Lachlan Cook is a second-year on the track & field and cross country team, interested in pursuing a degree in media studies and psychology. Since his move from Brisbane, Australia to Charlottesville, Lachlan has made a definite impact on the team.

Lachlan is a cross country and middle distance runner. He was named ACC Cross Country Freshman of the Year in the 2016 season. He was 11th at the ACC Championships, earning All-ACC honors and finished 103rd at the NCAA Championships. In the 2017 outdoor track and field season he placed fifth in the 10000m and sixth in the 5000m at the ACC Championships.

Lachlan knew little about NCAA cross country before his friend, Patrick Tiernan, had a spectacular career at Villanova, winning the NCAA title last fall. “I hadn’t heard about the opportunity [to compete in the U.S.] before Patrick went over, and then I saw he had great success,” Lachlan said. “I was training with the coach I’d trained with my whole life, and I was in a bit of a hole. I wasn’t improving much and I knew I could get better. I just needed a bit of a change. So when Coach Watson messaged me, I knew I had to take a chance.” Because running is not an especially popular sport in Queensland, there wasn’t much development left for Lachlan. He would have had to move to a different state to continue running at a high level had he not come to Charlottesville.

“He’s an easy going kid. We learned that from day one,” Pete Watson, the head men’s cross country coach, remarked. “He was quiet, just showing up to work and acted like an old guy. The guys love him.” Teammates and those who know Lachlan at UVA have come to know Lachlan as the “the guy that runs with the ’fro.” “It’s kind of my thing now,” he said of his bushy brown locks, laughing. “I can’t really cut it.”

For this fall season, Lachlan commented, “I think we have nine to ten people finishing all the workouts together, which is pretty promising.” With high hopes for the team, Lachlan also will look to fulfill his individual goal to earn All-America first team status at the NCAA Cross Country Championships this season. He will have to finish in the top forty to achieve this. Lachlan hopes the team will win Regional and ACC Championships and place in the top 10 at Nationals. He is still keeping in mind his dream to pursue professional track and field competition in the future.

When given a chance to thank the VAF and donors, Lachlan commented, “I would like to thank the VAF and donors for all the support and help they give to me and all the other student-athletes here at UVA. Without the help we wouldn’t be able to perform at the level we do, day in and day out. Having the support of these great people motivates us and allows us to be the best student- athletes we can be.”

Kat Young, a redshirt sophomore on the volleyball team, hails from Chantilly, a large suburb in Northern Virginia. Kat’s drive for competition is accredited to her upbringing and hometown. She said, “Northern Virginia is a very competitive environment and all of the kids in my classes, since I started school, were extremely smart and involved in multiple sports and activities. Everyone was constantly working to outwork the person in front of them.”

While at Virginia, Kat has earned several awards and honors that include being on the ACC Honor Roll every semester and a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. One of the more prestigious accolades that Kat has received is The Bob Olderman Student-Athlete Scholarship. The donors made their donation in honor of their nephew who was a football player at UVA and an excellent student-athlete. The scholarship is awarded to someone that represents the ideals that Bob Olderman embodied. On receiving this scholarship, Kat explained, “It’s an honor to be selected in memorial to such an admirable person. It’s easy to get caught up in the grind of schoolwork and athletics, but it’s also nice to take a step back to realize that things have been going well and the work is paying off.”

Besides athletics, Kat likes to involve herself in various activities on Grounds and service work. This past summer, she was an Orientation Leader. As an Orientation Leader her goal is to serve as a guide for new students making the transition to the complexities of UVA. She is also a member of Student Athlete Mentors. In this program, she learns useful skills and works to improve the lives of student-athletes at the University. Being a student mentor has helped her realize how complex the role of a student-athlete is on and off the court. One of the most meaningful things she has been able to do in recent years is work with young volleyball players and the Special Olympics. In providing her perspective, Kat said, “It’s really refreshing how excited younger players are about the game and getting recruited to go to a school they love. With both groups there is a direct impact and it is evident through the enthusiasm that the kids show and their attendance at our games and volleyball clinics.”

