THREE PEAT! Virginia Wins Third Consecutive ACC Crown
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/20/2010

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Virginia women's swimming team won its third consecutive and eighth overall Atlantic Coast Conference title and freshman Lauren Perdue was tabbed the meet's most valuable swimmer of the championships Saturday at Koury Natatorium in Chapel Hill, N.C.

It was the first time in school history Virginia has won three consecutive conference championships. Seniors Mei Christensen, Jenna Harris, Colleen Law, Katherine McDonnell, Jen Narum and Leslie Swinley make up the most successful class in UVa history.

"Winning never gets old," Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. "I am just thrilled for these kids; what a tremendous effort they have put in since last March. We beat some very talented teams at this meet. It's a special win for this group. The credit belongs to the seniors - their dedication and ability to keep this team together allows us to have the kind of chemistry to make special things happen."

The Cavaliers finished with 877.5 points en route to winning 14 of 18 swimming events, including all five relays, to finish ahead of second place North Carolina (642.5) and third place Florida State (545). It was the third straight year Virginia has tallied at least 800 points in the victory.

"This one means the most," Christensen said. "We broke the curse of only winning two - winning three in a row just sets us up for more success in the future. This being my senior year, I am glad this is something I will be able to look back on with pride."

Perdue won the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free and was a member of four of Virginia's five winning relay teams. It was the second year in a row a Cavalier has earned the honor; Christensen received the award as a junior in 2009.

"It is so well-deserved," Bernardino said of Perdue's award. "She is such a catalyst to our success. To win seven events, swim the kind of times and perform the way she did as a first year, she made great things happen."

Perdue also became the fifth person in school history to win all three of her individual events and the first since Mirjana Bosevska won the 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM in 2002. Perdue is just the second Cavalier to do it in her freshman year. Cara Lane claimed the 500 free, 1650 free and 200 fly as a freshman in 2000 and later went on to win two national championships.

"It is so much fun to be a part of this team," Perdue. "We have come a long way and we are going to keep rising to the top. I am so thrilled to be part of this; we made history tonight and that is a great feeling. I am happy to be part of this team. That is all I can ask for."

On the fourth and final day of the conference championships, Virginia took first-place honors in the 200 back, 100 free, tied for the 200 breast title and went 1-2 in the 200 fly, in addition to capping the meet with a victory in the 400 free relay.

"We love the last day; we train all year for the last day," Bernardino said. "We call the last day 'Mighty Fine Day' and it was today. To win five of six swimming races is really difficult to do."

Perdue, a Greenville, N.C. native, took top honors in the 100 free, breaking her own school record with an NCAA 'B' time of 48.65. That mark also broke the pool record she set earlier this year against UNC. Hannah Davis and Kelly Flynn tied for fifth place, each touching in 49.69 for an NCAA 'B' standard.

Christensen defended her title in the 200 back with an NCAA 'A' time of 1:52.98 and set a pool record. The Reston, Va., native claimed the 100 back earlier in the week and took both titles for the second consecutive year. She was followed by teammates Lauren Smart (1:54.45, 'B') and Erika Stewart (1:56.45, 'B') who finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

"We have individual races but collectively we are a team, and all our swims add up to that team score," Christensen said. "It was by far the best ACCs I have had. In the end, you can look back and remember all the good times."

Freshman Christine Olson shared the 200 breast title with UNC's Laura Moriarty; they both touched at 2:09.94, an NCAA 'A' time, in addition to being a conference and meet record. The previous conference record was set by North Carolina's Layne Brodie (2:10.04) at the league championships a year ago. Senior Katherine McDonnell placed fifth (2:12.60, 'B') and Amanda Faulkner was sixth (2:12.74, 'B').

In the final event before the relay, juniors Liz Shaw and Claire Crippen came from behind to pass Maryland's Jen Vogel and go 1-2 in the 200 fly. Shaw clocked a winning time of 1:57.17 while Crippen finished in 1:58.55; both were NCAA 'B' times.

Virginia then won the 400 free relay in dominating fashion, clocking an NCAA 'B' time of 3:15.24, just .03 seconds away from breaking its own conference and school record. Christensen, Flynn, Moores and Perdue teamed up to bring home the top finish.

The Cavaliers will compete in the 2010 NCAA Championships March 18-20 in West Lafayette, Ind.

2010 Women's ACC Championships
Final Team Standings

1. Virginia 877.5
2. North Carolina 642.5
3. Florida State
545
4. Maryland 388
5. Virginia Tech
385.5
6. Duke 283
7. NC State 271
8. Clemson 177.5
9. Georgia Tech 155.5
10. Miami 94.5
11. Boston College 48

 

Starsia Wins 200th Career Game at Virginia
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/20/2010

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Virginia men's lacrosse head coach Dom Starsia won his 200th game at Virginia behind three goals by Steele Stanwick as the No. 3 Cavaliers (1-0) topped the Drexel Dragons (0-1) by a score of 11-8 at Vidas Field on Saturday.
The victory etches Starsia's name in the history books as the second coach in the history of the sport to win 200-plus games at one school, while also reaching the 100-win plateau at another school. Starsia becomes the first coach to reach the feat at two Division I schools.

Georgetown's Dave Urick accomplished the feat first, as the Hoyas' final win of the 2009 season elevated him into the 200/100 club. Urick's first 122 victories came at Hobart College when he led the school to 10 NCAA Division III titles.

Overall, Starsia's 301 career wins breaks a tie he shared with former Massachusetts head coach Dick Garber for second most all-time by a coach at a Division I school.

"With all modesty, as I get older I find myself more impressed with the numbers in my life," said Starsia. "I become more impressed whether it's years married, games coached or games won because it means I have been doing what I do for awhile and I respect that and I respect the people all around me that have helped me get to where I am today."

However, Drexel started quickly on the historic day when Colin Ambler put the Dragons on the scoreboard first with his goal at 14:15 in the opening quarter. Virginia eventually knotted the game, 1-1, at the 6:28 mark in the first quarter with Connor English's (Manhasset, N.Y.) first collegiate goal courtesy of a Colin Briggs (Narragansett, R.I.) assist.

Drexel then scored three straight goals to close out the first quarter, storming out to a 4-1 advantage. Scott Perri scored on an Ambler pass at 5:33, and within nine seconds, Zak Fisher took a break and scored unassisted at 5:24. Dennis Adam scored a man up goal to cap the scoring streak at 1:06 in the first quarter.

Chris Bocklet's (South Salem, N.Y.) unassisted goal at the 9:12 mark in the second quarter started a streak for the Cavaliers, which included five straight scores. Brian Carroll (Towson, Md.) took a Steele Stanwick (Baltimore, Md.) helper at 7:18 in the second half to cut the Drexel advantage to one goal, 4-3.

Shamel Bratton (Huntington Station, N.Y.) tied the game with his unassisted goal at 6:20 in the second quarter, while Matt White (Ridgefield, Conn.) tallied his first collegiate score courtesy a Bocklet assist to give the Cavaliers its first lead of the game, 5-4, at the second quarter's 5:35 mark.

Rhamel Bratton (Huntington Station, N.Y.) scored an unassisted goal on a Cavalier break at 3:28 to finish the scoring streak and give UVa the 6-4 advantage. The Dragons added one more mark, via a Kevin Stockel score with 2:39 left in the first half, sending the Cavaliers into the break with a narrow one-goal lead, 6-5.

Emulating their fast start to the game, the Dragons scored the first two goals in the third period, Ambler's second of the game, followed by Perri's second on an assist by Aaron Prosser. The scores gave the lead back to Drexel, 7-6.

Stanwick took the fourth quarter into his hands, scoring back-to-back goals at 14:22 and 12:03 to give UVa an 8-7 advantage, and the Cavaliers would not trail again. Perri scored his third goal with 5:40 left to tie the game at 8 apiece, but Stanwick would secure his third goal at 3:37 to give UVa the lead for good.

Rhamel Bratton added insurance with his second goal at 2:09 on a Bocklet helper. Bocklet tallied his second goal to finish the UVa scoring with 34 seconds left, securing the victory for the Cavaliers.

"I knew we would have our hands full coming on the road to play a good Drexel team and that is the way the game played out," said Starsia. "I thought we were tentative early on both the offensive and defensive end. Eventually we got to it a little bit - the faceoff guys picked it up in the second half. Steele [Stanwick] came alive in the second half and I thought the defense settle down and did a nice job. We got some stops when we needed them."

