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Freshman star named Rookie of the Year

Although the season ended earlier than they might have liked, the number of awards that the Virginia women's lacrosse team has won can't seem to come to an end. The latest member of the team to receive the national spotlight is freshman star Amy Appelt, who garnered her second National Rookie of the Year award June 17.

Appelt was recognized by womenslacrosse.com as the best freshman in the nation, and led the way for Cavaliers on the All-Rookie team, which included Elizabeth Pinney and Cara Chasney. Appelt, who hails from Garden City, N.Y., also was tapped as the nation's best rookie by insidelacrosse.com earlier in the month, after she helped lead the Cavaliers to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.

Virginia, who was ranked as high as No. 3 in the country, lost a close quarterfinal matchup against ACC rival North Carolina, 14-13 in overtime. Without the efforts of the three star freshmen, however, the Cavaliers might not have reached the pinnacles they accomplished throughout the season.

"I love being a part of this team," Appelt said. "All of them have played such an important role in how I have developed over the season. I just care about how the team does. I don't care about how many goals or assists I have. It's all about how the team performs in the end."

This type of unselfish attitude is what seems to have propelled Appelt to be one of the better players not only on her team, but also in the country. That is high praise, as the Virginia squad already had a couple of All-Americans in the form of Lauren Aumiller and Molly Cangemi.

"Amy was a great addition to our team," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "She is certainly a dominant player. Everyone talks about how great she is as a first year, but I think she is one of the top 15 attackers in the country. It's nice to have a player like Amy, who can go out and get you a key goal whenever you need it. She's a terrific attacker."

Among Appelt's other awards were the ACC Rookie of the Year and member of the All-ACC second team. The attacker was the only freshman to be named on an All-American team for the 2002 season. She led the nation's freshmen in goals, with 53, and assists, with 21. She was ranked 15th nationally in scoring and crushed the old Virginia freshman scoring record by 15 points. Appelt had a hat trick in 10 of Virginia's 19 games.

She wasn't the only Cavalier presented with awards, however, as senior Lauren Aumiller was considered a consensus first team All-American by most publications, including womenslacrosse.com and insidelacrosse.com. Aumiller led the Cavaliers in scoring, while also being placed on the All-Academic team by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Association National Academic Squad.

"We have so many great players and students on this team," Myers said. "They excel on the field and the classroom. I am proud of them all, and couldn't ask for a greater group of players"

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