White: Cavaliers Face Daunting Challenge at Wake
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 01/22/2010
By Jeff White

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Jontel Evans got his first look at Wake Forest's basketball arena Friday night, when UVa practiced in an otherwise-empty Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

"I kind of like it," Evans said afterward. "It's kind of nice here."

Those seats will be filled Saturday, and members of the ACC's first-place team, Evans included, aren't likely to find the place as pleasant then.

Virginia (3-0, 12-4) meets Wake (3-2, 13-4) at 4 p.m. The Demon Deacons are coming off a convincing win over defending NCAA champion North Carolina -- in Chapel Hill, no less -- and the 14,000 or so fans who show up Saturday figure to be stoked.

Evans, a freshman from Hampton, will make his third start as a Cavalier. It will be his first away from John Paul Jones Arena, where the Wahoos have won seven straight, but the 5-11 point guard says he won't let the crowd intimidate him.

"I'm used to that back home, going into other gyms, people thrashing me and everything," Evans said. "I'm mentally ready."

Whether he's physically ready for his Wake counterpart, Ishmael Smith, is still to be determined. Smith, a 6-0, 175-pound senior, averages 13.1 points, 5.9 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals. On the court, he's a blur.

"I just know he's fast as lightning," Evans said. "He's really stepping up this year, being a good point guard and running his team."

His strategy Saturday against Smith?

"The coaches just want me to contain him," Evans said, "because I've heard he's not that great of a shooter."

Indeed, Smith is shooting a miserable 44.4 percent from the line and 23.5 percent from 3-point range. From the floor, he's hitting 43.1 percent of attempts, and most of his points come on slashes to the hoop.

UVa's first-year coach, Tony Bennett, watched the TV broadcast of the Wake-UNC game Wednesday night. At one point, Bennett heard the announcers say that, according to Wake coach Dino Gaudio, Smith is faster from end line to end line than Chris Paul and Jeff Teague were.

"That struck me like, 'Wow, that's fast,'" Bennett said.

He came to UVa last spring from Washington State, so Bennett is not as familiar with Smith as most coaches in the ACC are. But Bennett has been impressed with what he's seen so far.

"It seems like he really lets the game come to him," Bennett said. "Maybe his percentage from 3 isn't there, though he made one or two [against UNC], but he's got really good touch going to the basket. I've seen that, where he draws a crowd.

"You've got to be mindful of him and you've got to, to the best of your ability as a team, sort of wall him off and not let him get to that paint as easily as he makes it look. Because I know teams are desperately trying to keep him out, but he just finds a way in there."

Evans, who was a standout tailback at Bethel High School, is the swiftest Cavalier and the team's best on-the-ball defender, and he'll open the game on Smith.

Still, Bennett said, "I don't think you can say one guy is just going to lock [Smith] up and shadow him and that's it. Your team defense has to try to work against him, being mindful, certainly, of their other weapons."

The Deacons' size rivals that of an NBA team. At center, Wake's options include 7-0 senior Chas McFarland (6.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg), 6-11 senior David Weaver and 6-11 sophomore Tony Woods.

At power forward is 6-9 sophomore Al-Faruoq Aminu, an All-America candidate who's likely to be an NBA lottery pick if enters the draft this year.

"Everybody who plays [the Deacons] has to be conscious of blocking out, keeping bodies on them, guards helping with the rebounding," Bennett said, "because sometimes the bigs will have their hands full trying to just keep those big horses off the glass.

"They're athletic in different ways, strong and long. So those are the kinds of things that you're going to have to be mindful of with them, and it'll be important that our defense is good, and if our bigs are having to always step up or step across to try and keep Smith or other players out of the lane, that's going to be tough on the rebounding, because they'll lose position. So it'll test you a lot of ways."

The Cavaliers, who were picked to finish 11th in the ACC, are the only one of the 12 still unbeaten in conference play. But success can be fleeting, and Bennett raised his voice several times Friday night to remind his players that if their focus and effort wane Saturday, Wake will hammer them.

Teams such as UAB and Georgia Tech -- both ranked when UVa met them (and beat them) -- might have underestimated Bennett's club. Going forward, the Cavaliers can expect to have their opponents' full attention.

"I'm aware of that," Evans said, "but if we keep doing what we're doing, our success will continue."

 

Wake's defense to be familiar to UVa
Dino Gaudio learned the "Pack Line" from Tony Bennett's dad.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

In a preseason dissertation on his defensive philosophy, first-year Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett said the best gauge of his "Pack Line" defense was an opponent's 3-point field-goal percentage.

At the approximate midpoint of the season, the Cavaliers are last among 12 ACC teams in 3-point field-goal percentage defense.

UVa's opponent this afternoon in Winston-Salem, N.C., Wake Forest, is first in the ACC in 3-point field-goal defense, which Bennett might view as a compliment of sorts.

The Deacons (13-4, 2-3) adopted the Pack Line in 2008-09 after Wake coach Dino Gaudio discussed its merits with Bennett and Bennett's father, Dick, formerly the head coach at Wisconsin and Washington State, among other stops.

"They're playing it very well," Tony Bennett said of the Deacons. "I've been teasing my dad and saying, 'Why did you ever make that tape?' "

Some might look at Virginia's statistics and say that the Cavaliers (12-4, 3-0) have prospered in spite of the Pack Line, but closer examination suggests the contrary.

The most noteworthy aspect of Virginia's season to date has been its success in conference games, and the Cavaliers have held ACC opponents to 28-percent shooting from behind the 3-point line.

That's good for fourth among ACC teams.

In the non-conference portion of Virginia's schedule, which ended Monday with a 69-67 victory over UNC Wilmington, opponents have shot 36.7 percent from behind the arc.

The Seahawks were 11-of-24 on 3-pointers against Virginia, which had given up 10 3-point field goals in an earlier loss at Auburn and eight against Stanford in another early setback.

