Shooting from the Hip with Scott McWilliams

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Freshman Scott McWilliams has had a stellar first campaign on defense for the Cavaliers. The Mountain Lakes, N.J., native recently sat down with VirginiaSports.com to discuss his first season at UVa, the upcoming ACC Tournament and why he picked No. 27 to wear.

Question: It’s your first season on Grounds – what has the first year been like coming in from high school, getting use to college life and starting on the lacrosse field?
McWilliams: It’s been good so far – it’s definitely been a faster pace and it has taken a little bit of time to get use to. The guys here have been very helpful to make the transition more smoothly.

Question: As a first-year, have there been rites of passage the upperclassmen have made you do to welcome you to the program?
McWilliams: Not so much, they get some of the guys to be in charge of turning on the movies on the bus trips – but for me personally everyone has been super helpful with everything because they know I am still transitioning into a new defense.

Question: You get to work in front of an All-American goalie. What is it like to be able to defend for a player like Adam Ghitelman?
McWilliams: It definitely takes a lot of the pressure off of me because I am a younger first-year, but he is doing a great job and truly helps our defense as a unit with everything he does.

Question: The ACC Tournament commences on Friday and you guys are coming off playing Duke last Saturday and now you get them again. What things are you taking from that loss to use for the rematch?
McWilliams: They are a good team and we made some errors that we would like to correct. We have been practicing hard all week and we will give it our best effort on Friday.

Question: You hail from New Jersey – what is the biggest weather adjustment to living here in Charlottesville?
McWilliams: I am happy I came down south because the weather is definitely a little nicer down here.

Question: Now you have been in Charlottesville for nearly a full school year – what are some spots that you favor when you are not in class or on the lacrosse field?
McWilliams: The Quad is a pretty good place because it’s right next to the first-year dorms.

Question: Who makes you laugh on the team the most?
McWilliams: I have to go with Wyatt Melzer because he is always in a good mood and he is always cracking jokes, keeping everything light.

Question: You wear No. 27, which was worn the last four seasons by four-time All-American Ken Clausen. How did you come to choose those digits?
McWilliams: I liked the number. Ken did a great job representing the number here during his career and I want to keep the tradition going. He was a great player here and I hopefully one day I will live up to that