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June 17, 2002
Virginia’s Amy Appelt (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) led a trio of Cavaliers in earning national honors from womenslacrosse.com as she was tabbed as the National Rookie of the Year by that organization. She is joined on the team by Elizabeth Pinney (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) and Cary Chasney (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep). In addition, Virginia’s Klockner Stadium earned “Best Set” honors, recognizing the best overall game field and setting, and the game against Loyola on April 24 was a nominee for “Best Screenplay” recognizing the top games of the season. Bridget Bradley (Virginia Beach, Va./Cape Henry Collegiate) was honored with the “Best Score” award for her excellence in singing the national anthem , and SID Chip Rogers was awarded “Best Documentary” for his retelling of the games on the Virginia athletics website (www.virginiasports.com). Womenslacrosse.com is a company dedicated to the growth and support of women’s lacrosse at all levels and was recently named the 2002 recipient of the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association (IWLCA) Media Service Award.
This is Appelt’s second National Rookie of the Year honors, as she was so honored by insidelacrosse.com. Appelt was the only freshman to be named to an All-American team in 2002. The 2002 ACC Rookie of the Year, Appelt led the nation’s freshmen in scoring by a wide margin, scoring 53 goals and adding 21 assists. She ranked 15th nationally among all players in scoring and bested the old Virginia record for scoring as a first-year by 15 points. Appelt had a hat trick in 10 of Virginia’s 19 games and set a first-year record with five assists in a game (vs ODU). In addition, Appelt has scored in every game in her collegiate career and with Aumiller, owns the longest consecutive-game scoring streak in school history for a single season.
Chasney was the other half of the nation’s most potent freshman duo. She notched a hat trick in nine of the Cavaliers’ 19 games and ranks second nationally in scoring among all freshman behind Appelt. Her 65 points this year places her second all-time at Virginia in scoring as a first year, and her 46 goals ranks second all-time at Virginia among 1st years.
Pinney, who earned honorable mention national player of the week honors from insidelacrosse.com on March 17, was a crucial member of the Cavalier defense. Pinney started every game and was primarily a defensive stopper but also rotated regularly into the attack.
Virginia’s Klocker Stadium opened in 1992 and serves as the home site for women’s and men’s soccer teams and the men’s lacrosse team as well as the women’s lacrosse team. The playing surface is a natural grass field and has seating for 8,000.
In the game against Loyola on April 24, Virginia led 4-2 halfway through the first period before the Greyhounds closed out the half with a 7-2 run, including two goals in the final 90 seconds, to take a 9-6 lead at the break. The Cavaliers scored two minutes into the second half, but a Greyhound tally with 13:31 to play gave Loyola a 10-7 lead. Virginia scored a pair of goals in a 12 second span to pull within one, but Loyola won the draw. Gina Sambus (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) stole the ball and took it the length of the field where Molly Cangemi (Timonium, Md./Notre Dame Prep) drew a foul and tied the game with an 8-meter goal. Appelt then scored a pair of goals in 25 seconds to give Virginia a 12-10 lead, and then assisted on the game’s final goal by Morgan Thalenberg (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s).
Virginia Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director Chip Rogers was honored with the “Best Documentary” for the recaps of the Virginia games. According to the release, he “continues to tell all of the story, especially the defensive side of the game and not just reporting goals and assists.”