"We've only had the three [conference] games; we've been better in the ACC play, but it's discouraging," Bennett said. "When teams are shooting a high percentage [on 3-pointers], you've got to take a look at that. You've got to work hard on closeouts and bothering shooters.

"You say, 'Where are they getting it? Are they getting 3s against our set defense and we're just breaking down, or is it more in transition?' My last year at Washington State, our 3-point field-goal percentage defense wasn't good either. We had a young team and I don't think we quite grasped it.

"It takes an ability to anticipate and get to shooters but still jam the lane. Sometimes, teams just get hot, but I want that to get better."

UNC Wilmington shot 54.5 percent (6-for-11) on 3-pointers in the second half, when it overcame a 16-point deficit to take a four-point lead with under three minutes remaining.

In its most recent outing, Wake Forest was 9-of-16 on 3-pointers Wednesday night in an 82-69 victory over 24th-ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Guard C.J. Harris was 4-of-5 on 3-pointers and fellow freshman Ari Stewart, a one-time UVa recruiting target, was 3-of-4. Stewart hit 3-pointers on three consecutive trips down the floor during a 1:26 span of the second half.

Wake, picked sixth in the ACC before the season, lost two potential returnees to the NBA when Jeff Teague and James Johnson were selected among the first 20 picks in the first round. But 6-foot senior Ish Smith is having a career year as a penetrator, defender and 41.8-percent 3-point shooter.

"I think they made a comment [on the TV broadcast] that Dino had said that, end line to end line, he's faster than Chris Paul or Teague," Bennett said of Smith. "That struck me as 'Wow, that's fast!' I know that teams are desperately trying to keep [Smith] out of the paint. He always finds a way, but you've got to be mindful of their other weapons."
 

U.Va.-Wake: Let’s go to video
Related Info
VIRGINIA AT WAKE FOREST
Today:4 p.m.
TV: CBS
Radio: WRVA (1140); WINA (1070)
By Michael Phillips
Published: January 23, 2010
Updated: January 23, 2010
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In the world of college basketball, coaches often chat with each other and give advice. So Tony Bennett didn't think much of it when newly hired Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio gave him a call a few years ago.

The topic was the "pack-line defense," a strategy created by Bennett's father, Dick, and popularized in an instructional video. Gaudio was introducing the defense to the Demon Deacons, and Bennett, the coach at Washington State, was three time zones away.

Now, of course, Bennett is the coach at Virginia and finds himself running into his own strategy.

"I was kind of teasing my dad -- 'Why would you ever make that tape?'" he said with a laugh. "I told him to keep that thing quiet."

For $39.95 plus shipping, the elder Bennett's video can walk any coach at any level through the basics of the defense, which put a heavy emphasis on guarding the post players and making teams earn an open look shooting.

The pack line itself is a line that mimics the 3-point line, but is a couple of feet closer to the basket. Aside from the player guarding the ball, the other four defenders remain inside the line at all times to protect the inside.

Wake Forest has had success with the system this year, in no small part because of the athletes Gaudio coaches. Bennett said that he's particularly impressed by the Demon Deacons inside rebounders.

"Everybody who plays them has to be conscious of blocking out, of keeping bodies on them," he said. "Just keep those big horses off the glass."

The Demon Deacons will enter the game looking to break out of a pack of 3-2 teams tied for third place in the ACC. In doing so, they also have the opportunity to hand the Cavs their first conference loss of the season.

But while Virginia has been off since a rescheduled Monday clash with UNC Wilmington, Wake has played at Duke (Sunday) and at North Carolina (Wednesday). Gaudio addressed the topic during a teleconference this week, calling for "game integrity."

"I'm not as upset about having to go to Duke and having to go to Carolina," he said. "But if [the UNC Wilmington game hadn't been snowed out in December], that doesn't make sense to me where we played three games in seven days and they had eight days off. . . . It shouldn't happen to anybody."

Wake Forest emerged from those two road games with a loss to Duke and a victory against North Carolina, relying on its senior leadership.

For Gaudio, having seniors who have been a part of his strategies, including the pack-line defense, has made a difference in terms of how effective he's been.

"I think the more you do it, the better you are at it," he said. "I'm fortunate that the seniors, of which we have four, this is their third year of playing the defense. So they're aware of the nuances and the adjustments."

Bennett has no such luxury, since every player on his roster first learned of the defense when he arrived in Charlottesville in the offseason. Of course, U.Va. does have one advantage in today's game -- the guy leading the drills in those instructional videos is firmly on Bennett's side.

Deacs know Cavaliers are good
By Dan Collins
JOURNAL REPORTER

If there was any chance of the Virginia Cavaliers slipping into town for today's game against Wake Forest under the cover of preseason expectations, their cover has been blown.

There's a downside to almost everything, including a 3-0 conference record.

The Cavaliers, picked in the preseason to finish next to last under first-year Coach Tony Bennett, have been the surprise team of the early ACC season. Their first victory, at N.C. State, might have been attributed to the Wolfpack's own struggles, but the same could not be said for home wins against Georgia Tech and Miami.

Led by Sylven Landesberg, an early candidate for ACC Player of the Year, the Cavaliers (12-4 overall) are the only team to remain undefeated in league play. In fact, other than 2-1 Maryland, every other team has at least two losses.

The Deacons, 13-4 overall after Wednesday's 82-69 victory at North Carolina, will try to improve to 4-2 in conference play.

Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Joel Coliseum.

"I've shown them Georgia Tech film and we've showed them individual clips," Coach Dino Gaudio said of his players. "They'd better understand how hard we have to play and how smart we have to play to beat these guys.

"I think (the Deacons) understand. They're 3-0 and they've won at N.C. State. They beat Miami, who beat us. These kids have great respect for Georgia Tech."

