Christmas notches game winner for UVa men's lax
By Michael Licker / Special to The Daily Progress
March 6, 2005

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - As the seconds ticked down in the Virginia men’s lacrosse team’s game against Syracuse on Saturday, senior John Christmas heaved the ball toward the Carrier Dome roof.

The Cavaliers, coming off a season full of disappointment which included an 18-12 home loss to Syracuse, had just taken one more step toward erasing memories of last season’s 5-8 campaign.

And it was Christmas, whose production dropped last year as well, who sealed No. 6 Virginia’s victory over the No. 2 Orange. The 5-foot-9 attack launched a victory-clinching goal - his third of the game - on a pass from Brendan Gill with 3:03 remaining, leading Virginia past Syracuse, 12-11, in front of 6,478 at the Carrier Dome.

“This is the first quality team we played,” Christmas said. “It was good to get the win.”

Before the Cavaliers could celebrate, they had to rebut a late SU rally. Christmas’ goal handed Virginia a 12-10 lead. With 1:17 remaining, SU attackman Brian Crockett spun and scored his third goal, closing the gap to one.

Then, with 36 seconds remaining, SU middie Jarett Park fired a shot at Virginia goalie Kip Turner. The sophomore, who finished with 18 saves, turned the shot aside. It deflected toward the sideline, and a race ensued between Virginia’s Ricky Smith and Syracuse’s Mike Leveille and Crockett to reach the sideline first.

Smith won the foot race, returning the ball to Virginia (3-0).

“I thought I got there first,” Crockett said. “Unless something ridiculous happens, the game’s over.”

Before the late drama, the game underwent several swings and lead changes. Junior middie Matt Poskay, who scored a career-high four goals, opened the scoring on a feed from Christmas. With 10:41 remaining in the first quarter, attackman Matt Ward struck, extending the lead to 2-0. At that point, the Orange hadn’t touched the ball offensively.

Syracuse (1-1) rattled off three straight goals, before UVa countered with three of the next four, taking a 5-4 lead to the half.

When the third quarter started, Virginia again came out to a blazing start. Two straight goals gave Virginia a 7-4 lead with 13:20 remaining in the third quarter. Poskay scored the second of those goals, knocking the ball from SU goalie Jay Pfeifer’s stick after a clean save.

“The key to the game was getting off right at the whistle,” Ward said.

The Cavaliers expected an SU comeback and that’s exactly what they got. By the third quarter’s end, back-to-back Crockett goals closed UVa’s lead to 9-8.

SU scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter, taking a 10-9 lead 11:55 remaining. That would be the last time SU led. Poskay’s fourth goal, a cross in the middle from Drew Thompson tied the game. With 9:29 remaining, Ward bounced home a goal, giving UVa an 11-10 lead. Then Christmas notched his game-clincher.

But UVa may have struggled if not for Turner. Up until Saturday, Virginia head coach Dom Starsia rotated Turner and redshirt freshman Michael Petit in the Cavaliers’ first two games.

Starsia told Turner before the game he’d play the entire game if he had a strong first half. He did that, turning away nine SU shots. He also outplayed Pfeifer, who’s won two national championships.

“It’s nerve-wracking,” Turner said. “It was a special first big game.”

Turner’s big performance and UVa’s fourth-quarter composure went a long way toward erasing memories of last season.

“Confidence is only born out of doing things,” Starsia said. “This allows us to be more confident. We’re trying to do things in smaller bites.”
 

Defending national champions dust the Orange, 15-7
By Colin Chmielewski / Special to The Daily Progress
March 6, 2005

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse University had beaten the Virginia women’s lacrosse team for three straight years coming into Saturday’s game. The defending national champion Cavaliers made sure it wasn’t four in a row with a convincing performance at the Carrier Dome.

Top-ranked Virginia used its high-powered offensive attack to beat 12th-ranked Syracuse 15-7, highlighted by five goals by Tyler Leachman and three from Amy Appelt. Appelt, the returning National Player of the Year, said the team didn’t concern themselves with the previous losses.

“It was more important to start the season off with a win,” the senior said. “I don’t think it was as much a Syracuse rivalry, as just winning the first game.”

Leachman, a junior, said the Cavaliers (1-0) were excited to finally begin their title defense.

“We’ve had practice for six weeks now,” Leachman said. “We were definitely ready to play a game. We’ve been playing together for a really long time.”

