'Hoos Hoping to Catch Second Wind
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/19/2010
By Jeff White

CLEMSON, S.C. -- On Thursday, they rested.

With a game at Clemson looming, UVa's basketball players had plenty to work on. But the Cavaliers had played Wednesday night -- their third game in five days -- and desperately needed a break.

"We were all tired mentally, physically," sophomore swingman Sylven Landesberg said. "Just a lot of games."

Not just games, but losses, each disheartening.

Since beating N.C. State 59-47 at John Paul Jones Arena on Feb. 3, the Cavaliers have dropped four straight. UVa lost in overtime to visiting Wake Forest on Feb. 6, by six points at Virginia Tech on Feb. 13, by 19 at Maryland on Feb. 15 and by 19 to Florida State at JPJ on Wednesday night.

"We had the schedule set up favorably, I think, in the early part of the ACC," first-year coach Tony Bennett said after the FSU game.

"And now, obviously, with the postponement of the Maryland game and kind of how it's gone, it's been more challenging. Being in there at Tech and against Wake at home and not coming away with those wins, I don't know what that does to psyche of young men. I hope it doesn't [crush them]."

The team reconvened Friday afternoon at JPJ, where Bennett put his players through an uptempo practice. They got more work in Saturday morning at Littlejohn Coliseum in a shootaround that was equal part practice.

At 4 p.m. Saturday, UVa (5-6, 14-10) meets Clemson (6-5, 18-7) at Littlejohn. If nothing else, the 'Hoos should enter more rested than they were for recent games.

"Ideally, you wouldn't give them a day off, because it only gave us one day to prepare [for Clemson]," Bennett said Friday afternoon. "But as a staff we talked about it, and we felt physically, mentally, we had to give them a day off. There just wasn't a choice. With the postponement, it got sort of jammed in there."

For various reasons, UVa has not responded well to its revised schedule.

The Cavaliers were to have met Maryland in College Park on Feb. 10. A snowstorm forced the postponement of that ACC game, however, and it was rescheduled for Feb. 15 -- two days after the Wahoos' game in Blacksburg and two days before their date with FSU.

This will be the only regular-season game between UVa and Clemson. A season ago, they met twice, with each winning at home.

The Cavaliers' victory in 2008-09 was more unexpected. They'd lost eight in a row heading into their clash with No. 12 Clemson at JPJ, but pulled off an 85-81 shocker in overtime.

Landesberg led the 'Hoos with 23 points, and Mike Scott and Sammy Zeglinski added 18 and 15, respectively.

The key to beating the Tigers?

"Just breaking that press," Landesberg said Friday. "If you get past that press, a lot of things come easier."

Beating Clemson's press is "definitely easier to do at home," Landesberg said. "Littlejohn is so loud, it's going to be tough to hear."

The Cavaliers have faced full-court pressure for stretches this season, but this will be the first time they'll try to break it from the opening tipoff. Look for Landesberg, Zeglinski and freshman point guard Jontel Evans to handle much of the ballhandling responsibilities Saturday, at least early in the game.

"This is where the preparation time comes in," Bennett said. "You got a day to prepare for it. You have to try to attack the press and then make good decisions on the back of it. But they'll come at you."

When the 'Hoos successfully break the press, Bennett wants them to be aggressive in the front. If UVa has a 3-on-2 or 2-on-1, it will try to capitalize on its advantage.

"Absolutely," Bennett said. "You should do that against any team that's pressing."

Virginia's shootaround Saturday marked Bennett's first visit to Littlejohn in nearly 20 years. He played there as a sophomore guard at Wisconsin-Green Bay. Clemson, led by Dale Davis, beat Green Bay 75-68 on Dec. 8, 1990.

UVa's associate head coach, Ritchie McKay, is more familiar with Tigers coach Oliver Purnell's trademark press and the current atmosphere at Littlejohn. McKay was head coach last season at Liberty, which led 71-67 late before losing 80-75 at Clemson.

McKay directed much of Friday's practice at JPJ, instructing UVa players on how best to handle the Tigers' defense.

"Clemson varies their presses," McKay said Saturday. "For what we want to do and our personnel, we were just trying to point out a couple of things that were constant in press attacks but accounted for [Clemson's] variations."

Virginia has five regular-season games left, three of which are on the road. The second half of the Cavaliers' ACC schedule is tougher than was the first, and Bennett acknowledged as much Wednesday night in Charlottesville.

