Eight Cavalier Laxers Receive All-America Honors

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May 27, 2003

Baltimore, Md. – Eight players from Virginia’s national champion lacrosse team were named to the 2003 USILA All-America teams announced at halftime of Monday’s title game. The group of eight is UVa’s largest contingent since eight players were honored in 2000.

Senior midfielder Chris Rotelli and junior goalie Tillman Johnson were named to the first team, while junior defenseman Brett Hughes, and sophomore attackmen John Christmas and Joe Yevoli were named to the second team. Senior midfielder Billy Glading earned third-team honors. Senior midfielder A.J. Shannon and senior long stick midfielder Trey Whitty were named honorable mention.

Rotelli is a repeat first-team selection. He capped an outstanding career by tying for the team lead in scoring with 49 points (26g, 23a). The ACC Player of the Year and a leading candidate for the Tewaaraton Trophy as the nation’s top player, he is the first midfielder in school history to record at least 20 goals and 20 assists in a season. He is also the first midfielder to lead the team in scoring since 1966 (Bob Prusmack). He scored UVa’s first goal and added a game-high four assists in the championship game vs. Johns Hopkins on Monday.

Johnson was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Championships with two brilliant performances in the final four. An honorable mention All-American his first two years, he is the first UVa goalie named to the first team since Peter Sheehan in 1986. He set a school record with 205 saves this season and finished with an ACC-leading .635 save percentage. During UVa’s run to the national title he was simply spectacular. In four tournament games he recorded 51 saves and allowed just 18 goals for a stunning .739 save percentage.

One of the most underrated defenders in the country, Hughes received All-America recognition for the first time in his career. He was named to the All-Tournament team at this weekend’s NCAA Championships. He finished second among ACC close defensemen with 50 ground balls and allowed his man to score more than one goal just three times all season.

Christmas was named to the third team as a freshman and moves to the second team this season. He finished third on the team in scoring with 48 points despite drawing the opposition’s top defenseman each game. He lead the team with 36 goals, including two in the title game vs. Johns Hopkins.

Yevoli led the ACC with 40 goals as a freshman last season, but became more of a feeder this spring. He led the ACC with 26 assists and shared the team lead with Rotelli with 49 points (23g, 26a). He is the first ACC player to go from leading the league in goals one year to leading in assists the next since former Cavalier great Doug Knight did so in 1996-97.

The athletic Glading had an outstanding year on both ends of the field with his dynamic midfield play. He scored a career-high 24 goals and led the team’s short stick middies with 45 ground balls. Many will remember his five-goal performance against Duke in the championship game of this season’s ACC Tournament when he earned MVP honors.

Shannon and Whitty receive honorable mention for the second year in a row. Shannon scored 34 goals, second most by a midfielder in school history, to finish behind Christmas on the team. His 42 points are also a career high. He erupted with a game-high four goals in the playoff finals vs. Johns Hopkins and was named to the All-Tournament team.

Whitty used an uncanny ability to anticipate passes and create mayhem to gobble up 80 ground balls this season and become just the second player in school history with 70-or-more two years in a row. He also caused problems for the opposition with his effectiveness in transition. He finished the season with four goals and five assists, including three playoff goals.