DURHAM – Five members of the Duke field hockey team have been chosen to compete in the 2024 Senior Nexus Championship, presented by Osaka Hockey. Madison Beach, Paige Bitting, Kaiya Chepow, Alaina McVeigh, and Grace Norair will travel to the Virginia Beach Regional Training Center for the event, taking place from July 14-16.
The championship will begin with a team training session on Sunday, July 14, followed by games starting on Monday, July 15.
Beach and Chepow are the youngest of the selected Blue Devils, both entering their freshman seasons at Duke. Chepow, a goaltender, enrolled a semester early to train with the team and adapt to the college level. Beach, the reigning two-time IFHHSA Illinois Player of the Year, joins Duke after amassing 209 career points at Glenbrook North High School.
Bitting, a junior with two years as a starter, is returning for another season. Norair, in her final year, brings experience from 47 games. McVeigh, Duke’s leading scorer from last year, aims to build on an exceptional first year, where she recorded 17 goals and three assists, earning the title of 2023 ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Year and helping lead the Blue Devils to the ACC Championship title game and the NCAA semifinals.
The Senior Nexus Championship is an annual event featuring 144 elite collegiate and post-collegiate athletes. Athletes trialed and trained at one of seven USA Field Hockey High Performance Centers throughout the country during the spring and early summer for a chance to be selected. Players previously named to the U.S. U-18, U-21, and Development Women’s National Teams were also considered.
As part of the Olympic Development Pathway program, the Senior Nexus Championship serves as a selection opportunity for the 2024-25 U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team Selection Camps, Junior USWNT Selection Camps, the U.S. Women’s National Development Squad, and the U.S. Women’s National Team.
The Blue Devils will officially kick off the 2024 season on August 30 against William & Mary at 2 p.m.