Abby Taylor, the only true senior on the Virginia field hockey team, is no stranger to adversity on the field. She was there in 2004 when the Cavaliers finished 10-10, and in 2005 when they finished 8-11. She knows what it's like to be part of a team that is in the basement of the ACC. Being a Cavalier before 2006 was not an easy experience.
"Whenever you play in college, you always came on the best high school team," Taylor said. "So when you come in losing, it was terrible."
Yet Taylor's challenges were not limited to on-the-field competition. Taylor was born with patellofemoral syndrome, a condition characterized by pain to the front of the knee. This pain, which has bothered her in both legs throughout her career, caused her to miss a large portion of the 2005 season. In the offseason after the 2006 season, Taylor underwent lateral release surgery, an arthroscopic knee operation in which tight ligaments in the knee are cut to allow the patella to move normally. The invasive procedure led to an eight-month rehabilitation process.
"It was a really rough time last spring," Taylor said. "I felt like I had support, but I never got to see them [her supporters] because I was always in the training room."
Taylor's diligence in her rehabilitation was motivated by her desire to return to a team on the rise. In 2006, fueled by an overhaul of the coaching staff, the Cavaliers went 14-8, won their first ACC game in six years and made the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. In the midst of the struggle with her knee condition, no one was more gratified by the team's sudden ascent than Taylor.
"You don't take anything for granted when you go from a losing team to a winning team," Taylor said. "You work hard every day, because you don't want to go back to where you started."
One person aware of Taylor's excitement surrounding the team's turnaround was Virginia coach Michele Madison.
"I recruited her to Michigan State, so I remember the meeting in the office with her, so we had some history anyway," Madison said. "She was one kid who jumped on board right away."
Taylor's willingness to adapt both to the team's needs and to her own is indicative of her attitude on and off the field. Her return to the starting lineup in 2007 following her offseason surgery was true to her optimistic disposition.
"When it comes down to business she always does it," Madison said. "She just loves life and wears her heart on her sleeve and says whatever's on her mind."
Taylor has been rewarded for her efforts this season with a new leadership role as team captain.
"It's cool because I finally get a chance to be a leader," Taylor said. "I know there are some things that I didn't like when I was a first-year about older kids, so I always try to improve those things"
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