U.Va. lacrosse teams now face road challenges

By Zach Berman

The Washington Post

For much of the past three weeks, the Virginia men's and women's lacrosse players have remained sequestered in Charlottesville. They were guarded from the news media and resolute about focusing on lacrosse as police investigate the May 3 death of women's lacrosse player Yeardley Love. Men's lacrosse player George Huguely has been charged with murdering her.

The teams played home games last weekend in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, producing a pair of victories marked by the emotional tributes to Love. This weekend, they leave the tranquillity of Charlottesville for quarterfinals on their opponents' fields.

The top-seeded men visit Stony Brook, a predetermined quarterfinal site, on Sunday. The sixth-seeded women visit North Carolina today. Neither men's coach Dom Starsia nor women's coach Julie Myers voiced concern about how their teams will be received by opposing fans. Of more concern is prolonging their seasons, seemingly motivated as much by the idea of remaining together amid a period of mourning as advancing to the semifinals.

"I have no idea what to expect," said Starsia, who plans to discuss with his team the possibility of crowd hostility. "I don't have any way to anticipate what the reaction might be. But I think our team is a little bit hardened by what our schedule was. We'll go and handle it... as best we can."

When the drawings were announced, Myers knew her team would need to travel for the second round. The men's team is the tournament favorite and is used to both crowds and attention. The women's team is less accustomed to the spotlight, and a North Carolina athletic department spokesman said there are more requests for media credentials this weekend than almost all the Tar Heels' previous nine home games combined.

Regardless of how Virginia will be received by opposing fans, the tributes to Love will continue even on the road. In each of their past two games, the North Carolina women's players have worn orange sweatbands with Love's initials. Some players painted their fingernails and toenails orange and blue. There will be a moment of silence before today's game in Love's honor.

While Virginia's lacrosse players play elsewhere, seniors at U.Va. will prepare for Sunday's graduation. Love and Huguely were scheduled to graduate, too. Seniors on the women's lacrosse team will participate in Sunday's ceremony. The men will have a separate graduation ceremony Monday.

"Graduation is going to be another hurdle," Myers said. "It's something that they worked hard getting to, but it will certainly have a different feel than anybody had ever anticipated. I think with mixed emotions, they will go to graduation. "

Starsia has been struck by the raw emotion displayed by his players. He reiterated that no roadmap exists for the current situation. The men's and women's teams have grieved together. Six men's players served as pallbearers at Love's funeral, and Starsia hosted a dinner for the teams at his home Wednesday. He approached Myers with the idea earlier this week.

But normalcy will remain a distant objective for both teams, particularly if they win this weekend. Victories would send both to the national semifinals - playing on Memorial Day weekend is the pinnacle of college lacrosse.

"Clearly, you turn on the TV or you read the paper from really anywhere, and you know we're part of the story," Myers said. "At the end of the day, lacrosse is our thing. That's going to be our vehicle to staying together as well. And we're just trying to keep the game the same as it was in April, and play our best so we can stay together."