Happy feat: Cavs end skid
Diane, Baker shine late as Virginia outlasts Rice, BC
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- With Tyrese Rice piling up 3-pointers and three-point plays in the second half, Boston College looked as if it might prolong the University of Virginia's misery in men's basketball.

But the Cavaliers battled through adversity, got clutch plays from forward Mamadi Diane and guard Calvin Baker in the final minute, and walked off the court smiling for the first time since Jan. 19.

On that night, U.Va. whipped BC 84-66 at John Paul Jones Arena. Seven straight losses followed for the Wahoos, who finally ended their skid yesterday by beating the Eagles 79-74 before 7,154 fans at Conte Forum.

"Winning sure feels better than losing," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "It's been a long time, and hopefully it doesn't end here and we can keep moving forward."

Rice, a former L.C. Bird High star, scored 16 of his game-high 28 points in the final 10 minutes, 38 seconds to keep BC (4-7, 13-11) close. His trey at the 1:04 mark sliced Virginia's lead to a single point, and momentum seemed to have shifted in the Eagles' favor.

But Diane, a junior forward who'd shot 4 for 20 from beyond the arc in his previous five games, took a pass from senior point guard Sean Singletary and calmly drained a 3-pointer from near the U.Va. bench to make it 74-70. With 20 points, Diane led four Cavaliers in double figures yesterday, and his timing proved impeccable for the ACC's last-place team.

"I really never looked at it as me being in a slump," said Diane, who has come off the bench the past three games. "I know a lot of reporters asked me, 'How do you feel about being in a slump?' But I never looked at it like that. I knew once I got in a good rhythm and got some open shots, they would fall."

Baker, a sophomore who's played well since freshman Jeff Jones replaced him in the starting lineup, went 4 for 4 from the line in the last 13.7 seconds. That assured Virginia (2-9, 12-12) of snapping an eight-game ACC road losing streak.

"When I first went up to the line, Coach me asked if I was going to make them, and I told him, 'Yeah,'" Baker said. "I was just calm. Got to stay calm at the free throw line."

Rarely in three seasons under Leitao has U.Va. gotten more production from its post players. Freshman Mike Scott, who started at his natural position of power forward, contributed 11 points, 12 rebounds and two steals. Even more impressive was junior center Laurynas Mikalauskas, who in his second game back from a shoulder injury scored 13 points -- a career high for the Lithuanian against an ACC foe.

"I just feel as though he's what we've been missing: his energy and rebounding and ability to finish at the rim or under the rim," Singletary said.

Virginia led 40-32 in the final minute of the first half, but at the 15:30 mark it was 40-40, and the Eagles appeared poised to take control. But Mikalauskas caught a deft pass from Singletary, scored inside, was fouled and added the free throw to make it 43-40. BC trailed the rest of the way.

"It feels great to be back," Mikalauskas said. "I don't want to let my teammates down. From being injured, it's really hard to see them losing and seeing all this negativity going on, on and off the court."

In the locker room after the game, the U.Va. players' joy was palpable. "For me," Leitao said, "it's probably more relief."

He grew up in New Bedford, about an hour's drive from Boston, and Leitao had a sizeable cheering section at Conte Forum. For at least a few days, his family can't "say that I can't coach," Leitao noted.

"When you're losing games, your family doesn't mind telling you about yourself. It's always good to have as much support as we did today. I had the opportunity to see my sisters and my cousins and friends and family. It's always great. It doesn't happen often enough."

 

Virginia beats BC, snaps skid
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
February 18, 2008

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - In the bowels of the Conte Forum on Sunday, about 10 minutes before they hit the floor, Virginia players huddled. As senior Ryan Pettinella slam-danced inside of a human circle, everyone chanted “Hoos.”

At the end of psyche-up session, the players, once again in unison, yelled “Together!”

That word proved apropos.

About two hours later, Virginia - thanks to one of its best collective efforts of the season - walked off the court with a badly-needed 79-74 win over Boston College. The victory, which snapped a seven-game losing streak, was the team’s first win since beating BC in Charlottesville way back on Jan. 19.

After the game, Virginia players smiled and joked with reporters in the locker room. Many looked as if they had just been given a stay of execution.

“They were happy; they were cheerful,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “For me, it’s probably more of a relief. It’s been a very long few weeks for everybody.”

Virginia (12-12, 2-9), just like in its win over the Eagles last month, had a well-balanced scoring attack - four players scored in double figures.

Mamadi Diane led the way with 20 points. Sean Singletary had 16. Lars Mikalauskas and Mike Scott had 13 and 11, respectively.

It was Diane who nailed the biggest shot of the game. With Virginia leading by just a point with under 50 seconds remaining, he hit a 3-pointer from the wing to make it 74-70.

“I think in the Virginia Tech game, he had that same 3 that was huge and he

didn’t make it,” Leitao said. “The difference that day and this day - or the times he doesn’t play as well - is just emotional involvement into the game and being tied into everything.”

Diane, who came off the bench for the third straight game, didn’t seem to have his ‘A’ game early on. However, the enigmatic junior didn’t stop shooting - something he has done in past games.

