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UVa Places Six on Preseason All-America Team
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Dec. 3, 2013
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s lacrosse team placed six players on the 2014 Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-America team. Attackman Mark Cockerton, midfielder Rob Emery and defenseman Tanner Scales lead the UVa honorees as second team members. Defenseman Scott McWilliams is a third team honoree, while midfielders Ryan Tucker and Chris LaPierre received honorable mention honors.
Virginia and Maryland each placed four combined players on the first, second and third teams, the most of any school on the list.
Cockerton (Oshawa, Ontario) was a third team USILA All-American in 2013 when he finished No. 2 in the nation with 3.5 goals per game. His 49 goals rank as the fourth-most in a season all-time at UVa.
Emery (San Francisco, Calif.) was a third team USILA All-American in 2013 after scoring 22 goals and picking up 38 ground balls. Emery enters his senior season with 59 career goals, which ranks No. 15 all-time at UVa among midfielders.
Scales (Denver, Colo.) became UVa’s 11th all-time player to be named ACC Freshman of the Year after leading the nation’s freshmen with 25 caused turnovers. In his first career start against then-No. 3 Cornell, Scales helped the Cavalier defense force eventual Tewaaraton Trophy winner Rob Pannell into a career-high eight turnovers, collecting three caused turnovers on the stat sheet by himself.
McWilliams (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) is a two-time USILA All-American, including earning second team honors in 2013 along with All-ACC accolades. McWilliams finished No. 2 in the nation with 36 caused turnovers. Tucker (Towson, Md.) is an All-ACC academic honoree in 2013. The junior scored 15 goals and picked up 24 ground balls during his sophomore campaign.
LaPierre (Medford, N.J.) returns to the Cavaliers for a fifth year after receiving a medical hardship waiver for the 2013 season. LaPierre is a two-time USILA All-American and was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 Major League Lacrosse Draft by the Hamilton Nationals. The dissolution of the Nationals coincides with the formation of the Florida Launch, who holds LaPierre’s rights after his collegiate eligibility is extinguished at Virginia.
Virginia posted a 7-8 record in 2013 and missed the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in head coach Dom Starsia’s 21 seasons on Grounds. The Cavaliers return seven starters, 30 letterwinners and 65 percent of its scoring from 2013, but lost two of its top three scorers to graduation. UVa welcomes the nation’s No. 4 recruiting class according to Inside Lacrosse and 12 newcomers, including fifth-year transfer Joseph Lisicky and second-year transfer Nate Menninger.