Stanwick led UVa with three goals and two assists for five points. Bocklet added four points on two scores and two assists, while Matt Lovejoy (Orford, N.H.) had a team-high seven groundballs. Ken Clausen (Downingtown, Pa.) returned home and chipped in five ground balls and a game-high five caused turnovers. Adam Ghitelman (Syosset, N.Y.) added eight saves in the cage.

Perri led the Dragons' attack with three goals, followed by Ambler's two scores and assist, as both players led Drexel with three points. Dana Wilber added a game-high 10 ground balls. Mark Manos had a game-high 17 saves in goal.

Virginia returns on short rest on Tuesday when the Cavaliers travel to take on Mount St. Mary's. Faceoff is set for 3 p.m. in Emmitsburg, Md.

Virginia 1-5-0-5-11 record: 1-0
Drexel 4-1-2-1-8 record: 0-1
att-1472

Scoring (G-A)- V: Steele Stanwick 3-2, Chris Bocklet 2-2, Rhamel Bratton 2-0, Shamel Bratton 1-0, Connor English 1-0, Brian Carroll 1-0, Matt White 1-0, Colin Briggs 0-1 D: Scott Perri 3-0, Colin Ambler 2-1, Adam Dennis 1-1, Kevin Stockel 1-0, Zak Fisher 1-0, Aaron Prosser 0-1

Goalie Summary-D: Mark Manos 60 mins., 17 saves, 11 goals allowed. V: Adam Ghitelman 60 mins., 8 saves, 8 goals allowed

Shots: V-46, D-30
Ground Balls: V-36, D-23
Clearing: V-21x22, D-17x21
Faceoffs: V-10, D-13
Penalties: V-4-3:30, D-5-5:00
EMO: V-1x5, D-1x4

Men’s Tennis Records Pair of 7-0 Wins
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/20/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 1 Virginia men’s tennis team recorded a pair of shutout wins on Saturday at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club, downing No. 35 LSU and Boston College, both by 7-0 scores. The Cavaliers improve to 10-1 on the season while running its home winning streak to 56 matches.

Virginia opened the day with a 7-0 win over No. 35 LSU (0-4). The doubles point was tight, as the No. 1 and No. 2 matches went to tiebreakers after Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) won at No. 3 doubles for Virginia. Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) won the tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles to clinch the opening point for Virginia. Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Jarmere Jenkins (College Park, Ga.) won the tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles to complete the sweep.

There was no drama in singles play, as the Cavaliers won all six matches in straight sets. Singh topped Sebastian Carlsson 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 singles to make the score 2-0. Shabaz’s 6-4 6-2 win over Neal Skupski at the top position increased the lead to 3-0. Courtney clinched the win at No. 4 doubles with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Stefan Szacinski. Philippe Oudshoorn (Apeldoorn, The Netherlands), Jenkins and Barrick won their matches at No. 6, No. 3, and No.5 respectively to complete the 7-0 win.

In the second match of the day for Virginia, the Cavaliers topped Boston College 7-0 in their ACC opener. In doubles, UVa swept all three matches with the team of Courtney and Shabaz winning at No. 1, Oudshoorn and Steven Eelkman Rooda (Amersfoort, The Netherlands) winning at No. 2 and the team of Milo Johnson (Tulsa, Okla.) and Julen Uriguen (Guatemala City, Guatemala) winning at No. 3.

Virginia swept all six doubles matches against Boston College (3-5, 0-4 ACC) in straight sets. Singh, Courtney, and Oudshoorn all won their second singles match of the day, while Singer, Rooda and Santiago Villegas (Bogota, Colombia) also added wins for the Cavaliers.

The win over the Eagles was Virginia’s 49th consecutive win over ACC opponents (regular season and postseason).

The Cavaliers will return to action on Tuesday as they visit No. 19 Virginia Tech. Match time in Blacksburg is set for 5 p.m.

No. 1 Virginia 7, No. 35 LSU 0

Doubles:
1. Shabaz/Courtney (UVa) def. Skupski/Anderson (LSU) 9-8(9)
2. Barrick/Jenkins (UVa) def. Carlsson/Gauthier (LSU) 9-8 (5)
3. Singh/Singer (UVa) def. Szacinski/Turbervill (LSU) 8-4

Singles:
1. #5 Michael Shabaz (UVa) def. #50 Neal Skupski (LSU) 6-4, 6-2
2. #6 Sanam Singh (UVa) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) 6-0, 6-2
3. #19 Jarmere Jenkins (UVa) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU) 6-2, 7-5
4. #15 Drew Courtney (UVa) def. Stefan Szacinski (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
5. #72 Houston Barrick (UVa) def. Mark Bowtell (LSU) 7-6(3), 3-2 ret.
6. Philippe Oudshoorn (UVa) def. James Turbervill (LSU) 7-5, 6-1

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

No. 1 Virginia 7, Boston College 0

Doubles:
1. Shabaz/Courtney (UVa) def. #21 Nolan/Kreutzer (BC) 8-4
2. Oudshoorn/Rooda (UVa) def. Grokenberger/Schroeder (BC) 8-1
3. Johnson/Uriguen (UVa) def. Muppidi/Davison (BC) 8-4

Singles:
1. #6 Sanam Singh (UVa) def. Thomas Nolan (BC) 6-4, 6-2
2. #15 Drew Courtney (UVa) def. #76 Akash Muppidi (BC) 6-1, 6-1
3. #55 Lee Singer (UVa) def. Erik Kreutzer (BC) 6-0, 6-3
4. Philippe Oudshoorn (UVa) def. Jonathan Schroeder (BC) 6-4, 6-2
5. #120 Steven Eelkman Rooda (UVa) def. Brian Locklear (BC) 6-0, 6-0
6. Santiago Villegas (UVa) def. Brendon Wong (BC) 6-2, 7-5

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

 

Virginia Softball Upsets No. 4 Michigan, 2-1
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/20/2010

BATON ROUGE, La. - The Virginia softball team (2-4) upset fourth-ranked Michigan (5-3) by a score of 2-1 Saturday at the Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, La.

The win advanced the Cavaliers to the championship contest of the 2010 Tiger Classic. Virginia will play host and 19th-ranked LSU at 10 a.m. Sunday.

After going 0-3 during round-robin play, the Cavaliers drew the No. 4 seed in the championship draw, earning a rematch with No. 1 seed Michigan, who previously defeated Virginia 13-0 on Friday in the opener.

Senior Sarah Tacke's second home run of the year proved to be the game-winner. She hit a solo shot to center in the top of the fourth inning.

Freshman pitcher Melanie Mitchell tossed all six innings, allowing one run on just three hits. She also struck out two and walked two.

Michigan was first to score, picking up a run in the bottom of the first inning. Bree Evans led off the game will a walk and advanced to second on a groundout. A flyout to center then moved her over to third. With two outs, Maggie Viefhaus then walked and stole second - the Wolverines would score their lone run on a double steal as Evans was safe at home plate.

The Cavaliers were able to tie the game in the third. With one out, senior Abby Snyder doubled down the right field line. Alison Pittman then earned a bunt single, advancing Snyder over to third. Like Michigan did in the first, Virginia attempted the double steal as Pittman took off for second and Snyder was able to come in to knot the game, 1-1.

Tacke finished with two of Virginia's four hits in the winning effort.

Earlier in the day, the Cavaliers fell to Oklahoma State, 5-2. LSU then beat the Cowgirls 5-2 to advance to the championship game.


 

No. 2 Baseball Falls 6-1 at No. 11 East Carolina
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/20/2010

GREENVILLE, N.C. - The No. 2 Virginia baseball team dropped its first game of the season Saturday afternoon, falling 6-1 at No. 11 East Carolina in front of the third-largest crowd in Clark-LeClair Stadium history (5,136). The three-game series is now even at a game apiece, with the rubber game set for 1 p.m. Sunday.
Kevin Brandt (1-0) had a great start for East Carolina, pitching 6.2 innings and limiting UVa to one run and five hits. He walked three and struck out four.

Robert Morey (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.) started for Virginia and went 4.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned), seven hits and five walks while striking out one. He was credited with the loss - his first in six career decisions.

