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Cavaliers Ranked Preseason #1 by Lacrosse Magazine
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Jan. 19, 2005
The University of Virginia women’s lacrosse team, the defending national champions, were ranked #1 in the preseason ranking by Lacrosse Magazine. The Cavaliers, who upset top-ranked and two-time defending champion Princeton in the finals of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, are seeded just ahead of the Tigers in the list.
Virginia returns nine starters from last year’s championship game, including Honda Sports Award and Tewaaraton Trophy recipient Amy Appelt, who led the nation with 90 goals and 121 points, smashing the ACC record for goals in a single season. She already ranks 21st in collegiate women’s lacrosse history for points in career at the Division I level. Appelt was the 2004 ACC Player of the Year and was the consensus National Offensive Player of the Year.
First-team All-American Nikki Lieb also is back for the Cavaliers, along with second-team honoree Elizabeth Pinney. Lieb and Pinney combine with line defenders Ashley Dodson, who earned All-State honors in 2004, and Molly Urlock to form the vaunted `Hoos defense, with all four of them starting both the ACC and NCAA title games last year. ACC Tournament MVP Ashleigh Haas returns to the Cavalier lineup as well, as does All-State honoree Tyler Leachman in the attack. The Cavaliers have led the nation for three consecutive years in scoring offense.
The Cavaliers also welcome back first-team All-American Cary Chasney and womenslacrosse.com National Rookie Team member Meredith Lazarus, both of whom earned playing honors while starting in 2003 before sitting out 2004 due to injury.
Virginia will participate in the Charles Street Challenge, hosted by Loyola College, on February 20 before traveling to Syracuse to take on the Orange in the Dome on March 5th.
The entire rankings can be found on the US Lacrosse website, www.uslacrosse.org. Lacrosse Magazine is an official publication of US Lacrosse. US Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the national governing body of men’s and women’s lacrosse.