The Cavaliers’ experience showed over Syracuse’s youth throughout the contest, but perhaps never more than late in the first half. After a Gaddy Fortune goal tied the score 2-2 with 10:06 remaining, Virginia seemed to have a flashback to the last three years. Syracuse (2-1) coach Lisa Miller said the Cavaliers’ determination showed.

“I think UVa’s seniors really wanted that game,” Miller said. “They showed a lot of character. They just said, nuh-uh we’re not letting this one get away from us.”

Virginia reeled off the next six goals, punctuated by Leachman’s first of the game to make it 8-2 with 4:49 left in the half. Cavaliers head coach Julie Myers was absent from the game due to the birth of her child this week, but it didn’t matter as her squad never looked back. Appelt said her team was fine after they got the initial season-opening jitters out.

“We just took control from there and put ourselves in the driver’s seat,” said Appelt, who also had five assists. “We took over and did what we had to do.”

Leachman said she was very pleased with the Cavaliers’ offense as a whole, but especially with the transition game.

“I think we did a really good job on the fast break, just getting down and catching them off-guard,” Leachman said. “We had a lot of cuts around the crease that people hit. We had about four goals in a row doing that.”

Miller said the combination of Appelt and Leachman was too much for her young club to handle, but she came away especially impressed with the play of Appelt.

“She’s just relentless,” Miller said. “She just goes after you and she keeps pounding away. She’s the best attacker to come through in a long, long time.”

Syracuse defender Melissa Pearsall said the Orange knew they would have their hands full with Appelt.

“It’s really difficult to go into a game knowing that you’re going to go against that type of player,” Pearsall said. “She rarely makes mistakes.”

Mistakes were few and far between for Appelt and the whole Cavalier squad. In the senior’s mind, that was the best thing to come out of the season-opening victory.

Added Appelt: “I think we did a really good job of actually executing and I know it’s just going to get better.”



 

London joining Texans' staff
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
March 6, 2005

It has been 22 years since Mike London signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys.

Apparently, the state of Texas left a lasting impression in London’s mind.

On Friday, Houston’s KRIV-TV reported that London is heading back to the “Lonestar State” as the defensive line coach for the Houston Texans.

London, who has served at the defensive line coach at Virginia the past four years, replaces former Virginia Tech standout Todd Grantham on the Texans’ coaching staff.

Grantham left the organization in February to become the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns and new coach Romeo Crennel.

London, a native of Hampton and former star at the University of Richmond, was one of four assistant coaches to be announced by Virginia coach Al Groh on Jan. 12, 2001.

On that day, Groh also announced the hirings of Corwin Brown, Mike Groh and Bill Musgrave. From that group, only Mike Groh remains on the staff.

In February of 2002, London was also named UVa’s recruiting coordinator and summer camp director.

As the recruiting coordinator at UVa, London helped the Cavaliers land their fourth consecutive nationally ranked recruiting class earlier this year.

While Groh has not officially commented on London’s departure, Virginia’s coach did announce some other coaching changes earlier this week.

On a Web site operated by the school (www.virginiaports-tv.com), Groh announced new responsibilities for three of his assistants.

Defensive coordinator Al Golden, will coach the teams’ defensive backs and safeties in addition to his duties as the coordinator.

Bob Price, who has coached at UVa since 1997, will coach the Cavaliers’ tight ends. Price had coached UVa’s secondary since 2000 and spent three years under former Coach George Welsh as the running backs coach.

Mark D’Onofrio will switch from the teams’ tight ends coach to work with the inside linebackers, a position that Golden previously held.

Men's hoops recruit knows how to win
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
March 6, 2005

Every time Mamadi Diane walks past the rows of trophy cases at DeMatha Catholic High School he gets goose bumps. It’s almost like he can feel the grand tradition that is Stags basketball.

Mamadi - you can call him Mo as most of his friends do - has carved out a reputation for himself at DeMatha, a journey that began his sophomore year at the fabled hoops school. He came to new coach Mike Jones then as a raw, but promising player. Diane has blossomed into a true star.

Having signed last November with coach Pete Gillen’s Virginia program, Diane is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who averages just more than 14 points, nine rebounds and five steals per game. The numbers aren’t of the eye-popping variety, but one must understand that DeMatha has six players averaging between eight and 15 points per game.