Still, the schedule is out of UVa's control, and "I want our guys to not take step backwards," Bennett said. "If we've gained some ground, then fight to hold that ground, not go backwards. And that's the challenge. And that's where we're at."

 

Heavy week of travel provides academic challenges for Cavs

At the beginning of each semester, a comprehensive academic support plan is put in place for the Virginia men’s basketball players. The schedule comes out months ahead of time, so the players know the schedule and days spent traveling.

Even the sturdiest plans are complicated, though, when a stretch that the Cavaliers are currently dealing with arises. After departing for Maryland a night early on Feb. 8 for a Feb. 10 game against the Terrapins to beat an expected winter storm, Virginia needed to return to Charlottesville the following afternoon when the game was postponed.

It was rescheduled this past Monday, two nights after Virginia played at Virginia Tech and two nights before a home game against Florida State. Those will be followed by road games at Clemson on Saturday and Miami on Tuesday.

Most ACC trips are within reasonable driving distance for Virginia, so it’s easy to return to Charlottesville shortly after the conclusion of the game. Two of the exceptions are Clemson and Miami, and the distance combined with the short span between games makes it impractical to return to Charlottesville between Saturday and Tuesday.

Thus, Virginia’s players will have spent nine days (and seven nights) on the road within a 12-day span. In addition to the natural fatigue associated with such a trip, it also puts a burden on the players’ academic schedules.

“I would say it’s atypical,” said Jim Booz, Virginia’s associate director of athletics for academic affairs, who travels with the men’s basketball team to help oversee the academics.

Had the Maryland game been played as scheduled, Virginia would have returned to Charlottesville after the Hokies game last Saturday, played at John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday before leaving for Clemson on Friday afternoon. But the postponed game forced two more nights on the road, another day of missed classes and more fatigue.

“Incredible,” Booz said. “A different week. A much more traditional week.”

During road trips, Booz schedules and supervises study halls at the hotel. Players bring their laptops and textbooks, and Booz knows the work the players have. Study halls last about 90 minutes, and on Sunday, Virginia will have two study halls.

Booz also tries to make it more interactive to break up the monotony of a study hall in a hotel conference room. On the Sunday night before the Maryland game, a few players gave a presentation to the team on their sociology homework.

“If you’re sitting in the hotel for 24 hours, we try to spice it up and put some pressure on it,” Booz said.

He said Virginia’s current coaching staff is particularly conscious of academics, tries not to leave for road trips until the afternoon to allow students to attend class and ensures that there’s flexibility for study halls. Players meet with professors at the beginning of the semester and discuss the days when the team is scheduled to be out of town, and it’s usually structured until postseason tournaments.

“We know when and where we’re traveling, so we prepare as best we can ahead of time,” Booz said. “We take each individual situation differently and put together a comprehensive program in place.”

Booz said it’s impossible to make up the missed class time, but the team tries to compensate as best it can. When it becomes difficult are weeks like this, when the team has long road trips and is dealing with enough issues as it is.

“It is the life of a college basketball player,” Booz said. “They may be in study hall icing down. It’s not a luxurious lifestyle, necessarily.”

By Zach Berman

Calvin Baker to call a players' meeting

Maybe it already occurred, or maybe it's about to occur. Either way, Virginia guard Calvin Baker said after Wednesday's loss to Florida State that he planned to call a players' meeting to discuss the team's current woes.

"Someone's going to have to take the initiative to speak on it. That's where I come in at," Baker said. "We've had meetings throughout the year, but I don't think we've had a meeting like the one we're going to have."

He did not know whether the meeting would take place before the team leaves for Clemson on Friday afternoon, or after the team leaves. But Baker insisted the team needed to gather together.

"Just to get everything out on the table, see what everyone's thinking and what's going on in everyone's head," Baker said. "Just everyone clear their head basically, say how they're feeling and get everything out and see what we can do to make the team better."

Baker was then asked what's going through his head. Perhaps the team's most vocal player, Baker was not shy when discussing internal issues.

"It's near the end of the season, people's bodies are starting to get tired," Baker said. "I know there's a lot frustration if you're not playing as much as you want to, if you're not making your shots like you were at the beginning of the year. I just know it gets frustrating."

Players' meetings are not uncommon, but sometimes they're called and do not work, while other teams they're identified as turning points in the season. Baker thinks it will work like the latter -- although it would help if Virginia discovers some offense in the meeting, too.

