Groh shows lighter side at banquet
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com
February 17, 2008

While the ACC Coach of the Year award was presented to Virginia’s Al Groh back in December, the plaudits didn’t end there.

A large crowd showed up for a dinner and program at Glenmore Country Club on Friday night, hosted by UVa Hall of Famer Joe Palumbo. What they witnessed was a humble, grateful and playful Groh, who exposed some phases of his personality that the general public never or rarely gets to see.

In fact, Groh was uncomfortable being the center of attention all evening long, especially when some attendees presented unsolicited stories of the head coach’s deeds.

A friend in need

One of those came from new Richmond head coach Mike London, who worked on Groh’s staff for six years before moving on last month.

“When my daughter [Ticynn] was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder that required a bone marrow transplant during spring practice, Al asked me what I wanted to do,” London said. “I told him I wanted to coach, and he said, ‘Look, if you want to go to practice and then go up to Johns Hopkins Hospital on the weekends to be with her, then you can do that.’”

London, who delivered the night’s toast to Groh at the end of the program, said, “Coach, you don’t know how much that meant to me when you allowed me to do that.”

It was London who donated bone marrow to his daughter and saved her life. The former defensive coordinator said she is doing fine now.

“Not many people know that about Coach,” London said. “He had a profound affect on me.”

Former Cavalier place-kicker Jeff Gaffney, who still resides in Charlottesville, told how Groh thought so much of the late Frank “Bear” Kessler (also a former UVa player and the founder of Glenmore) that Groh used to come by the hospital every day after practice to visit during Kessler’s final months.

Class under pressure

There were many testimonials about Groh’s character during the evening, one from former teammate and current United States Ambassador to El Salvador, Charles Glazer, who wrote:

“How proud I am of my friend and teammate, not because you won nine games, but because of the class you have shown all along, especially after the Wyoming game,” the letter noted, as read by one of this columnist’s favorite people - Leonard Sandridge, executive vice president and CEO of the University of Virginia. “Lesser men would have looked for others to blame, but you chose to take the heat, keep your mouth shut and your head down. You operate in a fish bowl, where unlike the rest of us your successes and failures are shown on national television.

“You have been an outstanding example of class to the young men you coach.”

Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long, whose son, Chris, played for UVa and is being talked about as the potential No. 1 choice in this April’s NFL Draft, was the main speaker of the program and he lauded Groh’s efforts.

Howie Long told how Chris came to him and wife Diane (whom Groh described as Hall of Fame parents) and told them he wanted to play college football. The Long’s weren’t so sure it would become reality until Groh approached Chris during his junior year and offered a scholarship.

“That night, my wife and I said, ‘Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice if at some point if [Chris] could play, maybe just get on the field?’” Long remembered. “I wasn’t sure where that would go, but one thing I was sure of, I knew my son would understand the meaning of work, the meaning of team, and I knew he would understand what it meant to be a part of a group striving to be something bigger than the individual.”

Long said that four years ago he handed Groh a kid with perhaps a bigger heart than ability, but what he got back in return was a kid who was a better, tougher and smarter football player.

“At the end of the day, more importantly, I got back a better man, who has a better understanding of what life is all about,” Long said of Groh’s tutelage of his son.

Howie shared a letter from Chris about playing for Groh that read:

“Deciding to play football for Virginia is not a four-year decision, but a lifetime decision. A big reason for that is Coach Groh. If everyone had the same resolve, work ethic and passion for the University and our team that he has, we would win every game. I’ve learned the meaning of hard work, selflessness, sacrifice, and the meaning of team. The lessons that I’ve learned under Coach Groh, I will carry with pride and affection every day of my life.”

Obviously, Groh was very touched and appreciative of the affection. He said the only reason he was honored as ACC Coach of the Year for the second time in seven seasons was because of the hard work of his coaching staff and the players.

“This isn’t just about me,” Groh said, before recognizing all of his family members in attendance, and asked his wife, Anne, and his mother to join him on stage.

