Virginia women's lacrosse coach Julie Myers said on Wednesday that her team was emotionally exhausted after playing in the first round of the NCAA tournament last Sunday, when the team took the field for the first time since the death of Yeardley Love stunned the Charlottesville campus two weeks ago.
Continuing to grieve, the Cavaliers arrive in Chapel Hill Saturday to face No. 3-seeded North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament at Fetzer Field. As they prepare for the game, the team tries to cope with the loss of their senior defender from Cockeysville, Md., who was allegedly murdered by a member of the men's lacrosse team.
George Huguely of Chevy Chase, Md., Love's former boyfriend, has been jailed and charged with first-degree murder in the case. According to several reports after Love's body was discovered in her apartment, Huguely told police he physically fought with his former girlfriend before her death. However, his lawyer has called the incident a tragic accident.
Playing lacrosse, Myers said, has helped the team begin the healing process during a trying time, one that has drawn national media coverage to the doorstep of a program that usually receives little attention.
"Lacrosse is our thing," Myers said during a morning teleconference. "That's going to be our vehicle to stay together."
Coaches for Virginia's women's and men's lacrosse teams said on Wednesday that it's been a challenge to provide support for students and prepare for upcoming NCAA tournament games.
"It's been a pretty special balance, but I think everyone has a lot of input, from coaches to players," Myers. "We're doing enough to be ready but not enough to overwhelm."
Myers and men's coach Don Starsia spoke on a teleconference with members of the news media about guiding their teams through a grief-filled time and focusing on opponents.
They would not discuss details of the circumstances leading to Love's death.
Virginia's men's team, the tournament's top seed, advanced to the quarterfinals with a victory over Mount St. Mary's in the first round. The Cavaliers face Stony Brook on Sunday in Stony Brook, N.Y.
"I think there's been a lot of guys leaning on each other as best as they can," Starsia said. "People ask, 'How are you doing?' I say, 'Well, we're doing the best that we can here. Lives have been changed here forever.' "
Police say Huguely, 22, stormed Love's apartment, kicking in her bedroom door on the morning of May 3. According to reports, he shook her, slamming her head against a wall repeatedly.
The couple had dated for many months, but Love had broken off the relationship in the weeks prior to her death. Love's roommate and teammate, Caity Whiteley, found her lying facedown on a bloody pillow in her room.
Huguely, a senior, was arrested at his apartment hours later.
The Washington Post reported that three members of the North Carolina men's lacrosse team had to separate Huguely and Love at a party on UVa's campus two months before her death.
North Carolina men's lacrosse players and coaches were not made available for comment, though UNC athletic director Dick Baddour addressed the issue in a statement: "If any of our men's lacrosse players have any knowledge of the situation at the University of Virginia, they will fully cooperate with the appropriate officials and answer all inquiries that come from the proper authorities if and when those are forthcoming."
Players from both the Virginia's men's and women's team were not available for comment this week.
Members of the women's team spoke on Sunday after their game, revealing the hurt and sadness that has blanketed the team. They were partly consoled by the presence of Love's mother and sister on the sidelines and partly by her spirit.
"We could feel her," Whitaker Hagerman said to USA Today, "and she was with us the entire game."
Love, 22, was said to be a warm, giving person, whose No. 1 jersey number was misleading. "Yeardley is the most unlikely No. 1 you'd ever meet," Myers said. "She was so unselfish. ... She's not your typical No. 1. It always surprised us that she went with No. 1."
Love wore the number as a high school player at Notre Dame Prep.
Myers said school officials have supported the program's attempt to reclaim some form of normalcy. Counselors from the dean of students office have been made available to students and staff.
Still, the weight of Love's death has changed the course of the year, making it hard for seniors to engage in graduation activities. Virginia president John T. Casteen III will preside over the commencement ceremony on Sunday. Myers said she's encouraged seniors to take part.
"Graduation is going to be another hurdle," she said. "It's something that they've worked hard getting to, but certainly it's going to have a different feeling than anybody ever anticipated."
Earlier in the season, the women's lacrosse team defeated UNC 13-12 in overtime in Charlottesville. That victory, Myers said, will provide confidence for her team, while the memory of Love continues to serve as inspiration. The team's new motto, adopted from Love's name, is: One Team. One Heart. One Love.
"We're tired, but we still have lots and lots of things we want to do," Myers said. "Our underlying theme is we really need to stay together."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