"I think it helps so much," Baker said. "Basketball needs to be played with a free spirit, when you're feeling good about yourself. That's when you play your best. We don't know what's going on with people's personal lives or anything like that, so meetings can help for that, too. You can speak up about that at the meetings. Meetings can help clear your head, and that's what we're going to do."

By Zach Berman

UVA calls players-only meeting
By Michael Phillips
Published: February 20, 2010
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Struggling through the first extended losing streak of the season, Virginia's seniors called the team together for a players-only meeting this week.

In the world of college basketball, such meetings often take place during rough times, and senior guard Calvin Baker said that this one would be about building team unity in the face of a four-game losing streak.

"We'll just get everything out on the table, see what everybody's thinking and what's going through everybody's head," he said. "We can get everything out there and see what we can do to make everything better."

Baker made those comments on Wednesday, saying the meeting would be held at the team hotel last night when they arrived for today's game at Clemson.

He said that part of being a senior is knowing when to bring the team together for discussions and to impart experience from past seasons.

"We're older now, and we've been through it," he said. "But somebody has to take the initiative and speak up on that."

The team's three seniors - Baker, Solomon Tat and Jerome Meyinsse - were named tri-captains midway through the season by coach Tony Bennett.

"We have to stay together," Meyinsse said. "In rough times, it's easy for a team to fall apart, but we have to make sure everyone sticks together to fix the problems we have."

No stats are kept nationally on the effectiveness of players-only meetings, but the purpose is less about strategy than it is to build bonds within the team and keep the chemistry strong.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle Virginia has faced is the schedule itself, which was front-loaded with the ACC's lower-tier teams. A snowed-out game at Maryland further complicated things, as the Cavs suddenly faced a stretch of four games in eight days, all of them against teams with NCAA tournament ambitions.

"The schedule set up favorably, I think, early in the ACC," Bennett said. "Now, with the postponement and how it's gone, I think it's a little more challenging."

Fatigue has set in, manifesting itself in missed shots and poor transition defense, a regression from the success Bennett's crew was having earlier in the season.

Baker said that staying alert and energized would be one of his main messages at the meeting.

"It's getting towards the end of the season, and people's bodies are getting tired," he said. "There's a lot of frustration, maybe not playing as much as you want or not making shots like you were at the beginning of the year, and I know that can get frustrating, so I'm just trying to clear their heads."

Baker himself is familiar with that frustration - he missed a game earlier this season for disciplinary reasons after complaining about his playing time. After a talk with Bennett, he said they're back on good terms, and is looking to forge a new role for himself as the team leader.

Today at Clemson, regardless of outcome he'll look to spark the team to a more energetic performance than has been seen in the past week.

Jennings steps up dedication for Clemson
Tigers freshman discovers college is much tougher test than high school
By TRAVIS SAWCHIK - The Charleston Post and Courier

CLEMSON - Prior to his freshman season, Milton Jennings says he faced adversity on the basketball court once - as a 12-year-old in a church basketball league.

"I didn't play one game, and that killed me deep inside to sit on the bench," Jennings said.

Jennings had always out-leaped and out-classed the opposition, rarely running into adversity - or physical equals - until this season.

The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 11 minutes and 3.2 points per game. By the early stages of ACC play, Jennings' confidence had eroded.

When he received the ball on the wing, where he had been a threat as a 3-point shooter at Pinewood Prep, he quickly passed the ball. When he made an error, his head dipped then whirled toward the bench to see if he'd be summoned back.

He heard the boos.

As his struggles continued into ACC play, the weight of expectations entering as the Tigers' first McDonalds' All-American since 1991 grew heavier.

"I guess you say if you question (your) confidence than you might as well have lost it," Jennings said. "You should never question your game. Maybe I had lost sight of that.

"[Passing up open 3s] that was just me being indecisive - me getting out there trying to make that team play, make that extra pass when I already have a great shot."

As the Tigers try to extend their two-game winning streak today against Virginia, Jennings says he has turned the corner.

At Virginia Tech on Feb. 6, he grabbed eight rebounds, showing increased physical toughness. Against Miami on Saturday, Jennings, who arrived advertised as a forward who could stretch the floor with his outside shooting prowess, made his first 3 since Nov. 20.

He had missed 18 consecutive attempts and appeared to have given up on his shot.

Clemson assistant coach Ron Bradley that single shot was "huge."

