To Iraq and back: Leitao talks hoops with American soldiers as part of USO Tour
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: June 29, 2008

When Dave Leitao embarked on a recent USO Tour to the Persian Gulf Region, the Virginia basketball coach had several purposes for making the trip.
First and foremost was to provide a little piece of home to all the U.S. troops he would meet on the tour. Certainly, he wanted to talk some basketball because, after all the USO tagged the trip “Operation Hoop Talk: Talking with the Troops.” A more personal reason was to seek out answers about the war and what’s really going in the Middle East.
Now that he’s back on American soil, Leitao said he had a greater appreciation for U.S. efforts in the region and felt good about interaction with both military and civilian personnel he met along the way.
“The two things that stick out in my mind the most were all the conversations that myself and other coaches had with individuals, anywhere from a private first class all the way up to a general, to gain a personal perspective,” Leitao said. “That sticks with me because it’s not something that you see every day on television or read about in the newspapers.
“The other thing is the vastness of this project, this war, or whatever you want to call it. There’s so many people involved and it crosses over to so many different things that one doesn’t always think about,” Leitao said. “There’s up to 30 to 40 percent civilian personnel, contractors, everything, that provide every service imaginable. So, I was taken aback by the amount of people involved on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.”
While windstorms prevented Leitao and five other coaches from visiting all the cities and bases that were scheduled, including Baghdad, they still covered as much ground as possible. The tour began in Kuwait for a briefing, then headed to two cities in northern Iraq, including Mosul, where there’s continuing stabilization.
By windstorms, Leitao explained there was more than just wind involved, making travel conditions treacherous for a number of reasons.
“The wind’s kicking up and the sand is blowing all over the place, and because you’re in the desert and there’s a lot more sand than there is anything else, the residue from that wind kind of keeps a haze over the sky for two or three days on end,” Leitao said. “Your visibility may not be more than a quarter of a mile, tops, and so you really can’t fly anything.”
Such storms are dangerous for another reason as well. Insurgents strike most often during the storms because they can’t be seen, and U.S. troops respond likewise, making civilian travel impossible.
“Plus, it’s unhealthy because you can taste the sand in the air when you’re outside for a period of time,” the coach said. “I shudder to think what goes on in the long term, breathing that in and having it lie in your lungs over a period of time.”
The delegation of coaches included Army’s Jim Crews, Gary Stewart of UC-Davis, Jeff Bzdelik of Colorado, The Citadel’s Ed Conroy, and former New York Knicks assistant general manager Jeff Nix.
Basketball was on the agenda and so Leitao was eager to talk hoops with those he met whether it was individually, in group settings or at meet and greets.
“We’d sit around and talk about Virginia basketball or any of the other basketball teams that the other five coaches represented,” Leitao said. “A lot of times people were familiar with the popularity of college basketball and were familiar with our program or the other programs, or individuals in those programs. We talked about basketball specifically and had a little clinic while we were over there, and even had a game on one of the bases between an Army squad and an Air Force squad.”
Leitao and the others coached in the game.
On a previous USO trip to Japan in 2006, Leitao met up with all sorts of military personnel that had connections to the state of Virginia, military bases in the state, or the University of Virginia. While he didn’t meet quite as many Virginians this time around, he still was surprised at who he bumped into.
“I met a young woman who was enlisted personnel from Farmville, and I met a gentleman that I had met a few years ago when I first came to UVa, a fellow who had worked on Grounds around University Hall, and had enlisted in the Army,” Leitao said. “I think he was on his second deployment and wants to some day get his job back here on Grounds, so that was a significant tie-in.”
Leitao also met a man that had run in marathons in Charlottesville and remained a runner, and linked up with a lieutenant colonel, whose daughter is a sophomore at Virginia. While they didn’t meet, they chatted via video conference from another base.
“I had met him briefly when he was visiting the school with his daughter and wife, and so when he heard we were in the country, he was obviously very happy that we were over there,” the coach said. “I’m hoping that I get a chance to see his daughter and let her know that I at least saw him by video while I was over there.”
The coaches were as well protected as possible and kept out of harm’s way, but there’s always that threat.
“We really didn’t go what’s called ‘outside the wire,’ which is off base. But when you have sandstorms, you have attacks, so on the Sunday before we left there were some mortar attacks that were headed for our base,” Leitao explained. “But they were more unsophisticated than anything else, so they never really hit any targets. We were on yellow alert, but if you go to red, you’re ordered to hit the ground or get outside and get into a bunker. We never got that and I don’t think I worried too much because we were in good hands.”
His wife, Joyce, wasn’t real crazy about her husband traveling to a war zone, but Leitao put her fears to rest and communicated via e-mail and phone calls so that she knew he was okay.
“But, I’m sure she was happy when I came back,” the coach said.
Leitao made good use of his time there, often staying up late for conversation with as many people as he could meet. Like most Americans who aren’t sure if media reports or politicians are telling the full story, Leitao sought the truth. He chatted for five hours — until four in the morning — with a colonel and a sergeant-major to get a real feel for the conflict.
“Amongst all the conversations I had, I thought that was probably the most real description of what was really going on,” Leitao said. “Although both of them and the people under them wanted to go home at some point, end their deployment and rejoin their families, I did not get from them or anyone that I met over there, anything less than enthusiasm about why they’re there and the mission they have.
“So, that was really important to understand that although they’re over there and it’s always tough and they know it’s getting ready to be 140 degrees, and that their lives are on the line, everybody believes there’s a mission to be done, and that in the last four months some major progress has been made,” Leitao said.
Leitao has shared his experience with as many people as he can since his return in hopes of giving fellow Americans and inside view of the Persian Gulf region.

