White: Rough Trip to Wake for 'Hoos
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 01/23/2010
By Jeff White

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- As he left the interview room at Lawrence Joel Coliseum, UVa's Tony Bennett turned directly into the path of his counterpart from Wake Forest, Dino Gaudio.

The coaches warmly greeted each other and shook hands.

"Tell your dad I said hi," Gaudio said.

"I will," Bennett replied. Then he added with a smile, "I told [the press] that after that game he's going to disown me and claim you as his son."

During his distinguished coaching career, Dick Bennett developed a rugged defense known as the Pack-Line, and teams around the nation use it today.

This is Wake's third season in the Pack-Line, and Gaudio's team plays some of the stingiest defense in the ACC.

This is UVa's first season under the younger Bennett and its first playing the Pack-Line. Virginia remains a work in progress on defense, as the results Saturday at Joel Coliseum illustrated.

Virginia became the last ACC team to lose in conference play, falling 69-57 to Wake in a game that was a mismatch most of the way. The Demon Deacons led by 24 with eight minutes to play.

At halftime, the Wahoos (3-1, 12-5) had only 15 points and trailed by 19. Not since Nov. 29, 1993, had UVa scored so few points in a first half.

"It was a humbling experience," said sophomore swingman Sylven Landesberg, who scored 18 points before fouling out with 2:18 remaining.

"I don't think we were getting too high on ourselves, but just in case we were, this was definitely a wakeup call. It's not all sweet, you're not going to win every game, we gotta battle every night. I think it's something that'll help us in the long run."

The Deacons shot 52.3 percent from the floor against a UVa defense that broke down repeatedly, especially around the basket. Inside the 3-point arc, Wake was 20 for 34. Chas McFarland, a 7-0 senior who came in averaging 6.8 points, finished with 18 and often looked like a dominant big man, which he is not.

The 'Hoos heated up late, cutting their deficit to 11 points with a 13-0 run. Even with that burst, though, UVa made only 33.8 percent of its field-goal attempts against the Deacons (4-2, 14-4) and their version of the Pack-Line.

"It's hard to break down," Tony Bennett said. "They do it well with their length, and this is their third year of playing this system defensively, and there just aren't as many holes in it as I saw on our end. And I think as you get better defensively, your anticipation gets better, you understand the focus of it, and they certainly did a nice job."

The loss ended the Cavaliers' eight-game winning streak and dropped them into a tie for first in the ACC with Maryland, which beat N.C. State on Saturday night.

Next up for UVa is a Thursday night date with arch-rival Virginia Tech (2-2, 15-3) at John Paul Jones Arena.

"I think that's the beauty of sports," Bennett said. "You can't be too discouraged [about a regular-season loss] or too elated if it goes well. We'll have a day off, and then we prepare for the in-state rival and learn from the breakdowns and address those and get ready to play. That's all you can do."

The Wahoos traveled to Tobacco Road without one of their captains, senior guard Calvin Baker, who recently lost his starting job to freshman Jontel Evans. Bennett called it a "coach's decision" and declined to publicly address Baker's future in the program.

For much of the first half Saturday, UVa also played without its two best scorers -- Landesberg and 6-8 junior Mike Scott -- but not for disciplinary reasons. Landesberg sat for the final 12:28 and Scott for the last 7:53 of the half, each after picking up his second foul.

When Landesberg went to the bench, UVa trailed 15-6. But the 'Hoos rallied, and Scott's fastbreak layup made it 18-14 with 8:47 left.

Like many coaches, Bennett prefers not let a player risk picking up a third foul in the first half, and at that point it appeared Virginia, even without Landesberg, could reach halftime with a reasonable deficit, if not a lead. But after senior center Jerome Meyinsse made 1 of 2 free throws to pull UVa to 20-15 at the 6:04 mark, Wake scored the final 14 points of the half, the last three coming on a bomb by C.J. Harris as time expired.

"Usually I hold a guy out if he gets two fouls, and I just stuck to that," Bennett said. "[The coaches] talked about it on the bench in one of our timeouts, and then all of the sudden there's maybe two-and-a-half, three minutes left, and we said, 'Boy, to put Sylven in back now might be foolish if he picked one up,' and then they hit the last-second 3 of the half and it stretched out. "

Landesberg felt confident he could avoid collecting a third personal before halftime and told his coaches as much. Bennett opted not to gamble but later said, "I might have to reconsider my thinking about that. It's something that you just try to have a feel for."

If the Cavaliers' defense was poor, their offense wasn't any better. Among ACC teams, UVa came in ranked first in 3-point percentage (41.5) and second in free-throw percentage (76.3).

Against Wake, the 'Hoos were 5 for 21 from beyond the arc and 8 for 16 from the line. Meanwhile, Deacons point guard Ish Smith, who came in shooting 44.4 percent from the line, made 7 of 10 free throws.

"It was just one of those days," said junior guard Jeff Jones, who came off the bench to score 10 points for UVa, as did classmate Mustapha Farrakhan.

Jones and Farrakhan led Virginia's late rally. Some of their teammates never found their touches.

Scott, who came in averaging 13.2 points and 7.6 rebounds, made 3 of 10 shots from the floor. He finished with 6 points and had more turnovers (3) than rebounds (2).

Sophomore guard Sammy Zeglinski, who was booed every time he touched the ball, apparently because his father is a former Wake athlete, came in averaging 10.6 points. He had made at least two 3-pointers in each of his previous 11 games, but Zeglinski was 0 for 3 from long range Saturday and 0 for 5 overall.

"I think it was a mixture of [good defense by the Deacs and poor offense by UVa]," Zeglinski said. "They contested a lot of shots, but also we've made contested shots before."

When Landesberg and Scott are out, Bennett said, the 'Hoos "run the same stuff, we just don't have quite as much firepower. Again, I thought we got some looks. Some of those shots, I could hear it smack the backboard first. They weren't close, and a lot of that had to do with Wake's ability to close on shooters with their length and not give us clean looks.

"But the missed layups and free throws, I can't account for those. We needed to probably make some of those. It was hard for us. I thought we were a little stagnant offensively. They got us standing, and we missed shots. And our defense wasn't good enough to hold us in there."

The ultra-quick Smith has steadily polished his game since enrolling at Wake in 2006, and he's now one of the most difficult players in the ACC to guard. Against UVa, the 6-0, 175-pound senior scored a game-high 21 points. He hit 7 of 10 shots from the floor and had 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and only 2 turnovers in 38 minutes.

Bennett played in the NBA with former Wake star Muggsy Bogues. After the game Saturday, Bennett said, he spoke with Smith.

"I said, 'You're close to as fast as Muggsy,' which is saying a lot," Bennett said.

The teams meet again Feb. 6 at John Paul Jones Arena, and Bennett will be disappointed his team doesn't play better in the rematch. At Joel Coliseum, the Cavaliers looked nothing like the team that stunned the ACC by opening with wins over N.C. State, Georgia Tech and Miami.