"His confidence level has been low," Bradley said. "Just making that 3, his face lit up."

The Clemson staff has not pressed the panic button.

"Outside of the absolutely great players, the John Walls or the Carmelo Anthonys, typically it takes a year and a half before it really clicks for any player," Bradley said.

The growth process includes hitting the weight room to add bulk to his wire-thin frame. For the first time he's begun watching film.

More than anything, Jennings has learned unlike high school and his third college game against UNC Greensboro when he scored a season-best 14 points - it's not going to be easy.
 

Spurlock mum on future at UVa
By Whitey Reid
Published: February 19, 2010
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Virginia freshman Tristan Spurlock can’t hide from the rumors.
He can thank the social networking web site, Facebook, in part, for that.
Spurlock, a highly touted recruit who has barely played this season, says he has been deluged with questions from “friends” — he has 2,091 — who all want to know about his future.
Many suspect that Spurlock will transfer to another school after the season.
Following Virginia’s loss to Florida State on Wednesday night, Spurlock said that the rumor isn’t necessarily accurate. He also said it isn’t necessarily inaccurate.
“I take everything year by year,” Spurlock said.
But Spurlock said he can understand why the rumors have been flying.
“Everybody is entitled to their own opinion,” he said. “From the situation I’m in, that’s the first thing I would speculate, too.
“But nobody’s my mom or my dad out there. They don’t know what I’m doing on a day-to-day basis or what I’m thinking.”
When Virginia (14-10, 5-6) tries to break a four-game slide this afternoon at Clemson (18-7, 6-5), it will be interesting to see whether Spurlock gets any meaningful playing time.
Spurlock has received mop-up minutes in each of the last two losses. After the 69-50 loss to FSU, Virginia coach Tony Bennett said that he has been trying to get his freshman more reps in practice.
“He made a nice play. He got an ‘And 1.’ He got us to 50 [points], I saw that,” said Bennett, when asked about Spurlock’s five-point outing. “Obviously, being a first-year guy, he’s got to continue to work and when those opportunities present themselves, get in there and be ready…
“There’s not a lot of separation [on the roster], so I have to keep taking a look at everything, but it was good to see him get a couple of buckets.”
If nothing else, Spurlock has looked very confident in his limited time on the court.
The rap on Spurlock has been that he doesn’t play the kind of defense that Bennett is demanding. However, with the way Virginia has been struggling in that department lately, could Spurlock be any worse than the other guys Bennett is putting out there? And Spurlock, who can put the ball in the basket, might be able to give a boost to the team’s struggling offense.
Spurlock said sitting on the bench has been tough.
“I love to score. I’ve been a scorer ever since I could dribble. That’s my main thing,” Spurlock said. “I always sit and [say] like, ‘Oh man, if I was so and so, I could slash here or shoot that.’ But that’s when you’re sitting on the bench. You know, everyone loves the backup quarterback.”
As Virginia’s season begins to wind down, it will be interesting to keep an eye on the Spurlock situation. How much playing time he receives will likely have an impact on his plans for next season.
While some first-year players can become complacent about their role on a team, there is no doubt that Spurlock’s desire to be more than a bench warmer is as strong as ever.
“I want to be able to produce right now,” said Spurlock, matter of factly. “You wait and you keep waiting, and you’ll be waiting forever.
“So I just want to get in right now and make a contribution and play right away, and take everything year by year. I just want to make sure I get in there and see how far along I am to next year.”
Dunks
Virginia leads the all-time series, 66-49. The schools have split the last six meetings. UVa’s last road win was a come-from-behind victory in 2007. ... Clemson’s Trevor Booker needs just four rebounds to become the third player in school history to collect 1,000 rebounds. The others are Tree Rollins and Dale Davis, who played a combined 34 years in the NBA. ... The Tigers are coming off wins against Florida State and Miami.
 

No. 2 Baseball Starts Strong With 6-2 Win at No. 11 East Carolina
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/19/2010

GREENVILLE, N.C. - The No. 2 Virginia baseball team opened the 2010 season strong with a 6-2 victory over No. 11 East Carolina Friday afternoon in front of 5,012 fans at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C. After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning, the Cavaliers rallied by scoring six unanswered runs over the final six innings.

Danny Hultzen (So., Bethesda, Md.) had a big day at the plate and on the mound for Virginia. Hultzen earned the win and went six strong innings as UVa's starting pitcher, allowing two earned runs, four hits and three walks while striking out four. After a shaky opening inning where he allowed both runs as well as two walks, Hultzen settled down to surrender just two hits and a walk over the final five innings. At the plate, Hultzen added two hits, including a double, and scored twice.

