Returning from a 15-4 season in 2006 that included an ACC championship (the team's second in three years) and advancing to the NCAA Championships for the 11th consecutive year, the Virginia women's lacrosse team is working hard to prepare for the 2007 season.
The squad opened up the season with a series of scrimmages at the South of the Border Tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C., where the Cavaliers faced ACC-rivals Duke, North Carolina and Davidson.
"We have been working a lot harder this preseason than in the past," senior co-captain Jess Wasilewski said. "It felt really great that we had a really good weekend at South of the Border."
The fact that most of the players are returning for this season is one of the reasons why the Cavaliers are ranked among the top 10 teams in three different preseason polls. Lacrosse Magazine awarded Virginia with a No. 2 ranking, the Inside Lacrosse media poll ranked the team at No. 7, and the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coach's Poll named them No. 9.
One sign that the program is considerably improving is the fact that sophomore Blair Weymouth was given the National Rookie of the Year award and was later selected to play with the U.S. National Developmental Women's Lacrosse Team. Senior Jessy Morgan, junior Megan O'Malley and sophomore Jen Holden played along with Weymouth on the team.
But enough with the past, Virginia is ready to kick off the season next Wednesday against arch-nemesis Virginia Tech. A win against Tech would earn Virginia a point towards the Commonwealth Challenge, an all-sports yearly competition between the Cavaliers and Hokies.
"This year our focus has been a lot on the running aspect of the game," Weymouth said of the team's offseason preparations. "If we have the talent and we're fast and we're in really good shape, hopefully that'll just bring us more wins ... and keep us playing later in the season, too"
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