Continuing tradition

That’s six reasons why the Stags are 28-1 headed into today’s Washington D.C. city championship game against Cardozo (4 p.m. at Coolidge High). Diane helped lead DeMatha to its 34th (that’s not a typo) WCAC title last Tuesday and won’t rest until there’s another trophy in the case.

“Our first goal was to win the league championship, which we did,” Diane said after Friday’s practice. “Second is the city title. We’re definitely focused.”

While Diane has enjoyed an outstanding season, he has kept a watchful eye on Virginia’s program. He understands what it is like to come up short.

Clean slates

His arrival at DeMatha coincided with the hiring of former Stags star Jones as coach of the program. Jones, who played collegiately at Old Dominion, was stepping into some mighty big shoes of the legendary Morgan Wootten.

Wootten, the most celebrated high school hoops coach in history, was constantly compared to UCLA legend John Wooden until the Wizard himself put an end to the silliness. Wooden said that there was no comparison, that Wootten was the best coach he had ever seen on any level of basketball.

Jones probably didn’t win a place in many folks heart his first year when the Stags went 15-17.

It takes time to build

“That was one of the worst seasons in DeMatha’s history,” Diane said. “It was a burden on all of us. We felt we had let the tradition down and hadn’t done right by DeMatha. Coach Jones always tells us that we’re not only playing for our own names but for the name across our chest.”

Before the Oak Hill’s of the world, it was DeMatha on top all the time and so anything less than some sort of championship was unacceptable.

Jones made strides his second year with a 19-11 record and once again stands on the threshold of greatness heading into today’s title game.

“We’re ranked No. 7 in the country by USA Today, but AP ranks us No. 5 ... I like AP better,” Jones said.

While Diane is only one member of a balanced, yet talented squad, he has won a special place in Jones’ heart. Maybe it was because he took the youngster under his wing. Maybe it was just fate.

“Honestly, I don’t know if we’ve every truly had someone who can do some of the things Mo can do,” Jones said. “He is really gifted athletically and physically. People say his best days are ahead of him and I believe it because he works so hard and will take advantage of his natural ability.”

Jones called Diane one of the best athletes in DeMatha’s history, which brought a surprised smile to the senior guard’s face.

“That’s definitely a great compliment considering all the people who have been through here,” Diane said. “All the basketball trophies and pictures line the halls here, which is a great reminder of all the players who have come before me.”

Diane is a special blend of athletic ability and smarts. He devours scouting reports, studying his opponents as if they were a biology exam. He knows who he is guarding, their tendencies, whether they’re right- or left-handed, whether they drive to the basket or shoot jumpers.

The youngster is usually assigned defensively to the opponents’ best perimeter player and as Jones said, “Has done a great job of taking that challenge and has played great defense all year long.”

Hear that Virginia fans? Defense.

Some of it is natural ability. Diane’s father, Mori, played professional soccer in France and in the United States for the Washington Diplomats and San Antonio. His older brother plays soccer at Brown and even Mo used to play soccer until he was turned on to basketball.

“I think my soccer background helped with my endurance in basketball,” Mo said.

Some of his success can also be attributed to work ethic. Jones said that if he gives Diane something to work on, the kid submerges into it and doesn’t come up for air until the mission is accomplished. He has added something to his game every year.

“He came in as a slasher, rebounder, who could do a lot of damage in the paint,” Jones said. “But he only shot about 17 percent from 3-point range. We asked him to work on that. The next year he shot over 40 percent from outside. He spent his whole summer dedicated to becoming a better jump shooter.

“Knowing that he could go to the hole and that he could hit the jumper, we asked him to work on ballhandling and defense last summer and that’s what he did. Whatever he needs to do, he will do. We’re glad we have him,” Jones said.

Virginia is, too.

Diane realizes that Gillen is under the gun at UVa. He came to the Arizona and Maryland games at U-Hall and to the Cavs’ game at Maryland. He has heard all the rumors that Gillen could possibly be let go at season’s end.

“I feel very comfortable with Pete Gillen and his coaching staff and that level of comfort was one of the my main reasons for coming to Virginia,” Diane said. “I haven’t discussed all this with my father yet, but I’m pretty sure Virginia is the place I want to be.”

If Virginia decides to fire Gillen, his replacement may have to go in and reassure Mo and Mori that Virginia is still the place for his talents.

Until then, he’ll keep developing his game.

