Travis Watson will be remembered. Billy McMullen will be remembered. There are a handful of other Virginia athletes of the class of '03, however, who have accomplished just as much in their respective sports as these two high profile stars, yet will remain forever anonymous to the average Virginia sports fan.
These are the athletes who will not be making millions of dollars playing professional sports. These are the athletes that were never recognized in public. These are the athletes that have never been shown on SportsCenter.
They may not have ever achieved fame, but these four athletes, who will graduate this weekend, will not be forgotten by their teammates, coaches and others who have seen them in action and know their stories.
Molly Baker
When Molly Baker joined the Virginia rowing team her freshman year, she had never rowed competitively in her life. Within three years she earned herself a spot on the team's top boat, became one of the most decorated athletes on the squad and attracted the interest of the U.S. national team.
A co-captain on this year's squad, which won its fourth straight ACC title, Baker defied the odds and beat out experienced recruits to earn a position in the top boat on the nation's No. 12 rowing team.
"She's able to take what comes her way and use everything as a challenge and never get negative," junior Jen Reck said. "I cannot think of one time when she's complained."
Baker helped the Virginia first varsity eight finish 10th at NCAAs last year. She was also a gold medallist with the group, which was named conference crew of the year at the 2002 ACC championships.
The national team coach has approached her about trying out, but Baker has doubts about her chances. Although she has performed constantly well on the water, her split times on the erg machine are not as spectacular.
These times are used as a standard benchmark for measuring rower's performance, much like the 40 yard dash for football players, and without a fast time her chances of making the national squad are greatly diminished.
Still, Baker said she knows that she will likely try out. After all, she's no stranger to beating the odds.
"I've learned one thing for sure being on this team," Baker said. "I should never be afraid to try something because I might really regret it if I didn't at least give it a try."
Chris Rotelli
A frontrunner for this season's National Player of the Year award, Rotelli has been a top performer on a Virginia men's lacrosse squad which finished the year at No. 2 in the nation and won an ACC tournament championship. He was also named Player of the Year in the ACC, arguably the toughest lacrosse conference in the country.
Rotelli's biggest impact on his team, however, may be off the field. The midfielder has shown strong leadership skills during his tenure as co-captain this season and has been able to set a good example for his younger teammates.
"From the first day of the school year, Chris has been our lead snow dog," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "In everything that we've done, he's gone full out. I take the freshmen just to see him work out so they can see the level of intensity he brings every time."
Rotelli will have no problem getting a spot on a pro team, but lacrosse is only a part-time job for professionals, and a low paying one at that. Even though Rotelli won't be able to earn the multi-million dollar checks he likely would have received professionally if he had been the ACC Player of the Year in basketball, he is excited to move on into the real world.
"Growing up, you never plan on playing lacrosse as a career -- that's just not something you think about," Rotelli said. "I'm excited to move on to something outside of the game as well. The game has given me so much and taught me so much about everything that I've learned lessons I can apply to other things out there."
Mirjana Bosevska
Entering her final season on the Virginia women's swim team, there was not much Mirjana Bosevska had not accomplished. A native of Macedonia, Bosevska swam in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics for her native land. She also held Virginia school records for the 200 and 400 meter I.M.
One thing she had failed to achieve, however, was an ACC team championship. That all changed Saturday, February 22 of this year, when Bosevska finished first in the 400 I.M. to help Virginia upset North Carolina for the school's first conference title of the decade.
The victory was especially sweet for Bosevska and the other seniors who fell to the Tar Heels for three straight years. This team was unique, however; it was a squad that showed a team unity that Bosevska said she had never experienced in her previous seasons at Virginia.
According to freshman Corey Berg, Bosevska and the other seniors helped foster that feeling of team unity and the underclassmen felt like they "owed it to the seniors to get them an ACC championship."
Bosevska, in particular, impressed her younger teammates with her dedication and work ethic.
"She is the perfect role model," Berg said. "She works so hard day in and day out. You expect the best swimmers to be the hardest trainers and she really was."
Bosevska is still not sure if she will compete in the 2004 Olympics. Even if she decides not to and her swimming career comes to an end after this year, she will still go down in history, not only as one of Virginia's top swimmers, but as a leader and a champion.
Michael Duquette
As the lone senior on a Virginia men's tennis squad with seven freshmen, Duquette was forced to take on a leadership position. With so many young and inexperienced teammates, this was no easy task for him.
"At times it was hard," Duquette said. "They were all inexperienced and immature and asked a lot of stupid questions. I knew the most important thing to do was to lead by example."
Duquette proved to be up to the task. He helped guide the young team to a 20-win season, Virginia's first since 1984, with rankings as high as No. 21 in the country.
More importantly, he earned the respect and admiration of his young teammates and was able to guide them to success in their first season of college tennis.
"Mike has been a real asset and a great leader," freshman Doug Stewart said. "He has a strong command of all the first years. We all came in immature, but he's done a great job disciplining us."
Duquette has stepped up on the court this season as well, teaming up with Stewart at number one doubles to earn a No. 23 ranking and a spot in the NCAA doubles tournament.
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