Freshman C.J. Harris of Wake Forest said that Virginia's success hasn't been as surprising to him that it apparently has been to others.

"They've got everybody back, that means they have experience," Harris said. "They have the ACC Rookie of the Year (Landesberg) back. And then I guess they're buying into their new coach.

"So it's all coming into place for them."

Bennett derived his coaching style from his father, Dick Bennett, who compiled a 316-227 record at Wisconsin-Green Bay, Wisconsin and Washington State. Dick Bennett championed the Pack-Line defense, which emphasizes building a wall in front of the basket as opposed to overplaying on the perimeter.

When Gaudio was shopping around for a new defensive approach for Wake Forest, he talked with Tony Bennett repeatedly while Bennett was at Washington State. Gaudio ultimately implemented the defense, which has helped turn the Deacons into one of the ACC's most formidable defensive teams.

To no one's surprise, Virginia deploys the defense as well.

"I'd like to say it's our defense but it's their defense," Gaudio said.

Gaudio may be even more impressed with the way the Cavaliers have run their offense in their first 16 games under Bennett. Virginia ranks last in the ACC with 71.1 points a games, but it's second with a free-throw percentage of .763 and first with a 3-point percentage of .415.

But the Cavaliers' real forte is their ability to take care of the ball. Virginia leads the ACC with 10.2 turnovers a game.

"We've got to not try to steal, just play our defense like we've been doing all year," Harris said.

Gaudio said the Deacons had better be prepared to play disciplined defense.

"We told them we've got to guard them for 30 seconds, and then we've got to box out or else we're going to have to guard them for another 30 or 35 seconds," Gaudio said. "I think we're pretty disciplined in the half-court defense. I think we'll do it. I think we're pretty good at that.

"We've got to do a really good job of staying attached to cutters and our big guys really have got to do a good job of helping us when other screens are occurring."

Landesberg, who has taken 85 more shots than anyone else on the team, leads the Cavaliers with 17.5 points a game, and he's averaging 21 against ACC competition. A 6-6 guard from Flushing, N.Y., Landesberg is shooting 45 percent form the floor and 38 percent from 3-point range.

Few players in the ACC are hotter than Sammy Zeglinski, a sophomore guard who is shooting a conference-best 49 percent from 3-point range. Zeglinski, whose father John was a standout football player for Wake Forest in the 1970s, is averaging 10.6 points a game.

Mike Scott, a 6-8 junior from Chesapeake, Va., leads the Cavaliers with 7.6 rebounds a game and is second with 13.2 points a game.

"A kid I really like is Scott inside," Gaudio said. "We recruited him a little bit.

"I think he's skilled. He plays hard. He's got that 15-17 foot base line jump shot that we saw Deon (Thompson) and (Travis) Wear shoot on Wednesday night. We've got to get out there on him."

Pack Line proteges meet for 1st time
By Whitey Reid
Published: January 23, 2010
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In the past, Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio would pick the brain of Tony Bennett and his father, Dick Bennett, about the nuances of the Pack Line defensive scheme that Dick invented.

The Bennetts were glad to oblige. Exchanging notes and video was a common occurrence between members of the Washington State and Wake Forest coaching staffs.

“That was before I knew I was coming to Virginia,” said Bennett, with a laugh, during a teleconference on Thursday.

Today, Virginia and Wake Forest meet in “The Battle of the Pack Lines” in Winston-Salem, N.C. The squads, who employ the same defensive approach, are both on a roll.

Now, Bennett wishes he and his father weren’t quite as forthcoming.

“They’re playing [the defense] very well. I was kind of teasing my dad, ‘Why did you ever make that [video] tape?’” Bennett joked.

Virginia (12-4, 3-0 ACC) is riding an eight-game winning streak, its longest since the 2003-04 season. Wake Forest (13-4, 3-2) is coming off an impressive win at No. 23 North Carolina on Wednesday.

UVa has shocked the college basketball world by winning its first three league games, but a true test awaits today. The Cavaliers, quite frankly, don’t match up with the ultra-athletic Demon Deacons. But, then again, the same thing was true of Georgia Tech, which Virginia defeated 10 days ago.

Virginia’s first task will be trying to get a handle on Wake floor general Ishmael Smith.

“I think Dino had said that from endline to endline he’s faster than Chris Paul or [Jeff] Teague,” said Bennett, referring to the former Wake guards. “That kind of struck me like, ‘Wow, that’s fast!’”

Smith, time and again, victimized UNC with his speed. When he wasn’t getting all the way to the rim for layups, he was setting up teammates for easy looks.

Virginia freshman Jontel Evans will likely get first crack at defending Smith, but Bennett said it will be a team effort.

UVa will have to try and make Smith, a 24-percent 3-point shooter, beat them from the outside.

“You have to try and wall him off and not let him get to that paint as easily as he makes it look,” Bennett said. “I don’t think you can say one guy is just going to lock him up and shadow him and that’s it — your team defense has to try and work against him and certainly be mindful that there are other weapons.”

They include future NBA stud Al-Farouq Aminu, experienced big man Chas McFarland and talented freshmen C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart.

“I was impressed with their completeness [against UNC],” Bennett said. “It didn’t look like there were a lot of weaknesses.”

Dunks

Wake leads the all-time series, 66-59, including a 38-13 mark in Winston-Salem. ... In the only meeting last season, Wake won, 70-60, in Charlottesville. ... The Demon Deacons have won the last seven meetings in Winston-Salem and the last three overall. Virginia is looking for its first win in Winston-Salem since 2000.
 

With Musgrave out, who's next on U.Va. list?

Virginia's search for an offensive coordinator took an apparent hit today with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporting that Falcons quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave will remain with the team.