“I don’t know if he’s telling anyone about this,” said Jones with a chuckle, but one of the things he’s been working on is trying to dunk from the free-throw line. To me, that’s incredible.”

At the end of daily practice, Diane takes a couple of stabs at it before he leaves the gym.

“He hasn’t made one yet, but he’s come closer than anyone I’ve seen in real life,” Jones said.

Give him time.

Virginia outlasts Orange in Dome
Syracuse men's lacrosse team loses first game at home since the 2003 season.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
By Donna Ditota
Staff writer

John Christmas cupped the ball in his stick and hurled it toward the Carrier Dome roof. For 60 minutes, his Virginia lacrosse team had battled Syracuse beneath the big, climate-controlled bubble. And finally, the sound of the final buzzer eased the day's mounting tension.

No. 6 Virginia defeated No. 2 SU 12-11 before 6,478 Dome patrons Saturday in a game that featured five ties, four lead changes and lots of thrilling unsettled scoring.

The Orange, which trailed for most of the game and most of the fourth quarter, had one final chance with 1 minute, 1 second left. But Jarett Park's shot from in front of the Virginia cage snapped off the leg of Virginia defender Steve Holmes and skittered out of bounds. Game officials ruled that Virginia's Ricky Smith beat SU's Brian Crockett

to the sideline and Virginia was awarded the ball with fewer than 40 seconds left.

The Cavaliers then simply cleared the ball and ran out the clock to claim their third victory this season.

"This game is a remarkable event," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said of the contest, which typically features goal-scoring binges and tight scores. "It just never ceases to produce this type of play up and down the field."

SU (1-1) had won nine of the previous 11 vs. Virginia. But not Saturday. Not on a day when the Cavaliers' young goalie made a case to Starsia to eliminate his goalie platoon system.

Sophomore Kip Turner,who sat behind All-American Tillman Johnson last season, made 18 saves against the Orange. To put his day into perspective, consider this: SU's Jay Pfeifer's career high in saves is 19.

Turner acknowledged a bout with nerves before the game began. But once he stopped that first SU shot, he said, those nerves dissipated.

"I thought he played very well," said Starsia, who had been platooning Turner with redshirt freshman Bud Petit. "No matter what we had done in the goal, it was going to be a chore for a young goalie to get a start in this building and play against these guys. I thought Kip stood up well against a barrage of good shooters."

"He hung tough," said SU coach John Desko, "and he made some big saves."

The Orange trailed 9-6 with 4:19 left in the third quarter after Christmas snared a pass from Kyle Dixon and fired past Pfeifer. The SU defense, which surrendered just four goals a week earlier against Army, was not as effective against the crafty, creative Cavaliers. Pfeifer made nine saves Saturday, but most of them came in the flurry of the first quarter, when Virginia dominated faceoffs and kept firing on the SU cage.

Virginia led by as many as three goals three times in the game, the final time coming on the Christmas goal. But then Crockett went to work, first picking up a loose ball in front of the Virginia cage and pushing it past Turner, then dodging to the goal to beat him again with 42 seconds left in the third.

The Orange temporarily took the lead on a Steven Brooks goal with 11:55 left in the fourth, but the opportunistic Matt Poskay took care of that. Poskay deposited his fourth goal of the game past Pfeifer, tying it at 10. When Matt Ward bounced a shot that rattled the cage and crept in, Virginia led for good at 11-10. A Christmas goal in an unsettled situation cushioned the margin.

But Crockett,who worried the Virginia staff more than any other Syracuse player, showed why he inspired that concern. The SU attackman wedged himself between a cluster of Cavaliers and found the net to get the Orange to within 12-11.

By then, 1:17 showed on the game clock. Danny Brennan, who had struggled earlier at the faceoff stripe against Jack de Villiers, won a critical draw with Dome fans standing and shouting in anticipation. SU called timeout to set up a play. When the Orange broke its huddle, Crockett had the ball behind the Virginia cage.

"We just wanted to set up a middie dodge up top and try to find an open man on the back side," Crockett said. "But they played it pretty good."

The ball eventually found its way into Park's stick. He shot low and Turner reported that the ball kicked off Holmes' leg. It bounded to the sideline, with Crockett and Smith in pursuit. Crockett said he believed he'd beaten Smith to the sideline, but officials saw it differently.

Virginia owned the ball with about 30 seconds left.

SU lost for the first time in the Dome since the 2003 season.