As a student at UVA, Kat is majoring in Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences, and is still deciding on an Economics or Statistics minor. With this major, she hopes to become a software developer. When asked about this career goal, Kat said, “I love coding. I think it would be really cool to develop applications, but I feel like there is also lot more to do with coding that I have not explored yet.” Before she begins her life as a software developer, however, Kat wants to follow her long-time dream of playing volleyball professionally overseas. “I would love a new adventure and I do not want my volleyball career to end after my redshirt senior year.”

When given the opportunity to thank the VAF and donors, Kat said, “I am so thankful for the donors and their contributions to my experiences here at UVA. It’s nice to know that people have my back and are supporting me and other student-athletes.”

Robin Afamefuna, hailing from Würselen, Germany, had traveled to the United States only once as a little boy, and knew little about NCAA soccer and UVA in particular, before embarking on his athletic career at the University. Now a second-year, Robin has developed academically and athletically.

Robin opted to take a gap year after completing high school to participate on a German club team. He recalled, “At the beginning I had a very tough time there and didn’t make the roster very often. But still I kept working. Of course, it’s highly competitive. Every practice you’re playing with under-19, under-18 national players, and future pros who make it big playing Champions League.” But unfortunately, Robin experienced a torn meniscus in his right knee that required surgery, which sidelined him until March 2016. Because the opportunities in Germany for a player who has been injured for six months are very limited, Robin chose to wait to try to gain a professional contract.

Virginia Men’s Soccer associate head coach, Terry Boss, saw a video of Robin, and began recruiting him to come to Charlottesville. Because Robin was still living in Germany, Boss had to build a relationship with him over the phone. Boss sent him links, videos and articles to sell the program. Boss recalled that he thought the history of the program and the academic excellence UVA had to offer was most appealing to him. He said before making the move to Charlottesville his mother told him that, “Even if the soccer part does not work out, this is always going to be an experience you will never lose.” Robin now sees for himself what his mother had instilled in him, and reflects on how being part of the University and a different culture is very helpful for individual development.

Robin is certainly committed to improving both in the classroom and on the field. In his first semester at UVA, Robin earned a 3.6 grade-point average. Boss called Robin one of the team’s best students. On the field, Robin and his coaches changed his position in the spring, moving him up from left center back to start as left wing back as a midfielder. This was another adjustment for Robin, who had never been a big goal-scorer in his previous position. But, the coaches believe that Robin’s instincts and strengths in technique and tactics will have him as a scoring threat this fall. “I set myself a goal to get at least six or seven assists and score two or three goals,” Robin said. “And I think I’ll be able to do reach my goals.”

Robin said about his future on the team, “I see myself as a captain. I want to take responsibility for the team. I’ve had many experiences from playing soccer in Germany, and I want to help the team with that part.”

When given the opportunity to thank the VAF and donors, Robin said, “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of and represent this great University. Without VAF I would not be able to be here.”

Before Micah Kiser ever saw meaningful playing time for the Virginia Football team, he had to endure the process of a redshirt year. He hadn’t hoped or planned for this, but it is something he is very thankful for today. Being a player who garnered the attention of prestigious Division I programs throughout the nation, Micah hoped to make an immediate impact at his school of choice, but once his coaches made the decision that he would redshirt along with nine other freshman, he showed no signs of disappointment. He vowed to make the most of the year. He dedicated his spare time to extra film sessions to master the art of preparation, and meticulously watched former captain and second-team All-ACC linebacker Henry Coley to learn how to excel at this new level of play. According to Micah, all of this sacrifice and dedication can be summed up into three words, “Trust the process.”

This trusting of the process seems to have paid off because he has been named first-team All-ACC twice (2015, 2016), a second-team All-American (2016), and a CoSIDA second-team Academic All-American (2016). These accolades are a testament to his work ethic and competitive nature. Micah says, “I have been driven my entire life, whether it was in the classroom, on the field, or in anything. I used to cry after losing little league games or be frustrated if I got a bad grade.” Clearly from these remarks his competitive nature stretches far beyond the football field.