Diane, who also had four rebounds in his 35 minutes, showed no hesitation when Singletary, after some nifty penetration, found him spotting up.

“The defense converged on him,” Diane said. “When I saw that happening, I said, ‘I know I’m going to get it.’ I caught it and just let it go.”

BC’s Tyrese Rice (game-high 28 points) scored on the ensuing possession to make it 74-72, but Diane and Calvin Baker combined to knock down five of 6 free throws in the final 29 seconds after the Eagles went into foul mode.

Mikalauskas said the team desperately wanted the win.

“I was really disappointed after the loss to UNC [on Tuesday],” he said. “Somebody had to pay and it was Boston College.

“We didn’t really do anything special. We just came in prepared and took a business trip to Boston, you know?”

After leading 40-32 at the half, Virginia allowed BC (13-11, 4-7) to go on 8-0 run and tie the game early in the second half. At that point, UVa seemed poised for one of its patented swan dives that fans have grown far too accustomed to in the last few weeks.

However, after a timeout at the 15:26 mark, Virginia responded with a 13-3 run that was spearheaded by “The Pride of Lithuania.” Mikalauskas, who was playing in just his second straight game since missing 13 contests with a shoulder injury, scored the first five points of the splurge.

Just after the timeout, Mikalauskas took a sweet pass from Singletary and scored inside as he was being hacked for a 3-point play. The Lithuanian started pumping his fists until quickly realizing he wasn’t in Charlottesville.

“I wasn’t really looking to score at that time,” said Mikalauskas, who was 6 of 7 from the floor and also had four rebounds. “I was just running the fastbreak, trying to catch the ball and put it in the basket.

“I’m always trying to bring extra energy…it feels great to be back. I don’t want to let my teammates down. Being injured, it was hard to see them losing and all the negativity going on. I just try to do as much as I can.”

Late in the game, Mikalauskas and BC’s Corey Raji were hit with double technical fouls for jawing at each other - but by then the game had been pretty much decided. “I was just asking about how his family was doing,” Mikalauskas joked.

For Virginia, it was a much better performance all-around. Defensively, they held BC to 43-percent shooting. UVa had allowed five of its previous six opponents to shoot 48 percent or higher from the field.

The grittier ‘D’ resulted in some crisper offensive play. Virginia shot 48 percent from the field, including 50 percent (9 of 18) from 3-point range. It was the Cavaliers’ best shooting performance since a win over Elon in late December.

Singletary, who will lead Virginia into Georgia Tech on Thursday night, said nobody’s giving up on the season.

“We lost seven in a row,” said the senior captain. “If we win these last [five] games, we can get six in a row. This [losing streak] has brought us closer together as a team. There’s no saying we can’t make a run at it…it’s not too late.”

Dunks

Senior Ryan Pettinella only played nine minutes. Afterward, he said he had had been suffering from a stomach flu…Leitao, a New Bedford, Mass. native, said it was a nice homecoming. “It’s always good to have as much support as we did,” he said. “It was an opportunity to see sisters and my cousins, and friends and family. It’s always great. It doesn’t happen often enough.”

 

Happiness returns to Cavaliers' camp
Virginia ends a seven-game losing streak with a second ACC win.
By Kyle McCarthy
Special to The Roanoke Times

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The wait is over after 28 excruciatingly winless days.

Virginia snapped a seven-game skid by defeating Boston College 79-74 at Conte Forum on Sunday afternoon.

Mamadi Diane scored a season-high 20 points and Sean Singletary added 16 to lead Virginia (12-12, 2-9 ACC) past Tyrese Rice (28 points) and the Eagles (13-11, 4-7) for the second time this season.

"They were happy," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "It's been a very long four weeks for everybody. Now we have to enjoy it and move on to Thursday night's game [at Georgia Tech]."

Diane and Singletary combined on the most crucial possession of the game for the Cavaliers with 48 seconds to play to ensure the victory. Diane corralled a Singletary pass and drained a 3-pointer from the corner after Boston College had embarked on a 7-0 run to close an eight-point Virginia lead to one.

"Playing with someone like Sean, you know they are going to converge on him," Diane said. "I know he's going to feed me and I know that I'm going to let it go."

Instead of letting another close game slip away and another lead vanish, Virginia added a second ACC win to the ledger and halted the slide that threatened to derail the team's postseason aspirations.

But, like everything else this season for the Cavaliers, it wasn't easy.

Boston College hopped out to a 19-9 lead, capped off by a Corey Raji dunk that forced Leitao to call a timeout to shake his team out of a North Carolina-induced hangover after last Thursday night's one-point loss to the Tar Heels.

"We were listless," Leitao said. "We had to try our best to carry over the emotions [from Thursday night] and I'm not sure we did that."

The timeout sparked a 20-6 Virginia run over the next six minutes, aided by a 3-point touch that eluded them for most of the Carolina game as Adrian Joseph, Calvin Baker, Jamil Tucker, and Singletary each drained treys.

The long-distance shooting (6-for-10 in the first half) built an eight-point halftime lead. A quick Boston College run and frigid shooting (0-for-9 to start the second half) erased that first-half advantage.

