Lacrosse: Two Virginia players named to 2016 U.S. Men’s U19 Team

One Virginia men’s lacrosse freshman and one incoming Cavalier who signed a National Letter of Intent last November were selected to the U.S. men’s national under-19 team that will travel to the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championship, July 7-16 in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Current UVA first-year midfielder Ryan Conrad and rising high school senior midfielder from Villanova, Pa., Dox Aitken were elected to the roster of 25 from 105 candidates that endured a tryout in June. Aitken (Haverford School) signed his National Letter of Intent with Virginia this past November.

The U.S. team will look to defend its title from 2012 when it won gold, beating Canada, 10-8, in Turku, Finland.

The 25 players were selected from a 30-man squad that attended Team USA training camps in November (Columbus, Ohio) and January (Bradenton, Fla.). The 30 players were originally narrowed from a pool of 51 athletes that attended an August training camp in Baltimore, Md., following a 105-player tryout in June, also in Baltimore. Two of the 25 will be named alternates in the lead-up to the World Championship, at which point 23 players will be eligible to compete for Team USA.

The 2016 U.S. men’s under-19 team will convene for training June 4-5 in the Baltimore area, followed by another training camp July 2-5 in Seattle before crossing the border for Canada and the FIL World Championship.

Team USA has amassed a 41-2 all-time record in international play, claiming gold in each of the seven U19 world championship events to date (1988, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2008, 2012).