"There's not a whole lot to say. I think we got outplayed early and often," Bennett said. "They were really aggressive, they kind of hit us in the mouth with their play on the offensive glass, and we had way too many breakdowns defensively. And I think that affected us. They got so many easy hoops.

"You're going to have games where you're going to struggle to shoot the ball -- and it showed at the free-throw line tonight - but usually our defense is good enough at least to keep us in there until we can get something going offensively. But that wasn't the case today. And certainly some foul trouble hurt us.

"But credit to Wake Forest. They did the job. They were aggressive, they were ready. We made a nice run at the end, there was some effort shown, they didn't die, but the game got out of hand too soon."


 

Postgame Quotes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/23/2010

Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett

Opening Statement…
“Not a whole lot to say, I think we got outplayed early and often. They were really aggressive, they kind of hit us in the mouth with their play on the offensive glass and we had way too many breakdowns defensively. I think that affected us; they had so many easy hoops. You’re going to have games where you struggle to shoot the ball, which showed at the free throw line tonight. Usually our defense is good enough to keep us in there until we can get something going offensively, but that wasn’t the case today and then certainly some foul trouble hurt us. You have to credit Wake Forest, they did the job, they were aggressive, they were ready. We made a nice run at the end, there was some effort shown that we didn’t die, but the game got out of hand too soon and it was just a mad dash to get a chance.”

On Chas McFarland…
“Sometimes we worked him up the lane pretty high, and there’s a point certainly where you can’t try and be on the top side or the front and your ball pressure has to be really good. We knew how quick (Ishmael) Smith was, and I thought we were soft on the ball. When you’re soft on the ball defensively, that got us off on the wrong foot. I thought we respected their quickness but were almost too scared of it perhaps. Sometimes we were riding them too high up the lane with not enough ball pressure. They were very physical and took it at us.”

On his decision to keep Landesberg out…
“When Sylven picked up two and Mike [Scott] picked up two, we cut it to 18-14 around the seven or eight minute mark, and I thought if we could just hang in there, but the game got out of hand. Usually I hold a guy out when he gets two fouls and I stuck to that. All of the sudden there’s maybe two minutes left and we had to put Sylven back in. Now it might be foolish if he picked one up, and then they hit the last second three of the half and the lead stretched out. I might have to reconsider thinking about that, it’s something you just try to feel for. Being down 19 at the half is that’s hard to overcome against a team that defends like they do.”

On Ishmael Smith…
“I told him after the game that he’s as close to as fast as Muggsy Bogues. He’s a very talented player, 21 points, 6 assists, 2 turnovers. He draws so much attention. We respected his quickness, but he just sucks the rest of the defense in with him and then he finds the open guy. You have to account for him, he takes more than one guy to guard him, you have to guard him with your team defense. He doesn’t press the issue, he has great feel and I think that has to do with his experience and being a senior, he knows when to be aggressive and when to let it come. He’s certainly one of the best I’ve seen so far, mind you this is only my fourth game in the ACC.”

On playing on the road…
When you go on the road, you better be ready to play. I wish we would’ve played better and given a better effort. I know being 3-0 is great and all that, but it’s so early in the league. If you don’t bring good stuff, you can see what can happen, at least to us. I think it’s a teaching point for our guys, saying our margin of error isn’t great, and we have to be locked in to play against a team like this.”

“I think that’s the beauty of sports – you can’t be too discouraged, or too elated if it goes well. We have a day off, and then we prepare for our in-state rival. We’ll learn from the breakdowns, address those, and then get ready to play. That’s all you can do.”
________________________________________
Wake Forest Head Coach Dino Gaudio

Opening statement…
“I thought our kids played very hard against a very well-coached and hard-playing Virginia basketball team. As you know from so many conversations over the past three years about our defense, so much of the credit goes to the Bennett family – Tony and his dad Dick. I’m glad we guarded as well as we did today and our kids did a really good job on the defensive end of the floor. I thought we lost our focus a little bit down the stretch. I told the kids afterwards that I thought we had a very good week. If we had won one more game it would have been a great week, but we had a very good week and I’m very proud of them. We had a couple of very physical games from Sunday (against Duke) to Wednesday (against North Carolina), and for the kids to play like they did today, I think they deserve a lot of credit.”

On the 24 turnovers by Wake…
“What I told the kids was that teams when they’re down like that are going to change their defense. When you get down like that you have to start extending a little bit and getting in the passing lanes. Some teams will go full-court 94-feet 1-2-1-1 press, or 3-2 press, or whatever, but what teams of our ilk are going to do is still play half-court man-to-man but now we’re going to get out in passing lanes. We were just a little too casual and laissez-faire with our passes. We have to throw hard crisp passes. 24 turnovers is way too many. When we’re shooting 52 percent, if we only have 12 (turnovers) there’s another 24 points right there.”

On the advantage of playing the same pack-line defense as Virginia…
“Early we felt like we wanted to feed the post from the top. If you’re trying to hit the wing and then take the ball to the baseline there’s terrific help. When the ball’s in the center of the floor, especially when we have C.J. and Ari out there, they have to stay a little more attached. We tried to feed the post from the top. We were going high-low a little bit early, and we spent a lot of time on making that high-low pass. We don’t practice hitting the rim with it like we did a couple times, but the guys did a good job of going inside early where we wanted to go and implementing the game plan of trying to feed it from the top.”

 

VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
Postgame Notes
Wake Forest 69, Virginia 57

Team Notes
• Virginia had its eight-game winning streak snapped
• Virginia suffered its first conference loss (3-1 ACC)
• The Cavaliers’ 15 first half points were their fewest in any half this season (21 in second half vs. Stanford)
• The Cavaliers’ 15 points in the first half are their fewest in the first half since 11/29/93 vs. Connecticut (trailed 44-15 at halftime)

Individual Notes
• Sylven Landesberg (18 pts) scored in double figures for the 17th time this season (every game) and 40th time in his career
• Jeff Jones (10 pts) scored in double figures for the sixth time this season and 17th time in his career
• Mustapha Farrakhan (10 pts) scored in double figures for the eighth time this season and 12th time in his career
 

Foul trouble hurts UVa men against Wake Forest
Wake builds a big first-half lead against UVa after Sylvan Landesberg is benched with two fouls.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Tony Bennett probably is in a majority of men's college basketball coaches who routinely will sit a player after his second personal foul of the first half.

That piece of strategy came back to bite him Saturday.

UVa scoring leader Sylven Landesberg sat out the final 12:28 of the first half and Wake Forest was able to build a 19-point lead en route to a 69-57 victory at Joel Coliseum.

"It's something that you just try and have a feel for," Bennett said. "I might have to reconsider now, being down what we were [34-15] at the half."

Wake Forest (14-4 overall, 4-2 ACC) stretched its lead to 24 points at 55-31 with 8:08 left, although the Cavaliers (12-5, 3-1) twice trimmed the deficit to 10 points in the final minute.