"We're in control of it," Singletary said of his team's early second-half letdown. "We need to dictate to other teams. You can't coast at all."

Lauris Mikalauskas scored the next five Virginia points, including a three-point play, to instigate a 13-3 Cavalier run that restored the lead for good. The Lithuanian, playing only his second game after returning from a shoulder injury, tallied a season-high 13 points and helped to establish an interior presence alongside Mike Jones (11 points).

"Whenever he's hyped, he's all over the place," Diane said.

Virginia led by nine points after two Diane free throws with 4:06 remaining but saw the lead trimmed to one after Rice nailed two 3-pointers and Raji converted a three-point play.

The torturous finale Virginia fans envisioned after seeing leads slip away so often this season never played out after Diane's 3-pointer shifted momentum back in favor of the visitors. Calvin Baker made three free throws at the end of the game to seal the much-needed victory.

 

Cavaliers snap skid
Virginia picks up its second win over BC and ends its seven-game losing streak.
February 18, 2008
 

BOSTON - Virginia's Sean Singletary knew Boston College was the perfect team to pass against.

Mamadi Diane scored 20 points, including a key 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, and Virginia snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 79-74 win over BC on Sunday.

Singletary, the team's leading scorer at 19 points per game coming into play Sunday, did score 16 points, but he felt like his playmaking would pay off like it did in the end.

In the game's opening 10 minutes — when the Cavaliers fell behind by 10 — Singletary was driving past his defenders fairly easily only to find someone moving over to pick him up, causing him to rethink his offensive approach.

"When you're playing a team that doesn't deny (the pass), you want to get people going," he said. "Then down the stretch people make plays."

Singletary was credited with four assists. He also fed others many times, leading to good ball movement and, eventually, open jumpers.

Laurynas Mikalauskas had 13 points and Mike Scott 11 for the Cavaliers (12-12, 2-9 Atlantic Coast Conference). Virginia's only other ACC win was also against BC — 84-66 at home on Jan. 19.

"For me, it's a relief," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "It's been a long four weeks. It's a joy for them."

Tyrese Rice led the Eagles (13-11, 4-7) with 28 points on 11-for-24 shooting. Tyrelle Blair added 11 points and Shamari Spears 10 for BC.

"Our defense wasn't as solid as it needed to be — even though Singletary was somewhat under control," BC coach Al Skinner said.

The Eagles lost for the seventh time in eight games. BC won its last game, 82-65, over North Carolina State at home Thursday.

"It's a frustrating loss, taken that we're the only team that they've beat, and they've beaten us twice," Rice said.

Virginia led 71-63 after Scott's short jumper in the lane with 2:51 to go, but BC rallied to cut it to one on Rice's 3-pointer from the left corner with 67 seconds left before Diane drained his 3 from the left wing with 45 seconds to play.

Rice's driving basket closed it to 74-72, but Diane hit one free before Calvin Baker nailed a pair from the line, making it 77-72 with 13.7 seconds left. Baker also added two with 6.7 seconds left.

After missing its first nine shots in the second half, Virginia used a 13-3 run to move ahead 53-43 on Singletary's 3 from the top with 12:22 to go.

BC cut it to 57-54 on Rice's conventional 3-point play with 8:38 left, but the Cavaliers answered with the next six points. Diane closed the spree when he hit two free throws and followed with a fast-break layup.

The Eagles, who trailed by eight at halftime, scored the first eight points after the break to tie the game at 40-all on Blair's two free throws with 16:48 to play.

In the first half, the Cavaliers trailed 19-9 midway, but scored 16 of the next 18 points en route to a 40-32 lead at halftime.

 