At the plate, Virginia recorded only five singles against Brandt, Mike Wright and Seth Simmons. Despite this, the Cavaliers still had their opportunities but left nine runners on base. John Wooten homered and drove in a pair of runs to lead the Pirates' 11-hit attack.

East Carolina (1-1) got on the board first in the third inning, as Wooten hit a one-out solo home run to right field. Corey Thompson then drew a walk and moved to second on a Trent Whitehead single. After a passed ball moved both runners into scoring position, Dustin Harrington grounded out to third base to plate Thompson and give ECU a 2-0 advantage.

UVa (1-1) put two runners on base in the fourth and fifth innings but failed to score. In the fourth, the Cavaliers had two on with two out, but Kenny Swab's (Jr., Kernersville, N.C.) long fly ball was caught a step in front of the center-field wall by Whitehead.

In the fifth, UVa put the first two runners on, but Tyler Cannon (Sr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) popped up a bunt attempt and Dan Grovatt (Jr., Tabernacle, N.J.) lined back to Brandt, who then flipped back to second base to complete the double play and end the threat.

ECU tacked on a pair of runs in its half of the fifth. Thompson led off with a walk and advanced to third one out later on a single to right by Harrington. Morey then uncorked a wild pitch to plate Thompson with the Pirates' third run. After an intentional walk to Kyle Roller and a walk to Devin Harris loaded the bases, Morey was lifted in favor of Neal Davis (Sr., Baltimore, Md.), who forced Austin Homan to hit a sacrifice fly to score Harrington. He then got a groundout from Jared Avchen to get out of the bases-loaded situation with just one run scoring.

Virginia finally broke through for a run against Brandt in the seventh inning. John Barr (Jr., Ivyland, Pa.) worked Brandt for nine pitches in drawing a leadoff walk. Kenny Swab (Jr., Kernersville, N.C.) then ripped a single up the middle, and Chris Taylor (Fr., Virginia Beach, Va.) followed with a groundout to move up the runners. Phil Gosselin (Jr., West Chester, Pa.) then grounded out to shortstop to score Barr.

ECU tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning against UVa reliever Branden Kline (Fr., Frederick, Md.) on back-to-back RBI singles by Cameron Freeman and Wooten. Kline pitched two scoreless innings before allowing the two scores in the eighth.

Four Cavalier freshmen made their college debuts - Taylor, Kline, Whit Mayberry (Alexandria, Va.) and Reed Gragnani (Richmond, Va.). Taylor went 0-for-2 with a walk, Kline worked 2.1 innings (2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K), Gragnani drew a walk as a ninth-inning pinch hitter and Mayberry tossed a perfect two-thirds of an inning.

No. 11 ECU upends Virginia
By Jay Jenkins
Published: February 20, 2010
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GREENVILLE, N.C. — Brian O’Connor promised an atmosphere that would match any Super Regional in the country.
Now, Virginia’s baseball coach has playoff-like fate awaiting his program.
No. 11 East Carolina evened the season-opening three-game series with the second-ranked Cavaliers, winning 6-1 Saturday at sun-splashed Clark-LeClair Stadium.
It sets up the pivotal rubber match in the nation’s marquee series today for the Pirates (1-1) and Cavaliers (1-1), who won Friday’s opener 6-2.
“That’s what I told our team: It’s two very good ball clubs going at it and we have a chance to win the series, and that’s what it is about,” O’Connor said. “East Carolina is a regional team and we have a chance to win a ‘regional.’”
Virginia managed just five hits in the game, hit into a costly double play and left nine runners stranded on base.
That, however, was also a credit to East Carolina sophomore Kevin Brandt. The southpaw silenced Virginia’s bats through 6.2 innings, scattering five hits and walking three.
Brandt, who beat three nationally-ranked teams last year (North Carolina, Oklahoma State and South Carolina), leaned on his fastball and mixed in a solid change-up to keep Virginia guessing.
“He is one of those guys that you have to be patient against,” said Virginia left fielder John Barr, who had a single and a walk. “He was a high-caliber pitcher.”
The game itself remained scoreless until the third inning when ECU rookie John Wooten slapped an opposite-field solo homer into the corner in right. Ironically, it was the first collegiate at-bat for Wooten.
The Pirates added another run in the frame off Virginia junior Robert Morey, going up 2-0, as a wild pitch helped create an RBI ground out for Dustin Harrington.
UVa appeared poised to answer in the fifth after rookie Chris Taylor walked and junior Phil Gosselin singled to open the frame.
That opportunity was squashed as Tyler Cannon popped up a would-be sacrifice bunt and Dan Grovatt ripped a laser into the glove of Brandt that led to an easy inning-ending double play.
“What it came down to was that we didn’t execute to give ourselves opportunities,” O’Connor said. “You just can’t do that against a high-quality club in their ballpark.
“It will get you beat every time. They took advantage of their opportunities and we didn’t. That was the ballgame.”
ECU eventually chased Morey from the contest in the fifth inning with one out after he allowed a run and had the bases loaded.
Lefty reliever Neal Davis gave up a sacrifice fly to Austin Homan, making it 4-0, and managed to escape with no further damage.
For the game, Morey (0-1) allowed seven hits and four runs (three earned) and walked five batters. The junior only walked 28 batters last season in 67.2 innings. It was the first career loss for Morey, who had won his first five decisions.
“His command wasn’t good and he threw a lot of pitches,” O’Connor said. “Robert gave some free passes that you can’t give away.
“He tried to battle and hang in there and give us a chance but it didn’t happen.”
Virginia scored its lone run in the game in the seventh, which kept a long streak alive. The Cavaliers have not been blanked during an 82-game span dating back to a 10-0 loss at Miami in 2008.
The run came as Barr scored on an RBI ground out by Phil Gosselin, but the Cavaliers left a runner stranded and left two more aboard in the ninth.
Virginia junior RHP Cody Winiarski, a JUCO transfer, will make his Cavalier debut today on the mound. ECU will counter with RHP Brad Mincey, a 10-game winner in 2009.
Extra bases
Virginia’s 2-3-4 hitters (Grovatt, Steven Proscia and Jarrett Parker) combined to go 0 for 12 in the contest. ... Four Cavalier rookies — Reed Gragnani, Whit Mayberry, Branden Kline and Taylor — made their first appearance of their careers.
Gragnani walked as pinch hitter in the ninth and Mayberry retired the only two batters he faced.
Taylor, starting at designated hitter, went 0 for 2 with a walk.
It was Kline, however, that made the biggest impression.
The right-hander entered in the sixth inning, retiring the first three batters he faced. A sixth-round draft pick last year by the Boston Red Sox, Kline also worked a scoreless frame in the seventh, before allowing two runs in the eighth.
“I was pleased with how Branden Kline threw in the sixth and the seventh, but it looked like he ran out of gas.”
… The announced attendance of 5,136 was third-largest crowd in ECU history. … Virginia sophomore pitcher/outfielder Shane Halley was injured prior to the game diving for a ball in drills. He status for today’s game is unknown. … Virginia is expected to announce that Wednesday’s home game with George Washington will be played at Christopher Newport in Newport News due to poor field conditions at Davenport Field. It is possible that the weekend series Rhode Island could also be played at CNU.





 

Kalkstein Breaks Career Draw Control Record in Loss to Loyola Cavaliers drop 11-15 contest to Greyhounds

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Senior All-American Brittany Kalkstein broke Virginia’s all-time career record for draw controls in the Cavaliers’
season opening loss to No. 14 Loyola at the UHall Turf Field on Saturday. Kalkstein’s nine draw controls marks a career-high and improves her career total to 199, surpassing Lauren Aumiller’s total of 190 from 2000-03.

With an 11-15 loss, the No. 10 Cavaliers start the year 0-1 for the first time since 2003, while Loyola improves to 1-1 on the season.

Sophomore Josie Owen led Virginia with six points, tallying two goals and a personal-best four assists, while senior Caity Whiteley finished with a career-high four goals. Sophomore Julie Gardner tacked on two more scores for Virginia, while Kalkstein, senior All-American Kaitlin Duff and sophomore Charlie Finnigan rounded out the scoring with a goal each. Kalkstein tacked on two assists, while Duff had one.

For Loyola, Emily Gibson led the way with a game-high five goals, while Grace Gavin added four. In goal, Kerry Stoothoff collected 15 saves for the Greyhounds.