Cavs' offseason full of questions
Among Dave Leitao's issues are Sean Singletary's departure and surgeries for two key senior players.
By Melinda Waldrop | 247-4634
July 2, 2008

The 2007-08 men's basketball season at Virginia is filled with questions, with veteran point guard Sean Singletary gone to the NBA, two key returning seniors recovering from offseason surgery and a trio of talented but untested freshmen settling into Charlottesville. Cavaliers basketball coach Dave Leitao, in Hampton on Tuesday to speak at a Virginia High School Coaches Association clinic, helped provide some answers.

Q: Singletary was drafted by the Sacramento Kings, who seem a little thin at guard. He may be able to compete for playing time right away, but would it be better if there were a veteran guard to help bring him along?

A: He's in a good organization, which is first and foremost. The things that will be taught to him or told to him are things that will be more concrete and usable than anything else, and I think that means a lot, because you're looking to learn and you're looking for longevity. The playing time will come if you work hard, no matter who's there. ... There will be some ups and downs like with every situation, but if he continues to stay focused and keep balanced and then listen to the right people, he'll be fine.

Q: Mock drafts aren't always worth much, but were you surprised to see Singletary fall completely off some pre-draft boards?

A: There are going to be naysayers, because not a lot of people like small guards, but then there are a lot of people that were in love with him. As I kept telling him, it only takes one. You just want one team to believe in you enough to select you, and that's what happened.

Q: What does your team look like post-Singletary (Virginia's starting point guard in 122 of its last 123 games)?

A: It's the summer, so I don't have as much contact. But what we've got the guys doing, they're up there, they're working very hard, they're constantly keeping busy. The challenge every day is to use this time to get better individually and become closer as a team, and I think that's what's going on.

Q: Is it good to see guard Sammy Zeglinski (granted a medical redshirt after two ankle surgeries kept him out of all but eight games his freshman season) off crutches?

A: He's working hard. It obviously takes him a little while to get his rhythm back, and then once he does that, he's got to get full confidence in himself and his teammates. It's a process, but it's just very nice to see him back and running around.

Q: What about Mamadi Diane (the Cavaliers' leading returner scorer who had surgery on his left foot)?

A: It's gonna be a while. He's gonna be on crutches for six weeks or eight weeks, and then start a process that will be a little bit slower. Like most of the guys right now, I'd rather take it slow than have any setbacks. We'll wait on him probably toward the end of the summer if not the fall.

Q: How key are Diane and fellow senior Lars Mikalauskas (recovering from April 4 shoulder surgery) to Virginia's success this season?

A: Any team's success is going to be based on experience, and they're our two most experienced guys in meetings and time on the court. I think it would be important for a lot of reasons to have them. But also I think with them being injured, it gives the other guys a chance to fill in the blanks a little bit.

Q: Will Tunji Soroye be back? (Soroye, who missed all but two games of his senior season with knee and back injuries, still is awaiting an NCAA ruling on a medical redshirt. If he does return, it wouldn't be on scholarship, as the Cavaliers are at their NCAA limit of 13).