It will not get any easier. The Orange, now 1-1, plays Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and Princeton in its next three games. All are top-10 teams.

Fans need a boost for hottest tickets in town
Conference expansion and a smaller arena create a ticket crunch for this year's ACC basketball tournament.
BY DAVID TEEL
247-4636
Published March 6, 2005

During his Virginia basketball career, Dirk Katstra shared ACC tournament courts with opponents such as Christian Laettner, Rodney Rogers and Kenny Anderson. As the school's lead athletics fund-raiser, Katstra faced an equally daunting challenge this year:

Informing some of his most loyal donors that their annual share of ACC tournament tickets had been cut or eliminated.

"Not only did a lot of people used to getting four tickets only get two," Katstra said, "but a lot of people used to getting four tickets didn't get any."

Ouch. Welcome to the first year of the expanded ACC. Welcome to the first year of a fund-raiser's worst nightmare.

And if you think this year's ticket is a tough get, wait until Boston College arrives next year, and wait until the event lands three years hence in the new, compact Charlotte Coliseum.

The ACC tournament has, for decades, served as a fund-raising bonanza for conference schools. So great is ticket demand that the notion of a public sale, as occurs in the Big Ten, Pacific 10 and Southeastern Conference, is laughable.

No, if you want tournament tickets, you have to ante up big time - year after year after year - to your school's booster club. Actually, it doesn't have to be your school. Tickets are so craved at traditional powers such as North Carolina and Duke that their donors stroke checks to rival schools merely for the privilege of attending the annual hoops clambake.

Well, now you have to ante up more. The ACC added Virginia Tech and Miami this academic year, with Boston College on the horizon. Toss in the tournament's smallest venue in 16 years, the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., and you have the tightest ticket in memory, one that costs $325 for six sessions - afternoon and evening Thursday and Friday; afternoon Saturday and Sunday.

No matter that newcomers receive only a one-third share in their first year, two-thirds in their second. No matter that the site is outside the conference's North Carolina hub. If you want to see this ACC tournament live, you'd best have cash and connections.

"We tried to prepare (donors) as much as we could on the front end," Katstra said. "But they only 'get it' when the ticket application arrives in the mail."

The application sent to Virginia Athletic Foundation members told the story: Full scholarship donors ($20,000 minimum annual gift) were reduced from eight tickets to six. In-state scholarship donors ($11,000 minimum annual gift) were cut from six to four. Folks giving $5,500 a year were docked from four to two, or, in the case of 173 people, to zero.

Despite the cuts, the VAF's annual campaign raised a record amount, more than $10 million, in 2004. Still, Katstra remains vigilant.

"There have been people who gave at that level and did not get ACC tournament tickets who do not give any more," he said. "There are many people (no longer motivated to give). We'll be watching it."

Ticket allocations illustrate the problem. For last season's tournament at 23,745-seat Greensboro Coliseum, the nine ACC schools received about 2,400 tickets each. This year at 20,301-seat MCI, the tournament's smallest arena since Atlanta's 16,700-seat Omni in 1989, the nine received 1,941 each. Virginia Tech and Miami received 647 each.

Easing the crunch: Every school receives an additional 100 seats for the sessions in which its team competes, a practice the ACC borrowed from the NCAA tournament.

Two other variables mitigated demand at North Carolina, according to Rams Club fund-raiser Karlton Creech: The out-of-state venue and the rotation of seats that placed all of Carolina's tickets behind the baskets.

Top Rams Club donors qualify for a maximum of four tournament tickets based upon a points system that rewards annual giving, cumulative giving and continuous years of membership. Some, Creech said, gave more to retain tickets; others gave less, or not at all, because the points minimum for tickets increased significantly.

At neighboring Duke, many donors needed to increase giving by 25 percent to keep tournament tickets. Jack Winters of the Iron Dukes declined to reveal dollar amounts but said reaction split about equally into three camps: a third gave more, a third gave less and a third gave the same.

"Our fans have been very, very understanding," Winters added. "They're not happy about it, but they knew it was coming. One thing working in our favor was that they knew Duke was against expansion. We were fighting for them.

"The best we can hope for is a (fund-raising) wash. You'd like to say it's a boom, but I don't know that any school in the conference can say that."