The Cavaliers took no time getting started, as they converted their first three shots into scores, including the opening goal just 56 seconds into play. Kalkstein recorded the goal, from Owen, but Loyola notched two-straight to take a 2-1 lead with 26:03 on the clock.

Virginia responded with two more goals – one from Whiteley at 25:00, the other from Duff at 23:44, both assisted by Owen – before Whiteley added a second score at 22:31 to give Virginia a two goal lead and force Loyola to call a timeout.

Whiteley recorded the second hat trick of her career at the 17:01 mark, firing a goal past Loyola’s keeper off a fast break pass from Duff, but the Cavaliers would remain scoreless for the rest of the half, as the Greyhounds tacked on five-straight goals to take a 7-5 advantage into the intermission.

Coming out of the break, Loyola added another two scores to extend its streak to seven straight, before Finnigan converted a free position shot for the Cavaliers to cut the Greyhounds’ lead to three at 18:40.

Loyola found the back of the net at 11:29, before Virginia rallied for two of the next three – from Gardner and Owen. It wasn’t enough to quiet the Greyhounds though, as Loyola rattled off another three unanswered goals to take a six-goal lead with 1:56 to play.

The Cavaliers responded from the run, led by Kalkstein – who won four-straight draw controls in the final minute - to net three-straight scores from Whiteley, Gardner and Owen in a span of 25 seconds, but it wouldn’t be enough as Gibson capped off the scoring for Loyola, scoring with just 14 seconds remaining.

The Cavaliers will look to rebound next week, as they host in-state rival Richmond on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Syracuse on Saturday at noon.
 

No. 23 Cavaliers Fall to No. 10 Maryland, 22-11
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 02/20/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The No. 23 Virginia wrestling team dropped a 22-11 ACC home match to No. 10 Maryland Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Memorial Gymnasium. Chris Henrich (Jr., Lansdale, Pa.), Ross Gitomer (Sr., Flemington, N.J.) and Mike Salopek (R-Fr., North Huntingdon, Pa.) each recorded wins for Virginia. UVa finished the regular season with 16 dual wins – second most in school history.
Virginia (16-6, 3-2 ACC) jumped out to an early 8-3 lead through three weight classes, but Maryland (19-4, 4-0) stormed back to capture six of the last seven bouts and pick up the team victory.
The match started at 165 pounds, where 14th-ranked Josh Asper of Maryland earned a 12-5 decision against UVa's Beau Fisher (Sr., Grove City, Pa.).
Henrich, ranked third nationally at 174 pounds, scored a dominating 15-0 technical fall over Bradley Nielson for Virginia's lone bonus points of the day. A winner of 13-consecutive matches, Henrich improved to 28-2 this season.
No. 20 Mike Salopek (R-Fr., North Huntingdon, Pa.) notched his 26th win of the season with a 2-0 win over Maryland's Corey Peltier at 184 pounds. He is inching closer to the UVa freshman record for wins - 32 set by Michael Chaires in the 2007-08 season.
Ross Gitomer (Sr., Flemington, N.J.), in his final home bout at Virginia, picked up a 3-2 decision over James Knox at 125 pounds. The win was Gitomer's 20th this season and his 89th career victory - he needs one more win to move into a tie for the top 10 in a UVa career.
In a rematch of the 2009 ACC Championship match, third-ranked Hudson Taylor of Maryland survived an early pin attempt by 18th-ranked Brent Jones (Sr., Burke, Va.) and went on to post a 13-5 major decision. Jones upset Taylor by fall at ACCs last season.
At heavyweight, Maryland's Patrick Gilmore needed a sudden victory period and two tiebreakers to defeat UVa's Jack Danilkowicz (R-Jr., Green Oaks, Ill.), 3-2.
After Gitomer's win at 125, which gave UVa an 11-10 lead, Maryland went on to win the final four classes - all by decision.
At 133, Mookie Golden eked out a 3-2 win over Matt Snyder (R-Fr., Lewistown, Pa.). At 141, No. 9 Alex Krom pulled out a 6-2 decision over the Cavaliers' Derek Valenti (So., Newton, N.J.).
The Terrapins clinched the match with Jon Kohler's 9-6 win over Shawn Harris (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio) at 149 pounds. Kyle John wrapped up Maryland's victory with a 9-3 win over Danny Gonsor (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio) at 157.
Prior to the match, Virginia honored its eight fourth- and fifth-year wrestlers - Danilkowicz, Fisher, Gitomer, Jones, Kellon Balum (Herndon, Pa.), Calvin Cardillo (Alexandria, Va.), Adam Fitterer (Fairfax, Va.) and Pat Riley (Bernardsville, N.J.).
Virginia will take next week off as it prepares for the ACC Championships, which will be held March 6 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C.
No. 10 Maryland 22, No. 23 Virginia 11
165: No. 14 Josh Asper (MD) dec. Beau Fisher (UVa), 12-5; UVa 0, MD 3
174: No. 3 Chris Henrich (UVa) tech fall Bradley Nielson (MD), 15-0; UVa 5, MD 3
184: No. 20 Mike Salopek (UVa) dec. Corey Peltier (MD), 2-0; UVa 8, MD 3
197: No. 3 Hudson Taylor (MD) major dec. No. 18 Brent Jones (UVa), 13-5; UVa 8, MD 7
285: Patrick Gilmore (MD) dec. Jack Danilkowicz (UVa), 3-2 (TB2); UVa 8, MD 10
125: Ross Gitomer (UVa) dec. James Knox (MD), 3-2; UVa 11, MD 10
133: Mookie Golden (MD) dec. Matt Snyder (UVa), 3-2; UVa 11, MD 13
141: No. 9 Alex Krom (MD) dec. Derek Valenti (UVa), 6-2; UVa 11, MD 16
149: Jon Kohler (MD) dec. Shawn Harris (UVa), 10-6; UVa 11, MD 19
157: Kyle John (MD) dec. Danny Gonsor (UVa), 9-3; UVa 11, MD 22

 

Starting RT stuns Bills, retires from NFL at 26

Buffalo Bills starting right tackle Brad Butler announced his retirement on Thursday.
Brad Butler. Rick Stewart

The news comes as a surprise to the Bills after the 26-year-old Butler just completed only his fourth NFL season.

Butler majored in government studies at Virginia, and spent the 2008 offseason interning at Kemp Partners in Washington DC with former and late Bills quarterback and congressman Jack Kemp.

"My passion for education, country and community is something that I am ready to devote my full attention to," he said in a statement released by the team. "I believe the best way to pursue these spheres of interest is to step away from the game of football at this point in my life."

Butler started all but two of the 33 career games he played in after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2006 draft. He was limited to just two games in 2009 after sustaining a serious knee injury in Week 2 against Tampa Bay.

Road Brings No Relief for 'Hoos
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/20/2010
By Jeff White

CLEMSON, S.C. -- The venue seems to make no difference. Wherever the UVa men's basketball team plays these days, it struggles to defend and misses many more shots than it makes.

That's been the Cavaliers' M.O. at Comcast Center, John Paul Jones Arena and, now, Littlejohn Coliseum.

Against ACC rival Clemson, UVa never led Saturday. At one point the Wahoos trailed by 32. The taller, stronger, quicker, faster, bouncier Tigers romped 72-49, the fifth straight defeat for a UVa team hasn't been competitive in its past three games.

"We're a little overmatched right now," first-year coach Tony Bennett said. "I've always said we walk a fine line, and I think certainly we're on the other side of it."

In each of the past three games, UVa opponent has shot at least 50 percent from the floor. At the other end, the Cavaliers (5-7, 14-11) haven't shot even 38 percent since beating N.C. State on Feb. 3.

The Wahoos' point total Saturday matched their lowest of the season and came three days after they scored 50 in a loss to Florida State.

"We're really struggling to score the ball," sophomore guard Sammy Zeglinski said. "That might be an understatement."

Playing at home for the third straight game, Clemson (7-5, 19-7) showed why it's headed, in all likelihood, back to the NCAA tournament. Oliver Purnell has a mature program, one whose players understand what their coach wants and are capable of executing his game plan.

"This time of year, when the other team is struggling, a really good team grabs the game by the throat and holds on," Purnell said.

And that's exactly what his Tigers did. That they would press Virginia was a given. Clemson presses every opponent. But Purnell also wanted his team to attack the 'Hoos where they were most vulnerable: in the paint.

