Gaudet, Timms Are UVA's Brain Busters
by Andy Krauss | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
|
|
Long-stick middie Mike Timms, a Virginia grad student, will likely draw Cornell midfielder Max Seibald, whom he held to one goal on March 8, in Saturday's NCAA semifinal at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. © Kevin P. Tucker |
In 1819, Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia.
With the ideals of building an institution in which students could
have a greater freedom of choosing their own education, he
declared, "This institution of my native state, the hobby of my old
age, will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind to
explore and to expose every subject susceptible of its
contemplation."
Almost two centuries later, his vision is being enjoyed daily by
students that roam the Charlottesville lawn.
The growing amount of academic opportunities has positively
affected Dom Starsia's men's lacrosse team, which returns to the
NCAA Division I semifinals in Foxboro, Mass., after a 19-8
quarterfinal victory over Johns Hopkins in Annapolis last
Sunday.
Virginia's trip to New England, where it will meet Cornell in
Saturday's semifinal, will be a homecoming of sorts for faceoff man
Chad Gaudet. The midfielder grew up in Burlington, Mass.,
just 30 minutes from Foxboro.
Gaudet was an honorable mention All-Ivy League performer and
scholar All-American at Dartmouth, where he played lacrosse and
earned a degree in psychology.
Before the Big Green's 11-7 loss in Charlottesville last season,
Gaudet was listening intently to the public address system as UVA
saluted its seniors. During the ceremony, it was declared
that seniors Mike Timms and Ben Rubeor would be returning to school
in 2008-09 to enroll in the brand new one-year master's program in
the McIntire School of Commerce.
With one year left of eligibility, Gaudet knew that program would
be a perfect fit for him.
He graduated from Dartmouth in the spring and then headed south to
enroll in the McIntyre School and use his one year of eligibility
to help lead the Cavaliers back to Foxboro.
Gaudet has excelled as UVA's faceoff specialist, winning 55.1
percent of his opportunities and leading the team with 96 ground
balls.
"I've kidded my parents that they won't have to pay for me to come
home, because we're going to go to the final four," said
Gaudet. For his family, that joke has become a reality.
"This is exactly where I expected to be when I came to Virginia,"
said Gaudet. "It is a dream come true."
Returning to Foxboro is also a dream come true for Timms, who
decided to enroll in the same program after using only three years
of eligibility before earning his undergraduate degree in economics
last May.
The All-American long-stick midfielder will draw the difficult
assignment of matching up against senior midfelder Max Seibald in
Foxboro. Seibald ranks second on the Big Red in goals and
third in points with 34.
The two met face-to-face in Charlottesville on March 8.
Timms limited Seibald to just one goal, which was scored with just
over two minutes to play. That matchup was key to a 14-10 UVA
win over a team that was ranked fourth in the country at the
time.
"Max is one of the better midfielders in the country," said
Timms. "He's big, strong, fast and a goal-scorer. They
make their midfielders run at Cornell."
When the Cavaliers return to Gillette Stadium this weekend,
they'll be coming back to a site where they dropped an incredibly
hard-fought 12-11 semifinal to Syracuse in double overtime last
year. They'll be striving to win their fourth national title
in 11 years and fifth overall.
Should Virginia get past Cornell, they will face either
third-seeded Duke, a team that has dealt the Cavaliers both of
their losses this year or Syracuse, who left them with so much
heartache last season. Either way, it would be game fueled by
revenge.
After coming so close to the national title game last season,
Timms realizes how great it is to get back. "This is a great
way go out with a return to the final four," said Timms. "I was
fortunate to have another year to come back after the
disappointment of last season."
All of the cynics that feel that the term "student-athlete" may be
a little out of date just may want to check out Thomas Jefferson's
team in Foxboro this weekend.
