May 26, 2005

Four University of Virginia womens lacrosse student-athletes were named All-Americans by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Association and US Lacrosse, the organizations announced. Amy Appelt, and Nikki Lieb both earned first-team honors while Tyler Leachman earned second team honors and Kim Connors was named to the third team. It is a repeat honor for Appelt and Lieb while Leachman and Connors are both first-time honorees.

Appelt earned her fourth All-American honor, including the last three as a first-team honoree. She graduated from Virginia ranked #5 on the all-time scoring list in Division I with 373 career points. Her 258 career goals ranks sixth all-time and her 115 career assists ranks ninth. She notched 57 goals and a career-high 35 assists in 2005, becoming the first person in school history to have four seasons of 50+ goals. Her 95 points is the fifth-highest single-season total in school history. She was named a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist for the second consecutive year, and she was also named a Honda Sports Award finalist for a second year in a row as well. She is a member of the 2005 US World Cup Training Squad. She was named a first-team All-American by insidelacrosse.com earlier this week,

Lieb earned first-team honors for the second time in her career and is only a third-year. A All-ACC performer for her second consecutive year, Lieb was also a member of the NCAA All-Tournament team as the Cavaliers advanced to the final game for the third consecutive year. Lieb led the Cavaliers with 44 draw controls, which ranks 10th in a single season in school history. She also led Virginia with 61 ground balls and was second on the team with 26 caused turnovers. She was named a first-team All-American by insidelacrosse.com.

Leachman earned her first All-American honor with a career-high 65 goals in 2005, which led Virginia and ranks third all-time in a single season. Her 82 points was second on the team and she now ranks eighth all-time at UVa for points in a season. She has a total of 174 career points with ranks ninth all-time at UVa and her 139 career goals ranks fifth all-time. She earned her first All-ACC honor this season as well. She was named a first-team All-American by insidelacrosse.com.

Connors ranked fifth on the Cavaliers in ground balls, caused turnovers, and draw controls, and she was a key part of the Virginia midfield that had a 73.5% clearing rate. One of her 29 draw controls came as the final draw control of the NCAA semifinal against Duke, in which she told her teammates she was winning the next draw in a tight 15-13 game, securing the win for the Hoos.