Cavaliers Place Three on All-ACC Academic Women's Lacrosse Team

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Virginia women’s lacrosse team placed three Cavaliers on the All-ACC Academic Team, as announced by the league office Tuesday. Junior Liz Downs, sophomore Josie Owen and senior Caity Whiteley have been honored for their work in the classroom and on the field.

Downs is making her first appearance on the All-ACC Academic team. A third-team All-American this year, the Alexandria, Va., native anchored the Cavaliers’ defense all season. One of the league’s top defenders, Downs was honored on the All-ACC team and All-South Region second team. She has started every game of her career and finished the season ranked fourth on the team with 28 ground balls and third with 17 caused turnovers.

Owen is making her second-straight appearance on the conference’s all-academic team. An attacker from Gibson Island, Md., Owen missed the end of the season due to injury. Her career-best game came against Virginia Tech, where she scored four goals and added five assists for nine points – the third-best single game scoring output in the ACC this season. She finished the season ranked fifth on the team in points, with 44, and sixth in goals, scoring 24. She was also second on the squad with 32 draw controls and added 24 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers.

Whiteley, an attacker from Phoenix, Md., is being honored on the all-academic team for the first time. Stepping into a starting role this season, Whiteley had a career year by scoring 31 goals – good for fourth on the team – and distributing 21 assists. She ranked third with 52 points and was named to the All-South Region second team. She also scooped up 14 ground balls and won five draw controls to go with two game-winning goals.

To be eligible for consideration for the All-ACC Academic team, a student-athlete, regardless of classification, must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during her academic career.