Lu Merritt, Virginia Tech's top athletics fund-raiser, empathizes. But after the Hokies qualified for only one Big East tournament in four years of membership, he's thrilled with an event that includes all conference teams, an event that his donor based has watched enviously since the 1950s.

After administrators and broadcast partners skimmed off the top, Merritt had 425-450 tickets to distribute. He offered two each to the Hokie Club's top 250 donors, based on a points system similar to North Carolina's.

The Dec. 31 cutoff for accumulating points for ACC tournament tickets just so happened to coincide with the points cutoff for the reseating of Virginia Tech's expanded football stadium.

"More people ponied up for the reseating of Lane Stadium," Merritt said. "But it also benefited them for the ACC basketball tournament."

Virginia Tech and Miami receive their first full shares of tickets in 2007, when the conference stages the tournament in Tampa, Fla. All 12 schools qualify for full shares in 2008, when the event moves to Charlotte and its new coliseum. The downtown venue will seat fewer than 20,000, leaving each school with fewer than 1,600 tickets.

"That," said the Rams Club's Creech, "is when it's really going to hurt."

Struggle for FSU seniors
Final season for Richardson, Waleskowski marred by skid
By Jack Corcoran
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Nine consecutive losses have wrecked Florida State's season and dampened the mood for Senior Day. Congratulations have been replaced by condolences for Anthony Richardson and Adam Waleskowski.

Just how tough has it been?

"Harder than I could have ever imagined," said Richardson, who was a McDonald's All-American in high school but never became a dominant player at FSU. "Harder than I can explain. I can't put in words - the season, the end of my career - everything. Most people wouldn't be able to sit here right now and be able to laugh and smile as much as I do. But it's a career that has ups and downs. More downs."

Richardson and Waleskowski will be honored before today's regular-season finale at the Civic Center against Virginia.

"My heart goes out to both of them because they've been good citizens," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.

FSU (11-18, 3-12 ACC) needs to beat Virginia (13-13, 4-11) to avoid finishing alone in last place for the second time in the past three seasons. The Seminoles are just 17-46 in conference play since 2001-02. Another loss would mean Richardson and Waleskowski will leave with the worst conference record for any four-year class since the program relinquished its independence and joined the Metro Conference 28 years ago.

The Seminoles went 1-31 in ACC road games during their four seasons. The lone win - at North Carolina State on Jan.26 - has been followed by nothing but losses home and away.

Early in the season, Hamilton questioned FSU's leadership and has since admitted he miscalculated in relying as much as he did on his upperclassmen. The criticism stung his senior forwards.

"I'm not one of those guys that's all in people's faces and tries to be Mr.Motivator and all that stuff," Waleskowski said. "I'm one of those guys that a lot of it is self-motivated for me. I know what I have to do, and I hold myself responsible for a lot of my stuff."

Unable to harness his athleticism, Richardson has watched his minutes dwindle down the stretch the past two seasons.

But Richardson still has NBA aspirations.

"Basically, I feel like I have NBA potential," said Richardson, who has averaged a career-low 5.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game this season. "I just feel like I've been in a tough situation."

Waleskowski was FSU's top reserve last season and showed signs that he was poised to make an even bigger contribution, averaging 15.1 points and 6.4 rebounds during a seven-game stretch midway through this season. But then he went 12 straight games without scoring in double figures.

He's not sure what happened.

"There was a certain time I was comfortable playing," said Waleskowski, who's averaging 8.5 points and 4.4 rebounds. "And I think my teammates were comfortable giving me the ball in certain situations. I just had a lot of confidence and a lot of things were going my way."

Richardson and Waleskowski were freshmen on Steve Robinson's final team in 2001-02. Only fifth-year junior Andrew Wilson has been around longer. Wilson had hoped the seniors wouldn't have to go out like this.

"It's hard to see because they've given a lot to this program," Wilson said.

Waleskowski will play his 121st career game against Virginia. FSU's opening game in the ACC tournament on Thursday will give him the chance to tie the school record set by Rodney Dobard (1990-93).

Richardson has played 117 games but still remains 37 points away from 1,000 for his once-promising career.

Success hasn't been as elusive in the classroom. Waleskowski is finishing up his degree in the humanities this semester while Richardson is on course to graduate this summer with a degree in sport management.

Both had hoped to end their college careers in the NCAA tournament. Instead, FSU was unable to even make it back to the NIT.

"That's a huge disappointment on us," Richardson said. "We let ourselves down and we let the fans down."