Virginia, which entered play Saturday as the only ACC team with an unbeaten conference record, lost for the first time in nine games. It was Wake's eighth straight victory over the Cavaliers in Winston-Salem.

The Deacons were led by a pair of seniors, 6-foot point guard Ish Smith and 7-foot post man Chas McFarling. Smith finished with a game-high 21 points, converting seven of 10 free throws in the final 3:36, and McFarling had 16 points in 28 minutes.

UVa's 6-9 Jerome Meyinsse had no answer for McFarland, who had four field goals -- all layups -- in the first 5:15.

"We worked so hard in practice, focusing on their main guys, Ish Smith and Al-Farouq [Aminu]," Landesberg said. "When McFarland was getting off the way he did, it was very frustrating."

The Deacons already had begun to pull away when Landesberg picked up his second foul with 12:28 remaining before the half, causing Bennett to substitute for him.

"As soon as I came out after the second foul, I told him I was good and I could play through the situation," said Landesberg, hardly a serial fouler, with two disqualifications in 44 games before Saturday. "He told me, 'We'll see how it goes.' I don't know what the score was, but, with six minutes left, he said, 'You know what, we'll just save you for the second half.'

A Meyinsse free throw cut the margin to 20-15 with 6:04 left, but the Deacons scored the last 14 points of the half.

"The game got out of hand," Bennett said. "Usually, I hold a guy out with two fouls. We talked about it on the bench during one of our timeouts. Then, all of a sudden, there was 2 12 or three minutes left and we said, 'To put Sylven back in now would be really foolish if he picked up another one."

Landesberg scored UVa's first seven points of the second half but was getting little support from the same players who also had failed to hold the fort in the first half. Junior forward Mike Scott, the Cavaliers' second-leading scorer for the season, missed the final 7:53 of the first half after picking up his second foul and was no factor in the second half.

Scott was 1 for 5 from the field and did not have a rebound in nine minutes of second-half action.

Landesberg finished with 18 points before fouling out with 2:18 left and it took a late spurt for reserves Jeff Jones and Mustapha Farrakhan to join him in double figures with 10.

UVa might have made it a little more exciting if Farrakhan had not missed a 3-pointer, missed two free throws and committed a turnover in the final minute. The Cavaliers, shooting 85.5 percent on free throws in ACC play before Saturday, finished 8 for 16.

Sophomore guard Sammy Zeglinski, averaging 10.6 points before Saturday, went 0 for 5 from the field and 1 for 3 from the line. Zeglinski, whose father played football and baseball for the Deacs, was booed every time he touched the ball.

"I don't know what that was about," he said. "I think we're all eager to play them again in Charlottesville."

Wake's McFarland said the Deacons may have been at an advantage Saturday because they use the "Pack Line" defense that is associated with Bennett and his father, Dick, formerly the head coach at three Division I programs.

"We knew what was coming because we see it every day in practice," McFarland said.

In fact, Wake coach Dino Gaudio installed the Pack Line at Wake after consulting with Dick Bennett.

"After watching this," the younger Bennett said Saturday, "he might want to claim Dino and disown me."

Wake Forest stifles U.Va.
By Michael Phillips
Published: January 24, 2010
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- For the first time this year, the Virginia locker room was quiet after a conference game. The players took turns lifting their red Beats headphones above their ears and telling reporters that a 69-57 loss to Wake Forest was just one of those days.

"Things were clicking our last eight games," guard Jeff Jones said. "And in this game, the shots just weren't falling."

It didn't help that two of the team's best players found themselves in early foul trouble, and a Demon Deacons team that was taller than the Cavs at four of the five positions also was significantly faster, finding a way to get into the paint and score easy baskets as Virginia was handed its first ACC loss.

"Usually our defense is good enough at least to keep us in there until we can get something going offensively," coach Tony Bennett said. "But that wasn't the case today."

Wake Forest went up by double-digits early, exploiting Virginia in a game between teams that run the same defense -- the pack-line approach invented by Dick Bennett, Tony's father.

The frustration was evident as guard Sylven Landesberg picked up his second foul 8 minutes in. He had stolen the ball and run the length of the floor, but missed a contested shot. Before he could follow up, Wake's Tony Woods had him boxed out for the rebound. Landesberg took a swipe at Woods, drawing an easily avoidable foul.

Forward Mike Scott, arguably the team's second-best player, followed up with his second foul going into the 8-minute timeout. Bennett kept both players off the court for the remainder of the half.

"Usually I hold a guy out if he's got two fouls, and I stuck to that," the coach said, adding that there was discussion on the bench about whether to use the players. "I might have to reconsider my thinking about that. It's something you just try to have a feel for."

The team was also missing Calvin Baker, who was replaced in the starting lineup a week ago by Jontel Evans. Baker did not make the trip to Winston-Salem, which Bennett chalked up to a "coach's decision." Earlier in the week, Bennett responded to a question about him by saying that "I think as a group, there are some guys that are disappointed because they want to play more." Baker, a senior, was named one of the team captains earlier in the month.

As the second half began, Landesberg was his usual dominant self, but the team was in too deep a hole. The Cavs finished with six assists, four of those in the final minutes. Wake Forest, under coach Dino Gaudio, held the Cavs to 34 percent shooting.

"I think my dad would probably disown me and claim Dino as his son after this game," Bennett said with a laugh afterward.

Also struggling yesterday was Sammy Zeglinski, who finished 0-for-5. He was booed every time he touched the ball, a nod to the fact that his father, John, was a running back for the Demon Deacons. Sammy, however, wasn't offered a scholarship by Wake Forest.

With the lead at 21 and seven minutes remaining, the focus shifted to a rotund fan named Naz-T Deac, who performed a dance in the aisles. It marked the point where Wake Forest seemed to start allowing some slack on the court, and the Cavs pushed the score to a respectable margin in the final minutes to end on a positive note.

"We're still confident in ourselves," Landesberg said. "We're still confident that we're one of the better teams out there, and we just have to keep playing hard and working hard."

Virginia's foul troubles lead to tough loss at Wake Forest
By Denny Seitz Correspondent
January 24, 2010

WINSTON SALEM, N.C. - So much for being the hottest team in the ACC.

The Virginia Cavaliers entered Lawrence Joel Coliseum on Saturday loaded with confidence and riding an eight-game winning streak.

They left it with an ugly 69-57 loss and lots of questions.

First-half foul trouble to leading scorers Sylven Landesberg and Mike Scott contributed to a 19-point halftime deficit for the Cavaliers, and a solid defensive effort by the Demon Deacons forced Virginia into a woeful shooting performance.

The result was the end of the longest winning streak for the Cavs (12-5, 3-1 ACC) since the 2003-04 season and a fourth consecutive loss to Wake Forest (14-4, 4-2).

Virginia dropped into a first-place tie in the ACC with Maryland at 3-1.

"We got outplayed early and often," Cavs coach Tony Bennett said. "I wish we could have given better effort, played a little better."

Landesberg and Scott combined to play just 17 minutes in the first half, with Landesberg picking up his second foul with 12:28 remaining in the half, and Scott going to the bench at the 7:53 mark with two fouls.