A: We're still going through that process. As I've said all along, it's continuing to be a paperwork issue, and until we get the paperwork signed off on and taken care of, it's still up in the air.

Q: If he comes back, do you envision him as a mentor to Assane Sene (the Cavs' 7-foot signee out of South Kent (Conn.) School)?

A: While they'll be in competition, any time you have an older guy, you can teach younger people, but I don't want to put that on his shoulders and take away his ability to lead and be successful. He'll be able to teach, but (he'll be) more of a stabilizing force within our locker room, not just for Assane or (6-11 freshman) John (Brandenburg) but for everybody, because he's seen the good, he's seen the bad, he's seen the ugly.

Q: There's been talk about freshman Sylven Landesberg (a 6-foot-6 guard from Holy Cross High School (N.Y.) who is Virginia's first McDonald's and Parade All-America selection since 1999) being able to play right away. Do you think that's possible?

A: It's almost like talking about the mock draft. The things that you talk about now, you've got to put on the floor and make happen. It's my hope that he can have an impact sooner rather than later, but you've got to get out there and you've got to show yourself and you've got to put it all together before you can say that that will happen.

Q: How did your trip last month to visit U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf affect you, and will it have any effect on your coaching?

A: It was a very informative, very interesting life experience. It kind of alters your thought process about a lot of different things. ... I think what it impacts is my view. My view obviously extends to our players, and how I can talk to them about life, and about preparation for life, and what they're in the middle of now and how they need to look at it.

Freshman Sene begins settling in at UVa
By Whitey Reid
Published: July 2, 2008

Assane Sene, the oldest of six children, grew up playing soccer in Senegal. Since nobody in his family is particularly tall, he figured that would be his sport.
But then Sene sprouted.
“I knew I was getting tall and people said, ‘You have to play basketball because of your height,’” Sene explained. “I gave up soccer and started playing basketball.”
A few years later, Sene was recruited by South Kent Preparatory School in Connecticut. The school brought him to the United States. They gave him a scholarship. This fall, Sene will be playing in the ACC as a freshman at Virginia.
“I’m very happy to be here,” said Sene, who chose UVa over Connecticut and Syracuse. “I like my school. I like my teammates. I like my coaches. So I’m just enjoying the summer. I’m getting used to working out and also getting used to classes.”
Nobody is happier to have Sene in the fold than Virginia coach Dave Leitao.
Ever since Leitao came aboard three years ago, he’s had a dearth of skilled big men. Now, with Sene and fellow incoming freshman John Brandenburg, he has two guys totaling about 14 feet.
One of the most exciting things about the 7-foot Sene — in addition to his impressive wingspan (his arms look longer than most people’s legs) — is his upside.
“Assane is still developing as a player,” Leitao said. “He’s worked so hard at rebounding and defense — he has a natural knack in those areas, which usually come first with an international player.
“He also possesses the ability, because he has a terrific touch and feel on offense, to become a really good offensive player.”
Sene has only been playing basketball for five years — and for only about a year in the United States. That’s one of the reasons he was only rated as a 3-out-of-5 star prospect by the main recruiting services.
Virginia assistant coach Bill Courtney — who only began recruiting Sene during UVa’s 2007 Elite Camp — has no doubt that Sene will be able to improve by leaps and bounds during his college career.
“He plays harder than anybody else,” Courtney said. “He plays harder than any big guy I’ve ever seen. He’s improved in just a year a great deal. He has a great work ethic and is a tremendous kid — one of the best.”
Sene’s new teammates have already been pretty impressed.
“He’s long,” said incoming freshman Sylven Landesberg. “He can do a lot of things — block shots, rebound. He gets a lot of easy baskets because he gets those offensive boards.”
Sene, along with Landesberg and Brandenburg, recently took part in Virginia’s annual Elite Camp at John Paul Jones Arena.
The big men put on an impressive shotblocking display. During one scrimmage, Sene swatted a Brandenburg shot in the lane.
“It was fun,” said Sene, whose favorite NBA player is Kevin Garnett. “Every time I play against him I try and get [a block] on him because I know he has my same height and I know right now that everywhere you go in the [ACC] you will see big guys like him.
“I need to play well against him in order to improve my game.”
While Sene is clearly much further along in his defense and rebounding than he is in shooting the basketball, the lefthander seems to have the tools to develop a nice offensive repertoire. On one sequence, he posted his defender up, then executed a pretty step-back jumper from the baseline.
Brandenburg was pretty impressed with Sene’s game.
“He’s really athletic,” Brandenburg said. “When he gets a little bit stronger, I think he’s going to be really good.”
Sene says that’s one of his biggest objectives before the season gets going. With renowned strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown in the weight room — Brown has worked for the NBA’s Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors — Sene should have no problem packing on some muscle to his sinewy 220-pound frame.
“Every time I play with someone, like Jerome [Meyinsse] I know he’s stronger than me and Tunji, I know he’s stronger than me,” Sene said. “Nobody has to tell me that I have to go to the gym. I know that myself.
“I know I need to gain weight in order to improve my game. You need to be strong so you can finish around the basket. I’m trying to gain weight. That’s how I know I can improve my game.”
One of the things that should help ease Sene’s transition to Virginia is the presence of fellow African Solomon Tat, a Nigeria native. Sene and Tat, who are both fluent in a number of languages, have already formed a great friendship.
Tat was Sene’s host when he made his official visit to Virginia last fall.
“He’s a really good guy,” Tat said. “We’re glad to have him because he’s a tough kid. He’s aggressive and I enjoy playing with him.
“I’ll be there for him and help him get more comfortable and through school and stuff like that. We hang out a lot together.”
Sene says he misses his family a lot. However, he understands that being away from them is necessary if he wants to attain his ultimate goal — a career in the NBA.
“I haven’t seen them since I’ve been [in the United States],” Sene said. “It’s kind of hard, but I’m trying to do my best because now I know what I want. [NBA] is my goal. That’s why I’m trying to play hard and try and improve my game.”