D. Orlando Ledbetter, the paper's beat writer, broke the news on his blog.

We couch this with "apparent hit" because no one at Virginia ever confirmed that Musgrave, who coordinated the Cavaliers' offense in 2001 and 02, was new coach Mike London's top choice. That said, neither school officials nor London ever discouraged such speculation.

The question is: Whom is London considering?

Our fave is Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks coach Kevin Rogers, a William and Mary graduate and former assistant at Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and Syracuse. Here's a previous post explaining that preference.

Dallas Cowboys tight ends coach John Garrett, a former Virginia receivers coach, is a logical candidate, and like Rogers would come with the NFL panache that appeals to recruits.

London's offensive coordinator the past two seasons at Richmond, Mike Faragalli, has an eclectic past and should not be discounted as a possibility.

But we presume London is considering others whom neither media nor message-board mavens have mentioned.

Suggestions anyone?

We do know this much: London has played and coached defense for most of his football career. His offensive coordinator will have considerable autonomy, and as such, the hiring is paramount.

Musgrave staying with the Falcons
12:33 pm January 22, 2010, by D. Orlando Ledbetter

Quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave talks with D.J. Shockley as they walk off the field after losing to the Ravens at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009. Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com

Quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave talks with D.J. Shockley as they walk off the field after losing to the Ravens at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009. Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com

As expected, Falcons quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave is staying put.

The University of Virginia had some interest in Musgrave returning to their program, but did not make an official request to interview him after it was made clear that he was not leaving Flowery Branch, the team confirmed.

BIRDLAND — At least one Virginia columnist would like to see Falcons quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave return to Virginia as the school’s offensive coordinator.

David Teel of the Newport News Daily Press believes that Musgrave would be a perfect fit for the Cavaliers and new coach Mike London.

Musgrave was Virginia’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks and tight ends coach from 2001 to 2002. It was his only stint in the college ranks. He helped develop Matt Schaub while at Virginia.

Musgrave loves working with Matt Ryan and would be hard to pry out of Flowery Branch. We’re checking to see if Virginia has sought permission to speak with Musgrave.

Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Stinespring has throwback status
Loudoun County high school a recruiting battleground
By Doug Doughty

At some point, either in this column or one of my other on-line rants, I think I’ve pondered the wisdom of Virginia trying to lure the best offensive-line coach available by dangling the offensive coordinator’s job in front of him.

Surprisingly, Virginia Tech offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring isn’t necessarily a proponent of that strategy, at Virginia or elsewhere.

At the time Stinespring was named Tech’s offensive coordinator following the 2001 season, he was serving as offensive-line coach. He continued to serve in that capacity until the 2006 season, by which time Curt Newsome had been hired as offensive-line coach and Stinespring had replaced Danny Pearman as tight-ends coach.

The moves really had little to do with Stinespring coaching the offensive line and everything to do with the Hokies finding a spot for Newsome, a terrific recruiter at James Madison who had been interviewed by Virginia following the 2005. It may be oversimplifying the situation to say that Pearman was deemed most expendable, but the Hokies had to find a position group for Stinespring.

Stinespring reminded me that he coached the tight ends during his first five seasons on Frank Beamer’s staff (1994-98). However, his first association with Tech had come during a period when another offensive-line coach, Steve Marshall, had served as the Hokies’ offensive coordinator.

When asked how many Division I-A football programs have offensive coordinators who also serve as the offensive line coach, Stinespring said, “Whatever the number is, it has to be low.”

There are 120 programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision, previously Division I-A.
So, how many of those offensive coordinators are also offensive-line coaches, maybe 25? “That would be high,” Stinespring said, “an absolute high.”

We talked about some former offensive-line coaches who had become coordinators, including two who had success at Virginia, Tom O’Brien and Ron Prince. O’Brien kept the offensive-line when he was named coordinator at Virginia, later moved to quarterbacks, and later returned to the O-line to make room for Gary Tranquill.

“What you’re seeing more of these days is offensive-line coaches getting the ‘co-coordinator’ or ‘running-game coordinator’ title,” Stinespring said.

(It’s interesting to note that UVa offensive-line coach Dave Borbely, named running-game coordinator prior to the 2006 season, no longer had that title this year. Maybe that had something to do with the hiring of Gregg Brandon to replace three-year offensive coordinator Mike Groh).

Stinespring said that most offensive-line coaches “cut their niche in this world as an offensive-line coach; they don’t spread themselves very far out from that. They live in the ‘inside’ world, you know, blocking the front seven.”

“For me, starting out as a tight end coach was beneficial because it forces you not only to be cognizant of the line play and the running schemes and the pass protection, but you also have to be very viable also in learning the passing game – the art of spacing and all those little things.”

Jim Bollman, a one-time UVa offensive-line coach, serves as offensive coordinator at Ohio State but head coach Jim Tressel calls the plays. One offensive-line coach who serves as offensive coordinator and also calls the plays is Steed Lobotze, a member of Jim Grobe’s original staff at Wake Forest.

IF I HAD TO BET right now, I’d say that Mike Farigalli, who followed Mike London from Richmond to Virginia, would be the Cavaliers’ offensive coordinator.

It’s hard to see the Cavaliers getting Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback Bill Musgrave, particularly now that the Falcons have refused the Houston Texans’ request to speak to Musgrave, who tutored Texans’ quarterback Matt Schaub in Atlanta and at UVa.

The rules are probably different for a college program seeking to interview a pro assistant, but, if the Falcons were adamant about not having the Texans speak to Musgrave, they probably would do everything in their power to keep him from going to UVa.

I’m told that NFL commentators last weekend were talking about the possibility that Minnesota quarterbacks coach Kevin Rogers would get a pro coordinator’s job, so Rogers would have to be considered a long shot, at best, for the Cavaliers.