"We thought we had an advantage there," Purnell said. "Scott's a really good post player, but we didn't feel they had a lot of depth in there."

Mike Scott, a 6-8 junior, scored 14 points to lead UVa, but he often looked lost on defense, and Bennett's other big men were no more effective. Assane Sene, Jerome Meyinsse and Will Sherrill combined for 4 points and 8 rebounds.

Meyinsse, a 6-9 senior, had started the previous 11 games at center, but Bennett went Saturday with Sene, a 7-0 sophomore who hadn't been in the first five since Dec. 30.

"He's an active big guy, does a solid job defensively," Bennett said of Sene. "Today none of us did too well defensively. I just wanted to take a look and get a feel for him, give him some more time and see where he was at."

Sene did not seize the opportunity. He missed both of his field-goal attempts, one of which was blocked. Twice he fouled Clemson center Jerai Grant, who's four inches shorter, on what became three-point plays.

"It was too easy inside," Bennett said. "Too many baskets in the paint, and that just killed our defense."

Trevor Booker, an all-ACC candidate, started his 128th straight game for the Tigers and dominated inside, totaling 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 blocked shots and 1 steal.

With his fourth rebound, the 6-7 senior became only the third player in Clemson history with 1,000 career boards, joining Tree Rollins and Dale Davis, against whom Bennett, as a Wisconsin-Green Bay sophomore, played at Littlejohn in 1990.

Grant benefited from the attention paid to Booker. He made 8 of 9 attempts from the floor, matched his career high with 18 points and, for good measure, blocked 4 shots.

"They abused us inside," Bennett said.

Things weren't much better on the perimeter for Virginia, which plays Tuesday night at Miami (3-9, 17-9). The Cavaliers gave up six 3-pointers and made only two themselves. And even on those rare occasions when their defense stiffened, they struggled to capitalize. To wit:

Thrice in the second half freshman point guard Jontel Evans stole the ball in the open court, and each time he dribbled in for a layup attempt.

Only once was he able to convert his defensive gem into two points. His first and third shots were challenged by Clemson defenders and missed the mark.

"That's so frustrating," Evans said. "I don't know what was going on. Maybe it was the atmosphere."

A capacity crowd of 10,000 saw the Tigers, led by 6-6 senior David Potter, limit UVa's leading scorer, Sylven Landesberg, to 13 points.

Zeglinski scored 11 -- his first game in double figures since Jan. 31 -- but Virginia opponents know they risk little by ganging up on Landesberg, a 6-6 sophomore who came in averaging 17.2 points.

Consistency continues to elude junior guards Mustapha Farrakhan and Jeff Jones, who were a combined 1 for 8 from the floor Saturday. Farrakhan, Jones and Scott were among the Cavaliers who shot air balls at Littlejohn.

"I can't really explain it," Landesberg said of UVa's lack of production on offense. "I think we're getting good looks. It's just a matter of finishing them."

Trying to ignite his sputtering offense, Bennett at times used a lineup that included four perimeter players. It did not produce the desired results against a swarming Clemson defense.

"It looks anemic right now," Bennett said of his team's offense.

After falling behind 66-34, the 'Hoos ran off 13 straight points against Clemson reserves. That wasn't nearly enough to alter the outcome -- or even scare the Tigers -- but similar effort had been lacking late against Florida State in Charlottesville.

Losing is "hard for young men, and we've tried to just tell them, 'You can't let your effort die,'" Bennett said. "I don't think the effort waned [against Clemson], but the soundness and the execution wasn't there."

The team flew to Miami after the game Saturday and will practice Sunday and Monday. The Cavaliers have four regular-season games left, starting Tuesday night. That will be UVa's fifth game in 11 days.

"We've played a lot of games in a short amount of time," Bennett said. "I don't know if we have the same zip in our legs. But everybody's tired at this point. We're maybe a little more tired with the amount of games we've played.

"If the schedule was different, would [Virginia's play] be any different? I can't answer that. Fatigue's playing a role, but it is what it is."

Zeglinski said: "We all know that we're struggling. Things aren't going our way. We're not making shots. Our defense is not playing as well as it used to. We just gotta man up and challenge each other."
 

Virginia's basketball woes continue in 72-49 loss to Clemson
By Zach Berman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 21, 2010

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Virginia's players wheeled their bags out of the locker room on the third floor of Littlejohn Coliseum, slowly walking to either the elevator or the stairs on their way to board a bus to the airport. Nobody was happier for the day or the week to conclude than those players -- even if the road trip still has another leg.

The Cavaliers played three games in three arenas. Each resulted in double-digit defeats, the latest of which was a 72-49 loss to Clemson on Saturday in which Virginia (14-11, 5-7 ACC) shot 35 percent while Clemson (19-7, 7-5) shot 51.9 percent -- the kind of numbers that have become increasingly common for the Cavaliers.

"When your defense is struggling, you're not making shots, you're struggling offensively, it's a hard place to be," Coach Tony Bennett said. "That's where we're at right now."

Virginia has lost five consecutive games and seven of its last nine. The final leg of its stretch of five games in 11 days comes Tuesday at Miami, a team the Cavaliers beat by 18 points on Jan. 16. The season has spiraled out of control in the month since.

"It feels like this thing has turned south really quickly," junior forward Will Sherrill said, "but we can turn it around just as quickly."

If that's the case, Bennett is running out of options to do so. He shuffled the starting lineup for the third consecutive game, re-inserting Jontel Evans and Sammy Zeglinski after a one-game hiatus while also replacing senior forward Jerome Meyinsse with sophomore center Assane Sene, a promising player whom Bennett felt needed more experience as the first-year coach tries to build the program.

Whoever played, no combination worked. In each game during the losing streak, Virginia's field goal percentage has been worse than 40 percent. The Cavaliers have failed to score 60 points in three of those games, and Saturday's 49 points was tied for their lowest-scoring output of the season.

Offensive problems have been an issue throughout the season, but Virginia's "defense did not let us down" during the team's promising ACC start, Bennett said. That's no longer the case.

"It looks anemic right now. Or porous. . . . It's not good," Bennett said. "That has to at least hold you in with as bad as we are offensively with our shooting percentage right now."

Clemson Coach Oliver Purnell knew Virginia was undermanned inside, so he made an emphasis on pounding the ball into the paint. His teams always press and run an up-tempo offense, but that was emphasized given Virginia's current stretch of games.

At one point, Virginia even abandoned its pack-line defense in favor of a zone defense. It failed to produce results.

Clemson's inside presence and rapid pace were most evident during a 15-4 first-half run that extended a five-point lead to 16 points and put the game out of reach. Six of those points came from junior Jerai Grant, a DeMatha product who matched a career high with 18 points.

"They knew what was working," Bennett said, "and they went to it."

More than any tangible deficiencies, Virginia must guard against confidence issues. Sophomore guard Sylven Landesberg said some players might be suffering from a lack of confidence, but it's up to the team to together change the mood.

"From a mental standpoint, we're not playing with the same intensity," Sherrill said. "We're not playing with the same unity."

When asked about the team's confidence, Bennett quickly said he saw "a lot of air balls shot." Evans said confidence is still there, but that the team has become worn down. The postgame scene of wheeling the bags onto the bus and heading to another city for another game has become familiar during a week in which Virginia's itinerary resembles that of an NBA team.

The Cavaliers flew to Miami immediately after Saturday's game. The current stretch will include nine days and seven nights on the road within a 12-day span.

"You can't blame it on fatigue, or having a lot of games, because that's what you come play ACC basketball for," Sherrill said. "There's no excuse for how we're playing."

Postgame Quotes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 02/20/2010

Clemson Head Coach Oliver Purnell

Overall thoughts:
“Obviously I was pleased with the way we played and the way we approached
this week getting ready. We did a good job with our focus and preparation
for this opponent, and I thought it showed. We wanted to get the ball
inside. (Mike) Scott is a good post player, but we thought they had a lack
of depth down there. This time of year is when a good team takes a game
when the other team is struggling by the throat. Now we can take the next
step toward being a great team by going on the road and winning.”

On Jerai Grant’s improved play:
“Jerai has been good all year. He was our most improved player last year,
and this year he has elevated his game even more. He has developed into a
pretty good ACC player.”

On the health of Demontez Stitt:
“I think he’s been back for a while, but that’s just me. This week he
realized he wasn’t dead and came back strong. Once again, having a full
week off between games helped him. I think he can do many of the same
things he used to do.”