Virginia celebrates end of losing streak at Boston College
Cavaliers score second conference win, first in eight games, against Eagles; Diane, Singletary, Mikalauskas, Scott all reach double figures
Paul Montana, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. – A 69-60 Virginia lead diminished to 71-70 with little over a minute remaining. Junior Mamadi Diane received a pass from senior Sean Singletary, and put up a three from the left wing. What happened next had not yet occurred this conference season. Diane’s shot fell, sophomore Calvin Baker made four straight free throws, and the Cavaliers sealed a tight game. The men’s basketball team’s victory against Boston College (13-11, 4-7 ACC) yesterday afternoon snapped a seven-game losing streak that has as its other bookend the Cavaliers’ first ACC win — an 84-66 thumping of Boston College. The Cavaliers are now 2-0 against the Eagles, and 0-9 against the rest of the conference. Boston College “is definitely a team we know we can beat,” Singletary said. “But we know we can beat a lot of teams; we’ve been up double figures on teams the whole year, and losing by one, and being in overtime.” Similar to the two teams’ last meeting in Charlottesville, Virginia prevailed on the firepower of four players in double figures, as Diane (20), Singletary (16), junior Lars Mikalauskas (13) and freshman Mike Scott (11) shot a combined 22-40 from the floor. Scott also had the second double-double of his young career, securing 12 rebounds while converting several buckets from the low block and a 3-pointer. Having Scott now playing power forward — his natural position, instead of center — Virginia coach Dave Leitao said, paid dividends in the victory. Defensively, Virginia again showed both zone and man looks, particularly utilizing the zone late in the second half. The team’s defensive scheme was effective, as the Cavaliers held the Eagles to 42.4 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from the 3-point line in the final period. “We played the percentages that the two guys on the wing weren’t as good shooters as they were drivers,” Leitao said, noting that the zone “allowed us to look at their offense longer, and have them take some time, and have them wind that clock down possession after possession.” Boston College junior Tyrese Rice had a huge game, scoring 28 points while taking 40 percent of the team’s field goal attempts. After shooting 60 percent from the 3-point line and 57.1 percent overall in the first half to jump out to a 40-32 halftime lead, Virginia got off to a sluggish start in the second, as Boston College quickly tied the game at 40 to start the half. Similar to Tuesday’s game against North Carolina, however, junior Lars Mikalauskas provided a timely spark — with fellow center Ryan Pettinella not feeling well — by coming into the game and scoring 5 quick points on a 3-point play and another lay-in off dishes from Singletary and Tucker. The Lithuanian’s second-half spark fueled a 13-3 run as the Cavaliers regained control of the contest. “Especially with [Pettinella] under the weather, we needed big minutes from [Mikalauskas] today,” Leitao said. “He was a presence down low, and was able to score and get some offensive production that way.” Rice, however, calmly brought the Eagles back to within 4, draining a three with the shot clock winding down and converting a 3-point play on subsequent possessions. The Cavaliers would open up the lead just enough, however, to hold off Boston College’s late-game surge. Virginia also had to overcome a rocky first-half start, as the Cavaliers were forced to play catchup early for the fourth straight game. After the Eagles jumped out to an early 19-9 lead, however, Virginia responded with a furious 16-2 run in a 3:37 span to take a 25-21 lead, as the team’s streaky shooting came to life. The Cavs went 13-18 in the final 10:04 of the first half, while holding the Eagles to 4-13 shooting and turning them over on five occasions in the same span. Boston College would tie Virginia twice after the Cavaliers’ first-half surge, at 25 apiece in the first half and 40 in the second, but would never regain the lead.Junior forward Laurynas Mikalauskas pulled down four rebounds against Boston College Sunday. The Cavaliers next face Georgia Tech Thursday.
 

Bragging rights
Paul Montana, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

When your team is 1-9 in the ACC, and is about as likely to make the NCAA Tournament as Ryan Pettinella is to make a free throw, you have to find new incentives to root for the team. In the case of Sunday’s 79-74 victory against Boston College, the best motivator I could come up with was to be the team that epitomized the Eagles’ down year. Just imagine: Virginia goes 2-0 against BC, and 0-9 against everybody else in its first 11 games. If the Eagles were to miss both the NCAA and NIT tournaments – which is a legitimate possibility given their 13-11 overall and 4-7 ACC records – the Cavaliers could be the team all the BC fans talk about. “Man, we were terrible,” the fans would say. “We couldn’t even beat Virginia!” For most of the second half, however, I was convinced that it wasn’t to be. In keeping the tradition of late-game meltdowns, the Cavs entered the final moments with a sizable lead. As the year has gone on and the painful late-game collapses have continued to pile on, the “Oh God, they’re gonna blow it” feeling has approached earlier and earlier with every blown lead. And, seemingly true to form, Virginia practically begged Boston College to get back in the game. In one particularly gruesome, cover-your-eyes sequence with Virginia leading 69-60 and less than four minutes remaining, the Cavs blew a 3-on-1 fast break when Lars Mikalauskas missed a lay-up and Mamadi Diane rimmed a follow-up slam. On the ensuing Eagles’ fast break, a missed three was rebounded by the Eagles’ Corey Raji, and Lars was kind enough to give Raji a courtesy foul on the shoulder as he converted a layup, resulting in a 3-point play. Follow that with two missed free throws from Lars and a huge 3-pointer from Tyrese Rice, and the could-have-been double-digit advantage predictably shrank to 1 point. Classic Virginia basketball, right? What should have been 71-60 resulted in 69-63, which became 71-70 with just over a minute remaining. The Cavs have made choking into an art; why stop now? Diane, however, apparently learned the Heimlich maneuver. On Virginia’s next possession, with all eyes on Sean Singletary per the norm, the senior smartly fed Diane as he toed the 3-point line, unguarded, in front of the Virginia bench. And he converted. Let me repeat that: he converted. 74-70. Game. What was the difference? Was it mental? Emotional? “I think it was the Virginia Tech game, we had that same three that was huge, and didn’t make it,” coach Dave Leitao said. “The difference between that day and this day ... is just emotional involvement into the game, and being more tied into everything.” Leitao is the reigning ACC Coach of the Year, and certainly is more in tune with the team than I am, so disagreeing with him entirely may be the wrong move. Plus, he’s 6-foot-something and yells a lot. And maybe he is at least partly right. Perhaps the Cavs finally did it: They learned how to win in crunch time. In addition to the team’s renewed emotional involvement, winner’s attitude, or whatever you want to call it, however, there has been a (rather large) physical difference in the last two games as well. His name is Lars Mikalauskas. I already sang his praises after the last game, but another big game from the Lithuanian sensation calls for another rousing cheer. He took seven shots, made six of them, and pumped his fist at least twice. He scored five straight points to start a 13-3 run in the second half that spurred Virginia to a lead that it never lost. Perhaps most importantly, his entrance into the rotation has given Mike Scott the opportunity to play power forward rather than center, and he responded yesterday with 11 points (including a three) and 12 rebounds. And, even more stunningly, Virginia suddenly has legitimate post threats. When Lars gets the ball on the block, my first thought is no longer that he should to give it back to Singletary at the first opportunity. And when Scott gets the ball against someone his own size, I feel the same way. The big guys now have chances to contribute, and the guards get the luxury of working inside-out. Don’t get me wrong; when the game is on the line, the Mikalauskas-isolation on the block is still pretty far down the list of offensive options. The fact that the option even exists, however, is encouraging to say the least. Lars’ dazzling entrance into the rotation is, of course, a bit late. The Cavs would have to win out in the regular season to have a chance of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament – unlikely with two more road games and visits to JPJ from Duke and Maryland – or of course they could win the ACC Tournament, also pretty unlikely. At the very least, however, the Cavs have given the fans something to brag about.

