Jantzen, Beltrani help travel teams

Debi-Michelle Jantzen and Abby Beltrani have sticks, did travel. The Long Island field hockey stars, both All-Americans, each were key contributors on their junior national teams that competed in Europe in late April.

Beltrani, a Ward Melville senior, was part of the under-19 squad that went 3-0-1 in a series against the Chilean national team. Jantzen, a Shoreham-Wading River junior, was on the under-17 team that went 6-2 against European club teams in the Domo International Easter Tournament in Holland. Both were members of the under-17 team that won bronze in the 2010 Pan-American Games.

"It was awesome," said Beltrani, who reunited with former Ward Melville teammate Georgia Holland, a freshman at Yale. "The competition [in Chile] is very good; they were fast and aggressive, so it definitely wasn't easy."

Each summer, more than 150 women are selected through the USA Field Hockey futures program and the group is whittled down to a roster of 18 elites. Jantzen, Beltrani and Holland have made the cut the last two years. The teams practiced at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., in March.

"I learned a lot just being in that atmosphere," said Jantzen, who marveled at how popular the sport is in Holland. "It's always a great feeling to represent your country and do well."