Nine Cavaliers Advance to Third Round of US Lacrosse World Cup Tryouts

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Dec. 7, 2004

Nine Cavaliers have advanced to the third round of the US Lacrosse World Cup Team tryouts, as announced by Sue Stahl, head coach of the USA World Cup team. These nine are a part of 34 athletes who will compete for the right to represent the United States at the 2005 International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations’ World Cup, which will take place at the United States Naval Academy from June 23 – July 2. The United States has won the last four world titles, all under the direction of Stahl, and has put together an incredible 23-2 run over the last four tournaments.

Selected to advance include current world champions Kara (Ariza) Cooke, Cherie Greer, Bonnie Rosen and Jess Wilk. Joining these four veterans are current players Amy Appelt and Nikki Lieb as well as graduates Lauren Aumiller, Lauri Kenis and Stephy Samaras. Current assistant coach and UVa graduate Heather Dow is the assistant coach for the USA World Cup team.

Greer is the holder of the Wes Paterson Award, honoring sportsmanship and excellence of play in the gold medal match. She is the two-time recipient of the Player of the Match award in the World Cup title games. Greer has been a part of three World Cup gold medal teams, including 1993, 1997 and 2001.

Jess Wilk, Virginia’s head field hockey coach, has also won three world titles, teaming with Greer and the rest of the USA World Cup team in 1993, 1997 and 2001.

Rosen has won two world titles, winning in 1997 and 2001. Cooke won her first title in 2001. Both Rosen and Cooke earned All-American honors at Virginia with Rosen earning the honor in her fourth year while Cooke is a three-time recipient in each of her final three years.

Aumiller won a world title with the USA Under-19 team when she captained the squad to the 1999 championship in Perth, Australia. She earned her first senior cap with her appearance in the USA-Canada test match series in July of 2004. Aumiller is currently Virginia’s all-time scoring leader with 320 points, which ranks eighth in Division I history.

Kenis is a two-time first-team All-American who also notched her first international appearance in New York against Canada in July of 2004. Samaras earned first-team All-American honors in her fourth-year and graduated as Virginia’s all-time leader in caused turnovers. She is currently a member of the USA Developmental Team.

Appelt is also a member of the USA Developmental Team and was called up to play with the Elite Team in July 2004 as part of the Canadian test match series. She became Virginia’s latest National Player of the Year in 2004 as she led the Cavaliers to the NCAA title in 2004, earning the Honda Sports Award as well as the Tewaaraton Trophy, presented to the nation’s top collegiate player. She ranks second all-time at Virginia in scoring (278) and goals (201) and third in assists (77).

Lieb earned first-team All-American honors in 2004 as a second-year and was the youngest player on the first-team.

The third round of tryouts will take place in Orlando, Fla. on January 22-23. A 24-team squad will be selected following the January tryouts, and this training squad will compete at the US Lacrosse National Tournament in Bethlehem, Pa. over Memorial Day Weekend. The World Cup Team will have a training camp in Charlottesville, hosted by St. Anne’s Belfield, from June 17-20.

Complete information on the 2005 IFWLA World Cup can be found at www.uslacrosse.org/worldcup.