Before it’s all over, I could see Ron Mattes as the new offensive-line coach, and not necessarily as a graduate assistant. That would leave one spot to fill. We know that Indian River head coach Cadillac Harris and former Syracuse offensive coordinator Rob Spence have been interviewed, although it’s possible that ousted Chicago Bears quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton also could be in the mix. Don’t rule out Al Groh holdover Bob Price (see below).

THE CHALLENGE FACING London in his attempt to even up state recruiting was underscored Friday, when I spoke to coach Mickey Thompson at Stone Bridge High School quarterback.

Thompson has five Division I-A or I-AA prospects in his junior class, headed by 6-foot-7, 225-pound defensive end Rob Burns, reportedly a 3.95 student.

Other rising seniors at Stone Bridge include running back 6-foot, 180-pound running back Marcus Harris, defensive back Spencer Rositano (6-1, 185), linebacker Kyle Gouveia (6-0, 190) and quarterback Brian Rody (6-4, 210).

To their credit, the Cavaliers already have made an offer to Burns, who was at UVa last Saturday for a junior day. However, Thompson said that Virginia Tech had a three-man delegation at his school this week that was composed of head coach Frank Beamer, defensive coordinator Bud Foster and defensive-backs coach Torrian Gray.

“You’d never have all three of them here unless they were really high on your kids,” Thompson said.

When I asked Thompson who was recruiting UVa for the new staff, he replied, “Bob Price … and he’s not sure where he fits in.”

Last I heard, new assistant Shawn Moore was going to be responsible for northern Virginia and the D.C. area, which is a lot to bite off, especially for a first-time college assistant who has not previously recruited.

Thompson said that Foster recruits Loudoun County, a burgeoning area that now has 10 high schools, while Gray has the 22 high schools in Fairfax County.

Once the entire London staff is in place, the division of recruiting areas will have major significance.
 

Virginia Sets Four Pool Records in Win at Duke
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/22/2010

DURHAM, N.C. - The Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving teams combined to set four pool records in wins over conference foe Duke Friday in Durham, N.C. The 11th-ranked Cavalier women's team downed the Blue Devils 157.5-127.5 while the No. 8 UVa men earned a 159-133 victory.
Virginia senior Garrett Wren set the Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion record in the 1000 freestyle with his winning time of 9:25.95. Teammate Scot Robison, a junior, also set the pool mark in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:38.82.
Two pool records were also set by the Cavalier women. Sophomore Lauren Smart posted a time of 2:00.85 in the 200 back while classmate Joanna Thomas set a new mark in the 400 IM, clocking a time of 4:22.83.
The women's 200 medley relay team of Smart, Katherine McDonnell, Mei Christensen and Lauren Perdue earned the first victory of the evening, combining to finish in 1:42.47.
The Cavalier women went 1-2-3 in the 50 free, led by Kelly Flynn, who posted a winning time of 23.60. Christensen was second (23.64) and Anna Dobben took third (24.32).
Junior Liz Shaw won the 200 free (1:49.12) followed by teammate Jen Narum (1:50.89). Shaw went on to win the 200 fly in a time of 1:58.69 while Katya Bachrouche was second in 2:03.19. Narum also claimed the 500 free (4:50.59), followed by Perdue (4:50.97).
Virginia also went 1-2 in the 100 breast. Ellie Freeman picked up the win in the event (1:03.61) just ahead of freshman Christine Olson (1:03.86). Freeman went on to take first-place honors in the 200 breast with a time of 2:19.31.
Sophomore Erika Stewart claimed the 100 back (56.44) and Meredith Perdue won the 100 free (51.29).
Senior John Azar was a double-event winner in the 100 breast (57.03) as well as the 100 free (46.13) to lead the Cavalier men.
Robison's 200 free victory led a trio of Cavaliers in the event, as Peter Geissinger (1:40.81) and Taylor Smith (1:41.24) finished second and third, respectively. Robison went on to win the 100 fly in 49.73.
Freshman Matthew Murray picked up a win in the 200 fly (1:53.47) followed by Tommy Inwood (1:54.48).
David Wren took first-place honors in the 100 back (50.49) while Nathan Vredeveld (1:51.07) and Dan McMahon (1:51.43) went 1-2 in the 200 back.
Doug Eden won the 200 breast in 2:06.64 followed by Inwood, who touched in 2:09.68. John Snawerdt earned a victory in the 500 free (4:40.26) while Tom Casey finished second in 4:41.22.
Virginia will compete at North Carolina in a dual meet Saturday. The men's meet is slated for a noon start while the women will begin at 3 p.m. in Chapel Hill, N.C.
 

Chiariello Breaks School Record, Men’s 4x800m Shatters Facility Records
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/22/2010

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Sophomore Vincenzo Chiariello broke Virginia’s all-time program record in the weight throw on the opening day of the Hokie Invitational, while the Cavaliers’ men’s 4x800m relay team broke Virginia Tech’s Rector Field House facility record.

Chiariello tossed 61’ 2.25” in the weight throw to surpass Thom McKinney’s school record of 60’ 5.75” from 1991. In addition, his throw was good enough to see him win his first-ever collegiate individual meet title.

On the track, in the men’s 4x800m relay, freshman Zack Vrhovac, senior Alex Bowman, sophomore Sintayehu Taye and freshman Robby Andrews shattered Rector Field House’s facility record of 7:37.76 held by North Carolina since 2000, combining for a time of 7:26.49. Their mark was just three-seconds shy of UVa’s school record. The Cavaliers also fielded another 4x800m relay team of senior Steve Finley, freshman Brett Johnson, junior John Minen and sophomore Lance Roller. This group also bettered the previous facility record, finishing runner-up to their teammates with a time of 7:27.87.

In the women’s 4x800m relay, UVa’s quartet of senior Jen Hovland, sophomore Tasia Potasinski, junior Ariane Sloan and sophomore Rosemary Barber combined to win the event with a time of 9:01.31.

