Lacrosse recruit from LI had good impression of suspect
Yeardley Love, left, was found slain early Monday morning, May 3, 2010, in a Charlottesville, Va., apartment, near the University of Virginia. Love, 22, was a senior on the school's lacrosse team. George Huguely, right, was charged with first-degree murder, according to police. Huguely, 22, plays on the university's men's lacrosse team. Credit: AP
During a recruiting trip to Charlottesville, Va., in October 2008, Rocky Point senior midfielder Tom Kelly met George Huguely, the Virginia men's lacrosse player charged with murder Monday in the death of Cavaliers women's lacrosse player Yeardley Love.
Kelly, who will attend Virginia in September, was shocked to learn of the news about Huguely, whom Kelly described as "a great kid.''
"Hearing that name definitely made it even harder to accept,'' Kelly said Tuesday after Rocky Point defeated host Sayville, 6-3. "He was outgoing and happy. That's how I really got to know him. I never really saw an angry side of him."
Kelly said Huguely, then a junior midfielder, was among a group of Virginia players who spoke about how to properly represent the university and what to expect there. "He spoke about how everything plays out at Virginia,'' Kelly said. "Campus life, how student-athletes are supposed to act, actually.''
Kelly learned about Huguely's alleged murder of Love through news reports, and said he had not been contacted by the Virginia coaching staff as of Tuesday afternoon. Kelly, a two-time all-Suffolk pick, still plans to attend Virginia.
There are nine Long Islanders who play for the top-ranked men's team at Virginia (14-1). There is one Long Island woman who plays for the Cavaliers (13-5).
Virginia players weren't made available to the media Tuesday.
"It's a tragedy,'' Kelly said. "My heart goes out to both families. It's definitely a tough loss for the lacrosse program.''