Steven Proscia (So., Suffern, N.Y.) stoked the Cavaliers' offense, going 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and four RBI. Jarrett Parker (Jr., Stafford, Va.) and Dan Grovatt (Jr., Tabernacle, N.J.) each had a pair of hits.

Tyler Wilson (Jr., Midlothian, Va.) pitched the final three innings for Virginia, blanking the Pirates to earn the save. Seth Maness (0-1) started for East Carolina and gave up four earned runs, six hits and a walk over 5.2 innings. He also struck out four. Dustin Harrington and Kyle Roller each had two hits for ECU.

East Carolina struck for a pair of runs in the first inning. With one out, Harrington singled and he moved to third on a double by Roller. Hultzen then walked the next two batters to force in a run. He settled down to get Jared Avchen to ground out, which forced in a run, and induce Cameron Freeman to foul out to first baseman John Hicks.

After Maness allowed just one hit in his first trip through the batting order, the Cavaliers responded with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Hultzen led off with a single and moved to third on a single to right by Grovatt. Proscia plated the Cavaliers' first run with a sacrifice fly to right field. Parker then cranked a double to left-center to score Grovatt and knot the score.

In the sixth, Virginia forged ahead with two runs. Hultzen led off with a double and moved to third on a Grovatt flyout. Proscia then launched a 2-0 offering from Maness high over the left-field wall for a two-run home run.

The Cavaliers tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning against reliever Zach Woods. John Barr (Jr., Ivyland, Pa.) led off with a single and moved to second on a groundout. With two out, Grovatt ripped a single to left to plate Barr, who slid in at home to just beat the throw. Grovatt moved to second on the throw to the plate, which proved key when Proscia followed and singled through the left side to score the run easily and push the UVa lead to 6-2.

Wilson came on in the seventh inning and shut the Pirates out the rest of the way. In the ninth, ECU put two runners on with one out, but Wilson forced Roller to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end things.

The teams return for game two of the series at 2 p.m. Saturday.
 

Cavaliers rally past Pirates in opener
By Jay Jenkins
Published: February 19, 2010
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GREENVILLE, N.C. — For about 20 minutes, Danny Hultzen was a nervous wreck.
Opening Day had that effect on Virginia’s ace pitcher.
Luckily, Hultzen managed to flip a switch in time to help No. 2 Virginia rally past No. 11 East Carolina 6-2 in front of a crowd of 5,012 at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
“There were obviously some jitters in the first inning,” he said. “It is just natural and I didn’t have my best stuff. You aren’t going to have your best stuff every time out.”
What Hultzen had was more than enough after a rocky first inning put the Cavaliers in a hole.
The Pirates, who went 46-20 last year, took advantage of a wild streak from the southpaw, scoring the season’s first two runs in the opening frame as Hultzen walked back-to-back batters on just eight pitches. The second free pass came with the bases loaded, but Hultzen worked out of the jam by getting Jared Avchen to hit an RBI grounder to first and Cameron Freeman to pop up in foul territory to first baseman John Hicks.
“I was just trying to get through that inning,” he said. “I wasn’t missing by much, but they were balls and a walk is still a walk.”
Hultzen, who threw 74 pitches according to Virginia’s pitch count, helped himself offensively, hitting a lead-off single in the fourth and later scoring on a sacrifice fly from Steven Proscia.
Later in the fourth, Virginia tied the game as Jarrett Parker’s double into the gap in left-center field drove in Dan Grovatt.
“That was nice to see our guys respond in that fashion,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “We settled down and looked much better the second time the lineup.”
The Cavaliers chased ECU starter Seth Maness (0-1) from the game in the sixth as Proscia belted a two-run home run over the wall in left-center.
“They had been attacking me with off-speed pitches so I just tried to stay back and drive the ball,” said Proscia, who drove in four runs and had two of Virginia’s 10 hits. “The wind was blowing in, but I wasn’t worried about it. I just tried to put a good swing on the ball.”
Virginia added two insurance runs in the seventh inning with three singles.
With the four-run lead, O’Connor elected to go to the bullpen for the final three frames.
Junior right-hander Tyler Wilson allowed runners reached in all three innings, but stranded five Pirates to earn his first save.
The Cavalier pitchers combined to strike out eight batters and scattered six hits. For the game, East Carolina stranded 10 runners on base.
“Both Danny and Tyler threw the ball very well today,” O’Connor said. “East Carolina has some very aggressive hitters and a tremendous lineup so it was nice to see our pitchers attack them with runners on base.”
Having been forced to get creative to hold scrimmages with snow covering most of Davenport Field since practice started, Virginia’s players were just pleased to play a game outdoors and take the series opener.
“It’s always great for your confidence when you beat a good team right out of the gate,” said Hultzen (1-0), who walked three batters. “Considering how the weather changed the way we practiced, it was even better to get that first win.”
Virginia will start junior RHP Robert Morey today as ECU will counter with LHP Kevin Brandt. The contest starts at 2 p.m.
 