Senior Stephanie Garcia put in the program’s seventh fastest mile time, finishing second in 4:45.73, while junior Kisha Garrick tied Tiffany Robert's 10th-best 60m time from 2007, finishing 18th in 7.70. Freshman Emily Vannoy also made her way onto Virginia’s top-10 lists in the weight throw, finishing seventh with a throw of 52’ 6”. Her mark is the sixth-best mark in UVa history.

To wrap up the day, Andrews won his first collegiate event – the 600m in 1:19.35, while teammate Roller finished runner-up in the race in 1:20.32.

Virginia will conclude the Hokie Invitational tomorrow. Events will begin at 9 a.m., with live results at FlashResults.com.
 

Men’s Tennis Wins Road Opener 6-1 at Illinois
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/22/2010

URBANA, Ill. – The No. 2 Virginia men’s tennis team improved to 2-0 on the season as it won its road opener 6-1 Friday night at No. 15 Illinois. The Cavaliers quickly secured the victory, winning the doubles point and posting five straight-set singles wins to defeat the Illini in their season opener.

The Cavaliers took a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. No. 17 ranked Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) and Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) gave Virginia the early advantage as they cruised to an 8-1 win over Abe Souza and Connor Roth at the No. 3 position. Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Jarmere Jenkins (College Park, Ga.) clinched the opening point for UVa with an 8-6 win at No. 2 over Marek Czerwinski and Stephen Hoh. In the final doubles match, the Illini duo of Dennis Nevolo and Johnny Hamui topped Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) 8-5 at the top position.

Third-ranked Shabaz doubled the Cavalier lead early in singles with his 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 43 Nevolo at No. 1 singles. Courtney made the score 3-0 as he completed a 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 3 singles over Czerwinski. Barrick clinched the Cavalier victory at No. 6 singles with his 6-4, 6-3 win over Roth. At No. 2 singles, Singh recorded Virginia’s fourth straight-set victory, as he defeated Hamui 6-2, 6-2. Illinois (0-1) got on the board at No. 4 singles where Souza rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 won over Jenkins. Singer completed the match by defeating Hoh 6-3, 7-6 at No. 5 singles.

Virginia continues its road trip on Sunday as it plays at No. 30 Notre Dame. The match will use the same alternative scoring format as the Cavaliers’ match vs. William & Mary earlier in the week, where 10 singles and five doubles matches are played for 15 total points.

No. 2 Virginia 6, No. 15 Illinois 1

Doubles:
1. Hamui/Nevolo (Ill) def. Singh/Shabaz (UVa) 8-5
2. Jenkins/Barrick (UVa) def. Czerwinski/Hoh (Ill) 8-6
3. #17 Courtney/Singer (UVa) def. Souza/Roth (Ill) 8-1

Singles:
1. #3 Michael Shabaz (UVa) def. #43 Dennis Nevolo (Ill) 6-4, 6-3
2. #12 Sanam Singh (UVa) def. Johnny Hamui (Ill) 6-2, 6-2
3. #31 Drew Courtney (UVa) def. Marek Czerwinski (Ill) 6-4, 6-2
4. Abe Souza (Ill) def. #16 Jarmere Jenkins (UVa) 4-6, 6-3, 10-8
5. #28 Lee Singer (UVa) def. Stephen Hoh (Ill) 6-3, 7-6
6. #58 Houston Barrick (UVa) def. Connor Roth (Ill) 6-4, 6-3

Order of Finish:
Doubles: 3,2,1
Singles: 1,3,6,2,4,5
 

No. 16 Virginia Wrestling Downs North Carolina, 23-12
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/22/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia wrestling team, ranked 16th nationally, scored a 23-12 home victory over North Carolina Friday in the Cavaliers' ACC opener at Memorial Gymnasium. UVa's Shawn Harris (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio) and Brent Jones (Sr., Burke, Va.) each recorded upset wins to propel the Cavaliers to the win.
Harris earned the big win of the day for Virginia (13-3, 1-0 ACC), pulling a 5-4 upset over sixth-ranked Thomas Scotton at 157 pounds. Harris scored a takedown in the third period to rally from a point down and get the win.
Jones, ranked 20th nationally at 197 pounds, also notched a key win, downing 12th-ranked Dennis Drury, 4-3.
The match started at 197 pounds with Jones' upset of Drury. North Carolina (3-6-1, 1-3) promptly knotted the scored when Ziad Haddad nabbed a 10-3 decision over UVa's Jack Danilkowicz (Sr., Green Oaks, Ill.) at heavyweight.
Virginia won the next three weight classes. Ross Gitomer (Sr., Flemington, N.J.) scored three first-period takedowns and never trailed in a 16-5 major decision against Brian Borkoski. Matt Snyder (R-Fr., Lewistown, Pa.), wrestling up a weight class from his normal 125 pounds, then notched a 5-3 decision over UNC's Jeremy Shaw at 133 pounds.
Derek Valenti (So., Newton, N.J.) followed with a 9-3 decision over Mike Rappo to give the Cavaliers a 13-3 advantage. UNC cut a big chunk of the lead at 149 pounds, as UVa's Kellon Balum (Sr., Herndon, Pa.) was injured during his match with Jon Burns and was forced to take an injury default. The six-point swing cut UVa's lead to 13-9.
Harris then handed Scotton just his fourth loss of the season at 157 pounds. Scotton is now 22-4 this year. UNC's Kyle Kiss defeated Virginia's Pat Riley (R-Jr., Bernardsville, N.J.), 3-1, at 165 pounds, bringing the Tar Heels to within 16-12.
UVa won the final two weight classes to clinch the team win, as No. 4 Chris Henrich (Jr., Lansdale, Pa.) dominated in a 19-6 major decision against Thomas Ferguson at 174 pounds and Mike Salopek (R-Fr., North Huntingdon, Pa.) recorded a 5-3 decision over Nick Tenpenny at 184.
The Cavaliers are home again at 1 p.m. Saturday as they take on No. 14 Virginia Tech. It marks the Hokies' first visit to Charlottesville since 2006. Prior to the match there will be a tailgate for all fans (while supplies last), and the first 500 fans will receive a UVa t-shirt. There also will be a free youth clinic prior to the match from 11 a.m. to noon.
No. 16 Virginia 23, North Carolina 12
197: No. 20 Brent Jones (UVa) dec. No. 12 Dennis Drury (UNC), 4-3; UVa, 3-0
285: Ziad Haddad (UNC) dec. Jack Danilkowicz (UVa), 10-3; Tied 3-3
125: Ross Gitomer (UVa) major dec. Brian Bokoski (UNC), 16-5; UVa 7-3
133: Matt Snyder (UVa) dec. Jeremy Shaw (UNC), 5-3; UVa 10-3
141: Derek Valenti (UVa) dec. Mike Rappo (UNC), 9-3; UVa 13-3
149: Jon Burns (UNC) won by injury default over Kellon Balum (UVa); UVa 13-9
157: Shawn Harris (UVa) dec. No. 6 Thomas Scotton (UNC), 5-4; UVa 16-9
165: Kyle Kiss (UNC) dec. Pat Riley (UVa), 3-1; UVa 16-12
174: No. 4 Chris Henrich (UVa) major dec. Thomas Ferguson (UNC), 19-6; UVa 20-12
184: Mike Salopek (UVa) dec. Nick Tenpenny (UNC), 5-3; UVa 23-12
 