Micah, a Foreign Affairs major, hails from Baltimore, MD where he attended the reputable Gilman School. When asked about his experience there, he said, “Gilman did an exceptional job preparing me for college and life in general. They throw a lot at you, they believe in developing mind, body and spirit. Sports are a part of the curriculum there so everyone is enduring many of the same struggles, it’s like a high school level UVA.” While he was at Gilman, Micah was a three-sport student-athlete, playing lacrosse, basketball, and football. Everyone knows he’s a great football player, but not many are aware of the fact that he had opportunities to play lacrosse on the collegiate level as well.

While Micah attended Gilman, his parents helped place his younger brother Jordan in the Baltimore School for the Arts so that he could thrive artistically as Micah did athletically. This is when Micah really gained a full understanding of the sacrifices his parents were making for him and his brother. He made it clear that he is internally driven and not fazed by outside sources, and that these sacrifices that his parents have made to place him and his brother in positions to be successful drive him – he wants to make them proud.

When asked about his plans for the future, Micah responded, “In the perfect near future I want to leave a legacy here at UVA; I want to make a difference in turning this program around, and then fulfill my lifelong dream of playing in the NFL. Down the road I also aspire to become a coach. I believe that being a coach provides an opportunity to become the ultimate teacher, mentor, and motivator for young people while having a great impact on their lives.”

Finally, when asked about what he would say to the individuals who make his scholarship possible and provide an opportunity for him to fulfill his dream of playing football at the highest collegiate level, Micah said, “The VAF donors and the Foundation are essential in providing student-athletes, like myself, the opportunity to attend one of the greatest universities in the world and chase Uncompromised Excellence both in the classroom and on the field of play, and for that, I am forever grateful.”

Rising third year Anna Redding fell in love with golf as an 11-year old when her grandparents signed her up for a camp. From then on, she set her sights on becoming a successful professional golfer. “My dream is to make a career on the LPGA tour. Since the first time I held a golf club, my goal has been to be the number one golfer in the world. I am lucky to have an amazing support system both at UVA and at home to help me do what I can to make my dreams a reality. “This passion is what eventually allowed her to compete at a national collegiate level at UVA.

Anna decided that UVA was the school for her when she experienced the community for the first time at a football game. “The phrase ‘girls in pearls and guys in ties’ was thrown at me, so I forced my mother to buy me a dress at the nearest boutique to fit in with the students. The moment I walked into Scott Stadium and looked over at the hill, I knew I wanted to be standing over there and not in the stands with the other potential recruits.”

Off the golf course, Anna has been an active member of the Beta Alpha chapter of Kappa Delta, which has helped her get involved with the Charlottesville community and more. “Our philanthropy is Girl Scouts of America and instilling confidence in young girls and women. Through these events I am able to directly influence young girls and help them start to believe in themselves, something I have struggled with until recently.”

Anna has also established herself in a leadership position on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) council, which plays an important role in connecting the student-athlete body and its administrators. “SAAC has allowed me to take on a leadership role that I never had in high school. I’ve grown as a person by being on this council and have become more comfortable making decisions and speaking in front of a group.” Through helping the community, Anna has been able to help herself branch out and take leading roles that she needs for the golf team and individually.

Named to the ACC Women’s Golf All-Academic team and the ACC Honor Roll, Anna was rewarded with the William C. Eacho Women’s Golf Scholarship Endowment at the 2017 Hoos Choice Awards. When given the opportunity to thank VAF donors, Anna said, “The donors to the Virginia Athletics Foundation impact me every day. They are the reason I am at the wonderful University of Virginia and chasing my dream. I would not be able to take advantage of everything UVA has to offer academically and athletically without their endless support. I can’t thank them enough for what they have done for my fellow student-athletes, this University and me.”

Jimmy Stanger began golfing at 5 years old, tagging along as his father hit the course. Soon, the young Stanger set his sights on a professional career.

“I still have a note that I wrote about age 7 saying that I wanted to play with Tiger Woods in the Masters when I was 20,” said Stanger, who graduated from the University of Virginia in May 2017 after a successful academic and athletic career.

Though Stanger did not quite make it to Augusta National at age 20 (and the injured Woods missed the Masters this year), he has done a pretty good job of making his childhood dream come true. He became a first-team All-American golfer and won the Atlantic Coast Conference individual championship his fourth year. UVA’s golf team thrived during his tenure, most recently finishing a program-best 10th at the 2017 NCAA Championship.

