PHILADELPHIA – USA Field Hockey officially announced earlier this week the teams and schedule for the 2021 Young Women's National Championship in Virginia Beach, Virginia, as the University of Pennsylvania field hockey program will be represented by Gracyn Banks.

"I am so excited and honored to have been selected to compete against the best players in the country," Banks said. "This is a great opportunity to get in some high-level play and learn new things during the summer so I can come in ready for our season this fall!"

"Gracyn has been a leader and force on the Penn Field hockey since her arrival at Penn," Head Coach Colleen Fink said. "She has steadily dedicated herself to improving and developing, and I feel her senior campaign will truly display her vast knowledge of the game as well as highlight her technical skill. Gracyn is one of the top collegiate players in the country." 

The Young Women's National Championship (YWNC) will take place June 15-20 at the Virginia Beach Regional Training Center, featuring the top players in the country in their respective age groups competing to be crowned national champions.

After the cancellation of the 2020 edition due to COVID-19, the return of the YWNC will feature a 10-team pool of top collegiate and post-collegiate athletes and member of the current Rise, U.S. U-21 Women's National Team, National Development Team, and USWNT. Banks will be taking her talents to the Dream Team, head coached by Peter Taylor, Assistant Coach of the Old Dominion University field hockey program.

Each team will play three pool games following the International Hockey Federation's FIH Hockey Pro League points system (Win=3, Draw=1, Loss=0, Shootout Win=1). Banks and the Dream Team have their first game on Wednesday, June 16 at 12:30 p.m., on field one against the Unity Team.

USA Field Hockey invites all field hockey enthusiasts to travel to Virginia Beach to watch the competition, with all admission free.

For the full schedule and teams, click here.