On how good the team is right now:
“We’re a pretty good basketball team, no question about it. To be a great
team, now we have to win on the road. It will be a good test for us.
There’s nothing wrong with being a really good team, I just want to be a
great one.”

On defending Sylven Landesberg:
“(David Potter) has been good as an on-ball defender all year. Landesberg
was a point of emphasis for us. We talked about what he liked to do and
did a good job taking those things away.”
________________________________________

Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett

On zone in the second half:
“We had worked on it a little bit before. They scored so much in the
paint that we wanted to give them a different look. It wasn’t a great
zone and eventually they broke it down.”

On the play of Assane Sene:
“We wanted to take a look at him and give him some more playing time to
see where he is at right now.”

On balance between offense and defense:
“We went to four guards because we couldn’t score. It is hard when you
have four or five games where you are shooting in the mid-30s. Our
defense has been the only thing that has been sort of solid.”

On Clemson:
“They are very athletic. They played with a lot of heart and abused us
inside. They were able to get dunks and made shots early. We made it too
easy for them inside the paint. I think they are a different team with
Stitt. They are solid and there are a lot of solid teams in this league.”

On message to the team:
“We just have to figure out a way to get better in both areas but right
now we are playing tough teams.”

On needing more guys to step up:
“We definitely need to have guys hitting shots. We shot this percentage
against Wake and Georgia Tech but we were able to hang in there with them.
Our defense just broke down today and the way we are shooting, we need to
play better defense.”

Tigers crush free-falling Cavaliers
By JEFFREY COLLINS - Associated Press Writer

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Clemson came home and found the confidence it had earlier in the season to be a good team. Now Tigers coach Oliver Purnell is challenging his team to go on the road and become great.

Jerai Grant tied a career best with 18 points as the Tigers (19-7, 7-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) finished a three game homestand perfect with a 72-49 win over free-falling Virginia on Saturday.

While the Cavaliers (14-11, 5-7) lost four games in seven days to tumble toward the bottom of the ACC, Clemson's wins over Miami, Florida State and the Cavaliers have the Tigers back in the top half of the ACC, fighting for one of four byes in the league tournament and solidly in consideration for their third NCAA tournament bid in a row - something that has happened only once in the school's history.
picture

"Guys took care of business," Purnell said. "Now the next step for us to become a really good team or a great team is to go out on the road and win."

The Tigers end with three of four on the road. The games away from home - Maryland, Florida State and Wake Forest - are all tied with or in front of Clemson in the ACC.

The Tigers never trailed in this one, shooting 51.9 percent and making 12 of 13 free throws. It's the fourth game Clemson has shot better than 75 percent from the foul line.

Grant put this one away almost single-handedly late in the first half. He blocked shots on back-to-back possessions, then made two straight three-point plays followed by a layup.

The Cavaliers collapsed on him on the next time down the floor, and he kicked to David Potter, whose wide open 3-pointer put the Tigers up 37-20 with 2 minutes left in the first half.

"They abused us inside," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said.

Grant also took pressure off Trevor Booker, who had 14 points and eight rebounds to become just the third Clemson player with more than 1,000 rebounds in a career.

"With him playing like that, it's going to be tough to stop us," Booker said.

The freefall continues for the Cavaliers, who are 2-6 since Bennett opened his ACC career with three league wins in a row.

The Cavaliers shot just 35 percent from the field, were 2 of 13 on 3-pointers and put up at least five airballs. It was the fourth straight game they've shot under 38 percent overall.

"When your defense is struggling, you're not making shots, you're struggling offensively, it's a hard place to be," said Bennett, whose team is averaging just 56 points a game during its losing streak.

Mike Scott led Virginia with 14 points, while Sammy Zeglinski added 11 points and eight rebounds. Cavaliers leading scorer Sylven Landesberg was held to 13 points, four below his season average.

Purnell credited David Potter for keeping Landesberg in check, saying the senior hasn't got enough credit for his defense this season.

"We talked about what he liked to do and he took most of that away," Purnell said.

Clemson led by as many as 32 in the second half before letting off the gas a little bit. But it still marked the third straight game Virginia has lost by at least 19 points.

"In a game like this, when the other team is struggling, a really good team grabs the game by the throat and holds on," Purnell said.

It's a killer instinct Purnell thought his team had when it opened the ACC at 3-1, only to lose four of its next five. After they met his challenge during this homestand, Purnell is ready to see how far the Tigers can go.

Grant said everyone realizes how important the last four games are. One win insures at least a .500 league season, and better than three out of every four ACC teams who finished with as many wins as losses have made the tournament since 1985. Purnell also wants to see his Tigers win the ACC tournament - something the school has never done in 55 seasons.

So Grant said don't look for Clemson's effort to slip again.

"We want a good seed in the ACC, really help us out with our NCAA tournament," Grant said. "Winning helps us come together as a team more than anything."
 

New depths for cold Cavs
By Paul Strelow Correspondent
February 21, 2010

CLEMSON, S.C. - Despite the long layover before its next game Tuesday, Virginia flew directly to Miami on Saturday evening.

As cold as the Cavaliers have gone, perhaps the last resort is a few extra days of balmy relaxation.

There was no rest for the weary at Clemson, which thrust Virginia's recent slide to new depths with a 72-49 beatdown at Littlejohn Coliseum.

It was the fifth loss in a row for the Cavaliers (14-11, 5-7 ACC), a drought coinciding with their fourth game in eight days.

"We're definitely reeling," said guard Sammy Zeglinski, who had 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds. "The last three games weren't even close.

"But I think we'll answer. We don't want to end the season this way. We want to get it back."

Getting it back to competitive will be the first step, as Virginia matched its season-low point total while incurring the team's worst margin of defeat this season.

Mike Scott tallied 14 points and Sylven Landesburg had 13, but coach Tony Bennett said the team's diminishing confidence was evidenced by several airballs on uncontested jumpers. The Cavaliers shot 35 percent and have been below 37.5 percent in all five consecutive defeats.

Yet the fatal flaw fingered for their demise was the defense, which had kept Virginia in its low-scoring affairs earlier this season.

Clemson (19-7, 7-5) made 51.9 percent of its shots, its ACC high, pounding the ball inside for a slew of dunks and short-range turnarounds. All-conference candidate Trevor Booker notched 14 points and eight rebounds, but the Tigers garnered an uncharacteristic 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting from junior center Jerai Grant, son of former NBA player Harvey Grant.

Grant matched his career high and also added four blocks and five rebounds.

"They just abused us inside," Bennett said.

"Our defense has been the thing that's been somewhat solid, except for the last couple of games. This game, that really broke us down. Then when the defense is struggling, you're not making shots, it's a hard place to be. And that's where we're at right now."

Despite the scoring Bennett labeled "anemic," the Cavaliers hung close through most of the first half, trailing just 19-14 with 6:17 remaining after a Zeglinski 3-pointer.

But things quickly spiraled out of hand thereafter, with Clemson bursting on a 15-4 run in little more than three minutes.

An Andre Young 3-pointer with three seconds left sent the Tigers into halftime with a 19-point advantage, and Clemson stretched the lead to as many as 34 with 5:34 left before Virginia spurted for 17 points in the final five minutes.

"We're skidding right now," Scott said. "It's disappointing because we can play much better defense than we're showing."

Zeglinski suggested the team needs its defense to improve in order to resuscitate the offense, saying opponents are getting into the gaps in its scheme too easily as well as experiencing too much success finishing at the basket.

Three of the Cavs' last four opponents have clipped the 50-percent-shooting mark offensively, and if they are to dig themselves out of eighth place in the ACC — or avoid slipping further — that trend figures to need to come to an end.

"We have to figure out a way these last few games to get better in both areas," Bennett said. "We're a little overmatched right now. We walk a fine line, and we're certainly on the other side of it."

Virginia loses 5th straight game
The Cavaliers trail by as many as 32 points and shoot just 35 percent.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CLEMSON, S.C. -- The only suspense at a Virginia men's basketball game these days is whether or not the Cavaliers are going to score 50 points.

A late three-point play pushed Virginia over the mid-century mark in a midweek home game with Florida State, but the Cavaliers weren't as explosive Saturday.

Virginia missed its last four shots from the field, putting the final touches on a 35-percent shooting afternoon, and Clemson rolled to a 72-49 victory at Littlejohn Coliseum.

