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April 20, 2007
Head coach Dom Starsia talks about the Senior Class:
It’s not a big class but some of these guys you feel like you have really gotten to know well over the years. They’ve certainly been through a wide range of experiences in their four years here. For me, it’s hard not to consider that there is still a lot of lacrosse to play and so the only way I can get through these things from year to year is to think of these as more as turning a page in a book. For me, it’s not really saying goodbye, it’s just that their playing careers are going to end shortly and we’ll go on to a different kind of experience. These guys will remain as friends forever. I know that for them it can be facing up to the harsh reality of end of their college playing career and perhaps leaving Charlottesville, which is a big change in their lives. I think there’s always a kind of wide range emotions on a day like (Saturday).
The seven Cavaliers playing their final regular season game at Klöckner Stadium reflect back on their careers.
G Kip Turner:
It’s been a fun run. It was a struggle the first year and things got better the second year. Winning (the national championship) my third year, you can’t really top that, but I hope we get closer to the same thing again. Winning the national championship (last year) was special. Having the guys back, the whole team back together, this fall for a banquet was really a special occasion.
M Drew Thompson:
The one thing that I enjoy is the walk up to Klöckner on game day. It’s just a special feeling, walking from the locker room at University Hall up to Klöckner, you feel like, `this is the place we’re going to play.’ It’s a special walk up there. My career’s had its ups and downs with the team and myself personally, but I’ve had a great experience at Virginia and wouldn’t trade it for anything else.
D Ricky Smith:
We won a national championship and we also had a losing season, so I think I have kind of been on both sides of the roller coaster, obviously. It’s definitely more than the wins and losses. Most importantly–it is kind of a cliché–but all the friendships and the lessons I have learned through numerous coaches that have come through the program and the (upperclassmen) who were here when I was a freshman, looking up to them. Being close to the younger guys, too, I think played an important role over the years. I don’t think there is ever really a big boundary between the seniors and freshmen and every class has always seemed to get along. I think that has played a pretty important role in my life over the years.
D James King:
I think 30 years down the road we are not going to really remember the scores of any games we played in, but we are going to remember our overall experiences a student and lacrosse player here at the University. I guess it would be safe to say that for most of us, it’s probably the best four years of our lives and I will always look back on this time in our lives as good memories.
D Drew Jordan:
Game days up at Klöckner on a beautiful Saturday afternoon are special. My time at Virginia has been awesome, with friends and teammates, the whole experience has been great.
M Foster Gilbert:
It’s been a great experience for me, being part of the program, being part of the team. People talk about the metaphor between sports and life, I feel like I have come away with a lot of lessons that are really applicable to life outside of lacrosse and I’m grateful for that.
FO Adam Fassnacht:
Playing at Klöckner Stadium is pretty special for me. Hopefully we’ll get a first round playoff game, but it’s never definite, so it’s going to be bittersweet walking to the field one last time. Our whole class together at Klöckner one last time is going to be a pretty special moment, one I won’t forget for quite some time.