Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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DECEMBER 2023 11 cavalier sports Adele Iacobucci Field Hockey The graduate student midfielder from Malvern, Pa., earned first- team All-ACC accolades for the first time in her career this year. During UVA's strong season, she scored the game- winning goal in the double-overtime victory at Syra- cuse Sept. 22 and netted the game-winning goal at Miami (Ohio) Oct. 1. She also was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after making a game- saving defensive save in the first of two overtimes in a 2-1 victory at Duke Oct. 15. Iacobucci, who was a second-team All-ACC pick a year ago, completed her UVA career having ap- peared in a program-record 104 games with 19 goals and 8 assists for 46 points. Mouhameth Thiam Soccer The fourth-year midfielder from Dakar, Senegal, was named the ACC's Co-Midfielder of the Year. He is the first Virginia player to earn that honor since Joe Bell won the award outright in 2019. He was also a first-team All-ACC selection. Thiam started each of Virginia's 19 games after transferring from Oregon State, and he ranked second on the team in points (14), goals (5) and assists (4). He was involved in six of Virginia's 11 game-winning goals this season (2 goals, 4 assists). Gretchen Walsh Swimming & Diving The third-year from Nashville, Tenn., set numerous records while leading UVA to a first-place fin- ish at the Tennessee Invitational Nov. 15-17. Most notably, she set unofficial Ameri- can, NCAA and US Open records in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 48.30. Walsh then recorded the fastest-ever 100 free relay split, going 45.18 in the 400 freestyle relay while contributing to a meet record (3:07.60) in that event. She also matched the NCAA mark and improved her own American record in the 50 free- style (20.79) and set the meet record while winning the 200 freestyle (1:41.32). 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 UVA 6 Trips to NCAA field hockey semifinals for Virginia, after it punched its ticket this year with a 4-0 victory over No. 4 Maryland in the quarterfinals Nov. 12. The Cavaliers also played in field hockey's Final Four in 1997, 1998, 2009, 2010 and 2019. The Cavaliers suffered a hard-fought, 2-0 loss to top-seeded North Carolina, which went on to win its fifth national championship in the past six years. " We made it to the Final Four this year, which was awesome, but it has also left us wanting more. Our team is ready to take that next step, to win an NCAA championship, and I can't wait to get started on doing what we need to do to make that happen." — Ole Keusgen after leading UVA to its first field hockey Final Four as acting head coach and then being named the program's ninth head coach UVA first-year striker Minnie Pollock 4th Was where the Virginia men's basketball team was predicted to finish in the preseason ACC poll. The Cavaliers were selected third in last year's preseason poll but went on to finish first with a 15-5 league record. UVA has finished at or higher than their predicted finish in 13 of the last 15 seasons. 33rd Is where ESPN listed UVA second-year guard Paris Clark in its final ranking of the top 35 women's basketball impact transfers for the 2023-24 season. The 5-foot-8 Clark, who transferred from Arizona, is considered "the cor- nerstone of the next phase" of head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton's re- build, per ESPN. 15 Years between ACC Freshman of the Year winners for the UVA men's soccer program. Prior to forward Stephen Annor Gyamfi taking that award home this year, Tony Tchani was the last to do it in 2008. Annor Gyamfi scored 10 goals overall with 7 coming in ACC play, a mark that tied for the league lead. His total makes him the first Cavalier to hit double fig- ures since Daryl Dike scored 10 goals in 2019. With five game-winning goals, he was tied for seventh in NCAA Division I — just three off the leading mark.