| Jessica Wilk |
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Jessica Wilk enters her sixth season at as Virginia's head coach, with over 100 games in her tenure and a host of accolades for Cavalier student-athletes. These accomplishments are a testament to the strong foundation she has built in Charlottesville.
In 2003, Wilk celebrated her 100th career game as the Cavaliers' head coach, a 4-0 shutout of Cornell in front of the hometown crowd. Later that year, team captain Katie Jo Gerfen earned All-American honors. Wilk's 2002 Cavaliers played the role of spoilers, knocking off a number of top-20 teams throughout the season.
In 2001, Virginia advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals with a thrilling overtime victory against the nation's fifth-ranked team. It was just one more chapter in a season that had been punctuated with a number of exciting wins as Virginia won six games against ranked opponents. One of those wins was a penalty-stroke victory over the nation's top-ranked team, the first time in school history that the Cavaliers had defeated the #1 team in the nation. The Cavaliers also notched four wins over NCAA-tournament bound teams as UVa received a school-record seventh consecutive bid to postseason play.
The 2000 Cavaliers were ranked in the top-ten all year, finishing the season ranked ninth. After notching a number of wins over ranked opponents, Virginia advanced to the finals of the ACC Tournament following a thrilling semifinal victory decided in penalty strokes. The Hoos finished the season ranked in the nation's top-20 in winning percentage for the second consecutive year.
In 1999, the Cavaliers spent the entire season in the nation's top-12 garnering an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers' fifth consecutive bid, continuing a school record. Along the way, Virginia notched wins over a number of top-ten foes, including eventual NCAA finalist Michigan. The Cavaliers continued their defensive prowess in 1999 with another top-20 national ranking in scoring defense.
Wilk was named the seventh head coach in the history of the program on February 16, 1999. The Cavaliers led the nation in 1997 in scoring defense and were ranked in the top five in both 1996 and 1998 while smashing the school's offensive records for three consecutive seasons. Virginia scored over 200 points in each of those three seasons, from 1996-98, to finish among the NFHCA national leaders in that category.
Before joining the UVa coaching staff, Wilk spent one year as an assistant field hockey and lacrosse coach at the University of Maryland.
Wilk received her bachelor's degree in government and politics from Maryland in 1990. She was a three-time All-American in field hockey at Maryland (1986-88) and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1986 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The Terrapins won the NCAA Championship in 1987. She participated on the U.S. Under-21 field hockey team in 1988 and the U.S. Reserve Team in 1989. She also competed in the United States Olympic Festivals in 1989 and 1990. In 2002, Wilk was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary Field Hockey Team. She also was a member of the United States Lacrosse World Cup Teams in 1993, 1997, and 2001, winning the gold medal at each quadrennial competition. Wilk served as the captain for both the 1997 and 2001 teams.
Wilk is active in US Field Hockey circles, having coached at "B" camp in 1997-1999 and 2001.
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