 

Q&A with John Phillips
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 06/12/2008

Virginia senior tight end John Phillips and a large number of the Cavalier football team are currently attending summer school and participating in various conditioning programs in preparation for the 2008 season. Phillips, who is a team captain for 2008, had 17 receptions for 193 yards and two scores during his junior season. With the departure of Tom Santi (sixth round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts) and Jonathan Stupar (free agent signee with the New England Patriots), Phillips will play a much larger role on the Cavalier offense in the upcoming season. He talks about the importance of UVa’s off-season program.

Question: How important is this part of the year for a football team?
Phillips: This is probably one of the most important times to build the team up and build the character and identity of the entire team. In the summer, there are not that many people here. We work out together in the mornings and then have seven-on-seven workouts in the afternoon, which is something we have to take control and ownership of since the coaches cannot be involved. We have to do all of that by ourselves. We spend a lot of time together off the field, just hanging out, having a barbecue or other things. We spend a lot of time together and a lot of relationships are created between the players on the team.

I love this time of year. It is perfect. You can concentrate on your school work. The teachers are all great about working with you since the class sizes are smaller. You can get a lot of one-on-one work. All of the players are around, so I really love this time of year because there are not any distractions around.

Question: What are you doing now differently since you are now a team captain?
Phillips: I’m not going to try and change up too much. I think everyone on our team is hard working and I feel like I fit into that same category. I just try to go out there and work as hard as I can every day and try to get better on every level.

Question: Describe yourself as a leader on this team.
Phillips: I think the captains are more vocal this year. We all have different personalities, but as a whole we are more vocal and try to cheer people on or to jump on people to help develop the team and make the type of team we want to have around here. We have goals we have set and we’re trying to hit them. If you want to hit your ultimate goals, the summer time is a time to do that.

Question: What are some of the things you see as positives about the team heading into the fall in terms of how it is working in the off-season?
Phillips: There are a lot of guys on this team who are buying into the system. A lot of guys on the team are really anxious about the season. We want to prove a lot of people wrong who think we are down and don’t think we will be very good. That’s a lot of motivation for us. A lot of guys are working really hard for this season and ready to go. That’s good to see.

Question: Some of the preseason football magazines are now out and one has Virginia predicted to finish last in its division of the ACC. How does that make you feel?
Phillips: It is all motivation. I’ve read those articles. We see that. People might overlook us because they see us as an academic school. That’s the type of school we are. We are solid both on and off the field. I think those types of comments and articles helps to build our character. Their job is to say or write what they think. That’s fine. Our job is to win football games. We’ll let them do the picking and we’ll just keep doing what we are doing.