 

Second-Half Run Sends UVa Past Drexel 11-7
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/17/2008

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Virginia scored four unanswered goals to break a six-all tie and gain an 11-7 win over Drexel before an overflow crowd of 2500 at Vidas Field in the season opener for both teams.

With the victory the Cavaliers avenged last season’s season-opening loss when they fell to the Dragons on their home field.

The homestanding Dragons excited the crowd early behind goals from Andew Chapman and Chris O’Connor to take a 2-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Jack Riley notched Virginia’s first goal at the 4:38 mark off a nice feed from Garrett Billings. Billings tied his career high with four assists. Senior Peter Lamade, playing for the injured Ben Rubeor on attack. forged the game’s first tie with his first goal as a Cavalier late in the quarter.

Kevin Stockel scored an extra-man goal 35 seconds into the second quarter as Drexel retook the lead. The Dragons’ advantage was shortlived however as Billings scored back-to-back goals to send Virginia into the lead at 4-3. Drexel matched the Cavaliers’ two-goal run behind goals by Ron Garling on extra man and Chapman.

Brian Carroll scored two extra-man goals in the final five minutes of the half as Virginia took a 6-5 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Colin Ambler, who scored both goals in the final 10 seconds to key Drexel’s win over Virginia last year, scored his only goal less than two minutes after halftime for the fifth tie of the game.

Playing under control throughout the second half, the Cavaliers made Drexel pay for two penalties in the third quarter. Billings found Gavin Gill alone on the left side and Gill easily beat goalie Bruce Bickford as Virginia regained a 7-6 lead.

Nearly 10 minutes later Billings found Carroll open in front as Virginia opened up its first two-goal lead at 8-6. Carroll’s goal was his third of the game, a career-high. All three of his goals came with a man advantage as Virginia scored its fourth consecutive man-up goal. For the game Virginia was 4-of-4 in extra-man situations, while Drexel was 2-of-6.

Lamade and Billings scored back-to-back goals in the opening minute-and-a-half of the final quarter as the lead extended to 10-6.

Greg Casey scored with 10:29 remaining to play but Drexel was unable to get any closer. Riley closed the scoring with his second goal with 2:25 left.

Freshman Adam Ghitelman started in goal for the Cavaliers and finished with nine saves. His nine saves are tied for the third-most by a UVa freshman in his first start. Only Tillman Johnson and Derek Kenney had more.

After allowing five goals in the opening 30 minutes, the Cavalier defense stiffened and gave up only two in the second half. Matt Kelly led the way with five ground balls, while Ken Clausen caused three turnovers.

Virginia plays its home opener next Saturday (Feb. 23) against Stony Brook at 1 pm.


 

Cavaliers Reach National Indoor Final With 4-2 Win Over Ole Miss
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/17/2008
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com

SEATTLE– The Virginia men’s tennis team advanced to the championship match of the 2008 ITA National Team Indoor Championships with a 4-2 win over No. 5 Mississippi in a semifinal match Sunday afternoon at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (10-0) took the doubles point and then rallied from losing five first sets to win three singles matches.

“Even though it is early in the season, our guys have been in this position a few times before,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “We know we can win matches like this because we have repeatedly done it already this year.”

The Cavaliers opened the match strong by taking a key doubles point. The Rebels took an early advantage as Bram ten Berge and Matthias Wellermann topped Dominic Inglot (London, England) and Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) 8-3 at the No. 2 doubles. Virginia drew even with a win at No. 3 doubles, as Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) downed Robbye Poole and Jakob Klaeson 8-5.

The doubles point came down to the match at No. 1 between a pair of highly ranked foes, top-ranked Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) and Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) of Virginia and fourth-ranked Jonas Berg and Erling Tveit of Ole Miss. The teams had met in the fall in the final of the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, won by the Devvarman and Huey 6-2, 7-5. Their match Sunday was tight throughout, remaining on serve until 6-6. The Cavalier team broke serve to go up 7-6 and served out to win 8-6 and clinch the opening point for Virginia.