He thanked several people that had helped him along the way, including his high school coach that he still chats with, Dr. Frank McCue, Joe Gieck and others. He recognized the three Hall of Famers in the audience - Long, Palumbo (of whom Groh said that he had never met a more humble or generous person in any station of life) and Tom Scott.

He explained how Gieck, the longtime head trainer at UVa, had recommended Groh, who was then a $300 asssistant coach at Albemarle High under Ace Harrison, for a job at the U.S. Military Academy, helping coach Army football. Groh said that if Gieck hadn’t put his name on the line with Army that he probably would have never have enjoyed the life he has, including meeting two very important people in his life.

“My first night at West Point, all the other young officers took me to the Officers’ Club and, because I liked the water, I gravitated to the windows overlooking the Hudson,” Groh recalled. “The rest of the guys said, ‘No, no, no. We always sit over here,” pointing to an area of seats.

Groh asked them why.

“And they said, because that’s where Anne Stahle sits,” the officers said.

At that moment, Groh stopped his story, leaned over and kissed Anne Stahle Groh, acknowledging that he gave up his view of the Hudson for the view of the lady whose heart he won and married.

“The next day, Bill Parcells [then Army’s defensive line coach] walked into the office,” Groh said. “He was a varsity coach and I was a plebe coach assigned to work under him. So, in 24 hours I made two relationships that had a great impact on how the rest of my life went. Thank you Joe Gieck.”

Groh also displayed some self-deprecating humor, telling how his position coach at UVa, a fellow by the name of Buffalo Humphreys, once told him: You know, Groh, you’re so tough that if you could run just a little bit you’d be an

All-American ... but you can’t even run just a little bit.”

Groh often describes himself as not a very good football player, but said the experience of playing for Virginia meant everything to him, which he believes he has in common with this past year’s team, which went 9-4 and lost in a dramatic finish to Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl.

“The reason I’m up here is because of what the players did all year long,” said Groh, who describe the team as inspiring to be around.

“They had a great resolve about them. We had a formula for it...we could have had all the ideas and motivations in the world, but all those things only work if the players want to hear those things and respond,” Groh said. “I’m often asked about all the close games. If you win one or two of those, maybe you were lucky. But when you win five by two or less points or seven games by six or less, then that’s who the team is, that’s the kind of team you have.

“I don’t need another Al Groh dinner,” the coach said. “But hopefully we can celebrate Virginia football even more in the future.”

 

Slumping Cavs face lone ACC victim
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
February 17, 2008

It’s hard to believe, but the last time Virginia won a basketball game, John Edwards was still in the presidential race, Britney Spears didn’t need a straitjacket and Shaquille O’Neal was a member of the Miami Heat.

That “Victory!” - as television character Johnny Drama would say - occurred on Jan. 19 when UVa defeated Boston College, 84-66, at John Paul Jones Arena.

This afternoon, Virginia and BC square off again - this time in Beantown.

UVa, riding a seven-game losing streak, sits in last place in the ACC with a 1-9 record.

“Even though we have a losing record now,” said Virginia senior Sean Singletary, “I know we can turn it around.”

While that could be true, the reality is that even if the Cavaliers were to win the remainder of their conference games - six straight victories - they would most likely find themselves on the outside looking in come NCAA Tournament time.

The only way Virginia (11-12) is probably getting its ticket to the Big Dance punched is if it were to somehow go on a miraculous run and win the ACC Tournament.

Basically, that means UVa is playing for two things at this point: pride and a berth in the NIT.

The Cavs are going to have their work cut out against BC - a squad that most certainly remembers the drubbing it received last month.

In that game, Singletary received a little bit of help from Mamadi Diane (20 points), Adrian Joseph (17) and Calvin Baker (15).

On Thursday, BC (13-10, 4-6 ACC) snapped a six-game losing streak with an 82-65 home win over N.C. State.

Virginia, meanwhile, is actually coming off one of its better performances in recent memory, losing by only a point to fifth-ranked North Carolina on Tuesday.