At that point, the Cavs trailed 18-14. Wake Forest closed the first half with a 16-1 run.

"Without Mike and Sylven, I wish I had an excellent Plan B," said Bennett, whose team entered halftime having made just 6 of 29 shots. "But I don't."

Actually, Plan B might have been to reinsert either Landesberg or Scott into the game. Bennett says he and his coaches discussed that option and opted against it. Avoiding a third foul to one of his star players might have worked had the Cavs not turned in a sub-par defensive performance and missed so many open shots.

"We were sitting there on the bench, hoping we could keep it close," Landesberg said. "It was frustrating."

The shooting woes — against a Wake Forest defense that coach Dino Gaudio learned from Bennett and his father, Dick — didn't surprise the Virginia coach as much as his own team's defensive lapses, which led to easy buckets inside for Wake Forest's 7-foot center Chas McFarland and allowed the dribble penetration of point guard Ishmael Smith.

McFarland finished with 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting. Smith was 7 of 10 from the field and had a game-high 21 points, to go with seven rebounds and six assists.

Even as Wake Forest was committing 24 turnovers, it was clear the Demon Deacons were the better team Saturday, dominating for all but one stretch late, when the Cavs scored 13 straight points after falling behind 55-31. Jeff Jones hit two 3-pointers in the run, which included a pair of steals and layups by former Bethel High star Jontel Evans and Mustapha Farrakhan.

But it wasn't nearly enough Saturday.

Landesberg led the Cavs with 18 points, 14 in the second half.

Former Woodside High star Calvin Baker did not make the trip with the team because of what U.Va. called a "coach's decision."

Defense key to Deacs' victory
BY ROBBI PICKERAL - Staff Writer
Tags: college | sports

WINSTON-SALEM -- Virginia coach Tony Bennett said he has told his father, Dick, that he wishes his dad had never made an instructional video on the pack-line defense.

That's doubly the case today.

Wake Forest took the "D" that Dick Bennett first developed at Wisconsin-Green Bay (and that Tony is using at Virginia) and played it better than the Cavaliers, handing UVa its first ACC men's basketball loss of the season, 69-57 at Lawrence-Joel Coliseum.

"I think my father would probably disown me and claim Dino after this game," Bennett said after his team shot only 33.8 percent for the game and 20.7 percent in the first half. "But he's Italian, so I guess it wouldn't matter, we're all family."

The pack-line defense emphasizes guarding the post by instilling in players that there's an imaginary line inside of the 3-point arc - and that staying within that line prevents easy penetration and buckets in the lane.

Virginia's version of that "D" did neither. Wake point guard Ish Smith (21 points, six assists, seven rebounds) penetrated with ease, and big man Chas McFarland was 7-for-9 from the field with 16 points.

Meanwhile, the Deacons limited the Cavs to long stretches without a field goal.

The most important came in the first half. With Wake up 18-14, Virginia went the half's final 8:49 without a field goal. It didn't help that Cavs leading scorer Sylven Landesberg was on the bench for the entire time after picking up his second foul, or that reserve guard Calvin Baker was left in Charlottesville because of a "coach's decision."

But Virginia also struggled from the outset against Wake's pack-line -- which Gaudio instituted in 2007, after talking to both Bennetts. Wake led 34-15 at halftime, marking the Cavs' lowest output for a half this season the second lowest for an ACC team (Clemson had only 12 at Duke earlier this month.)

"As you know from so many conversations over the years about our defense, so much of the credit goes to the Bennett family, from Tony's dad, Dick," Gaudio said. "I'm glad we guarded as well as we did today, and I thought our kids did a really good job on the defensive end of the floor."

Virginia made a push late, cutting a 24-point lead to 10 in the final minute: "I thought we lost our focus a little bit down the stretch," Gaudio said.

Landesberg finished with 18 points for the Cavaliers - who were the last remaining unbeaten team in ACC play.

Deacs' grand theft
By Dan Collins
JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: January 24, 2010

There's a saying among creative people that amateurs borrow and professionals steal.

Wake Forest, using a defense closely associated with the family of Coach Tony Bennett of Virginia, did a job on the Cavaliers worthy of a professional in yesterday's 69-57 cakewalk in front of 13,831 at Joel Coliseum.

Ish Smith continued his all-conference-caliber play with 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two blocks, and Chas McFarland contributed 16 points and six rebounds. But it was the way the Deacons shut the Cavaliers down with their Pack-line defense that allowed them to race out to a 24-point lead midway through the second half.

"So much of the credit goes to the Bennett family -- Tony and his dad Dick," said Coach Dino Gaudio of Wake Forest. "I'm glad we guarded as well as we did today, and our kids did a really good job on the defensive end of the floor."

Dick Bennett refined the defense at Wisconsin-Green Bay, Wisconsin and Washington State, and Gaudio turned to it two seasons ago in an attempt to shore up a glaring weakness at Wake Forest. While doing so, Gaudio had numerous conversations with Tony Bennett, who succeeded his father as head coach at Washington State.

Yesterday, while facing that defense, Bennett's Cavaliers had to hit 11 of their final 16 field-goal attempts to shoot 33.8 percent. Even with a 26-14 surge in the final eight minutes, Virginia was never closer than 10 in the second half of their first conference loss.

Wake Forest improved to 14-4 and 4-2 in the ACC with its 10th victory in 12 games. Virginia, which opened the ACC season with victories over N.C. State, Miami and Georgia Tech, fell to 12-5 and 3-1.

"I talked to Dino over the years, thinking, `Hey, great, we'll never play against each other,' " Bennett said. "But here we are.

"But it's an effective defense, especially if your shot is a little off. It's hard to break down. There just aren't as many holes in it as I saw on our end, and I think as you get better defensively your anticipation gets better and you understand the focus of it.

"I think my dad would probably disown me and claim Dino as a son after this game. He's Italian, so I guess it wouldn't matter. We're all family."

Virginia's struggles on offense had Bennett second-guessing his decision to sit guard Sylven Landesberg, last season's ACC Rookie of the Year, for the rest of the half after Landesberg picked up his second foul with 12½ minutes remaining. Down 15-6 at the time, the Cavaliers closed to 18-14 before Wake Forest retaliated with a 16-1 surge capped by C.J. Harris' 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"Landesberg is one of the best players in the league," McFarland said. "When he went out, that helped us a lot. Obviously it hurt them. It did give us a little more confidence defensively."

Bennett also pulled Mike Scott, the Cavaliers' second-leading scorer, after Scott picked up his second foul with eight minutes left in the half. But the 34-15 halftime deficit was more attributable to Landesberg's absence for all but eight minutes.

Landesberg had four points at halftime, but hit 4 of 7 field-goal attempts in the second half and led the Cavaliers with 18 points.

"Usually I hold a guy out if he gets two fouls, and we just stuck to that," Bennett said. "We talked about it on the bench, and all of a sudden there's maybe 2½ and three minutes left and we said, `Boy, to put Sylven back in now might be foolish if he picks one up.' Then they hit the last-second 3 of the half, and it stretched out.

