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Jan. 13, 2015

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Meghan O’Leary, a former two-sport student-athlete and Jefferson Scholar at Virginia and current member of the USRowing Board of Directors, will be honored on National Girls and Women in Sports Day when the Cavalier women’s basketball team hosts Georgia Tech on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.

National Girls and Women in Sports Day brings national attention to the achievements of female athletes and to issues facing girls and women in sport. The event is co-sponsored by the University of Virginia Athletics Department and the University of Virginia Women’s Center.

The theme of this year’s event is “Bold in the Pursuit of Excellence.”

O’Leary was a two-sport student athlete at Virginia playing volleyball for two seasons (2003-04) and softball for four years (2005-08), including being named the softball team captain in 2008. She was a Jefferson Scholar and a five-time member of the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll. Following graduation, O’Leary was a full-time staff member in production and programming for ESPN.

In 2010, O’Leary’s career took a dramatic turn after picking up an oar for the first time and discovering she had a love for rowing. By 2011, she joined the USRowing National Training Center in Princeton, N.J., and since has earned a spot on two U.S. Senior National Teams (2013-14) and is an Olympic hopeful for 2016. O’Leary has represented America at the last two World Rowing Championships in the women’s double sculls and in 2014 was named the Female Athlete Representative on the USRowing Board of Directors.

O’Leary will be the featured guest at a pregame reception and she will be honored on the court at halftime of the Virginia-Georgia Tech women’s basketball game.

National Girls and Women in Sports Day will also feature a pregame sports festival held in the men’s basketball practice court at John Paul Jones Arena. The festival will include seven sports stations for youth to visit, including basketball, field hockey, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and volleyball. The festival will take place from 12:30-1:45 p.m. Youth completing all seven stations will receive a complimentary t-shirt. Admission to the festival is free with a game ticket.

There will also be activities for youth set-up in the main lobby of the arena starting at 12:30 p.m., including a photo booth, a sign-making station, face painting, a balloon artist, and inflatable games.

Recent honorees at Virginia’s National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration include two-time volleyball MVP and philanthropist Amy (Mitchell) Griffin, Olympic-gold-medal swimmer Lauren Perdue, Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese (members of the Cavalier field hockey team and gold-medal winners at the 2011 Pan Am games with USA Field Hockey), Natalie Randolph (former UVa track standout and varsity football coach at Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C.) and Lindsay Shoop (former UVa rower and Olympic gold medalist).

Single-game ticket prices for all home games are $10 for Reserved seating, $8 for adult General Admission and $6 for youth (18 & under), senior (60 & over) and UVa faculty/staff General Admission. Fans may purchase home game tickets through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office online at VirginiaSports.com, by phone and in person. The Virginia Athletics Ticket Office is located in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium and open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821) or locally at 434-924-UVA1 (8821).

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