“When you can play with one of the top teams in the country, it shows something about your team,” Baker said. “We have to play every game like that. We have to treat every game like Carolina. We don’t want to be up for one game and down for the next.”

Virginia has been in most of the games during the seven-game slide. Three of the games have gone to overtime, while two other games have been decided by two points or less.

In the loss to UNC, Virginia got a big boost from junior Lars Mikalauskas, who played in his first game since aggravating a shoulder injury in early December. Mikalauskas gave the team a shot of energy that it had been badly missing.

Virginia will certainly need other players to follow Mikalauskas’ lead against BC.

After Tuesday’s defeat, many UVa players seemed as if they still had some fight left in them.

“Like coach always says, ‘Bring it,’” said Virginia sophomore Jamil Tucker. “If you want to come at us, we’re going to come right back at you.

“We know that we can beat [BC]. We beat them once and we know that we can do it again. We feel like we can beat anybody in the ACC.”

They just haven’t done so this season.

Dunks

Virginia leads the all-time series, 5-1. The lone loss was a 78-73 setback in Chestnut Hill last season. … Singletary has now scored 20 or more points in a game 11 times this season and 38 times in his collegiate career. His 27 points moved him past Wally Walker (1973-76, 1,849 points) into sixth place on Virginia’s career scoring list with 1,862 points. He also ranks fourth on UVa’s career three-point field goals made list (205), fourth in assists (522), tied for fourth in steals (179) and fifth in free throws made (507).

 

Mustapha Farrakhan out to make name for himself
Mustapha Farrakhan's focus is on the court, not his last name. But he knows where the focus is for most.
By Melinda Waldrop | 247-4634
11:10 PM EST, February 16, 2008
 

CHARLOTTESVILLE - When you're 19, you don't spend a lot of time contemplating legacies — yours or your family's.

Mustapha Farrakhan, a freshman guard on Virginia's basketball team, attracts attention by virtue of his last name alone. He's the grandson of Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam.

But while the powerful and sometimes controversial man he calls Grandpops is undoubtedly a part of his identity, Mustapha is concentrating on carving his own path.

"He's learning more and more the gravity or the weight of the name as he gets older," said Mustapha's father, also named Mustapha Farrakhan. "He's not really cognizant of what it entails because he's focused on what he's doing. He's a driven young man."

Right now, the younger Mustapha is intent on earning more playing time for the Cavaliers. Opportunities have been few and far between in Virginia's 11-12 season, and Mustapha is averaging just one point and one rebound.

"It's just a gradual process that I've got to go through, just learning," he said.

The elder Mustapha has been there for every step, traveling from his Chicago-area home to all but one of Virginia's games. In six of those, including Virginia's 75-74 loss to North Carolina on Tuesday, he hasn't seen his son get off the bench.

"(He's told me), 'Dad, you don't have to come,' " Mustapha Farrakhan said. "I tell him, 'Son, I want to finish this journey with you. ... Whether you play or not, I'm here to support you.' "

Mustapha's father and his mother, Karen, aren't the only family members keeping close tabs on his basketball career. He said his grandfather reads newspaper articles about his games and sometimes calls to offer advice, telling him to "just always stay positive and be a good leader, even if you don't feel like things are coming to your favor right now," Mustapha said. "I just try to be a polite dude, and really not be an aggressor in anything — just be a real humble guy."

Around eighth grade, Mustapha first realized why that could be more difficult for him than for other kids.

"When I just started knowing the magnitude of what my grandfather has done, it was like, 'Wow. That's my grandfather,' " Mustapha said. "Because to me, you know, that's Grandpops, Granddaddy."

Dinner-table talk in the Farrakhan household didn't center around politics. As a child, Mustapha — just 7 years old when his grandfather helped organize the Million Man March — was more curious if he could get a dirt bike than about Louis Farrakhan's role in Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign, his father said.

