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BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech athletic trainer Freddy Purnell announced Wednesday that true freshman Chelsea Whitcomb suffered a tear of her left ACL Sunday on the final day of tryouts for the U.S. Junior Women’s National Team in Chino, California.

The Chesterfield, Virginia, native will have surgery on Thursday at LewisGale Hospital in Salem by Dr. James Farmer and will miss the 2015 season. Since she participated in the non-traditional fall season, she will have to apply for a medical hardship waiver, which will preserve her redshirt year.

“It is really tough news for us to lose Chelsea this year,” said Tech head coach Scot Thomas. “She is a special talent and an impact player in multiple capacities. Although it is tough now, we still look forward to her having a tremendous career here at Tech after she utilizes a medical redshirt year.”

Whitcomb was named one of three alternates to the Junior National Team. The team will represent Team USA at the World Cup of Softball X in Southern California in July and the International Softball Federation Junior Women’s World Championship in August in Oklahoma City.

Whitcomb graduated from Cosby High School, where she became the only three-time Metro Player of the Year in the 20-year history of the award, as named by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. She led her team to the Virginia Group AAA state title game as a senior, batting .470 with six home runs, 23 RBIs, 35 runs and 11 stolen bases. In the circle, she had a 0.44 ERA with 243 strikeouts in 126 innings, where she allowed 55 hits and eight earned runs.

“One of the keys to having any player go down like this is getting them fixed and back to 100 percent, while maintaining high academic standard and finding roles for those players that are positive for the team while rehabilitating,” Thomas said. “If something like this were to happen, there really couldn’t be a better year. We have such a strong upper-class team, great leaders and newcomers that are going to be a major impact, along with Kelsey Mericka back in the line up and a pitching staff that is ready to step up their game after a disappointing year. I know they are ready for the challenge.”

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