Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG –John Sung, head coach of the Virginia Tech lacrosse team and his staff have named the captains for the upcoming 2019 season, the 25th in program history. Mary Claire Byrne will captain the Hokies for the third consecutive year, while Julia Bolte, Kelci O'Donnell, and Emma Harden have also been tabbed as leaders of the young Virginia Tech squad.
The Hokies will look to continue to build on the successes of the previous season, which culminated in the first ever NCAA Tournament appearance last spring when the Hokies reached the Round of 16.
Tech also set a program record for wins and ACC victories, and also saw several individuals earn national recognition for their play, including four first team All-ACC student-athletes
The captains' experience, with two graduate students, a junior, and a senior, accounts for 166 career points and 137 games played in a Virginia Tech uniform.
Byrne, a graduate student from McLean, Virginia, was second in the ACC last season in caused turnovers per game, averaging 1.59. The two-time ACC All-Academic team member is also fifth all-time in caused turnovers at Tech, with 69.
She is one of only three Hokies that started every game in 2018, where she recorded 17 goals and 10 assists. For her career, Byrne has tallied 30 goals and 17 assists.
Julia Bolte, a junior from Moorestown, New Jersey, is one of the leaders on the offensive end, leading the squad in assists a season ago while also being dangerous herself accounting for 16 scores. The attacker transferred from Oregon, after a great freshman year, to help fuel their record-breaking year of 2018. While starting 20 games last season, Bolte accumulated 16 goals and 19 assists, including five in a single game against Davidson.
Kelci O'Donnell, a senior from Dowingtown, Pennsylvania, enters her senior year after a 2018 that saw her log minutes in 15 games, tallying six points. O'Donnell led the Hokies' attack by scoring four goals against Old Dominion.
Emma Harden, an attacker from Alpharetta, Georgia will round out the captains this season. The grad student will eagerly await her chance to return to the field after an injury cut her senior season short. Harden's 73 career points in the second highest tally on the squad and includes a career-best five goals in the Hokies' win against Delaware a season ago.
The Hokies recently concluded their fall season, that saw them compete against some of the best in college lacrosse including; Maryland, Towson, Johns Hopkins, Penn State and Stanford.
With 2019 on the horizon, the Hokies' schedule is set to be released next week.