"Regardless of whatever profession or anything that he goes into eventually, he's gonna run into (issues with the Farrakhan name)," the elder Mustapha said. "Me and my wife tried the best we could to keep all of the controversy and the things that surrounded my dad (to) a minimum where he was concerned."

Louis Farrakhan's career as a well-known advocate for African-American interests has been marked by polarizing debate about remarks that critics call anti-Semitic or homophobic, though supporters insist such statements are taken out of context.

"Most of the things associated with (Mustapha's) grandpa that he knows about are a whole lot of positive things," Mustapha's father said. "The negative things — these are things that he's gonna have to learn and come to a sense of understanding about on his own, so he can have his own opinion and make his own judgment."

His grandfather's image has had a mild impact on Mustapha's basketball career. Mustapha said his grandfather only came to four of his high school games, fearing his presence would be distracting, and Mustapha remembers one game when fans waving signs with his grandfather's picture were asked to leave.

"It's just ignorance to me, so I really don't look at it," he said. "It doesn't bother me. ... You just hear little whispers, like 'That's Louis Farrakhan's grandson.' I'm kind of used to it."

But such recognition, he said, does carry added pressure.

"You kinda got like a bull's-eye on your back," Mustapha said. "If I do something wrong, it won't be the other two with me. It'll just be my name. So you gotta be real mature and be responsible."

Mustapha displayed those characteristics in high school, averaging 20.3 points per game as a senior at Thornton Township High School and making the honor roll for three years.

He chose Virginia over schools such as Illinois, Vanderbilt and Penn State. His Cavaliers teammates include guard Sammy Zeglinski, who first met Mustapha at a Nike camp workout in Chicago when the players were high school sophomores.

Mustapha's personality — "He's real friendly. He's funny" — made more of an impression that his last name, Zeglinski said. "In my history book, I saw Farrakhan, but (it doesn't mean) much more than that," he said.

Later on, Mustapha's eyebrow-arching last name may be more of a factor in his daily life. For now, it's just another part of the person he's becoming.

"If you're a Farrakhan, you're going to be faced with certain things," Mustapha's father said. "(But) you are the truth of who and what you are."

 

Virginia's future backcourt is learning on the job from Sean Singletary.
By Melinda Waldrop | mwaldrop@dailypress.com 247-4634
7:04 PM EST, February 16, 2008
 

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Following Sean Singletary sounds like an intimidating prospect. But it's old hat to Sammy Zeglinski.

Zeglinski was Singletary's high school teammate, in the starting lineup as a freshman when Singletary was a senior at The William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia. Zeglinski went on to start for three more years, scoring 1,642 prep points.

"All the way back to high school, playing with (Singletary), he's taught me a lot," Zeglinski said. "Every practice, he was ready to compete."

With just six regular-season games left in Singletary's college career, Zeglinski and the rest of Virginia's young guards hope the work ethic they've learned from Singletary translates into a stable backcourt future.

"He has so much passion for winning," freshman guard Jeff Jones said. "He works hard every day. That's something I definitely want to rub off on me when he leaves. ... He's just a winner."

At 11-12, the Cavaliers (1-9 ACC), who travel to Boston College (12-10, 3-6) today, haven't been able to provide much help for Singletary, averaging 19 points per game in his senior season.

Junior guard Mamadi Diane (11.7 ppg) and senior forward Adrian Joseph (11.6) are the only other U.Va. players averaging double digits. Backup point guard Calvin Baker of Newport News, a sophomore, averages 9.2 points, while Jones (four points, 14 minutes a game) and fellow freshman guard Mustapha Farrakhan (one point, 6.3 minutes) have contributed sparingly in limited time.

All of which begs a question: What happens when Singletary is gone?

"He's been the face of Virginia basketball for three, four years now. It's gonna be tough without him," Baker said. "But losing a leading scorer, that means someone else is gonna have to be a leading scorer."

To inherit that role, Diane will have to shoot more consistently and attack the basket more aggressively. Baker will have to become a more reliable scoring option and a better ballhandler.

