After the seniors on last year's men's lacrosse national championship team graduated, some important questions about this year's team were left unanswered.
The biggest concern was on defense, as starters Ned Bowen and David Burman both departed, leaving behind only preseason first-team All-American senior Brett Hughes. Stepping in to fill the place of Bowen and Burman were sophomores Michael Culver and Steve Holmes, with freshman Ricky Smith to serve as a substitute.
"We've gotten good play there from those guys throughout the year," coach Dom Starsia said of the defense. "That's certainly been a high point for us."
Culver played in all 17 games as a freshman last season, mostly as a long-stick midfielder. The 6-foot-1-inch, 195-pound Culver gathered 15 ground balls on the year, the fourth most of all ACC rookie longstickmen.
His most valuable experience, however, may have come over the summer, as Culver captained the U.S. Under-19 National Team that won the World Championship.
Starsia said he believes that, in addition to Culver's natural athleticism, his work ethic has been a key to his success.
"Mike's one of the hardest workers I've ever seen on the lacrosse field," he said.
On the season, Culver has started in seven of eight games, collecting 17 ground balls while committing only seven turnovers. He has taken nine penalties, the most on the team, for a total of 7 minutes and 30 seconds.
Sophomore Steve Holmes has prior playing experience at Virginia but took last season off from both the team and school because of personal reasons.
As a freshman in 2002, Holmes was one of seven ACC rookies and one of nine ACC defensemen to start every game. Holmes was third among ACC freshmen in ground balls, totaling 41 in the 13-game season.
Like Culver, Holmes started his freshman year at long-stick midfielder. He received significant playing time because of an injury to then-senior and All-American Mark Koontz. Holmes was subsequently moved to close defense during the NCAA tournament and remained there until the 2002 national semifinal loss to Syracuse.
"It definitely helped me a lot," Holmes said of the experience he gleaned from his freshman year. "They were all experienced. Mark Koontz especially, with him being hurt, was a mentor for me."
Holmes said in addition to becoming a starter, he and Culver are also in leadership roles this season.
"Mike and I are both pretty young and are focusing most on the team defense," Holmes said. "We've got a lot of new guys all around the board so we have to be leaders even before we're quite ready to."
Holmes has started six of eight games in 2004, collecting 28 ground balls to eight turnovers. He also has an assist on the offensive end.
Smith has started two of eight games in his freshman year, collecting 18 ground balls. He has been penalty-prone, however, taking eight for a total of 7 minutes and 30 seconds.
Starsia spoke highly of Smith's composure and high school background.
"Ricky has actually got good poise for a freshman," Starsia said. "He comes from a pedigree program on Long Island. What he has to learn is to be a little bit more physical overall -- to put his hands on people and not just use his stick."
Starsia expressed a bright outlook on the future of the team, specifically its young defensive core.
"We've got three good, young kids there," Starsia said. "I feel pretty good about our future being able to build it around those kids."
The future of Virginia lacrosse will continue to progress with its next test Saturday at North Carolina.
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