It was the fifth straight loss for the Cavaliers, who experience firsts for futility with each succeeding game. On Saturday, it was a season-high 32-point deficit, 66-34.

Virginia (14-11, 5-7 ACC) trailed by 29 points Monday in a 85-66 loss at Maryland. On Wednesday, the margin got as high as 23 points in Florida State's 69-50 victory in Charlottesville.

"This is the fourth or fifth game [in a row] where we've shot in the mid-30s," first-year UVa coach Tony Bennett said. "Our defense has been the one thing that has been somewhat solid, except the last couple of games.

"When your defense is struggling and you're not making shots, that's a hard place to be. And, that's where we're at right now."

Clemson (19-7, 7-5) isn't too far removed from a three-game losing streak that turned into four losses in five games when the Tigers lost at Virginia Tech, 70-59.

A three-game homestand has included wins over Florida State, Miami and now UVa.

"It's hard to argue with today's performance," Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. "We were really good today."

The Tigers got a game-high 18 points from Jerai Grant, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound junior who blocked four shots and had three of Clemson's four dunks.

"He's been good all year," Purnell said. "Jerai Grant was our most improved player last year and this year he has elevated his game even more. He's become a pretty good ACC player."

Senior forward Trevor Booker contributed 14 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers, who got 11 points from freshman reserve Milton Jennings in 15 minutes.

Purnell also singled out senior David Potter for his defensive work on Virginia's Sylven Landesberg, the ACC's fifth-leading scorer.

"That's the unsung part of [Potter's] game," Purnell said. "He's been really, really good as an on-ball defender. Obviously, Landesberg was an emphasis. We talked about what he likes to do and pretty much took all of that away."

Landesberg said he could see that Clemson's strategy was to keep him out of the lane. He made six of 14 shots from the field, which is better than he had been shooting, and finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

For the second game in a row, but only the third time in his two-year UVa career, he did not attempt a free throw.

Mike Scott led the Cavaliers with 14 points and Sammy Zeglinski contributed a team-high six rebounds.

The Cavaliers made only two of 13 shots from behind the 3-point and are shooting 18.5 percent on 3-pointers (12-of-65) over the last four games.

"There [were] a lot of airballs shot, weren't there?" Bennett said in answer to a question about the Cavaliers' declining confidence. "When we were shooting pretty good from '3' early in the season, I was cautious because I've been around some pretty good shooting teams.

"And, I think now the defenses are better. There's no question. But when we're airballing shots that are rhythm shots, that's unusual."

Bennett makes no secret of his defensive orientation, but the numbers back him up.

"We shot these kind of percentages against Wake [Forest] and Tech and we actually had a chance against those two," Bennett said, "but our defense did not let us down."

In the last three games, UVa's opponents have shot 56.3, 50.0 and 51.9 percent.

"It all starts with making stops," Zeglinski said. "Clemson just got too many easy baskets today. I think we'd start making more shots if our defense were more sound."

Off-target Cavs crushed by Tigers
Related Info
CLEMSON 72, VIRGINIA 49 T
Tuesday:Virginia at Miami, 7 p.m.
By Michael Phillips
Published: February 21, 2010
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CLEMSON, S.C. - As he fielded questions after Virginia's 72-49 loss to Clemson yesterday, coach Tony Bennett kept glancing at the anemic offensive numbers on the stat sheet in front of him, but he wasn't able to find one.

"There were a lot of air balls shot, weren't there?" he asked.

In fact, there were more air balls than 3-pointers, by a 3-to-2 margin, and that doesn't even count an alley-oop that was tossed into the second row of the student section.

U.Va. never has claimed to be outstanding on offense. The goal is to be sound defensively and steal away a few baskets on the other end, but that's not happening these days.

"It seems like every shot is a good shot, but it's just not falling," guard Jontel Evans said. "There's not much you can do about that."

The missed shots made an impact on the other end, though, as several quick possessions turned into defensive lapses. Still, Bennett didn't believe the shot selection was bad - it was just a matter of getting them to fall.

"If it's a good shot, you've got to take it," he said. "What's the option? Even if it's early in the possession and it's a good shot, take it. You've got to take them with confidence."

The Cavaliers have lacked confidence during their five-game losing streak. It took a garbage-time rally to get the team to 49 points, which ties for a season low.

Meanwhile, the Cavs are searching for the energy to reach the finish line on a road trip that still has three days left - the team headed from Clemson to Miami for a Tuesday night game.

"We're definitely feeling it a little bit," Sylven Landesberg said of playing five games in 11 days. "But that's not a good excuse. You work hard during the summer to prepare for things like this."

Bennett gave his team Thursday off from practicing to recover. He also juggled the starting lineup again. He brought Evans and Sammy Zeglinski back as starters and put in Assane Sene over Jerome Meyinsse. Sene picked up his third foul late in the first half and scored no points.

Meanwhile, Clemson's Trevor Booker and Jerai Grant enjoyed big days. Booker started the Tigers' first rally by juking past Meyinsse, stripping Will Sherrill on the next possession, then making a tip-in basket to give his team a double-digit lead.

Grant has been averaging 7 points this season but scored 18 against the Cavs.

"They abused us inside," Bennett said. "Too many points in the paint, and that just killed our defense."

The coach also mixed things up on defense, going to a zone look for a portion of the second half, as well as giving Tristan Spurlock some non-garbage time minutes, though the game was still out of reach when he entered early in the second half.

So as the Wahoos continue this road swing, they're looking for answers as to how things slipped away in ACC play. Evans acknowledged that things aren't the way they were at the start of the season, noting that "I think we did get a little too high, but I don't think that's what's causing this."

Whatever it is, Virginia won't win by shooting 35 percent from the floor - at least, not against ACC opponents. The eight assists the team had reflected not a lack of passing, but a lack of scoring off those passes.

In lieu of other explanations, there's this - Bennett switched to wearing a tie during road games earlier this month. The Cavs are 0-3 as the visiting team since.
 

UVa’s ACC slide continues
By Whitey Reid
Published: February 20, 2010
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CLEMSON, S.C. — If you broke the Virginia men’s basketball team’s ACC season down into a bar graph that represented its efficiency and success, the first set of bars would look like skyscrapers.
The next would resemble industrial edifices or maybe small duplexes.
The final five bars, including Saturday’s game at Clemson, would seem like huts on “Gilligan’s Island.”
Playing on the road against the Tigers, Virginia didn’t come close to snapping a four-game losing streak. UVa was never competitive, dropping its fifth straight, 72-49, in front of a crowd of 10,000 at the Littlejohn Coliseum.
If it seems like each Wahoo defeat has been worse than the one before, well, you’d be onto something.
“We’re not disciplined out there anymore,” said Virginia freshman Jontel Evans. “We don’t look like the team that started out 3-0 in the ACC.
“It feels like we’re running out gas, and around this time of the year, that’s not what teams do. They get stronger and more disciplined, and more focused and they fight. I think we need to find that again and, you know, pick it up because the end is near.”
Virginia (14-11, 5-7), which plays at Miami on Tuesday night before coming home for Duke on Sunday, has just four games remaining before the ACC Tournament.
If UVa can’t find a way to right the ship soon, its success in the early portion of the season could be all but forgotten.
Against Clemson (19-7, 7-5), Virginia seemed overmatched from the opening tip.
The ultra-athletic Tigers seemed to be running circles around UVa’s suddenly porous defense.
Trevor Booker, Clemson’s first-team All-ACCer, had his usually strong game (14 points and eight rebounds), but it was junior Jerai Grant, the son of former Clemson and NBA standout Harvey Grant, who inflicted the most damage.
Grant, who came in averaging 7.0 points, scored 18, which tied a career high. Time and again, Grant got into the paint — a no-no in coach Tony Bennett’s pack-line defensive philosophy — and finished with thunderous dunks.
Virginia big man Assane Sene, who got a starting assignment for just the fourth time this season, looked helpless against Grant.
“They are very athletic,” said Bennett, whose team trailed by 19 at the half and as many as 32 in the second. “They played with a lot of heart and abused us inside. They were able to get dunks and make shots early.
“We made it too easy for them inside the paint.”
For the fifth straight game, Virginia shot less than 40 percent from the field, and, for the third consecutive contest, UVa allowed its opponent to shoot over 50 percent.
Not exactly a killer combo.
“At the beginning of the season, we started off shooting the ball real good,” said Evans, who was 1 of 4 from the field for three points. “Now, it seems like every shot we put is a good shot, but is just not falling.
“There’s not much you can do about that.”
Virginia’s defense was so inept that Bennett elected to play some zone in the second half, one of the rare occasions he has done so this season.
“They scored so much in the paint that we wanted to give them a different look,” Bennett said. “It wasn’t a great zone and eventually they broke it down.”
Virginia guard Sylven Landesberg, who scored 13 points, said the team’s defense hasn’t been “clicking” like it was earlier in the season.
“We just need to get back to our principles and get back to the basics,” he said, “and be able to get to where we were before, and I think everything will start clicking again on the offensive end, too.”
Perhaps Virginia just needs a little R&R. After all, UVa has played five games in the last 11 days.
“We’re definitely feeling it a little bit,” Landesberg said. “Guys’ legs are fatigued, but that’s not a good excuse. We worked hard over the summer to be able to prepare for things such as this.
“We just have to be mentally tough more than physically at this point.”
Just before the team boarded the bus for its trip down to Miami, junior Will Sherrill gave an explanation that may have summed everything up best.
“We just have to get back to having fun like we were earlier in the season — playing hard, playing great defensive basketball,” Sherrill said, “and playing together on offense.”
 