Future in Blacksburg cloudy for Tech signee
O-lineman ends up at Virginia in the end
By Doug Doughty
Doug Doughty

Followers of Virginia Tech’s football recruiting may have noticed that second-semester enrollees included one of the two 2009 signees who spent the fall at Hargrave Military Academy but not the other.

When Hargrave offensive lineman and 2009 Tech signee DeAntre Rhodes did not enroll in January, it was natural to assume that there was some academic work he needed to complete and that he would enroll in the summer.

After all, Rhodes was listed among Tech’s 2010 signees in a news release distributed Feb. 3, the national letter-of-intent day.

The Hokies had high hopes for Rhodes, rated the No. 8 prospect in Virginia for the class of 2009, but it looks increasingly unlikely that he will play for the Hokies.

Rhodes reportedly was at Louisville this week after receiving a release from his letter-of-intent by the Hokies.

Tech made the decision after learning that Rhodes was not enrolled at Hargrave for the second semester.

There seems to be some question as to whether Rhodes has met NCAA guidelines for freshman eligibility and whether Louisville can accept partial-qualifiers.

However, all literature indicates that the Big East no longer accepts partial-qualifiers and the Cardinals belong to the Big East.

Presumably, Tech would have liked for Rhodes to put in some additional classroom time, but newly named Hargrave coach Troy Davis said that Rhodes lacks only the qualifying score in the SAT.

“I guess you could say he’s in ‘limbo,’ “ Davis said. “All he can do is keep taking the test till he makes it. He’s not there yet, but he’s close.”

Davis said that he has noticed some schools make a habit of checking the list of February signees against lists of commitments late in the recruiting period. When a committed player does not show up as signed, some schools view that as open season.

LOUISVILLE ALSO HAS taken a recent men’s basketball commitment from 6-foot-5 Justin Coleman, who spent time at two Virginia high schools before surfacing this season at Huntington (W.Va.) Prep.

Coleman’s skills first came to light at Louisa County, a Group AA program approximately 35 miles east of Charlottesville. He subsequently transferred to Henrico High School in Richmond but was not expected to be a qualifier out of high school, hence an absence of recruiting interest from ACC schools.

Coleman told the Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., that he also had offers from South Florida, Kentucky, Providence and Arkansas. According to the story, Coleman also told the paper that he is “really close” to qualifying.

WHEN VIRGINIA’S FOOTBALL staff held a big-man camp during the summer, the word from CavsCorner.com and other recruiting sites was that 6-6, 260-pound Nick Koutris from Oakton High School had stood out from the pack.

Oakton coach Joe Thompson spoke favorably of Koutris and another Oakton offensive lineman, Sam Strauss, but that was the last I’d heard of either of them until I called Thompson on Friday.

Thompson revealed that Koutris, rated the No. 73 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times, recently decided to accept an invitation to play for UVa as a preferred walk-on.

“He had some offers from some I-AA schools, some academic I-AA schools,” Thompson said. “UVa came in kind of late in the game. At 6-6, I think he has a chance. I think he can put on a lot of weight.

“He’s got good feet. He’s one of those guys, he’ll stick his nose in there. He was a two-year starter for us. He had a great game against Oscar Smith in the ’08 playoffs; he’s got some good tape.”

THOMPSON NOTED THAT Strauss is looking at a similar walk-on arrangement with either Maryland or JMU and also passed along some thoughts on former Oakton running back Keith Payne, attempting to make a comeback at UVa as a fifth-year senior.

Payne left the Cavaliers’ team this past fall after being told by then-head coach Al Groh that he had slipped down the depth chart.