“We came out strong and won the doubles point which was important,” said Boland. “Against a talented team like Ole Miss, that doubles point can be so critical.”

In singles, the Cavalier lead was extended to 2-0 by Singh, who topped ten Berge 7-5, 6-1 at the No. 4 position. The victory was the 10th consecutive singles win for the Cavalier freshman, who remained unbeaten in dual match singles play.

However, Singh’s win was the lone bright spot for the Cavaliers early in singles play as Ole Miss took five of the six first sets. After Virginia rallied with strong play in the second sets, the Rebels answered with a pair of three-set wins to tie the match at 2-2 as Poole downed Huey at No. 3 singles and Berg defeated Barrick at No. 5 singles.

Mississippi had a chance to serve out two matches in straight sets, which would have clinched the upset for the Rebels. At No. 1 singles, Tveit, already up a set, broke Devvarman to serve for the match at 5-3 in the second. Devvarman responded by breaking back, at love, and the set eventually went to a tiebreaker. In the breaker, Tveit took a 4-2 lead after a controversial overturn of a call, but Devvarmam regrouped to win five of the next six points to take the breaker 7-5 and force a third set. Ole Miss also had a chance to win at No. 6 singles, where Kalle Norberg served at 5-4 in the second set after winning the first. But Angelinos broke to even the set at 5-5 and followed by winning the next two games and take the second set 7-5.

Virginia retook the lead with a win at No. 2 singles in a battle of two top-five ranked players. Neither third-ranked Inglot nor fifth-ranked Wellermann could break the other’s serve in the first two sets, leading to a pair of tiebreakers. Wellermann won the first and Inglot won the second to force a third set. At 1-1 in the deciding set, Inglot picked up the only break of the match to take a 2-1 lead. He held serve in each of his games the rest of the match to secure the 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 win.

A day after clinching the Cavaliers’ 4-3 win over UCLA in the quarterfinals, Devvarman clinched the win over Ole Miss. After his dramatic rally to win the second set, the reigning NCAA Singles Champion made sure there was no drama in the final set. He broke Tveit in the second game to take a 2-0 lead and never looked back, winning 6-0 and sending the Cavaliers into the final.

“This team battles so well,” said Boland. “Every guy knows that he is never out of it, no matter the score. They kept battling and hanging in there and eventually the matches turned our way.”

Virginia advances to the second National Indoor Championship final in school history. In their debut in the event in 2005, the Cavaliers reached the final but fell to top-ranked Baylor 4-1.

The win also marked the third time in the past four years that Virginia has defeated Ole Miss at the National Team Indoors. In 2005, Virginia scored a 4-1 semifinal win over the Rebels and last season scored a 4-3 win over Mississippi in the quarterfinals.

The Cavaliers will play No. 3 Ohio State in Monday’s final. The Buckeyes downed No. 2 Georgia 4-1 in the other semifinal. Match time is noon (PT).

 

Cavaliers rally past Hokies
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
February 18, 2008

BLACKSBURG - Sharnee Zoll, with a tattoo underneath each wrist to prove it, respects proverbs.

One in particular rang true Sunday during the senior’s final trip to Virginia Tech’s Cassell Coliseum. Virginia’s floor leader witnessed how good things often come to those who wait - and on multiple fronts.

After limping along for 24 minutes, Virginia’s high-powered offense eventually clicked, thus lifting the Cavaliers to a 62-53 victory and the program’s first regular-season sweep of in-state rival Virginia Tech since 2005, Zoll’s freshman year.

Virginia, which trailed by 13 early in the second half, improved to 19-7

overall and 7-3 in the ACC with the rally. And the Cavaliers showcased yet another trait for coach Debbie Ryan en route to the victory over the Hokies (14-12, 1-10).

“We really showed a lot of maturity to be in that position and still pull out the win,” Ryan said. “Once we got down by 13, I think they realized we can’t get down by anymore.”

Credit Zoll with an impromptu assist.

With the Cavaliers down 25-18 and looking at their lowest first-half point total in two seasons, Ryan kept the same plan of attack and geared her words directly at Zoll.

“I challenged Sharnee today at halftime,” Ryan said. “I really felt like she was sort of in a groove that wasn’t her normal groove.

“I wanted her to pick up her

intensity so that the whole team would pick up their intensity, because I knew if I could get her to pick up the intensity everybody would.”

Still struggling and down 36-23 with 16:31 remaining, Zoll started pushing the tempo, trying to outmaneuver Virginia Tech’s zone defense.

It started to work -Zoll dished out three of her game-high 11 assists during a 13-0 run that wasted only 128 seconds and sent the game into a deadlock that once appeared impossible.

“We just had to get stops,” Zoll said. “Our biggest thing every single time that we play and we play against zones is to make sure that we get rebounds.

“They can’t set up their zone if we are getting layups in transition.”

After UVa forced the tie at 36-all, the teams exchanged the lead five times before UVa forward Lyndra Littles connected on a free throw with 6:11

remaining for a 47-46 advantage that was never relinquished.

Virginia was unable to create separation, however, until the game’s final 2:10.