Stanger is poised to make the leap from amateur to professional. After playing in the U.S. Amateur Championship in August, Stanger plans to sign with an agent and officially become a professional golfer. “It really is a dream come true,” he said.

Off the green, Stanger set the example as a student. The Tampa, Florida native zeroed in on UVA not just for the golf team, but also for the McIntire School of Commerce, ranked No. 2 globally. “The Commerce School was a huge reason I chose UVA, because I have always envisioned myself going into finance after a golf career,” he said. “I wanted to go to a university with a great business school, and UVA obviously had that.”

Still, he admits there were times in his college career when achieving both of those dreams felt like a daunting task. Stanger said he got a bit overconfident during his first year at UVA, after a particularly strong top-10 finish in his first tournament. “I had visions of myself winning every tournament after that,” he said. “But of course that was not the case, and over the next two years, I definitely did not play the golf I was expecting to be able to play.”

Part of the challenge, he said, was balancing long hours on the golf course with his classes and application to UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce, which typically accepts students during their second year. Like other applicants, Stanger had to complete challenging pre-requisites involving time-intensive case studies and group meetings. “Juggling that with golf was very difficult,” Stanger said. “It really taught me the importance of staying focused, planning out a good schedule and understanding that the best things take hard work and time.”

By his third year on Grounds, though, Stanger found his groove. He was accepted to the Commerce School and enjoyed his first year in the program. He had also gotten involved in other organizations on Grounds, including a Christian organization called Athletes in Action, where he led Bible studies for other UVA student-athletes. He earned a reputation among his coaches as a hard worker who leads by example.

“Jimmy really is a great student-athlete, first and foremost,” men’s golf coach Bowen Sargent said. “He has been a very valuable leader from that perspective and a great model for the younger guys with his efforts in the classroom and on the golf course.”

During his third year, Stanger’s golf game also improved. He won his first college tournament and made a birdie putt to send his team to the 2016 National Championship tournament. “That moment stands out tremendously,” Stanger said of the clutch putt.

As he continued playing well, his national and international ranking – an important number for any amateur golfer hoping to play professionally – steadily rose. Currently, Stanger is ranked No. 16 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and No. 7 by Golfstat.

“He is in a really good position right now,” Sargent said. “He is playing awfully well and has been for over a year. That consistency becomes more and more important at the next level.”

As Stanger – using some of his business training – put it, “Playing professionally has become not just a dream, but a practical option. Sometimes it did not seem doable or practical, but as I have gotten better and moved up in the rankings, it has become practical to go out and play golf as a career. I feel so blessed to be able to do that, and to have had people, like my parents, who have sacrificed to make it happen.”

He anticipates that his McIntire degree will help him navigate the business side of golf, including negotiating contracts, managing money and securing sponsorships.

“Playing professional golf really is an entrepreneurial activity. You are selling yourself as a brand,” Stanger said. “I concentrated in finance and marketing, and that has really helped me understand how the golf industry works and how I can find a place in that industry.”

If his past record is any indication, it’s a place Stanger will work hard to earn and keep. –Caroline Newman, UVA News Associate

Henrik Wiersholm, a rising fourth year UVA tennis player, helped lead the Cavaliers to a third consecutive NCAA team title and the fourth in the last five years. “He’s a really intelligent young man that exudes a tremendous amount of composure in the biggest moments,” says former UVA head coach Brian Boland. Henrik is a full-court player. “He’s one of those players that has a lot going for him mentally, as well as the versatility to make adjustments,” Boland said. During the 2016-17 regular season, Wiersholm had a 19-0 singles record and was named to the All-ACC Third Team.

Wiersholm was born in San Francisco and moved when he was young with his family to Kirkland, Washington. In high school, Wiersholm spent his years at the USTA Training Center in Boca Raton, Florida, with a few UVA teammates Luca Corinteli and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski.

One of Wiersholm’s coaches in the USTA program was Andres Pedroso, who was named UVA’s new head coach at the end of the 2016-17 season. “I knew Andres well,” Wiersholm recalled, “and he reached out to me and started recruiting me, and consequently Coach Boland started recruiting me. “I went on an official here. I called my mom and I said, `Mom, it’s a done deal. I’m going to UVA. There’s no chance I can see myself anywhere else.'”

