Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/807300
GETTING TO KNOW FOURTH-YEAR LACROSSE DEFENDER MAGGIE PREAS CAVALIER SPORTS Fourth-year defender Maggie Preas delivered a premonition of things to come during her senior year at the McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Md., when she was chosen to play for the South Team in the 2013 Under Amour All- America Lacrosse Classic. Since then, Preas has accumulated enough accolades to fill a lacrosse goal. The ACC women's lacrosse coaches voted her to their 2017 preseason all-conference team, following 2016 second-team All-ACC and IWLCA second-team All-South Region selections. Preas also has qualified twice for the ACC All- Academic Team. My advice to student-athletes is: To stay on top of your work and make that a priority so that when you get to practice you can focus on what you have to do and what you have to do the rest of the week. The primary challenge facing student- athletes today is: Balancing your time. I think traveling and having so many different compe- titions, plus so many practices, on top of going to school and studying are challenges for a student-athlete. The best thing about UVA is: The sense of community. Wherever you are on the Grounds everybody is so welcoming. You easily connect with people and find a niche at the university. Why I chose UVA: For the sense of community and because I felt it mirrored where I went to high school, plus the academics and the lacrosse program. Those were reasons why I chose to come here. What I like the most about lacrosse: The team experience. Our team consists of 31 people and there are 11 on the field. Even though I play defense I feel I can have interactions with the attackers. The highlight of my athletic career: Definitely going to the Final Four my freshman year. It was one of the most exciting experiences I've had playing lacrosse at the university. The most important thing I've learned from lacrosse: How to communicate with others maybe in a leadership role and being able to understand the different tiers — whether some people are attackers or midfielders. Being able to know what they want or what we need as a team in general. Being a good communicator is important. My dream vacation would be: Peru. I really want to see Monte di Pieta. My post-college ambition is: To become a successful teacher and hopefully a high school or college lacrosse coach. — Mike Scandura Preas was tabbed as a preseason All-ACC performer by the league's coaches this spring. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA 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. George DiCamillo ◆ Wrestling After placing fourth in the six-team A t l a n t i c C o a s t Co n fe re n ce, t h e Cavaliers — led by a runner-up show- ing at 141 pounds by DiCamillo — finished 15th at NCAA Championships in St. Louis. Despite entering as the No. 6 seed, the Ohio native tied the best per- formance in program history with a competitive 6-3 loss to undefeated defending champion Dean Heil of Oklahoma State in the finals. UVA's finish tied for the best under head coach Steve Garland and the second best in team history. DiCamillo, who earned the first All- America honor of his career, capped his season by being named the ACC Wrestler of the Year. Claudio Reyna ◆ Soccer The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame class of 2017 in- d u c t e e w a s o f - ficially bestowed the honor at an April 29 banquet. D u r i n g h i s time at UVA from 1991-93, the Cavaliers won three NCAA championships and Reyna was named a first-team All-Ameri- can each season. The New Jersey na- tive capped his Cavalier career with the 1993 Hermann Trophy, which is annually presented to the nation's top player. He enjoyed a 15-year professional career and was on the US National Team for 13 straight campaigns, in- cluding four FIFA World Cups. He is currently the director of football op- erations for New York City FC. Leah Smith ◆ Swimming At the ACC Championships in mid-February, the Pittsburgh native became the fourth swimmer in league history to win mul- tiple events four times by sweeping the 1,650- and 500-yard freestyles. She completed her career with nine individual titles, which is tied for the most in program history and tied for the second-highest total in league history (she was also part of four gold medal-winning relays). At the NCAA Championships, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist (4x200- meter freestyle relay) led off the fifth-place 800 freestyle relay and placed second in the 500 and 1,650 to tie a school record with 13 first- team All-America honors. Behind Smith, UVA finished 12th. Jimmy Stanger ◆ Golf The Tampa, Fla., native was named one of five finalists for the Byron Nel- son Award, an an- nual honor given to graduating players who shine on and off the golf course. Through March 27, the fourth-year led the No. 4 Cavaliers with a 71.17 stroke average and was ranked No. 10 in the Golfweek standings. He has also been included on the watch list for the 2017 Ben Hogan Award, annually presented to the country's top collegiate golfer, after posting four top-10 finishes in six events so far this year. In June, he'll be a part of the U.S. Arnold Palmer Cup team, a group of top U.S. collegians that plays against a squad from Europe in a Ryder Cup- style competition. 6 ◆ CAVALIER CORNER WHAT/WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE … … TV show? "Grey's Anatomy" … movie? "Remember the Titans" … actor and actress? Denzel Washington and Emma Stone … Charlottesville hangout/restaurant? Al Carbo's … musician/band? Florida Georgia Line … pro sports team? Washington Redskins … food? Tacos … UVA class? Anthropology of Every Day American Life … sport (other than lacrosse)? Basketball … person in history? Harriet Tubman … pre-meet ritual? When the team does our cheer in the locker room before we go out onto the field