“I talked to him on the day of the Super Bowl and he seems committed to having a great year,” Thompson said. “I think Keith really likes coach [Mike] London. I don’t know what his relationship was with coach Groh.”

Groh and Payne probably won’t exchange Christmas cards “but I don’t get a sense that they were at each other’s throat,” Thompson said. “I think there’s been a lot of drama the past couple of years over Keith and playing time and whatnot.

“I don’t know whether Keith brought that on himself or whether it was something that happened in the media, but I don’t think that relationship was as contentious as might be perceived. I do think that he and coach London are off on the right foot.”

Men’s lacrosse set to play opener
By Whitey Reid
Published: February 19, 2010
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With snow still on the ground throughout Charlottesville, it’s kind of hard to believe that lacrosse season is already beginning.
But that will be the case when Virginia opens up on the road at Drexel this afternoon.
“It’s been a little bit of a surreal situation with all the snow on the practice field,” admitted Virginia coach Dom Starsia. “I walk out there every morning and it seems like a scene from the movie, ‘Mystery Alaska’ with a 10-foot high snow pile.”
Virginia is ranked No. 2 in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse poll and No. 3 in the USILA preseason coaches poll.
This is the ninth year in a row that UVa has opened up against Drexel. Virginia has an 8-1 all-time series record. Playing in frigid conditions on the turf field three years ago, the Dragons shocked Virginia, but the Cavaliers have had their way in the last two meetings.
“They’re a somewhat similar team [to past Drexel squads],” said Starsia, who will be seeking his 200th victory at UVa. “They have two good attackmen and have added a young Canadian kid to the starting attack…
‘But they have a new coaching staff, so the previous film was not very helpful. So you sort of go into this first one a little bit blind.”
Last season, Virginia made it to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four before getting shocked by Cornell in the semifinals. Starsia returns six starters from that squad.
“We’re a little bit more of a work in progress than maybe we were in some other years,” he said.
Virginia opens its home schedule next Saturday when it hosts Stony Brook at Klockner Stadium.
 

Cavaliers Win Four Events on Day Three of ACC Championships
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/19/2010

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Lauren Smart (100 fly), Lauren Perdue (200 free) and Mei Christensen (100 back) each claimed individual titles to lead the Virginia women's swimming team Friday at the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships. Virginia continues to hold the lead with 601 points, followed by North Carolina (443) and Florida State (363). The meet, which concludes Saturday, is being held at Koury Natatorium in Chapel Hill, N.C.

"It was a great night of swimming, not only for UVa but for the conference," Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. "We are in a very intense battle; this is probably one of the best meets UNC has swum in the last three years. Their athletes are competing with a lot of energy and I am glad we are responding. We are competing with a lot of emotion and enthusiasm."

Christensen, a senior from Reston, Va., won her second consecutive title in the 100 back, breaking her own UNC pool record with a winning NCAA 'A time of 52.09. Smart also earned a spot on the podium after tallying a third-place finish with a time of 52.84, another NCAA 'A' mark.

"I was nervous going into it, but then you realize, you've been doing this for so long, you just have to trust your instincts," Christensen said. "I love the 100 backstroke so I just wanted to enjoy it. It was a good swim."

Perdue, a freshman from Greenville, N.C., earned her second individual crown of the championships with an NCAA 'A' time of 1:43.98 in the 200 free. She broke the conference, meet and pool record during the morning prelim session with a mark of 1:43.86.

Smart, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., picked up her first career individual title with a win in the 100 fly. She set the pool record with a time of 52.76, good enough for an NCAA 'B' mark.

"It was very exciting," Smart said. "I was nervous because I really wanted to win, and that just kind of makes you tense. I did what I was supposed to do; the last little bit was the most painful thing ever - but it was worth it."

Virginia earned spots on the podium in the other two individual events of the evening - the 400 IM and 100 breast. Junior Claire Crippen was second in the 400 IM with a time of 4:09.59. Freshman Christine Olson (1:01.40, 'B') and senior Katherine McDonnell (1:01.41, 'B') placed second and third, respectively, in the 100 breast.

The Cavaliers won their fourth relay in as many tries, setting a meet and pool record in the 400 medley relay, the final event of the evening. Christensen, McDonnell, Smart and Perdue teamed up to take first-place honors with an NCAA 'B' time of 3:32.97.

"As I have preached my entire coaching career, if you win relays, that tells you a lot about the character and closeness of your team," Bernardino said. "Relays make swimming a team sport rather than an individual sport and that is what we are all about."