A weight off his shoulders
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: January 23, 2010
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More than a month has passed since Virginia captured its sixth NCAA men’s soccer championship.

That moment is frozen in UVa coach George Gelnovatch’s mind, and with good reason. It was the day the 800-pound gorilla was finally removed from his back.

From 1989 to 1994, UVa owned college soccer, claiming five NCAA titles in a six-year span under the direction of former coach Bruce Arena. Gelnovatch, who had played for Arena from 1983-86, was right there by his side.

When Arena moved on to coach in the professional ranks in 1996, he gave the keys to the Cavaliers’ program to his most trusted partner, a young, 30-year-old Gelnovatch.

For the next 13 years, Virginia did not win another national soccer title. Oh, the Cavaliers came close, losing to UCLA in the 1997 final and again to the Bruins in the ’06 semis. But no trophy.

Until last Dec. 13, when the Cavaliers won a 3-2 penalty-kick shootout against top-seeded Akron.

Gelnovatch, now 45, carried that burden well. All the pressure, mostly self-inflicted, was kept inside. Never did he exhibit the anxiety created by such a long championship drought.

While putting together an incredibly impressive “body of work,” as he prefers to describe his reign of the program, what finally validated him was the title. No wonder he firmly grasped the national championship trophy and clutched it to his chest as if it were a coconut to a shipwrecked sailor.

“Yes, it’s a wonderful and powerful feeling to put the cherry on the top of a 14-year body of work that we’re proud of,” Gelnovatch said.

The work includes 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances under his leadership, four ACC championships, two regular season ACC titles, 10 conference finals appearances, three College Cup berths, the highest winning percentage of any team (.700-plus) in the soccer-rich ACC over that span and 42 players sent on to the pros (second only to UCLA) out of 205 schools in Division I soccer.

Everyone always knew that Virginia had a strong soccer program, but the title further validates all those facts listed above.

Pressure? You bet there was pressure. Certainly the success prior to Gelnovatch taking over placed incredible, but unrealistic expectations on a program just when the college soccer world was turned topsy-turvy by the evolution of the professional game in the U.S.

All of a sudden, star underclassmen in the college game were being plucked away by Major League Soccer, often dashing the plans of successful programs such as UVa’s.

“The pressure is mostly what I’ve put on myself,” Gelnovatch explained. “I never thought I did it to any unhealthy extent. I never felt any pressure from the [UVa] administration. I never felt my job was in jeopardy.”

Still, the internal pressure from one’s own soul can summon demons named second-guessing one’s self, doubting one’s self, paranoia derived from public perception and myriad other questions.

“There are points that if you don’t catch yourself, it can drive you crazy,” Gelnonvatch said. “Like a stretch of three years making it to the ACC championship and losing, that feeling of losing in overtime on a goal in sudden death and all of a sudden you’ve lost a championship.”

Or that haunting feeling from the ’97 title loss to UCLA in nearby Richmond.

“That feeling of emptiness ... you can’t let it overwhelm you, and it’s not easy at a place like this, where, let’s face it, the expectations are high,” the Cavaliers’ coach confessed. “It could make you paranoid. It could get you off track and to a different route that you’re doing something wrong.

“I’m not going to lie — I think any good coach would tell you there are points in their career where you take a good look in the mirror and wonder if you’re in the right business,” Gelnovatch said. “When we lose a game, one game, I don’t sleep at night. This coaching business is tough ... winning is tough.”

When the glorious moment came — the presentation of the national championship trophy, there in the chill of Cary, N.C. — Gelnovatch struggled to keep his emotions in check.

Down deep, this wasn’t just about George Gelnovatch, it was for everyone associated with Virginia soccer, the trials and tribulations of the program, those haunting moments, those 13 long years without THE trophy.

“I feel like I’ve been here so long as a player, an assistant coach and a head coach,” he said. “I never won a national championship as a player. We were ranked No. 1 the whole season. But, I know what Bruce went through for a few years while I was here, where they were losing in the first and second round.

“I know what this championship means to the players, to the former players, and to everybody that supports the program,” Gelnovatch exclaimed. “That’s the first thing in my mind now that it has all sunken in. There’s this unbelievably proud feeling that I have to thank and kind of give back to the guys I played with, the guys that I coached as an assistant coach and to the guys who in my 14 years here who have really been close. To share this with them is the most powerful thing.”