"But I might have to reconsider thinking about that. Being down what we were down at the half, that's hard to overcome against a team like this that defends as well as they do."

The Deacons began the game like they face the Virginia defense every day in practice -- which they do -- by scoring their first seven baskets on layups on the way to a commanding lead. With Smith making 7 of 10 from the field and McFarland 7 of 9, Wake Forest shot 52 percent in both halves for its fifth-best shooting performance of the season.

"Nobody scores in our practice," Harris said. "So it helps a lot that we're used to them jumping to the ball, and we know where they're going to be on the help-side. That really helped a lot."

The play that pried open Virginia's defense was the high-low pass from the top of the key inside. McFarland capitalized by scoring four of the Deacons' first five field goals. Al-Farouq Aminu delivered 2 of his 4 assists in the first 5½ minutes.

"We knew they were going to front the post every time down so we tried to screen a little higher so the high-low would be there," McFarland said. "Farouq made a couple of really good passes and so did everybody else, and that opened things up."

The Cavaliers also suffered from not having anyone who could stay with Smith. Freshman Jontel Evans started for the third straight game, but struggled on offense and defense. Calvin Baker, a senior who started six games earlier, didn't make the trip to Winston-Salem because of what Bennett termed a coach's decision.

"Your ball pressure has to be pretty good," Bennett said. "We know how quick Smith is, and I thought we were a little soft on the ball. And when you're soft on the ball defensively, that got us off on the wrong foot. We were almost too scared of it, perhaps.

"There were very physical and took it at us."

Virginia falls to Wake Forest, suffers first ACC basketball loss
By Zach Berman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 24, 2010; D07

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Tony Bennett adheres to a policy popular among many coaches: When a player commits his second personal foul in the first half, the Virginia coach sends that player to the bench until halftime.

But that seldom happens to a team's top two scorers, and particularly not when more than seven minutes remain in the half. So when Mike Scott committed his second foul to join Sylven Landesberg on the bench in a 69-57 loss to Wake Forest on Saturday, Bennett was faced with a difficult decision.

"I thought if we could just hang in there," Bennett said. "But the game got out of hand."

Landesberg committed his second foul with 12 minutes 28 seconds remaining in the half and Virginia (12-5, 3-1) trailing by nine points. The whistle blew for Scott's second foul with 7:53 remaining in the half and the Cavaliers trailing by four points. And with both players on the bench, the Cavaliers' eight-game winning streak and undefeated ACC record appeared in peril.

Wake Forest (14-4, 4-2) finished with a 16-1 run after Scott's foul to enter halftime with a 19-point lead that proved insurmountable. Virginia experienced a late-second-half spurt, but could never cut the deficit into single digits.

"Usually, I hold a guy out if he gets two fouls, and I just stuck to that," Bennett said. "We talked about that on the bench in one of our timeouts. And then all of the sudden, there's about 2 1/2 , three minutes left, and we thought, 'Boy, to put Sylven back in now would be foolish if he picked one up.'

"But I might have to reconsider thinking about that. It's something you just have to have a feel for. Being down what we were at the half, 19, is hard to overcome against a team like this."

Landesberg burned inside while he watched from the sideline. As the team's leading scorer came to the bench after his second foul, he told Bennett that he could play in that situation. Scott was confident he could play with two fouls, too.

"It was very frustrating," said Landesberg, who scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. "We cut the lead to four, and I was getting really anxious on the bench, happy. And then when they started spreading the lead out, it was nerve-racking. I just wanted to go back in and help, but I couldn't."

As much preparation as Bennett does, planning to play without his top two scorers is not in the blueprint. Bennett said the team ran the same sets, although they came without the inside scoring and outside threats. The team relied on Sammy Zeglinski, Jeff Jones, Mustapha Farrakhan and Jerome Meyinsse -- all capable scorers, but better when playing off Landesberg and Scott.

"It's a tough spot when your two leading scorers get two fouls in the first half," Meyinsse said. "We had a lot of shots that didn't fall for us, we missed some free throws in the first half. Things got stagnant on offense, I think."

Meyinsse alluded to the team's overall struggles that plagued them regardless of who was on the court. The Cavaliers entered the game No. 1 in the ACC in three-point percentage and No. 2 in free throw percentage. Against the Demon Deacons, they made just 23.8 percent of their three-pointers and 50 percent of their free throws. Bennett often heard the ball clank, and as a former shooter, he knew what that symbolized.

"They weren't close," Bennett said, "and a lot of that had to do with Wake's ability to close on shooters with their length and not give us clean looks."

Bennett praised the way Wake Forest played the pack-line defense that was developed by Bennett's father, Dick Bennett. It's the same defense that Virginia's players thought could keep them in the game, but it instead caused their unraveling by the way the Demon Deacons executed it.

"I think my dad would probably disown me and claim [Wake Forest Coach Dino Gaudio] as his son after this game," Bennett joked.

With its first ACC loss, Virginia has four days before a visit from in-state rival Virginia Tech on Thursday. How the Cavaliers respond could be the truest measure of whether Virginia can maintain the promise revealed in the eight straight wins that preceded Saturday's loss.

"We all know that this was a game we could have won -- like I said, foul trouble was a big factor in the game," Landesberg said. "We're still confident that we're one of the better teams out there."

Cavaliers note: Senior guard Calvin Baker did not travel with the team. Bennett said it was a "coach's decision," but did not elaborate.

Deacs too much for Cavs
By Whitey Reid
Published: January 24, 2010
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The mandate of Tony Bennett’s much ballyhooed “Pack Line” defense is to “pack” the lane and force the opposition to knock down contested perimeter shots.

However, on Saturday afternoon at Lawrence Joel Coliseum, it didn’t take a basketball wizard to detect that the pack was out of whack.

From the opening tip, Wake Forest did whatever they felt like in the paint.

The Demon Deacons, behind 21 points from senior floor general Ishmael Smith and 16 points and six rebounds from 7-footer Chas McFarland, shot 52 percent from the floor and mauled Virginia on the glass en route to a 69-57 victory in front of a crowd of 13,831.

The win snapped UVa’s eight-game winning streak and served as a dose of reality to fans who had already been uttering the words “March Madness” under their breath.

“There’s not a whole lot to say,” said Bennett, who suffered the first ACC loss of his brief tenure. “I think we got outplayed early and often. They were really aggressive and kind of hit us in the mouth with their play on the offensive glass.

“And we had way too many breakdowns defensively. I think that affected us — they got so many easy hoops. You’re going to have games where you struggle to shoot the ball ... but usually our defense is good enough to keep us in there.”

Virginia shot just 34 percent from the field — its lowest since the loss at South Florida — and was beaten on the boards by 13. The Cavaliers (12-5, 3-1 ACC), who came into the game leading the conference in 3-point shooting at 41 percent, shot just 24 percent (5 of 21) against Wake.

