COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Former Blue Devil All-American Lauren Blazing is one of 19 athletes who have been selected to represent the United States at the Hawke's Bay Cup March 31 through April 9 in Hastings, New Zealand. The tournament will serve as a precursor to a busy summer of competition for the U.S. women's national field hockey team.

Team USA, listed sixth in the Hero International Hockey Federation (FIH) world rankings, will be joined by third-ranked Australia, fifth-ranked New Zealand and 11th-ranked Japan in the Hawke's Bay Cup field. The squad will also vie against the New Zealand national team March 27 and 28 prior to the start of the event.

Following this spring's action, the U.S. national team will compete at the FIH Hockey World League Semifinals in Johannesburg, South Africa in July and the Pan American Cup in Lancaster, Pa., in August.

A 2016 graduate of Duke, Blazing owns two international caps with the U.S. senior women's national team. She has previously been with Team USA for 2016 series against Canada and Chile and a 2015 series against Japan. The Durham, N.C., native was also an alternate on Team USA's 2015 Pan American team that captured the gold medal and secured qualification to the 2016 Olympic Games.

Blazing rounded out her collegiate career at Duke on a high note in 2015, garnering first team All-America distinction from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). She also anchored the Blue Devils on a run to the NCAA semifinals for the second time in three seasons. Over her four years in goal, Blazing compiled a 49-29 ledger and became just the seventh player in program history to earn All-America accolades on three or more occasions. She wrapped up her career ranked third at Duke in career saves (385) and goals against average (1.46).

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