That was a role the Cavaliers hoped Zeglinski could fill, running point at times to get Singletary off the ball. But January surgery on his right ankle erased that option.

"It's not easy, sitting out," said Zeglinski, who had seven points, nine rebounds and 15 assists in eight games. "I'm pretty anxious to be able to play."

Baker broke a recent shooting slump with 10 points in Tuesday's 75-74 loss to North Carolina, when the Cavs committed just seven turnovers.

"We've got to continue to get more plays behind that," U.Va. coach Dave Leitao said. "When you get into a critical scoring area, you make the right decision — a pull-up, a pass down to a big guy, a pass out, those kinds of things."

Jones also picked up his play Tuesday, scoring seven points on 3-of-6 shooting.

"I always had confidence I was a good player, (but) in college, you have a lot of ups and downs coming your way," Jones said. "You've just got to keep that faith — keep faith in the coaches, keep faith in the system, that things go well."

Singletary has faith, too — in the players he'll be leaving behind.

"There's a lot of leadership out there, and a lot of maturity," he said. "We've just got to groom it and just come together and work toward the future."

 

Cavaliers Rally for 4-3 Win Over UCLA in National Indoor Quarterfinals
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/16/2008

SEATTLE– The Virginia men’s tennis team reached the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the third time in the past four seasons with a thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind win over UCLA Saturday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. The win improves the Cavaliers’ record to 9-0 on the season, the best start in school history.

“This is a great win for us,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “I thought we came out with a lot of energy and effort in doubles, but UCLA played extremely well and took the opening point. From that point on, I was so proud of how we were able to dig deep, especially when we had our backs against the wall trailing 3-1. I know we can play a lot better, but we are still growing as a team. It is a long season, but you only get better by playing the best teams and UCLA is right up there.”

The Bruins took the opening point by winning at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. The top-ranked Cavalier duo of Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) and Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) downed Nick Meister and Harel Srugo 8-5 at No. 1 doubles. The Bruins drew even as Jeremy Drean and Michael Look defeated Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) 8-5 at No. 3 doubles. At No. 2 doubles, Mathieu Dehaine and Holden Seguso clinched the doubles point for UCLA with an 8-4 win over Ted Angelinos (Athens, Greece) and Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.).

In singles, Virginia tied the match at 1-1 as Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) topped Look 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 4 position. With the victory, Singh improved to 9-0 in dual match singles play this season. UCLA would answer with a pair of wins to retake the lead, 3-1. Drean topped Barrick 7-5, 6-4 at No. 5 singles and Seguso defeated Huey in three sets at No. 3 singles.

At No. 2 singles, Dominic Inglot (London, England), playing his first singles match in three weeks, returned to the lineup with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 win over Dehaine at No. 2 singles. Angelinos tied the match as he completed a 7-5, 6-4 win over Meister at No. 6 singles.

“Dom Inglot is a tough kid,” said Boland. “He has just improved so much in the past few months. Even in the past three weeks when he couldn’t be on the courts as much as he would like, he did the things to keep his body and mind sharp. All those extra runs paid off today.”

The match would be decided at No. 1 singles, in a matchup with a lot of history. Devvarman faced Srugo, who transferred to UCLA from Old Dominion, where he played his first three seasons. Last season, the two met twice with Devvarman winning both matches.

The first matchup between the players this season began with Srugo winning the first set 7-6. Devvarman answered by taking the second set 6-3. In the final set, the players remained on serve with Devvarman serving at 3-4. In that game, Devvarman fell behind 15-40 but fought off two break points against him and held serve to even the set at 4-4. In the next game, he used the momentum from his service hold to break Srugo and put the match on his racquet at 5-4. Devvarman served out the match and gave the Cavaliers the 4-3 dual match victory.

“When I was on the bench in that final match, I thought to myself, ‘If it is going to be 3-3 and come down to one match, this is the guy I want out there for us’”, said Boland of Devvarman. “He is one of, if not the most, mentally tough players I have ever coached. He knows how to keep his composure and rises to take advantage of the opportunity in front of him.”