“We just didn’t get it done tonight offensively,” said Virginia guard Sammy Zeglinski (0-5 from the field). “We didn’t execute. We got shots. We just didn’t knock them down.

“We’ll bounce back from it. We’re a good shooting team. It was just one of those nights. We didn’t make shots and defensively is where we really dug a hole in the first half.”

From the outset, it seemed like UVa might be in for a long day. McFarland, who came in averaging 6.8 points, abused the Cavs’ big men. The senior scored eight points within the game’s first five minutes, all from in tight, as Wake built a 12-4 lead.

“They ran high-low in the early part of the game and were throwing great passes and getting into good position,” said Virginia senior Jerome Meyinsse. “We were having trouble with that.”

When Sylven Landesberg picked up his second foul with more than 12 minutes to play in the half, that just compounded Virginia’s woes.

UVa hung tight for a little while, but Wake — with Landesberg watching — exploded on a 16-1 run to close the half. The Cavs trailed 35-15 at the break. The 15 points was the program’s lowest first-half total since scoring 15 against Connecticut in 1993.

In the second half, Wake (14-4, 4-2) built a 24-point lead before allowing Virginia to make the final score more respectable. The highlight of an 8-0 surge that essentially sealed the outcome was when the lightning-quick Smith knifed into the lane and threw a no-look alley-oop to Tony Woods for a two-handed flush. Smith had a game-high six assists and also added seven rebounds.

“It was not only just Ish Smith,” said Virginia guard Jeff Jones (10 points). “It was just the whole team. They have a great team and our defense wasn’t really there in the first half, and our shots weren’t falling. When you have those things happening, it can really hurt you, especially on the road.”

The Demon Deacons, who also employ the “Pack Line” — they adopted the defense from Bennett’s father, Dick — committed a whopping 24 turnovers, but it didn’t really matter.

“There just aren’t as many holes [in their defense] as I saw on our end,” said Bennett, whose team has four days off before a showdown with Virginia Tech on Thursday night.

Meyinsse said there is plenty of stuff to shore up on the defensive end.

“We have to contain the ball better and contain the dribble penetration better, and flood from the weak side,” he said. “They had some ball screen and rolls and easy buckets that way. We have to do a better job of containing in the pack.”

Dunks

Virginia senior co-captain Calvin Baker didn’t make the trip to Winston-Salem. Bennett would only say that it was a “coach’s decision.” A source told The Daily Progress that it was “disciplinary” related and said there was a chance, depending on how the situation unfolds, that Baker might not be back any time soon. The ultra-competitive Baker, who was named one of three captains just a couple of weeks ago, was recently supplanted as a starter by freshman Jontel Evans.
 

UVa needs Landesberg against top ACC teams
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: January 24, 2010
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.

Tony Bennett wished he had a Plan B when he glanced over at his bench during the first half of Saturday’s game at Wake Forest and saw his two leading scorers sitting there with foul trouble.

Instinct told him to coach by the book when Virginia’s best player, Slyven Landesberg, picked up his second foul only eight minutes into the game. Bennett pulled Landesberg, fearing that if he left him in, a third personal foul might soon follow.

Five minutes later, Scott, the Cavaliers’ best post player, joined Landesberg on the bench, having picked up his second foul.

Plan B?

There is no Plan B with the limited offensive arsenal Bennett inherited when he took over the team last April.

Missing pieces

Saddled with foul trouble, neither Landesberg or Scott returned the remainder of the first half as Wake, perhaps the ACC’s best team right now, rolled to an easier-than-the-score-indicated, 69-57 win at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

It was the host Demon Deacons’ eighth straight win at Joel against Virginia and was the Cavaliers’ first conference loss after bolting to a startling 3-0 start in the league, surely putting a bullseye on their chests for a hungry Wake team.

“Getting two fouls in the first half kind of told the story of the whole game,” Scott said afterward.

The question is: Can a team with limited offensive talent afford to keep a player like Landesberg on the bench for a 12 1/2-minute stretch while a good Wake team runs wild? Add Scott’s absence to the equation and you figure Bennett committed coaching hara-kiri.

Sometimes playing the odds just doesn’t make good sense.

The turning point

Virginia was down 15-6 when Landesberg was whistled for his second foul with 12:28 showing and was exiled to the bench. The Cavaliers actually chewed into Wake’s lead, cutting it to four (18-14) on Scott’s layup at 8:48.

However, Scott was hit with a second foul at the 7:53 mark and was pulled.

With those two out, the Deacs went on a rampage, outscoring the Cavaliers 16-1 to finish the half, building a 34-15 lead. UVa scored only one basket on its last 14 possessions of the half.

Bennett’s decision was reminiscent of North Carolina legendary coach Dean Smith’s unforgettable move in the 1984 NCAA tournament when Smith pulled Michael Jordan after his second foul and kept him on the bench as Indiana pulled away and went on to score a memorable upset in Jordan’s last college game.

It was known as the Dan Dakich game because the Indiana player actually threw up when he learned he would have to defend Jordan in the game. But Dakich had the last laugh in the upset as Jordan finished with 13 points and fouled out, playing just 26 minutes. Afterward, the Tar Heel star said he never got in sync after being pulled from the game.

“We knew we had to keep pressing the pedal while [Landesberg and Scott] were out of the game,” said Wake guard C.J. Harris. “That was a big boost for us getting them in foul trouble. We credit that for us attacking on the break, attacking their best player.”

In that ’84 game, Jordan said he tried to jam 40 minutes of playing time into 20 the second half and that’s exactly what Landesberg appeared to do, finishing with 18 points in 25 minutes. Scott, however — like Jordan — never really got back in sync, was 3 of 10 from the floor and finished with only six points and two rebounds in 18 minutes.

“I told [Bennett] as soon as he took me out that I was good, that I could play in that situation,” Landesberg said. “But he thought it was better to keep me out and save me for the second half.”

The Virginia coach said sending his top scorer back into the game did cross his mind and that he kept hoping his team could hang with the Deacs long enough for his decision not to backfire.

“But the game got out of hand,” Bennett sighed. “Usually, I’ll hold a guy out if he gets two fouls and we talked about it on the bench during one timeout, and all of a sudden there was maybe two or three minutes left. I thought to put Sylven back in now might be foolish if he picks one up. But I might have to reconsider thinking about that. It’s something you try to just have a feel for.”

Down 19 at the half against a talented team such as Wake, a team that played a better version of the Bennett family’s vaunted Pack Line defense than did the bloodline on this particular day, was near impossible.

All of a sudden, UVa’s inside-outside attack was missing Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside.

“We run the same stuff [with Landesberg and Scott out] but we just don’t have quite as much firepower,” Bennett lamented.

The Cavaliers were getting some looks but those usually ended up clanging off the rim, and as Bennett later said, he heard some of those shots smacking off the backboard.

“They weren’t close,” the coach said. “Without Mike and Sylven, I wish I had this excellent Plan B.”