Question: While the coaches cannot participate in the off-season conditioning the team does, you still have the opportunity to talk with them during the summer.
Phillips: We have one of the greatest coaching staffs in the world. We have coaches who work extremely hard, put in the extra hours and are here early in the morning and late at night. Coach (Al) Groh himself, his personality and the way he leads and coaches, it’s great to be a part of that. Chris (Long) was my roommate and we talked about that all the time. Coach Groh has a great passion for the game and I think that carries over to our other coaches. They all have a great passion and understanding of the game. They put in a lot of work to put us in a great situation to be the best we can be. I feel like we always have a solid game plan going into every game. They put us into a situation where, if we can execute the game plan, we will win.

Question: You went to the NFL Draft in New York City. How was that experience.
Phillips: I had a great time up there. We were up in the balcony. When Chris (Long) walked out he pointed up to us and it got pretty rowdy up there. It was great to be with such a solid group of guys – Chris being one of them and a great friend. He’s a tremendous guy. I could not pick a better friend or roommate. Being with him and being with a bunch of other solid dudes in New York City, just having a great time, it was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. You are with the people you really love. It’s like being with your family members. For Chris, when he got drafted, it was like we got drafted. We all feel like we are a part of him. It’s ‘We, Us and Ours’ around here. When he was drafted, it was great for all of us. It was a compliment for the whole team.

Question: One of the things the team is doing this year is working with a yoga instructor. How do you like that?
Phillips: It is a new experience for me. But hey, anything to get an edge. If taking yoga helps you to get more flexible and that gives you an edge, then that’s what we have to do. I like the way we bring some new ideas into the team. We have a nutritionist who plans out what we eat. All of those small things help to make this an elite program. I’m not sure who came up with the idea, but hopefully it will work out. It’s a great workout.

Question: Do you have a favorite yoga position?
Phillips: Not yet. My joints are still getting used to being twisted up like this.

Question: It is summer and you need to relax a little. Have you found a fishing hole in Charlottesville?
Phillips: No, I’ll go back home to Bath County. There are three rivers about 20 minutes from my house I like to fish. Mostly for trout. My cousin owns a boat, so we’ll go out every once in a while to go bass fishing.



 

N.J. sleeper Wallace makes pledge to Cavaliers
By Jay Jenkins
Published: June 30, 2008

The fact that Virginia offered Cody Wallace a big-time Division I scholarship did not surprise coach Russ Horton.

He was shocked, however, that the offer came so early in the college football recruiting process.

In fact, the longtime coach at Moorestown High in New Jersey — a program fresh off a state title and five trips to the playoffs over the past six years — has never had a player commit before the start of his senior season.

Wallace, a 6-foot-5, 260-pound offensive lineman, made that a reality last week when he committed to Virginia coach Al Groh following one of the program’s numerous summer camps. He becomes the 18th player to verbally commit for the Class of 2009.

“I guess that is just the way that everybody is doing it now,” Horton said. “Penn State is the same way, Rutgers is the same way … I guess it is just a sign of the times and there is a rush out there to get the good players.”

Horton believes Virginia found a gem in Wallace, who left Monday for an 11-day trip to Spain.

“Big men are hard to find, which I kept being told from all the recruiters coming in,” Horton said. “The biggest thing is that he can move and can move that well, so I wasn’t surprised.

“I was just a little surprised that colleges have been doing it that early.”

It was during Wallace’s sophomore campaign that the school’s coaching staff knew national attention was on the horizon. Wallace landed his first offer from Central Florida and other countless programs, including Miami and Penn State, expressed sincere interest.

Credit Mother Nature to a degree on that front.

“I coached his older brother, and as a sophomore, you could see that Cody was going to be bigger, but he just kept growing,” Horton said. “We were surprised at how big he got. I thought he was going to be a 6-foot-3 kid, but he has continued to grow and he is up to 6-5 and once you hit that, if you can move a little bit, college coaches are going to be interested.

“Luckily, he moves very well for a big guy.”

Wallace, in fact, has been clocked at 5.0 and better in the 40-yard dash at national scouting combines.

A two-way player in high school, numerous programs projected Wallace as a defensive lineman at the next level, Horton said.

