The freshly printed 2010 Recruiting Issue of Inside Lacrosse magazine unveils the top 20 men's recruiting classes and the top 10 women's recruiting classes. The Virginia women come in at No. 7, while the men check in at No. 4. On the top of each list is Georgetown for the women, and North Carolina for the men.
The Cavalier women have ten fresh faces on the roster at the start of this season. But the three names you'll need to know from the beginning are defender Ashlee Warner (Corning, N.Y./Corning East), defender Meghan Helm (Ellicott City, Md./Notre Dame Prep), and middie Liz Blue (Butler, Md./Garrison Forest). These three freshmen were named to the prestigious Under Armour All-America rosters.
The Cavaliers, who finished the season 14-6 with a loss in the NCAA Quarterfinals, return senior Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) All-American Liz Downs. A third-team honoree, Downs is the Cavaliers' top mark-up defender. She ranked fourth on the team with 28 ground balls and third with 17 caused turnovers. An All-South Region second-team honoree and All-ACC Team selection, Downs has started every game of her career.
The Cavalier men have eleven freshmen coming in this season. The men's recruiting class also has three Under Armour All-Americans, including midfielder Mark Cockerton (Oshawa, Canada/Paul Dwyer), midfielder Rob Emery (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep), and defenseman Scott McWilliams (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes). Cockerton was named the MVP of the Under Armour All-American Game, and is the only Canadian to have ever been named to the team. Emery comes in ranked by Inside Lacrosse 9th nationally among freshmen.
Reigning ACC Champions Virginia, who finished ranked No. 1 in the final RPI standings, compiled a 16-2 record last season, with the team's only losses coming to eventual national champions Duke. Returning USILA All-Americans include: M Rhamel Bratton, M Shamel Bratton, D Steele Stanwick, G Adam Ghitelman, and A Chris Bocklet.
With the amount of talent retained from last year and the impressive talent coming in, both Virginia squads stand a strong chance at the ACC title (and therefore by extension, the NCAA title).