His UVA experience has been rewarding. He is in the prestigious McIntire School of Commerce, where he’s concentrating on marketing and management. “The combination of academics and athletics and then the community here, in my opinion it’s unparalleled,” Wiersholm said. “You’re on a team where everybody takes academics seriously, where the coaching staff respects and makes academics a priority within the program. And the players realize what an incredible opportunity it is to get one of the best degrees in the world, and they become competitive with it, just like anything else, and they want to make sure that they learn so they can maximize their impact well beyond their time at the University of Virginia.”

On the court, Wiersholm had to be patient. “I didn’t play my first year. I was our seventh man, in case someone got injured.” Wiersholm said. His first year at UVA, Wiersholm said, was about “learning humility, learning how to put the ego aside, learning to play for others, and just refocusing on different aspects [such as]: Why do I play? Who am I as an individual? I learned so much about myself.”

Wiersholm, of course, was not the first heralded recruit to have to wait his turn at UVA. “This program is not about any one coach or one person. It’s way bigger than that, and when you’re around people day in and day out that exude a winning attitude and a positive energy, you want to be part of something like that,” Boland said.

Wiersholm plans to work in business one day. However, upon graduating from UVA in 2018, Wiersholm intends to pursue a professional career in tennis. “I have only one opportunity to really go after [a tennis career] and pursue a dream that I’ve had since I was young. So I’m going to do that, and we’ll see what happens afterward, but to have done McIntire will set a really nice base for whatever comes after tennis.”

Wiersholm is the 2017-2018 recipient of The Harold M. Burrows, Jr. Endowed Tennis Scholarship. In expressing his appreciation, he said, “I would like to personally thank VAF donors for their support of Virginia Athletics. Your help has made it possible for me to play the sport I love at the best university in the nation. Your help is truly invaluable.”

University of Virginia student-athlete Micah Brickhill grew up in rural Buckingham County. Whenever she or a family member had a doctor’s appointment, they had to travel an hour and a half to Charlottesville along mostly two-lane, winding, hilly roads. If there was a medical emergency, the nearest urgent care clinic was 40 miles away.

“This kind of inconvenience can really discourage people from getting the preventive care they need, especially people who have lower incomes,” Brickhill said. “Yet preventive care is urgently needed in communities with problems like obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

Brickhill aims to do something about this problem, in the most direct way possible. She intends to become a family doctor, somewhere in an underserved area of rural Virginia – Buckingham, Appalachia or the Eastern Shore, wherever she might be needed.

She received her bachelor’s degree in biology (with a minor in religious studies) in May 2017 and begins medical school at UVA in the fall.  She has been accepted into the School of Medicine’s Generalist Scholar Program, a training and scholarship program for outstanding students who plan to serve in general medicine, a field with a growing shortage of practitioners.

“I want to serve in a practical way the immediate and long-term care needs of people of all ages who otherwise would have poor access to health care,” she said.

The idea sits well with Brickhill – she says she is most at home in small-town settings where she believes it’s still possible to “be a friend” to patients, even when dealing with a busy workload.

“I would love to be in a situation where I could make house calls,” she said. “I want to provide high-quality health care while developing relationships with my patients and helping them gain a sense of control over their own health.”

Brickhill has faced health challenges of her own. As a first-year student, while going through the normal challenges of adapting to college, she joined the UVA Women’s Varsity Track and Field team as an 800-meter runner, one of the most grueling track events, requiring an all-out sprint of nearly half a mile. But she suffered two stress fractures that sidelined her. And then she contracted mononucleosis.

What seemed like a lost opportunity became a new kind of opportunity for Brickhill.

“I realized I had a place on my team by encouraging my teammates and coaches and trainers,” she said. “I looked beyond my immediate situation and redefined ‘winning’ as an investment in the success of others and not just my own. In this way, I could represent my team and the University.”

She was able to resume running track during her next three years at the University. Recently she won the track team’s Coaches Award for Excellence and the Atlantic Coast Conference Top Six for Service Award. She also has earned an award for having the highest cumulative grade-point average for a graduating female student-athlete.

