Virginia earns its first shutout in seven years
Richmond Times-Dispatch Mar 6, 2007
MEN'S LACROSSE
U.VA. 20 VMI 0

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia scored seven goals in the opening six minutes of the game en route a 20-0 win over VMI yesterday.

Nine different Cavaliers scored as they posted its first shutout since blanking Ohio State 21-0 in 1999. The win is the eighth-ranked Cavaliers' third in a row.

Virginia (3-1) scored on six of its first nine shots of the game to take control of the contest. The lead grew to 7-0 before the Keydets (1-2) were able to take their first shot of the game at the 6:21 mark of the first quarter.

Ben Rubeor tied his career high with five goals, all in the first quarter. Danny Glading scored four times and added an assist in the opening 15 minutes as U.Va. built an 11-0 lead going into the second quarter.

The Cavalier reserves scored five times in the third quarter, including two goals by freshman Tim Fuchs.

Adam Fassnacht won eight of nine faceoffs to help Virginia dominate possession during the early stages of the game. Overall, the Cavaliers won 17 of 24 draws. For the game, the Cavaliers outshot the Keydets 54-12.

Kip Turner started in goal for the Cavaliers and played nearly 22 minutes with one save before being relieved by Bud Petit.

 

Is the glass half empty or half full for U.Va.?
Cavaliers shared ACC title but blew chance to capture it outright
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 6, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- At the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., the scissors came out after North Carolina beat Duke in men's basketball Sunday night to clinch a share of the ACC regular-season title.

The Tar Heels confined their celebration, however, to one end of the court.

"We cut down one net because we didn't win it outright -- we're sharing it with some people," UNC coach Roy Williams told reporters. "So if Virginia wants to drive down here and cut down that other net . . . "

Dave Leitao smiled yesterday when reminded of Williams' comments. U.Va.'s second-year coach has no plans to send any representatives to the Smith Center, but he was happy to see the Tar Heels celebrate their co-championship.

"They embraced it, and because we didn't win our last game, it didn't give us an opportunity to embrace it in that way," Leitao said. "But by no means do you want to take away the fact that it is a very, very significant thing, because who knows how many times you can do that during the course of your career."

With a chance to win the ACC regular-season title outright for the first time since 1981, U.Va. stumbled Saturday, losing at Wake Forest. Even so, the Cavaliers still had a chance to keep the championship all to themselves. For that to happen, though, U.Va. needed three teams -- Virginia Tech, Boston College and UNC to lose Sunday.

The improbable nearly occurred. First, Clemson upset the Hokies in Blacksburg, and then Georgia Tech routed Boston College in Atlanta.

"I started telling myself, maybe it was meant for us to be outright champions," U.Va. forward Will Harris said yesterday.

Other Cavaliers watching intently Sunday included senior guard J.R. Reynolds, who called his buddy Vernon Hamilton after the Tigers' win at Cassell Coliseum.

Hamilton, a Benedictine High graduate, starts at point guard for Clemson. Reynolds' message to his friend?

"Good job."

As Duke and Carolina took center stage, for the first, and perhaps the last, time, Virginia players found themselves pulling for the Blue Devils.

Alas, the Heels refused to cooperate, and so U.Va. (11-5, 25-6) had to settle for a share of the regular-season title, its first since 1995.

"It's a thing we should be proud about, because we've worked hard all year," said Reynolds, who was named second-team all-ACC yesterday. "Nobody believed we were going to be in first place. They picked us to finish eighth, and for us to do this well and overcome some obstacles early on in the season, it's a privilege for us to be honored."

UNC and U.Va. met once during the regular season. The Tar Heels won that game and so, under the ACC tiebreaking system, earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, which starts Thursday in Tampa, Fla. U.Va.'s No. 2 seed is its best since 1983.

At John Paul Jones Arena yesterday, Leitao was asked about his team's regular-season accomplishment.

"For us it's a major statement as to where we think we can go from a program standpoint," Leitao said. "It doesn't mean we're going to be champs every year or anything like that, but more importantly, it speaks to the work ethic that these guys have put in. I've asked a lot of them over the course of this season, and they've really done everything that I've asked them to do."


 

Guards garner honor for Cavaliers, Hokies
Virginia's Singletary and Tech's Dowdell are first team all-ACC
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 6, 2007

The state of Virginia is well-represented on the all-ACC men's basketball team. For the second straight season, the all-ACC first team includes University of Virginia guard Sean Singletary, and joining him this year is Virginia Tech guard Zabian Dowdell.

Dowdell, a senior, is the first player from Tech to be named all-ACC. The Hokies joined the conference in 2004-05. Dowdell's teammate Jamon Gordon yesterday was named to the third team.

U.Va. guard J.R. Reynolds, a senior from Roanoke, received the most votes of any player on the all-ACC second team.

"It is unfortunate that six players couldn't make first team, because J.R. is deserving of that," Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao said. "Getting as close as he did speaks to that."

Singletary, a junior, is the fifth player in U.Va. history -- and first since Bryant Stith in the early '90s -- to be named first-team all-ACC twice. Singletary has said he plans to return for his senior season and so could become only the third Cavalier to make the all-ACC first team three times.

Ralph Sampson was a first-team selection in 1981, '82 and '83. Stith was so honored in 1990, '91 and '92.

Singletary leads U.Va., which shared the ACC regular-season title with North Carolina, in scoring, assists, free throw percentage, steals and 3-pointers. He's second on the team in rebounding. As good as Singletary was in 2005-06, Leitao said, he's improved this season.

