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8 CAVALIER CORNER cavalier sports It's worth noting that his full first name is Bennett. As in, Dick and Tony Bennett, who Vander Plas' father played for and with at Wiscon- sin-Green Bay. Virginia could absolutely use a play- making big like this and got to see him up close in the 2021 NCAA Tournament when Ben dropped 17 points en route to Ohio's upset over the Cavaliers." — Sam Vecenie and CJ Moore of The Athletic Rachel Clark • Lacrosse The first-year midfielder from Devon, Pa., was tabbed the 2022 ACC Freshman of the Year. She was the lone student-athlete to earn spots on both the All-ACC first team and All-Freshman Team this season. She also earned a spot on the ACC All-Tournament Team. Clark led all ACC rookies and tied for fourth in the league in goals per game (3.2). She finished with 64 goals, also tied for fourth most in the league. Kate Douglass • Swimming The third-year from Pelham, N.Y., earned the Honda Sport Award for swimming and diving as her sport's top athlete nationally. She is the fifth Virginia student-athlete to win the award, joining Les- ley Welch (cross country, 1983), Dawn Staley (basket- ball, 1991 and '92), Amy Appelt (lacrosse, 2004) and Danielle Collins (tennis, 2016). Douglass, who captured three individual and four relay titles at the 2022 NCAA Championships, also was named the 2022 Women's Swimmer of the Year by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America and the ACC, and she was the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Matt Moore • Lacrosse The graduate student attackman from Garnet Valley, Pa., became Vir- ginia's all-time career points leader, passing Steele Stanwick (269 career points) with a two-goal, six-assist effort in a 20-10 win over Lafayette on Senior Night April 28. Moore finished his UVA career with 277 points (143 goals and 134 assists) in 73 games. He has also been named the winner of the NCAA's Senior CLASS Award, which is bestowed on a men's lacrosse student-athlete who excels in the community, classroom and competition. Matthew Nunes • Lacrosse The first-year from The Woodlands, Texas, became the third player under head coach Lars Tiffany to be named the ACC's Freshman of the Year. He is also just the second goalie in UVA history to earn that accolade, joining Tillman Johnson (2001). Nunes, who finished third in the ACC in goals against average (11.55 per game), also became first UVA rookie goalie to win an NCAA Tournament game — 17-10 over Brown May 14 — since Derek Kenney in 1999. HOO'S HOT Recognizing the "Who's Hoo" in UVA athletics — Cavalier student-athletes, past, present and future who are making news around the world of sports. Photo courtesy Ohio Athletics 35th Best fit among college basketball transfers that have found new homes this offseason, as of mid- May, was where The Athletic ranked 6-foot-8, 230-pound power forward BEN VANDER PLAS, after he went from Ohio to Virginia. The Athletic initially ranked him at No. 26 among players that entered the transfer portal, while ESPN had him at No. 41 and Stadium had him at No. 43. Vander Plas — who played on the Ohio team that upset UVA in the 2021 NCAA Tournament — averaged 14.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 33.8 percent (67 of 198) from 3-point range en route to first-team All- Mid-American Conference honors in 2021-22. "Anyone looking for a hyper-smart, floor-spacing, ball-moving forward? Vander Plas fits the billing. He was the running partner out of pick-and-pops for now-Clippers guard Jason Preston and terrific sophomore guard Mark Sears, working to cover up every single crack and hole that exists in their offense. If Preston and Sears were the engines, Vander Plas was the oil that kept things running smoothly. The MAC coaches recognized how effective he was, too, naming him the league freshman of the year in his first season, followed by naming him to the all-league team three straight times, including the first team this last season. 6.40 Points per game for second- year attackman Connor Shellenberger in his first five career NCAA Tournament games, following a career-high eight-point performance (4 goals, 4 assists) in UVA's 17-10 win over Brown May 14. However, he was held scoreless in the Wahoos' 18-9 loss to No. 1 Maryland in the quarterfinals May 22. Despite that, his average of 5.33 points per game in NCAA play still ranks No. 1 in school history. Shellenberger, one of five Tewaaraton Award finalists, ranked fifth in the country in assists per game (2.75) and 11th in points per game (4.75) as of May 27. 29 Cavaliers who have played during head coach Brian O'Connor's ten- ure (2004-22) — and 10 from the program's 2015 national championship roster — have seen action in a Major League Baseball game, with Chicago White Sox pitcher Bennett Sousa the latest to debut on April 8. All told, 53 Cavaliers have reached the big leagues. 1st Player in Virginia history to earn the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Women's Tennis Singles Championship was second-year Emma Navarro. The defending singles na- tional champion posted a 21-1 record in dual matches during the regular season en route to ascending to the No. 1 spot in the Intercol- legiate Tennis Association's national rankings. Navarro and fellow second-year Hibah Shaikh also became the first players in program history to earn a seeding (No. 3) in the NCAA Doubles Championship.