Kelly Flynn earned a fourth-place finish in the 200 free (1:47.02) while Jenna Harris and Jen Narum tied for seventh place, recording times of 1:48.41. Kristen Moores won the consolation final to finish ninth overall with a mark of 1:47.70; all those times were NCAA 'B' standards.

Olson also placed fourth in the 400 IM (4:13.40) while Katya Bachrouche was fifth (4:13.58) and Amanda Faulkner sixth (4:14.13). All three times were NCAA 'B' marks. Additionally, junior Ellie Freeman (1:02.33, 'B') finished sixth in the 100 breast while classmate Liz Shaw took eighth in the 100 fly in the event with a 'B' time of 54.23.

In the consolation finals of the 100 back, Meredith Cavalier and Erika Stewart were the top finishers in the heat, finishing ninth and 10th overall, respectively. Cavalier clocked a time of 53.46 while Stewart finished in 53.96; both were NCAA 'B' cuts. Anne Summer Myers also had an 11th-place showing in the 400 IM with an NCAA 'B' time of 4:17.87.

The fourth and final day of the women's swimming and diving championships wraps up Saturday with the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and 400 free relay. Men's and women's platform diving will also be held 1 p.m. at nearby Duke University. Prelims are slated for 11 a.m. with finals at 7 p.m. on ACC Select.

"We have to take care of business tomorrow morning in terms of our qualifying efforts," Bernardino said. "Then we have to come back tomorrow night and swim like we did tonight."

2010 Women's ACC Championships
Through Event 14

1. Virginia 601
2. North Carolina 443
3. Maryland 253
4. Virginia Tech 266.5
5. Maryland 253
6. Duke 193
7. NC State 181
8. Clemson 133.5
9. Georgia Tech 115.5
10. Miami 72.5
11. Boston College 36

PREPS | BOYS BASKETBALL: Tigers race to lead, then cruise
Johnson scores 23 as Elsinore capitalizes on 11 first-quarter turnovers
LANDON NEGRI - lnegri@californian.com | Posted: February 19, 2010 10:47 pm | No Comments Posted | Print

..WILDOMAR ---- Elsinore's boys basketball team played like Friday night was a celebration of its season. A club can do that when it leads by more than 20 points before the seats seem to be warm.

Blitzing Anaheim Magnolia ferociously with its half-court trap, the host Tigers forced 11 first-quarter turnovers and built a 33-point halftime lead en route to a 92-67 rout of Magnolia in a CIF Southern Section Division III-AA second-round playoff game.

Virginia-bound center James Johnson scored 23 points as four Elsinore players reached double digits, and the Tigers shot 56 percent from the field overall. They led 30-11 after one quarter, 57-24 at halftime and 81-46 after three quarters in a game that was never in doubt.

After struggling past Riverside Arlington, 62-59, in Wednesday's playoff opener, the Tigers (24-4) got back on track and coach Pete Rettinger got everyone on his roster into the game.

"Our kids were really excited to play tonight," Rettinger said. "They were focused and they were driven."

Rettinger said his seniors were particularly motivated to return home after playing on the road in the first round. Elsinore will play at Santa Margarita in Tuesday's quarterfinals.

Also helping was Elsinore's height advantage. Six Tigers players are at least as tall as Magnolia's tallest player, 6-foot-3 senior Nathan Williams.

"Our starters worked hard on defense and got us our big lead and let the other guys get into the game," said Johnson, who stands 6-9.

The Tigers' trap was successful enough to limit Magnolia to just nine field-goal attempts in the first frame. They converted five possessions with three-point results, whether by 3-pointers from E.J. Twyman and Trevor Nordby, or by three-point plays from Nordby, Johnson and Twyman.

"We kept working hard," Rettinger said. "The kids executed really well."

Elsinore, in fact, hit five 3-pointers in the first half. While in the paint, Johnson dominated by throwing down five slam dunks. Asked if he was trying to send a message, the senior was cautious with his answer.

"I did, but it's all about my point guard," Johnson said of Twyman, who often got him the ball in the paint. "He did a great job."

Twyman finished with 11 points and Jon Greenwalt tallied 12 points and nine rebounds. Nordby added 16 points, all in the first half.

In defeat, freshman guard Deshawn Henderson scored a team-high 23 points for the Sentinels (15-8), who went undefeated in winning the Orange League.