The Cavaliers start the season 9-0 for the first time in school history. Virginia opened both the 2005 and 2007 seasons with 8-0 records.

The Cavaliers will meet No. 5 Mississippi in the semifinals on Sunday. The Rebels topped Oklahoma State 4-0 on Saturday in their quarterfinal matchup. The teams have met just twice before, both at the National Team Indoors. In 2005, the Cavaliers scored a 4-1 win over Ole Miss in the semifinals and last year topped the Rebels 4-3 in the quarterfinals. Sunday’s semifinal match is slated for 11 a.m. (PT) at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.

 

Cavs seek early revenge
Virginia's lacrosse team is eager to get back on the field after its season ended with frustration a year ago.
By Melinda Waldrop | 247-4634
February 17, 2008
 

Max Pomper may be looking forward to Virginia's lacrosse season opener against Drexel today more than most.

Pomper, a sophomore midfielder, saw his freshman year derailed by a torn Achilles tendon. He then broke the same foot, but was ready to play last season before a stress fracture suffered in a scrimmage sidelined him for the first six games.

"I was starting to wonder if I had done something terribly wrong in my past life, because my luck had seemed to run out," said Pomper, who scored one goal, against Duke, in 2007. "But to be honest, it's made me appreciate playing a lot more."

Pomper and his Cavaliers teammates have a three-fold mission today.

First, they're eager to start the season on a strong note. Second, they want to avenge last season's opening loss to the Dragons, an 11-10 defeat on Feb. 18. And third, they're out to prove that this season will last longer than last year's, when the third-seeded and defending national champion Cavs (12-4) were upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament by Delaware on May 13.

"Everyone comes to Virginia to play in the Final Four and win national championships, and to lose in the first round has been eating at all of us for the longest time," Pomper said.

Junior attackman Danny Glading is U.Va.'s top returning scorer, coming off a 48-point season. Ranked the No. 8 player in the nation by Inside Lacrosse, Glading is one of three Cavaliers with at least 50 career goals.

Senior midfielder Will Barrow also is back after scoring three goals and having one assist in 2007.

"I think everyone's practicing a little bit harder for Drexel," Barrow said. "It's not like we really have anything to prove to them. It's more for ourselves, that we really want to go out there and win this game."

One of the new faces on the Cavs' roster is Peter Lamade, a former Duke player using the final year of eligibility given to Blue Devils players after their 2006 season was canceled when three players, since cleared, were accused of rape. Lamade's brother, Ted, was a Cavalier captain in 2004.

"You couldn't ask for a better guy to come into the program," Pomper said of Lamade. "It's got to be hard to come into a program with 40 new guys, especially from Duke, one of our biggest rivals, but he fit in right away."

The Cavs will begin to see if their pieces fit well enough for another national title run today.

"I think we'll be ready on Sunday, and we'll see whether or not we're capable," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "I think everyone is looking forward to putting the uniform on and getting after it for real."

 

UVa hopes to set positive tone in opener
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
February 17, 2008

A year ago, Virginia opened its season at home against Drexel. Playing on its turf field, in frigid conditions, UVa allowed two goals in the final 10 seconds and lost 11-10.

Three months later, things concluded as disappointingly they began when Virginia lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Delaware.

Today in Philadelphia, the third-ranked Cavaliers look to set the tone for what they hope will be an improved season when they once again open up against Drexel.

“They’re the preseason favorites in their conference [the Colonial Athletic Association],” said Virginia coach Dom Starsia. “They have half the preseason all-conference selections, so we’re going to have our hands full - no question about it.”

No. 18 Drexel is led by Steve Grossi in the midfield and Andrew Chapman on the attack. Both players received have received preseason All-American recognition. Last season, the Dragons went 11-5 before losing to Delaware in the CAA tournament.