Both foul-plagued players confessed their frustration grew as they watched Wake build what blossomed into an insurmountable lead.

“That’s when Wake started making their run,” Scott said. “You can’t really do nothing from the bench, so we just had to watch.”

Landesberg agreed.

“It was very frustrating. We cut the lead to four and I was getting real anxious on the bench,” he said. “When they started spreading the lead out, it was very nerve-wracking. I just wanted to get back in and try to help, but couldn’t.”

Wake’s defense was solid until the Deacs looked up and saw the wide margin on the scoreboard in the latter stages of the game and resorted to what someone referred to as summer-league basketball. The Cavs cut into the lead, but never really threatened and actually had to sink 11 of their last 16 field goal attempts against a by then, complacent defensive effort by the Deacs, just in order to shoot 34 percent for the entire game.

Bennett’s first big gamble blew up in the Cavaliers’ collective faces as they suffered their first ACC defeat and leaked some of the precious momentum they picked up in the impressive start.

As the coach said, the beauty of sports is there’s another game on the horizon, a chance to get this one out of the system.

Until archrival Virginia Tech comes to town on Thursday, the Cavaliers will have trouble digesting this setback, exposing some perhaps previously unrevealed weaknesses.

Meanwhile, Bennett will at least know the rest of the way that he can’t afford to keep his best scorer out of the game for most of a half.

Dean Smith has now known that for the past 25 years.
 

U.Va., Virginia Tech finish up 2010 recruiting, look to 2011
By Norm Wood | 247-4642
January 24, 2010

It's just not like the good ol' days in the football recruiting world.

Oh sure, there will invariably be a few top-notch recruits taking their decisions down to the wire prior to the Feb. 3 National Signing Day. Yet, for the most part, the late high-drama is over. Colleges are getting the bulk of their recruiting for the following year's class done by the end of the summer these days.

Virginia and Virginia Tech are no different. For both programs, the recruiting focus has shifted to pursuing prospects for the 2011 class. Still, there are indeed a few names left that would put a nice bow on recruiting efforts for the 2010 classes.

Tech will likely bring in a group considered to be among the nation's top 20, but U.Va.'s haul is destined to finish at or near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Of course, that's by reputation alone, not results. Check back in four or five years for the real evaluation.

U.Va. is finishing up a big recruiting weekend, where all 13 of its current commitments were expected to be in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers, who still have as many as four scholarships left, were also hoping to get a visit from Louis Young, a 6-foot, 185-pound cornerback from Our Lady of Good Counsel High in Olney, Md.

Young is committed to Stanford, but he might be looking around. Most recruiting analysts consider him to be one of the nation's top 20 cornerbacks. His teammate, wide receiver E.J. Scott, is already committed to U.Va. Stealing Young would qualify as a major recruiting coup for new coach Mike London, a Bethel High graduate.

In addition to Young, U.Va. is going after Stephen Lawe, a 6-5, 270-pound prospect from Maury High in Norfolk. Though lightly recruited, he's a versatile player who could play offensive tackle or defensive tackle in college. He could visit U.Va. next weekend. He's considering offers from U.Va. and Old Dominion.

Dan Foose, a 6-6, 310-pound offensive tackle from Paramus Catholic High in Paramus, N.J., might also be on U.Va.'s wish list. He's considering U.Va., Florida State, Illinois, Louisville and Central Florida. Many analysts see him as one of the nation's top 75 offensive tackle recruits.

Tech already has 21 commitments to its credit, and could be waiting on the decision of one more recruit to finish up the class. Kareem Martin, a 6-6, 220-pound defensive end from Roanoke Rapids High in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., is making his final decision Monday afternoon between Tech, North Carolina and Duke. He's looked at by most analysts as one of the nation's top 75 defensive tackles.

Virginia commitments

Virginia Tech commitments

No. 16 Wahoos' Rally Falls Just Short in 19-16 Loss to No. 14 Hokies
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/23/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia wrestling team, ranked 16th nationally, nearly dug itself out of an early 13-point hole before falling short in a 19-16 loss to No. 14 Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon in front of a near-capacity crowd at Memorial Gymnasium. The tightly-contested match featured five bouts decided by three points or fewer.
Jack Danilkowicz (Sr., Green Oaks, Ill.), Chris Henrich (Jr., Lansdale, Pa.), Brent Jones (Sr., Burke, Va.) and Matt Snyder (R-Fr., Lewistown, Pa.) each notched victories for Virginia (13-4, 1-1 ACC), who wrestled without their normal starters at 149 and 157 pounds.
The match started at 141 pounds, as 10th-ranked Chris Diaz of Virginia Tech earned a 4-3 win over UVa's Derek Valenti (So., Newton, N.J.). Diaz scored early takedowns in the first two periods, but had to hold on Valenti rode him for the entire third period.
The Hokies (14-3, 2-0) pushed their lead to 7-0 when Brian Stephens posted a 15-6 major decision over the Cavaliers' Dave Ebbott (R-So., Blue Bell, Pa.), who stepped into the starting lineup after Kellon Balum (Sr., Herndon, Pa.) was injured Friday night against North Carolina.
At 157 pounds, fourth-ranked Jesse Dong recorded a 9-3 decision over the Cavaliers' Shawn Harris (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio), who again wrestled up a weight class in place of Danny Gonsor (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio). Dong scored an early first-period takedown and racked up 3:55 of riding time in the win.
Virginia Tech picked up a close win by decision at 165 pounds as Matt Epperly broke a two-all tie with an escape and late takedown in the third period against the Cavaliers' Pat Riley (R-Jr., Bernardsville, N.J.) in a 5-2 victory. The win gave Virginia Tech a 13-0 lead.
UVa got its first six points when Henrich, ranked fourth nationally at 174 pounds, won by forfeit to push his record to 23-2 this season.
The Hokies earned another tight win at 184 pounds when 20th-ranked Tommy Spellman picked up a 3-1 win over the Cavaliers' Mike Salopek (R-Fr., North Huntingdon, Pa.). After a scoreless first period, Spellman broke the deadlock with a takedown midway through the second period. Salopek picked up a point after Spellman's second warning in the second period, but Spellman finished with exactly one minute of riding time to gain that point and win 3-1.
At 197 pounds, Jones dominated Chris Penny in a 13-5 major decision. Jones picked up the final point for the major after racking up 1:12 in riding time. Jones had a strong weekend, going 2-0 after winning 4-3 against No. 12 Dennis Drury of UNC on Friday night.
The Cavaliers further cut into the lead when Danilkowicz earned a 5-1 win over Tim Miller at heavyweight, bringing the Cavaliers within 16-13. The two were scoreless through one stanza before Danilkowicz earned the only point of the second period on an early escape. He added a pair of takedowns in the third while controlling the period.
At 125, 15th-ranked Jarrod Garnett and UVa's Ross Gitomer (Sr., Flemington, N.J.) staged a fierce battle which was decided when Gitomer was called for his second stall warning, resulting in a point for Garnett and breaking a 1-1 deadlock midway through the third period. Garnett was able to stave off Gitomer's last-ditch shots to earn the 2-1 win and give the Hokies a 19-13 lead.
The 133-pound match also was close throughout. Virginia Tech's Brock LiVorio recorded a first-period takedown on Snyder, who again Saturday was wrestling up a weight class from his normal 125 pounds. Snyder chose the top position in the second and rode LiVorio for the entire period to erase the Hokies' riding time advantage. Snyder scored a takedown 20 seconds into the third to knot the score, then rode LiVorio for the remainder of the match to earn the riding point and pick up the 3-2 victory. Snyder won twice this weekend at 133 pounds.
Virginia returns to the mat next week, traveling to Rutgers for a 6:30 p.m. match Friday before heading to Princeton at noon Saturday. UVa returns to Mem Gym in two weeks (Feb. 6), taking on No. 25 Old Dominion and George Mason beginning at 1 p.m.
No. 14 Virginia Tech 19, No. 16 Virginia 16
141: No. 10 Chris Diaz (VT) dec. Derek Valenti (UVa), 4-3; VT 3-0
149: Brian Stephens (VT) major dec. David Ebbott (UVa), 15-6; VT 7-0
157: No. 4 Jesse Dong (VT) dec. Shawn Harris (UVa), 9-3; VT 10-0
165: Matt Epperly (VT) dec. Pat Riley (UVa), 5-2; VT 13-0
174: No. 4 Chris Henrich (UVa) won by forfeit; VT 13-6
184: No. 20 Tommy Spellman (VT) dec. Mike Salopek (UVa), 3-1; VT 16-6
197: No. 20 Brent Jones (UVa) major dec. Chris Penny (VT), 13-5; VT 16-10
285: Jack Danilkowicz (UVa) dec. Tim Miller (VT), 5-1; VT 16-13
125: No. 15 Jarrod Garnett (VT) dec. Ross Gitomer (UVa), 2-1; VT 19-13
133: Matt Snyder (UVa) dec. Brock LiVorio (VT), 3-2; VT 19-16
 

