Five Cavaliers Named to Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Virginia women’s lacrosse senior All-Americans Jenny Hauser, Ashley McCulloch and Blair Weymouth and juniors Kaitlin Duff and Brittany Kalkstein have each been chosen as candidates on the initial 2009 Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List.
The Tewaaraton Trophy, established on Aug. 29, 2000, is recognized as the pre-eminent lacrosse award honoring the top female and male varsity collegiate lacrosse player in the United States. Of the 46 players on the list, Virginia and Syracuse share the lead with five honorees, while Northwestern and Duke each have four. Former four-time Cavalier All-American Amy Appelt won the award in 2004.
McCulloch kicked off this season on a high note Wednesday, tallying a career-high eight points to lead the Cavaliers to a 19-3 victory over Virginia Tech. McCulloch notched four goals and four assists to move herself up Virginia’s all-time career assists list, tying her for fourth place, as she has currently has handed out 76 helpers. She led the team and finished last season ranked second in the ACC, and 18th nationally, with 1.89 assists per game.
Weymouth, a three-time All-American, got off to a solid start to this season as well, finishing off two feeds from McCulloch to jumpstart the Cavaliers’ offense against the Hokies. She finished the contest with three goals and two assists to advance herself on the program’s all-time career goals, assists and points charts. She currently sits sixth with 145 goals, seventh with 207 points and 10th with 62 assists. She finished last season ranked second on the team in goals and third in points.
Duff contributed two goals and two assists in the Cavaliers’ opener, in addition to scooping up three groundballs. An All-ACC honoree a year ago, Duff is instrumental in Virginia’s transition game, as she led the Cavaliers to successful clears in 13 of 14 attempts against the Hokies. Last season, she caused a team-high 34 turnovers to rank 10th in the program’s single-season records.
Kalkstein has moved to defense this season, but is still making herself known throughout the midfield. The 2007 National Rookie of the Year set Virginia’s single season draw controls record in her first year and has since moved up the career list to fifth by winning a team-high three against Virginia Tech. The two-time ACC All-Tournament Team selection was third on the team in goals and fourth in points a year ago, in addition to leading the team in draws and ranking second in caused turnovers and groundballs.
Hauser, who missed the season opener, is coming off a season in which she led the team in goals. She notched 36 goals to go with 12 assists, for 48 points on the year.
The fourth-ranked Cavaliers return to action this Saturday as they head to Baltimore, Md., for a 3:30 p.m., contest at Loyola College.