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April 26, 2007
Virginia first-year lacrosse player Brittany Kalkstein was named the ACC Newcomer of the Year, as announced by the conference tonight at the banquet in conjunction with the ACC lacrosse championships in Chapel Hill, N.C. Also honored by the conference were Kate Breslin, Jess Wasilewski, and Blair Weymouth, who were all named to the All-Conference team by a vote of the league’s head coaches. This is the second consecutive year that Virginia has earned the ACC Newcomer of the Year award, as Weymouth was the recipient in 2006.
Breslin has led the Cavaliers all season in scoring and enters the 2007 ACC Tournament with career highs in goals (45), assists (22), and points (67). She also ranks third on the team in draw controls with 22. Breslin has 115 career goals; she needs three to move into the top-10 all-time in school history. Ironically, that would tie her with current UNC head coach Jenny Slingluff Levy with 118. She was recently named a semifinalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy along with 16 other student-athletes.
Wasilewski has been a mainstay on the Cavalier teams since starting as a first-year in Virginia’s championship season of 2004. A significant part of the UVa midfield; Wasilewski has been a major part of helping the Cavaliers rank in the top-10 nationally in scoring defense (7.94 gapg) and scoring margin. This is her first conference honor.
Weymouth, the 2006 ACC and National Rookie of the Year, earned her second consecutive nod to the All-Conference team. She ranks second on the team in goals with 39 and points with 60 and third in assists with 21. All three totals rank in the top-10 among second-years at Virginia.
Kalkstein is having a phenomenal season as a first year and is a strong candidate for national rookie of the year honors. She ranks first at Virginia in draw controls (42), a total that places her in the top-20 nationally. She stands just three away from tying the record for draw controls as a first year (Lauren Aumiller, 2001) and third on the team in scoring with 35 goals and has seven assists for 42 points, which places her sixth all-time in school history for scoring as a first year.
Virginia will face Maryland in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament on Friday, April 27 after defeating the Boston College Eagles 15-7 in quarterfinal action at North Carolina on Thursday.