Up 52-50, Virginia center Aisha Mohammed stole an errant pass from Virginia Tech guard Laura Haskins with 2:14 left as the Hokies attempted to run their half-court offense.

Mohammed, who scored only five points in 23 minutes, sprinted up court and awkwardly missed a layup, but Littles collected the rebound, was fouled and converted a pivotal 3-point play.

“That was a huge play,” Ryan said, “and Lyndra ran the floor well all day today.”

It was also one of the few positive plays for Mohammed, who had spent a near 10-minute, second-half stretch moping and wiping away tears on the bench after missed shots and turnovers left her stunned and prompted Ryan to remove her from the game.

“She got very frustrated with a lot of things,” Ryan said. “She was mostly frustrated with not being able to catch the ball inside and she was trying so hard and every time we turned around it was three seconds here and walk over there, and she tries very hard not to turn the ball over and not to get the turnovers.

“Sometimes she just isn’t used to not using that extra step … and sometimes [referees] look at her and she gets that long stride and they call it a walk. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. So, it is hard for her to understand why she is getting the calls sometimes.”

After Littles’ play, the Hokies failed to score again until their leading scorer, Brittany Cook, nailed a 3-pointer with just 15 seconds left in the game. That basket was Cook’s lone field goal in the second half.

But by that point, however, UVa had hit seven of its final eight shots from the free-throw line and the fans had spilled towards the exits.

Virginia Tech coach Beth Dunkenburger, who coached without suspended freshman and former Charlottesville High star Andrea Barbour for the second straight game, was unable to find a

consistent scoring option in the waning minutes to help free Cook from the Cavaliers’ pressure.

“When [Virginia] went to zone, they had two people keeping an eye on [Cook], no matter where she was,” Dunkenberger said. “That is where somebody else has to step up and be a threat to score so they can’t double-team her so much.”

Dunkenberger was pleased with how her team held Virginia to just 21 points in transition.

“In my estimation, that’s probably 80 to 90 percent of their offense,” she said. “Sharnee gets the ball and pushes … and whoever is closest runs. And when they get going in transition, they are tough to beat.

“At the halftime, we held them to 18 and I think they had 18 against [North] Carolina at the [first] media timeout.”

Wright, just two days after missing 14 field goals against UNC, paced Virginia with 21 points and added nine rebounds and three steals. Littles and Zoll added 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Utahya Drye led Virginia Tech with 14 points.

Virginia plays Clemson at home Thursday at 7 p.m.

Layups

Barbour was at Sunday’s game, but she watched the contest from the stands. The rookie wore a pair of blue jeans and a bulky red coat while watching eight rows behind the Hokies’ bench.

Dunkenberger addressed the situation surrounding the suspended star after the contest.

“She is doing what she needs to do to work her way back on this team,” the coach said. “At Virginia Tech, the student comes before athlete, and she is taking care of herself academically. She has done a great job in summer school and in first session and right now she is getting caught up.

“When she finishes making up work that I want her to make up … then she will work her way back into practice. And when she does that, we will eventually get her back on the court, but certainly the most important thing for every student-athlete is that academics come first and the basketball comes second. We try to keep our priorities in order and she understands that and is working hard.”

Barbour is averaging 15.9 points per game, which ranks 10th in the ACC.

... Zoll, who has 724 career assists, needs six more against Clemson to break the ACC’s all-time assist record held by legendary Virginia guard Dawn Staley.



 

Virginia surges twice, tops Tech
Second-half spurts wipe out Cavaliers' deficit against rivals
Monday, Feb 18, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By VIC DORR JR.
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

BLACKSBURG -- The University of Virginia women's basketball team transformed bitter into sweet in less time than it took to read this sentence.

Or so it seemed.

Two high-powered second-half spurts, 13-0 and 16-4, enabled the Cavaliers to erase a double-digit deficit and earn a 62-53 victory over state and Atlantic Coast Conference archrival Virginia Tech yesterday in Cassell Coliseum.

Virginia, stale and slow at the outset, appeared doomed when the Hokies expanded a seven-point halftime lead to 13 before the second half was four minutes old. The appearance was deceiving.

"This is such a resilient group," said Cavaliers coach Debbie Ryan, whose club swept the Hokies for the first time since 2005. "They're so good at overcoming adversity. I wouldn't care if we were down by 25." Then she hesitated. "Well, OK, maybe I would care if we were down by 25. But you get the idea."

The Cavaliers, playing their second game in 36 hours, performed for the first 24 minutes like they were emerging from a deep sleep. Their reactions were slow, their instincts fuzzy, their decisions flawed. They scored only 18 first-half points, a season low, and produced only eight first-half field goals against Tech's 2-3 zone defense. But then they woke up.

"We started to push" the tempo, said Sharnee Zoll, Virginia's senior point guard. "We started to run. I'd get the ball and look upcourt and [teammate Monica Wright] would already be crossing the far free-throw line."

Zoll (12 points, 11 assists) and junior forward Lyndra Littles (15 points, 11 rebounds) delivered double-doubles for Virginia. Zoll said she and her teammates made a conscious attempt to purge fatigue from their minds in the second half.