Virginia will likely be without leading scorer Ben Rubeor, who is still recovering from a sprained knee. Gavin Gill, Ryan Kelly and freshman John Haldy will have first crack at filling his shoes.

“Chances are, we’ll be doing it by committee a little bit,” Starsia said. “They all kind of bring specific things to the table. I think we’ll try and mix and match the pieces a little bit until something kind of steps up and grabs our attention.”

In goal, Starsia has elected to go with freshman Adam Ghitelman, who beat out senior Bud Petit and sophomore Mark Wade in the preseason.

After Drexel, Virginia returns to Charlottesville and will host Stony Brook in its home opener on Saturday.

Groundballs

Drexel will be wearing green shoelaces to show its support for the Headstrong Foundation, a non-profit organization that donates funds to numerous cancer research organizations with the main purpose of finding a cure for cancer. A portion of the proceeds from the game will be donated to the Headstrong Foundation.

 

U.Va.: Blues and orange
Programs run by Leitao and Groh depress supporters
Sunday, Feb 17, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Why so glum? That's a question many University of Virginia fans have been asked over the past six weeks, and not because every team in Charlottesville is struggling.

Indeed, the men's tennis team is ranked No. 1 nationally. The wrestling team is 18-4, and the women's basketball team is 18-7. The baseball team is ranked in the preseason top 20, and the men's and women's lacrosse teams are expected to contend for NCAA titles.

But the news for the school's highest-profile teams -- football and men's basketball -- has not been as good lately. Those, of course, are the sports that inspire the most passion, and they're the source of the frustration shared by many U.Va. supporters these days.

"If our fans were happy about that, I'd be very concerned," Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said. "The fact that they're disappointed about that is a good thing. If they weren't disappointed, I'd be worried."

Heading into its game today at Boston College, Dave Leitao's basketball team is 1-9 in the ACC and has lost seven straight. Al Groh's football team has made headlines in 2008, but rarely for things considered positive for the program.

Both teams began the new year with reason for optimism. In basketball, U.Va. took a 10-2 record into its Jan. 3 game at Xavier. In football, U.Va. entered the Gator Bowl with a chance to become only the second team in program history to finish with 10 victories.

On New Year's Day, the Cavaliers came agonizingly close. But Texas Tech rallied for 17 points in the final 3:31 to stun U.Va. 31-28. That epic collapse was the first of many blows Groh's program has absorbed since the calendar turned.

After the team returned to Charlottesville, all-ACC offensive guard Branden Albert announced he was leaving school early to enter the NFL draft. Then Groh lost four players, including starters Jameel Sewell (quarterback) and Chris Cook (cornerback), to academic suspensions that are expected to sideline them this season.

Then Mike London, the Wahoos' highly regarded defensive coordinator, left to become head coach at the University of Richmond. Then came the reports that standout defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald had academic issues that may well prevent him from suiting up for the Cavaliers again.

Finally, Virginia Tech annihilated U.Va. in in-state recruiting. In the ACC, the class that signed with Virginia this month was rated ahead of only Duke's by many recruiting analysts.

All of which "was disconcerting to the point of almost being depressing," said Tom Baker, a 1979 graduate of U.Va. who lives in South Richmond.

Hoops offered no relief for fans, as U.Va.'s hopes of making a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament steadily evaporated in January. The Cavaliers lost by 38 points at Xavier. In their next outing, they lost by 22 at Duke. Leitao's team won only once last month, and its six defeats included two overtime losses to Virginia Tech.

"It was like, 'How bad can it get?'" said Baker, a former U.Va. basketball manager who later worked for the sports information department and in athletic fundraising at his alma mater.

Littlepage said he, too, found January difficult to endure. Still, he's confident that both of U.Va.'s revenue-producing programs will be fine in the long term.

"The reality is that every school at some point goes through a situation like this," Littlepage said. "Sometimes it's an isolated incident -- a thunderbolt, if you will -- and sometimes it lasts longer. . . . You've got to be prepared to pick yourself up and get yourself right back on track."