While Arena has reminded him throughout the years — and Gelnovatch was as aware as anyone — that Virginia’s five titles over those six years, will likely never happen again, many outside the game don’t realize that times have changed.

“Those championship years, those teams would have never stayed together in this day and age,” Gelnovatch reflected. “There’s no chance Claudio Reyna [1991-93, and two-time national player of the year] would have been here all that time. He might not have even made it here. Claudio might have gone straight [from high school] to the pros this day and age.”

It was a different time with essentially no pro soccer to tamper with college stars. No way UVa would have been able to keep its best players around had there been the lure of a sure-fire successful pro league.

“If you have a good team now, you’re probably going to lose one player, maybe even two or three underclassmen,” said Gelnovatch, who just lost sophomore midfielder Tony Tchani to the MLS draft.

“In ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, everybody came back. There was no professional soccer,” Gelnovatch said. “Jeff Agoos, A.J. Wood, Claudio all came back. Otherwise, after the ’91 championship we would have lost two, maybe three guys. Whatever was still around in ’92, we would have lost if we had even made it to the championship. It would have been a completely different time.”

And when times changed, Gelnovatch said he struggled mightily to adjust to losing players early to the pros.

“My second year when we went to the championship game, a week later I got a phone call and Ben Olsen was gone, Scott Vermillion was gone and Brian West was gone, all in one phone call,” the UVa coach said.

It was too late in the recruiting process to replace them.

“This whole dynamic was thrown in that I wasn’t prepared for and it made it very tough for me,” Gelnovatch said. “I’ll be very honest, it was very tough. It’s still tough, but more manageable because I have a better grasp of it now.”

Just like that grasp he had on the championship trophy that gray-skied day in Cary, and no gorilla in sight.
 

A soccer celebration at JPJ
By Whitey Reid
Published: January 23, 2010
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Last month, the holidays and winter exams put celebration festivities for the Virginia men’s soccer team on hold.

Tonight, the party is on.

A celebration to honor the team, which won the NCAA and ACC championships this past season, will take place in the main concourse of John Paul Jones Arena beginning at 6 p.m.

Virginia coach George Gelnovatch, who was recently named coach of the year by Soccer America, is looking forward to it.

“I feel like this national championship, and even our ACC championship, is just as much about the support from our fans as it was the hard work from our players, coaches and support staff,” Gelnovatch said. “We want to thank those fans.”

Fans in attendance will receive a special poster commemorating the season. The first 300 will receive a free commemorative men’s soccer T-shirt.

Players and coaches will be available for autographs and photos, and the NCAA and ACC championship trophies will be on display for fans to check out.

Virginia won the program’s sixth NCAA title on Dec. 13, defeating top-ranked Akron, 3-2, in a penalty kick shootout. Senior Jonathan Villanueva was named most outstanding offensive player, while junior goalkeeper Diego Restrepo was the most outstanding defensive player.

Tonight’s event is scheduled to last 90 minutes. Parking at the arena will be free. Fans are instructed to enter through the main concourse entrance on the west side of the building.
 

Winfield: PED use ‘flat-out cheating’
By Jay Jenkins
Published: January 23, 2010
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Dave Winfield had heard numerous stories about Charlottesville and witnessed countless televised sporting events involving the University of Virginia.

Yet despite his travels through a storied life, the first-ballot member of the Baseball Hall of Fame had never visited the area.

That changed Friday as Winfield wowed a crowd of just over 1,000 at the Virginia baseball program’s annual Step Up to the Plate banquet at John Paul Jones Arena.

The 58-year-old, who currently serves as the executive vice president of the San Diego Padres and an analyst for ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight,” openly spoke of numerous issues facing baseball, including the issue of performance-enhancing drugs — and the fate that those that have admitted the illegal use, including Mark McGwire and Alex Rodriguez, should ultimately face.

“It’s been ugly, not just for the individuals, but it’s a black eye for the sport. It really is,” Winfield said. “It takes a long time for people to build a reputation and a short time to mess it up, and a lot of people messed it up.

“Yes, they sold out for the money, for the fame, for the glory, for the awards and you lose your character and credibility and reputation.”

According to Winfield, who hit 465 home runs during a career that included stints with six MLB organizations, players that used steroids and HGH were “just flat-out cheating.”

“I’m just one of those guys that made it to the top, and although steroids and performance-enhancing drugs weren’t part of the culture or available, I made a commitment when I was young that that’s not something I am going to do,” he said. “I am going to know if I can make it on my own or not.

“I won’t hold a grudge for anybody saying they shouldn’t be involved in our sport … they made the money, they won the awards, they broke records, they destroyed records, but they don’t belong in the Hall of Fame.”

Winfield, who is also in the College Baseball Hall of Fame for his stellar career at Minnesota, spoke privately with the Virginia baseball team and coach Brian O’Connor and toured Davenport Field, witnessing the ongoing renovations at the facility.

“It is very impressive,” Winfield said. “The things that I read already about coach O’Connor, the program … really, less than a decade from an also-ran to a national power and well-respected, I was looking forward to coming here to augment or ramp up baseball in this area.

“I am not disappointed. I am enthusiastic about it. I feel a lot of electricity in the air. Baseball seems like it has grown a toehold here. You guys are right up there.”

Winfield, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001 with 84.5 percent of the vote, said he would highly recommend that potential players take a close look at Virginia’s baseball program, one that enters the 2010 season coming off its first trip to the College World Series.

“Any young man or any family, I think, they would be proud to bring their kid here to get a good education,” Winfield said. “And the facilities for baseball, there aren’t many better in the country and I have been all over.

“You are to be commended.”

Practice officially opens for the third-ranked Cavaliers on Jan. 29. The team’s season opener is scheduled for Feb. 18 at East Carolina.