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April 21, 2000
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Defending ACC Champion Virginia, with five selections, leads the 2000 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Lacrosse team, as selected by the league’s four head coaches. Duke followed with three players selected to the all-conference team, while North Carolina and Maryland each had two players named to the All-ACC squad.
A Look at the All-ACC Team
Heading up the All-ACC team is the contingent from the defending ACC and National Champion Virginia Cavaliers. Leading the group is senior attackman Drew McKnight, who makes his first appearance on the All-ACC team as he currently leads the league in scoring with 4.67 points per game and in assists with a 2.33 per-game average. Joining him is last season’s ACC Rookie of the Year, Conor Gill, who is currently third on the team in goals (16) and is third in the ACC in points with 35 this year. Their selections give UVa two All-ACC attackmen for the first time since 1997, when Doug Knight and Michael Watson were selected.
Virginia senior midfielder Jay Jalbert makes his second appearance on the All-ACC list as he is currently second on the team in goals with 18 and has added eight assists for 26 points this year. Jalbert’s selection marks UVa’s first two-timer in the midfield since Andy Kraus in 1988-89.
The Cavaliers placed two members of their defensive unit on the team as well, as senior Ryan Curtis earns All-Conference laurels for the second-straight season, while fellow defender Mark Koontz earns his first All-ACC selection after a solid sophomore season where he currently is second among UVa’s long sticks in ground balls with 38. This marks the first time since 1991 (George Glyphis and Mike Schattner) that two Cavalier defensemen were named All-ACC. Curtis joins Tommy Smith (1996-97) as the only two-time All-ACC defensemen under Dom Starsia, while Koontz is UVa’s first sophomore defenseman named to the all-league team since Scott Lind in 1984.
Gill and Koontz are also the only two sophomores named to the squad.
2000 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Lacrosse Team
| Name, School | Position | Year | Hometown |
| T.J. Durnan, Duke | Attack | Sr. | Rockville, Centre, N.Y. |
| Jeff Sonke, North Carolina | Attack | Jr. | Birmingham, Mich. |
| Drew McKnight, Virginia | Attack | Sr. | Virginia Beach, Va. |
| Conor Gill, Virginia | Attack | So. | Lutherville, Md. |
| Nick Hartofilis, Duke | Midfielder | Sr. | Huntington, N.Y. |
| Chris Malone, Maryland | Midfielder | Jr. | Timonium, Md. |
| Bobby Gormsen, North Carolina | Midfielder | Jr. | Baldwin, N.Y. |
| Jay Jalbert, Virginia | Midfielder | Sr. | Huntington, N.Y. |
| Stephen Card, Duke | Defender | Sr. | Princeton, N.J. |
| Ryan Curtis, Virginia | Defender | Sr. | Potomac, Md. |
| Mark Koontz, Virginia | Defender | So. | Columbus, Ohio |
| Pat McGinnis, Maryland | Goalie | Jr. | Ellicott City, Maryland |
Duke’s trio of players selected to the All-ACC team is led by senior attackman T.J. Durnan, who earns his first All-Conference selection, and leads the Blue Devils and the ACC in goals scored with 33 thus far in 2000. Joining Durnan is Duke midfielder Nick Hartofilis. A two-time All-ACC pick, he is the Blue Devil’s fourth-leading scorer this season with 16 goals and four assists. Stephen Card rounds out the Duke contingent on the team. The senior defender is a two-time All-Conference selection and is considered one of the top defensive players in the ACC.
The two Maryland Terrapins selected to the team are both first-time members. Junior midfielder Chris Malone is the Terrapins top scorer entering the ACC Tournament as he has netted 19 goals and recorded 25 points thus far in 2000. Maryland junior net minder Pat McGinnis is the lone goalie on the All-ACC squad this season. McGinnis has ranked among the national leaders in goals against average and save percentage all season, and currently is sixth in the country in save percentage, stopping 64.3 percent of the shots he has faced and allowing 8.07 goals per game (ranking seventh). He set an NCAA Division I season high with 27 saves earlier in the year.
North Carolina’s two members of the All-ACC team are also making their first appearances on the squad. Junior attackman Jeff Sonke is currently tied for second on the team in scoring with 32 points this season, and also ranks third in the ACC in goal scoring with a 2.20 per-game average. He recorded a season-high seven points and five goals against Navy. Tar Heel long stick midfielder Bobby Gormsen is one of the nation’s best at his position, as he led the team in takeaways and ground balls a year ago and leads UNC in takeaways this year with 42, while recording 35 ground balls as well. He has started all 10 of the games he has played in this year.
The ACC Men’s Lacrosse Player, Rookie and Coach of the Year award winners will be announced on Tuesday, April 25th, following the ACC Championships.