cville-lax.com

Via UVa Sports Information; Photos: cville-lax.com

George Huguely (11) prepares for a resumption in the action during the Virgina-Georgetown scrimmage, Sunday, February 18, 2007. (Click for a larger version: 78K.)

While the season following a national championship may present some unique challenges, it is a “problem” most college programs would like to address. The 2006 undefeated men’s lacrosse season clearly ranks among the finest in the University of Virginia’s athletic history and may have raised the bar for college lacrosse with its performance and personality. A team that set the NCAA record for consecutive victories also led the nation with USILA Scholar All-Americans and was selected for the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Sportsmanship Award.

With all that in mind, the sense of anticipation and enthusiasm that accompanied the start of the 2006-07 school year has been striking. A younger UVa team, with players in new roles, seems keenly intent on forging its own exciting identity. Spirited fall workouts, competitive scrimmages and diligent out-of-season training have characterized the effort. Fans may need a scorecard early in the season, but there are some talented young players anxious for this opportunity.

In typical Virginia lacrosse fashion, the rigors of the regular season schedule challenge young players to develop while embroiled in the swirling cauldron of competition. Traveling to Long Island for an early season game with Stony Brook, the much anticipated showdown with Syracuse for the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Classic doubleheader at M & T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, weekend contests that follow against ACC foes and traditional rivals Towson, Princeton, Johns Hopkins and new Ivy-power Dartmouth and the ACC Tournament that returns to a campus site in Durham–could there be a more exciting line-up? The countdown to the opening faceoff with Drexel has begun.
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