Woes persist for weary Wahoos
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: February 20, 2010
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CLEMSON, S.C.—Virginia’s basketball team will wake up in sunny Miami this morning wondering what in the world has happened during the whirlwind of the past two weeks.
The Cavaliers were 5-2 and flirting with the idea of leading the ACC after having been picked 11th in the preseason poll.
After being pummeled 72-49 on Saturday afternoon at Clemson, the Wahoos’ fifth straight loss in 11 days, they have to be stunned.
Like Marlon Brando’s character in the old black-and-white film “The Waterfront,” the Cavs must look out toward the sea this morning, muttering, “I coulda been a contender.”
Fatigue sets in
Saturday’s game at Littlejohn Coliseum was a stinker. While the road weary Cavaliers were playing in five different arenas in an 11-day span for the first time in 32 years, host Clemson was well rested, having not played in a week.
The Tigers took full advantage of preparation time and knew exactly how to dissect the fatigued travelers.
“We wanted to get the ball inside,” Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. “We thought they had a lack of depth down there.”
Purnell’s team, now 19-7, 7-5 and in the hunt for an NCAA bid, pillaged the Cavaliers inside, practically scoring at will with 38 points in the paint, once building a lead of 32 points before losing interest down the stretch.
No match for Tigers
One of the ACC’s most underrated players, Trevor Booker, scored 14 points inside, but teammate Jerai Grant, the son of former Clemson/Oklahoma star Harvey Grant and nephew of ex-Tiger Horace Grant, tied his career high with 18 points, all in the paint.
That’s probably more points than his uncle or old man ever scored against the Cavs during their days.
“They abused us inside,” said Virginia coach Tony Bennett of his Cavs, now 14-11, 5-7.
“They pounded us on the glass, pounded us inside and we didn’t have any answers for them,” said Cavalier post player Mike Scott, who finished with 14 points.
Virginia didn’t have the answers for much of anything on this warm Southern day.
Bennett tried his third different starting lineup in as many games, surprised most everyone by throwing a little zone at the Tigers, played heralded but sparingly-used freshman Tristan Spurlock for a seven-minute stretch.
Nothing worked.
The same problems that have plagued Virginia the last few outings rose up once again.
The defense was shoddy at best. Clemson converted 52 percent of its shots for the game, and in what has become a recent Tiger trend, made more free throws (12) than its opponent even attempted (7).
Offensively, the Cavaliers have been in a funk that has coincided with the five-game slide. They haven’t managed to hit 40 percent of their shots in any of those games.
Saturday, they were at 35 percent, thanks to a brief scoring flurry when things had become academic.
Clemson wisely collapsed on Scott when the ball was passed inside and the Tigers followed the same blueprint against scoring star Sylven Landesberg as has every ACC coach since the first time through.
“Landesberg was a point of emphasis,” Purnell said. “We talked about what he liked to do and did a good job taking those things away.”
Somehow, Scott hit half his 14 shots and Landesberg connected on 6 of 14 for 13 points.
Once again, there was little help from the rest of the Cavaliers, who collectively scored 22 points, including 11 by guard Sammy Zeglinski, who scored seven in the final five minutes after the Tigers started subbing.
Virginia got literally nothing from its bench yet again, being outscored 26-8 by Clemson’s reserves.
So, what’s the deal?
This was the same team that was 5-2 a couple of weeks ago, and could have actually won a couple of more since then.
Is it offense? Defense? Lack of personnel? Lack of confidence? Coaching?
Certainly their confidence was shaken after close losses to Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
And, yes, the fatigue factor has kicked in to contribute to their woes.
Landesberg said after Saturday’s game that while his wind isn’t affected and that he can still run, that his body as a whole isn’t responding normally and that his is mentally and physically weary.
Our humble opinion is that there’s just not a lot of ACC-caliber talent in the program, an opinion we’ve had dating back to more than a year ago.
The first half of the conference schedule was easier, even Bennett admits that, and that’s where most of the wins came from.
It’s not the coaching. It’s the players, or rather the lack of players. How many of these guys would be starting for other ACC teams?
Hmmm.
The consensus answer is one or two.
Quiz Bennett on the subject and he does his best to bite his tongue. About all he will say is that, “we’re limited.”
In coach speak, that means exactly what you think it means.
Talking about his lack of physically superior athletes, the Virginia coach put things this way.
“Knowing this is who we are as a team, you gotta be so solid on both ends ... that’s our chance. There’s no shame in it. When it slips, it’s really hard for us. That’s not a defeatist attitude. We don’t have a lot of scoring punch and when the defense lags, these things (20-point blowouts) happen,” Bennett said.
So, another day, another state, another arena. Virginia plays at Miami on Tuesday night.
Bennett just hopes it’s not another loss.
 

HooYa! Blog
by Trent.Thurston@eljos.com

Clemson hands Virginia fifth-straight ACC defeat 72-49
by Trent Thurston, February 20th 06:52pm
In Clemson, SC today, Virginia looked very much like the team that the ACC writers picked to finish 11th in the preseason. Virginia played like they had already gotten their golf clubs and frisbees out of the closet as they prepare for the off-season, instead of a team that is still looking forward to a chance to play in the post-season. I honestly don't think this team will win another game this year, and will be locked out of the NIT. Remember, you no longer have to be better than .500 to get in the second-fiddle NIT, and this team (lately) has been playing an awful brand of basketball which lead to their 5th straight defeat today.
Virginia's coaching staff received no toughness in the post today and Mike Scott continued to think he is a perimeter player (much like Travis Watson did his fourth year) as he hoisted up long shots that had no chance of going in. The Hoos had only scored 32 points at the 6:50 minute mark in the second-half. Virginia's passes were not crisp, their intensity and mental focus were non-existent. There appeared to be some sort of slippery salve on the damn ball for the Hoos today! The guys looked like they did not want to be there. Virginia did not give up in this game and did continue to fight down the stretch, but just did not have what it takes to get back from such a heavy early deficit. Both Virginia and Clemson committed 12 turnovers. The Hoos shot 35% from the field and 2-13 from three-point-land. Sene, Farrakhan, and Jeff Jones did not score a single point between them!
Clemson (19-7,7-5), who normally has a huge late-season swoon, has now won three in a row. Today, they were led by Jr. Center Jerai Grant who scored 18 points in just 24 minutes. Milton Jennings added 11, and Trevor Booker pitched in 18. Clemson shot 52% from the field and 6-17 from beyond the three point line. The Tigers grabbed 34 rebounds, as Virginia only snagged 31. Clemson went to the line 13 times and made 12 of them!
Virginia (14-11,5-7) scored 50 points in their last game, a loss to Florida State, and now a new low, 49 points in the loss today to Clemson. The Hoos had three players in double figures (Scott, Zeglinski, Landesberg) but no one really played well. Virginia only went to the line an incredible 7 times, and they made 5. Man, this one hurt. 49 points, really? Virginia stays on the road for their next contest as they travel to Miami to play the Hurricanes on Tuesday Go Hoos!