where this path may take her."
Gaines, a two-time selection to the Senior U.S. Women's National Indoor Team, was selected to the Women's Development Team Selection Camp alongside only 31 other field hockey athletes across the country. She joins Ohio's Kendall Ballard as one of only two Mid-American Conference representatives to earn the honor.
The Women's Development Team Selection Camp will take place in December at the Spooky Nook Sports indoor complex in Lancaster, Pa.
"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to return to the Nook in December for the Development Team Selection Camp," Gaines said. "It's an incredible opportunity to continue learning, growing and developing my game with some of the best the country has to offer. To be selected alongside the other invited athletes is an honor, and I look forward to training alongside them as a representative of Appalachian, our program and our university."
The App State goalkeeper garnered the honor after competing for Team Dream in the Young Women's National Championship from June 14-18. Gaines was one of just 140 athletes across the United States to earn an invite to the tournament.
Gaines, who ranks seventh in career saves in App State history, has played in 53 games in her Mountaineers' career. The Kettering, Ohio native registered two shutouts and 77 saves in 2019, including a shutout in Appalachian's triumph over Longwood in the MAC Tournament.