“Perseverance is ingrained in Micah’s soul,” said biology professor Dorothy Schafer, Brickhill’s academic advisor. “She balances a deep commitment to the rigors of athletic training with the demands of remaining at the top of her academic game. She is pure gold, genuine to the core. Micah is committed to her goal of providing hope to a world in need, regardless of the temporary struggles she might face along the way.”

As a student-athlete, Brickhill has spent 20 hours per week in track practices and has traveled the country with her team for meets, including ACC indoor and outdoor championships. She has studied whenever and wherever she could, making full use of the time available to her. She also has engaged in community service with youth groups and student-athlete leadership groups.

“The time and performance demands of collegiate athletics and academics have equipped me with the physical, mental and emotional stamina to thrive in the challenging settings of medical school and health care,” she said.

In preparing for a medical career, Brickhill last year spent several weeks shadowing a doctor at UVA’s Transitional Care Hospital where she witnessed first-hand the “high-energy level required of physicians working long shifts while maintaining caring attitudes toward their patients.”

She also has shadowed an emergency room doctor, as well as a Charlottesville internist. Those experiences helped her develop a deep admiration for the teamwork, dedication and compassion exhibited by her mentors in all the fields of health care, she said.

Brickhill also has experienced the inspiration of health care provision in extremely challenging environments. She spent a week in the summer of 2015 at a remote regional hospital in Haiti where patients traveled by bus along treacherous roads, sometimes for hours, to receive care for injuries and a range of infectious and chronic diseases. She observed the two overworked doctors there, who serve about 800 patients per month, providing steady compassionate care.

“The patients had few possessions and resources, but they viewed their limited health care as a sign of hope,” Brickhill said.

Hope, she plans to provide someday to her own patients.

While Brickhill doesn’t expect to face in Virginia the extreme challenges she witnessed in Haiti, she knows the demands will be heavy as patients similarly come from miles around seeking care and compassion for a range of health problems.

“I believe I have the abilities, passions and personality to be a committed and compassionate doctor in underserved areas,” she said. “Becoming a physician requires dedication and sacrifice, and I am committed.” – Written by Fariss Samarrai

In the sport of rowing, student-athletes spend hours training on land in order to go fast on the water. As a first year, Ali Zwicker similarly realized that in order to be successful in the classroom, there was a lot of work to be done outside of class time. Ali, now a fourth year on the Virginia Rowing team, explained, “Oftentimes I was unable to attend faculty office hours due to our practice schedule.”

AS A DOUBLE MAJOR in Italian and French, she has participated in one-on-one and group tutoring for her various language, physics and neuroscience courses throughout her time as a student-athlete. Participating in the tutoring options available allowed her to ask questions and better engage in class material with other students and native speakers. The extra review of challenging topics allowed her to successfully prepare for exams and papers in small and personalized settings.

As an upperclassman, Ali continues to remain involved in the Academic Affairs community. She currently serves as the President of SAAC, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and participates in the I AM MORE workshop series, a program for student-athletes to learn about career development and networking strategies to prepare for life after competitive sport. In reflecting upon her involvement and the opportunities available, Ali said, “The services available to student-athletes through Athletics Academic Affairs are so valuable. Their commitment to excellence outside of athletics is clearly found in everything the department offers.”

When Wil Wahee arrived at the University of Virginia, one of his priorities was to challenge himself in the classroom. He was successful and named to the ACC All-Academic Football Team and the ACC and UVA Athletics Honor Rolls. He completed his undergraduate Sociology degree in less than four years and earned his Master’s Degree at the Curry School of Education om 2016.

Wil hopes to put his dual degree toward an elementary school teaching position, an interest sparked from the team’s community service hours at local schools and from the leadership role he took on the football team.

He attributed much of his academic success to the lessons learned as a student-athlete. He values the time management skills developed from balancing football and a full course load, most often beginning his days at 6 a.m. He noted, “Changes in the coaching staff brought a new tempo to the team, emphasizing many of the values I take to heart. I was incredibly excited and proud to be a part of a community where excellence and hard work are valued both in the classroom and on the football field.”