Eighth-Ranked Virginia Men Down No. 14 UNC
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/23/2010

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -The eighth-ranked Cavalier men's swimming and diving team defeated No. 14 North Carolina 168-132 in a conference dual meet Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C. Virginia improved to 7-1 in dual meets this season, including a 4-0 mark against ACC opponents.
The Tar Heels dominated the first event of the meet, the 200 medley relay, taking both first and second place. But the Cavaliers were quick to respond with wins in the next two events.
Junior Taylor Smith claimed the 1000 free (9:01.84), his first of two event wins on the day, before senior John Azar won the 200 free (1:37.86, 'B'). Smith also earned a victory in the 500 free, clocking an NCAA 'B' time of 4:26.27.
Freshman Tom Casey also had a solid performance, winning the 100 breast (55.81) and 200 breast (2:00.01). He also took second in the 200 IM with a time of 1:50.55. Scot Robison claimed two victories in the 50 free (20.40) and 100 free (44.20, 'B').
In the 200 back, sophomore David Wren took first-place honors with a winning time of 1:47.93, while Daniel Johnson placed second (1:48.09)
Sophomore Briggy Imbriglia led Virginia on the boards, winning the 1-meter diving event with a mark of 324.68.
Virginia capped the meet with a victory in the 400 free relay. The team of Robison, Peter Geissinger, Azar and Matt McLean finished in an NCAA 'B' time of 2:58.40.
The Cavaliers return to action next Friday (Jan. 29) at Navy. The meet is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Annapolis, Md.
 

No. 11 Cavalier Women Defeat No. 15 North Carolina
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/23/2010

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -The 11th-ranked Virginia women defeated No. 15 North Carolina 185-113 in a conference dual meet Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Cavaliers improved to 7-1 in dual meets this year, including an undefeated mark of 4-0 against ACC foes.
In the win against the Tar Heels, senior Mei Christensen posted an NCAA 'A' cut with her win in the 100 back, clocking a time of 52.93. That mark also set the pool record. She went on to win the 200 back with a mark of 1:56.30, an NCAA 'B' time.
Freshman Lauren Perdue picked wins in the 50 free (22.40, 'B'), and set the pool record in the 100 free with a winning time of 48.78, another 'B' mark.
Virginia's 200 medley relay team of Christensen, Ellie Freeman, Lauren Smart and Perdue teamed up to take first place in the event with an NCAA 'B' time of 1:39.38.
Senior Jen Narum led the way in the 1000 free, clocking a winning time of 9:49.37, while Katya Bachrouche finished second in 9:57.41. Narum went on to take first-place honors in the 500 free with an NCAA 'B' time of 4:49.16.
The Cavaliers also went 1-2 in the 100 breast. Christine Olson won the event with a time of 1:03.31 while teammate Ellie Freeman placed second in 1:03.67. Olson also finished second in the 200 breast, clocking a 'B' time of 2:14.65.
Smart paced Virginia in the 100 fly (53.99, 'B') while Shaw finished second (54.55, 'B') in the event. Shaw, a junior, also claimed victories in the 200 fly (1:57.44, 'B') and the 200 IM (2:01.65, 'B'). In addition, teammate Amanda Faulkner finished second in the 200 IM (2:03.05).
The Cavalier women ended strong, going 1-2 in the 400 free relay. The team of Kelly Flynn, Christensen, Moores and Perdue won the event in an NCAA 'B' time of 3:19.77. Hannah Davis, Anna Dobben, Meredith Perdue and Olson teamed up to finish second, also posting a 'B' time of 3:24.67.
The Cavaliers return to action next Friday (Jan. 29) at Navy. The meet is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Annapolis, Md.
 

Laffan Hits Provisional Mark in Shot Put
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 01/23/2010

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Sophomore Maureen Laffan hit the NCAA provisional mark in the shot put Saturday afternoon at Virginia Tech’s Hokie Invitational in Rector Field House. In her first throw of the day, Laffan threw a personal-best 49’ 11.75” to move up to fourth on Virginia’s all-time program records and finish second at the meet.

Freshman Emily Vannoy finished right behind Laffan, tossing her collegiate-best mark of 49’ 9.75” – now the program’s fifth-best shot put mark of all-time.

In other field events, freshman Pearl Bickersteth finished tied for third in the high jump, clearing 5’ 4.25”, while junior Greg Nelson finished fifth on the men’s side with a height of 6’ 8.25”.

On the track, the Cavaliers concluded the day taking five of the top-six spots in the men’s 1000m, including sweeping the top three. Led by junior transfer John Minen, who won the event in 2:25.13, senior Alex Bowman finished runner-up in 2:26.23, while senior Steve Finley took third in 2:27.01. Crossing in fifth was sophomore Sintayehu Taye in 2:28.40 and freshman Brett Johnson was sixth with a time of 2:28.47.

The Cavaliers will head north to New York City next weekend to compete in the Millrose Mile at Madison Square Garden on Friday and in the NYC Mayor’s Cup at the Armory on Saturday.