“Some schools were looking at him defensively,” the coach said. “He played on the strong side defensively for us, and he was very good. He is just one of those players, when you go back and watch film, that other teams run opposite from. He is obviously a big guy and opposite him we had a little guy, who is a tremendous football player and it was a lose-lose for them.

“You could tell that they made a decision to at least try and attack the smaller defensive end. Cody was a very important part of our defense.”

Wallace, who is not yet ranked by recruiting services, becomes the third offensive lineman for the ’09 class, a group that could include three more additions.

 

Looking for a peak performance
By Jay Jenkins
Published: June 29, 2008

It is commonly known that professional football players annually migrate to the University of Miami during the offseason to train among the sport’s best athletes.
For the past few weeks, a similar practice has been in place at the University of Virginia’s Aquatic and Fitness Center.
Scores of swimmers with ties to the Virginia men’s and women’s programs have trained countless hours for one common goal: excelling at the U.S. Olympic Trials, an eight-day event that gets underway today in Omaha, Neb.
In all, Virginia is sending 35 swimmers with ties to the program, a figure that includes three alums and seven future Cavaliers.
Last week, the magnitude and multitude of what Virginia has accomplished with its eye-catching qualifying efforts finally hit Pat Mellors.
“I was just thinking after practice the other day about it and I couldn’t even imagine how many people we have going,” said Mellors, who redshirted this season to focus on the trials. “The sheer numbers … I don’t even know how many there.
“It is really unbelievable. You can’t imagine that there are like 40 kids that are going to be at this meet from our team.”
At least one swimmer headed to the sport’s biggest national stage looked at it in a slightly different light.
“I think once you are a Cavalier and you know what the team is all about and you know what your brothers and sisters do with every day, any time something good happens, you are not surprised,” said Matt McLean, the 2008 ACC swimmer and freshman of the year.
“Virginia swimming puts in a lot of work and gets a lot of results, and we are all really proud of that. We are glad to have each other as teammates.”
In order to qualify for the Olympics individually, the swimmers from coach Mark Bernardino’s nationally acclaimed squad must finish in the top two spots in the finals.
That is a daunting task for what many think will be the fastest meet in the world this year.
“It has been said pretty commonly that the United States Olympic Trials are going to be faster than the Olympic games,” McLean said. “It is unbelievable.”
The national coach for the U.S., Mark Schubert, told reporters that “a number of events will be so hotly contested that there’s a possibility that third place would be on the medal stand in Beijing, so that’s going to provide a lot of drama.”
Mellors said he even read where Schubert commented that it would take a world record time to qualify.
“I think his statement is a little extreme,” Mellors added, “but I agree that there is very little margin for error unless you are one or two swimmers, both male and female combined.”
Many of the swimmers with ties to UVa will compete in multiple events, including McLean, but attempting to hold energy back for later events is not an option.
“You have to give every event 100 percent,” McLean said. “There’s no room for mistakes at a meet like this. In my first NCAAs, the best advice that Mark told me was, ‘you have to be ready to go in the morning in prelims.’
“I was ready to go and I went into finals seeded eighth and I came out fourth. I credit that to Mark and my team.”
To an outsider it would appear that failing to reach the Olympic games would devastate swimmers that circled the trial dates on their calendars years ago and worked for that accomplishment.
With a packed schedule each year, swimmers do not base their careers in a 364-days-until-hockey-tryouts-type fashion like Happy Gilmore.
“Ultimately, this is very, very important, but four years ago I wasn’t saying, ‘I am three years and 150 days out from the Olympics,’” Mellors said. “I was trying to get ready for World University Games or Senior Nationals. It’s kind of like a stepping-stone process and you are not really looking forward solely to [the trials] itself.
“I don’t think you can really treat it like that because I have done a lot of other stuff over the past four years that I am really proud of.”

 

Bordley Honored as VaSID Player of the Year
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 07/01/2008
Courtesy: David Petkofsky/UVa Media Relations

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Cavalier senior defender Claire Bordley was named the state Player of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID), the organization announced today. Bordley is the fifth consecutive Cavalier to be named the state Player of the Year, while a pair of members of the William & Mary lacrosse program, head coach Christine Halfpenny and midfielder Grace Golden, were honored as the coach and rookie of the year, respectively. Virginia led all schools with eight players honored between the two teams, with senior Kendall McBrearty and junior Ashley McCulloch joining Bordley on the first team. Sophomore Kaitlin Duff, senior Alice Hughey, sophomore Brittany Kalkstein, senior Megan O’Malley and junior Blair Weymouth were selected to the second team.