"You have to tell yourself that you're not tired -- even if you are," she said. "If you're going to say, 'Oh, man. I'm tired,' then you're going to be tired and play tired and act tired."

Virginia (7-3, 19-7) trailed 36-23 after Utahya Drye scored in transition for Tech at 16:37. The Cavaliers pulled even in 2˝ minutes. The game hung in the balance until Virginia launched its second surge near the eight-minute mark. Wright, who connected on only five of 19 shots in Friday's 90-82 loss to No. 3-ranked North Carolina, led the Cavaliers with 21 yesterday. She contributed one 3-pointer to the first spurt and two to the second.

Hokies coach Beth Dunkenberger said her zone defense, so effective for so long, developed fatigue-related fissures at the worst possible moment.

"We were a little slow in our rotation" when Wright buried one 3-pointer and Paulisha Kellum followed with two more treys during a four-possession span near the 15:00 mark. "I'll take responsibility for that."

On the one hand, she said, she was aware that substitution was appropriate. On the other hand, she said she trusted the group on the floor at the time.

Personnel problems bit the Hokies (1-10, 14-12) at both ends of the floor. Two Tech players, guards Andrea Barbour and Shani Grey, missed yesterday's game while serving ongoing suspensions. The absence of Barbour, a dynamic freshman, made it easier for the Cavaliers to focus on Hokies guard Brittany Cook, the ACC's leading scorer. Cook scored 14 points but sank only one shot -- a cosmetic 3-pointer with 14.8 seconds remaining -- after the break.

Drye led the Hokies with 16 points.

"Someone else has to step up and score so people can't double-team [Cook] as much," Dunkenberger said.

 

Runnin' Cavs sprint away from Hokies
Sharnee Zoll leads the fast-break attack for UVa, doling out 11 assists.
By Katrina Waugh
981-3127

BLACKSBURG -- Virginia likes to run. Everybody knows it.

Virginia Tech managed to stop it for a while Sunday, but once the Cavaliers broke free they ran up a 62-53 victory over the Hokies at Cassell Coliseum.

The Hokies, playing for the second game without second-leading scorer Kat Barbour, who has been suspended for missing class, and without reserve Shani Grey, suspended for violating a team rule, held Virginia to just eight field goals in the first half, but couldn't hold the Cavaliers down forever.

Monica Wright scored 21 points and pulled down nine rebounds for the Cavaliers (19-7, 7-3), who also beat Virginia Tech on Jan. 13 in Charlottesville.

Lyndra Littles scored 15 points and grabbed 11 boards for Virginia and Sharnee Zoll had 12 points and 11 assists. Zoll needs just five assists to tie Dawn Staley's ACC and Virginia career assist record of 729.

Utahya Drye led Tech with 16 points and had five rebounds.

Brittany Cook, who came into the game as the ACC's leading scorer, had 14 points and five boards, but scored just three points in the second half when she drew extra defensive attention from the Cavaliers.

Cook credited the Cavaliers' defense, "but also blame me," she said. "I don't think I did a good enough job of being aggressive in the second half."

The Cavaliers fell behind by 13 points in the second half before gaining traction in the best way they know how.

"We had to get stops," Virginia's senior point guard Zoll said. "Against a zone, if you play defense and get rebounds and start running, they can't get back to set up that zone."

Virginia had managed just 18 points in the first half, their lowest output of the year, as the Hokies' zone defense kept them from getting uncontested shots. The Cavaliers hit just 28.6 percent from the floor and scored just one point in the final 8:54 of the first half.

Virginia coach Debbie Ryan challenged Zoll at halftime to "really pick up the intensity."

Wright and Littles, who combined to hit five of 15 first-half shots, psyched each other up at the break.

"We kept saying 'It's gonna fall, it's gonna fall. Get closer to the basket and then move out,' '' Wright said.

But Tech was up 25-18 at the break, and opened the second half with an 11-5 run.

After Ryan called a timeout to "get into them a little bit," Wright and Paulisha Kellum pulled the Cavaliers back into the game.

In two minutes, Wright hit a layup and a 3-pointer and grabbed a defensive rebound. Kellum hit a layup and two 3-pointers and pulled down two defensive boards. The Cavaliers tied the score at 36.

Wright had two more 3-pointers, sinking one each time the Hokies pulled ahead again.

The Cavaliers started switching their defense back and forth between zone and man-to-man coverage, disrupting the Hokies' flow. Still Virginia was up by only two points with 2:15 to play.

Littles drove inside for a three-point play. Laura Haskins missed a shot for the Hokies and then, the Cavaliers hit seven of eight free throws as time ran down.

"This team has a great resilience to it," Ryan said. "It's a breath of fresh air to finally get the lead."

Grey sat on the Hokies' bench on Sunday, but wore street clothes.

Barbour, who did not practice last week, sat in the stands. Dunkenberger said that Barbour "is working on the things she needs to work on academically to get back into practice."

Dunkenberger said Barbour is close to catching up and said that she would meet with Barbour on Tuesday -- the team is taking today off -- to gauge the freshman's progress toward rejoining the team.