WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Cavs, Heels face off

By Bart Isley

Published: May 11, 2008

It’s been a busy two weeks for the Virginia women’s lacrosse team, and the Cavaliers haven’t even played a game since their ACC tournament final victory over Maryland on April 27.
“It’s been a really busy two weeks with the academic schedule and exams,” said Virginia head coach Julie Myers. “It’s been as busy as if we’d played five games.”
The Cavaliers will cap that busy stretch with an NCAA opening round matchup with ACC rival North Carolina at 1 p.m. at Klockner Stadium today. Virginia is seeded No. 4 nationally in the tournament bracket behind Northwestern, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Virginia’s busy schedule over the past couple of weeks has helped the Cavaliers maintain a certain amount of momentum going into the first round of the NCAA tournament. The two weeks off have also given Virginia a chance to work on the slow starts that plagued the Cavaliers in both ACC Tournament games.
Throughout practice leading up to the North Carolina tilt, Myers and the Virginia coaching staff have halted practice periodically and announced a mock “first five minutes” of the game. The emphasis should help kick the Cavaliers into gear earlier.
“The second group is really strong, but the starters have typically won those first five minutes in practice,” Myers said.
Not that a slow start was any problem against the Tar Heels in the teams’ first meeting. Virginia leapt out to an 8-1 halftime lead against North Carolina and continued to pour it on after the break en route to a 16-5 victory.
Still, Myers, who was recently tabbed the ACC coach of the year, is wary of a North Carolina offense that can explode at any time.
“Any one of their seven attackers could get hot at any time because they share the ball really well,” Myers said. “So we have to remember what each person’s tendencies are.”
The Cavaliers’ rash of ankle injuries continued this week when Kaitlin Swagart suffered a sprain in practice. Ashley McCulloch and Blair Weymouth are also nursing ankle injuries. Still, the two weeks off have helped all three heal, and each should be ready for today’s matchup.