Bordley was a consensus first-team All-American after earning the honors from womenslacrosse.com, insidelacrosse.com and the IWLCA/US Lacrosse. She joins Kate Breslin (2007), Nikki Lieb (2006) and Amy Appelt (2005, 2004) as consecutive Cavaliers to be named the state Player of the Year.

The anchor of Virginia’s defense this season, Bordley scooped up 35 ground balls and won 29 draw controls, while collecting 19 caused turnovers. Bordley shut down opponents’ top attackers and was crucial in Virginia’s transition game. She earned first-team All-South Region and All-ACC honors, in addition to being named to the ACC All-Tournament Team. The senior was voted the recipient of LaxPower’s Defender of the Year Fan Award.

McBrearty, voted the state’s top goalkeeper, wraps up her career as one of the top goalies in the nation. The senior was named to top keeper in the league and region this season and was named a second-team All-American. The two-time MVP of the ACC Tournament led the conference in GAA and save percentage all season, in addition to being ranked third and sixth in the categories, respectively. She earned All-ACC honors for the first time this year and was voted the team’s MVP and the recipient of LaxPower’s Senior Goalie of the Year Fan Award. She finishes her career among Virginia’s top keepers, ranking eighth with 331 career saves and ninth in allowing just 7.60 goals throughout her career.

McCulloch was the quarterback to the Cavaliers’ offense this season and earned first-team honors. In collecting a team-best 58 points, the junior earned second-team All-America honors and was a first-team All-South Region pick. In dishing out a team-high 34 assists, she ranked second in the conference and 18th nationally with 1.89 helpers per game. She earned All-ACC honors and was named to the ACC All-Tournament team after scoring the game-winning goal in Virginia’s 10-9 overtime victory over top-seeded Maryland, leading the Cavaliers to their third-straight conference championship.

Duff led Virginia’s transition game and was honored on the second-team. The speedy lefty was a consistent force in clearing the ball and creating fast break opportunities for the Cavaliers. The sophomore earned All-ACC honors and was one of only four second-years named to an All-South Region squad. She was the conference’s top field player in collecting loose balls and led Virginia with 40 ground balls. In addition, she won 15 draw controls and had 21 caused turnovers.

Hughey stepped up for the Cavaliers in her first year as a starting defender and earned second-team honors. She led the team in caused turnovers and was ranked nationally throughout most of the season in the category with 26. She collected 26 ground balls to rank fourth on the team and won eight draw controls.

Kalkstein, the 2007 VaSID Rookie of the Year, earned second-team honors after leading the team and ranking nationally in draw controls this season. The sophomore currently sits sixth on Virginia’s career records for draws with 117. She was named to the ACC All-Tournament team this season and was ranked third on the team in goals scored and fourth in points and assists.

O’Malley was Virginia’s top offensive midfielder and scored the game-winning goal in the Cavaliers’ 10-9 win over Duke in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, en route to All-Tournament honors. She was named the recipient of LaxPower’s Senior Attacker of the Year Fan Award. She finished the season with 25 goals and 33 points. She scooped up 18 ground balls, won 13 draw controls and caused 13 turnovers.

Weymouth rounds out Virginia’s selection to the all-state team. The junior attacker earned her third All-America distinction in three-straight seasons being honored on the IWLCA/US Lacrosse third-team. Weymouth missed a portion of the beginning of the season, but came back to rank second on the team with 35 goals and third with 46 points. After scoring five goals in her season debut to lead Virginia to a win over then-No. 4 Syracuse, Weymouth was honored as WomensLax’s Player of the Week. She later earned ACC Player of the Week honors after tallying seven points (four goals, three assists) in a win over conference-foe North Carolina.

The Cavaliers wrapped up their 2008 campaign at 14-4 and 4-1 in the league. Virginia won its third-straight ACC Championship and earned an automatic bid into its 13th-consecutive NCAA Tournament.

VaSID Women's Lacrosse University Division All-State Honors
Player of the Year: Claire Bordley, Virginia
Rookie of the Year: Grace Golden, William & Mary
Coach of the Year: Christine Halfpenny, William & Mary