"He's learning the game," Leitao said yesterday. "He knows the game, I think, from his position a whole lot better than he did this time last year."

Also on this year's first team are UNC sophomore Tyler Hansbrough, Boston College's Jared Dudley and Florida State's Al Thornton. Each was selected by all of the 106 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association who voted.

Hansbrough is a unanimous first-team choice for the second straight year. Thornton was a second-team selection last season, as was Dudley.

Thornton, Dudley, Hansbrough, Singletary and Dowdell rank Nos. 1-5 in scoring, respectively, among ACC players. Dudley leads the conference in rebounding, and Hansbrough is second.

The all-ACC second team includes two players with ties to this state: Reynolds and Boston College guard Tyrese Rice, a sophomore from L.C. Bird High. Reynolds was a third-team pick in 2005-06.

Rounding out the second team are Maryland senior D.J. Strawberry, Duke sophomore Josh McRoberts and North Carolina freshman Brandan Wright.

Hansbrough, Rice and McRoberts were members of the ACC's all-freshman team last season.

In addition to Gordon, the all-ACC third team includes Wake Forest senior Kyle Visser, Georgia Tech freshman Javaris Crittenton, N.C. State redshirt freshman Brandon Costner and Miami sophomore Jack McClinton.

Gordon and Dowdell, four-year starters for Hokies coach Seth Greenberg, were singled out for their defensive prowess, too. Each was named to the ACC's all-defensive team for the second straight season. Gordon leads the ACC in steals with 76, and Dowdell is second with 64.

"They've helped us rebuild and create some type of renaissance of Virginia Tech basketball," Greenberg said yesterday.

"They've helped establish us as a program that can compete in the ACC, and when we came in, I'm not sure a lot of people that had covered the ACC for a long time really thought that was possible in such a short period of time."


 

WOULD ADD 2 CONFERENCE GAMES
ACC considering 18-game schedule
KEN TYSIAC
ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com

ACC schools are considering expanding men's basketball schedules from 16 conference games to 18, Commissioner John Swofford said Monday.

"The Pac-10 already does that. My understanding is the Big East will be going to an 18-game schedule," he said. "We've had a number of discussions about that possibility, and we'll have to see how that ends up."

A vote of the 12 member schools would decide the issue.

ACC teams have played 16 conference games since Florida State entered the conference in 1991-92. Before the expansion that added Miami and Virginia Tech in 2004-05 and Boston College in 2005-06, the 16-game schedule allowed the conference to continue its longstanding tradition of having every team play all conference opponents home-and-home.

The ACC is in its second season of a three-season scheduling rotation that calls for teams to play 16 conference games. Each school plays its two "primary opponents" home-and-home every season, and plays home-and-home with each of the nine other opponents one season during the three-season rotation.

Some ACC coaches have been concerned about the inequities of the "unbalanced" scheduling format, but a 22-game schedule would be required for each team to play home-and-home with all 11 opponents.

Such a schedule would be considered too challenging, and some coaches are concerned that expanding the ACC schedule at all would discourage teams from scheduling attractive nonconference games against high-profile opponents.
 

Singletary is All-ACC
Reynolds named to 2nd team
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 6, 2007

In the second half of Virginia’s loss to Wake Forest on Saturday, UVa big man Jason Cain was a little slow in rotating over on defense. When play was stopped by a whistle, Sean Singletary jumped in Cain’s face.

“Wake up!” Singletary shouted at Cain.

Singletary then explained to his teammate what he had done wrong.

A year ago, Virginia’s co-captain may have kept his mouth shut.

“He’s grown - not just averaging more points, but his role within the team in being much more of a leader,” said UVa coach Dave Leitao. “He knows the game from his position a whole lot better than he did last year. He understands me and us - the other coaches - a whole lot better.”

On Monday, Singletary was voted to the All-ACC first team for the second straight year, becoming the first Virginia player since Bryant Stith to be named to the team twice (Stith did it three times from 1990-92).

In addition to becoming more vocal this season, the junior from Philadelphia improved his numbers in almost every statistical category, including points (18.8), assists (4.6), rebounds (4.5) and his shooting percentage from 3-point range (.403) and the free-throw line (.884).

Singletary also cut down on his turnovers, going from 3.6 per game to 3.0.

Joining Singletary on the first team were Boston College’s Jared Dudley, Florida State’s Al Thornton, North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough and Virginia Tech’s Zabian Dowdell. Dudley, Thornton and Hansbrough were unanimous selections.

Meanwhile, J.R. Reynolds, Singletary’s backcourt mate, was voted to the All-ACC second team.

Reynolds, who was a third-team selection last year, scored a career-high 40 points against Wake Forest on Jan. 21. The senior averaged a career-best 18 points per game.

“Coach [Jim] Calhoun taught me a long time ago that if you’re going to be one of the best teams in the league, you have to have at least two - if not more - of the top 15 players in the league,” said Leitao, whose team plays the Duke-N.C. State winner in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Friday in Tampa, Fla. “With Sean and J.R., we have that.

“I think that the thing that makes me the most proud is that [Singletary and Reynolds], and the rest of the team have gotten better over time. That’s how I’d like to be measuring our program and the players in the program.”

Joining Reynolds on the second team were Maryland’s D.J. Strawberry, Duke’s Josh McRoberts, Boston College’s Tyrese Rice and North Carolina’s Brandan Wright.

Reynolds received the most points (232) of any player on the second team.

Many Virginia fans had hoped that Singletary and Reynolds would both be members of the first team. That might have happened if UVa had beaten Wake Forest on Saturday and won the ACC regular-season title outright. Reynolds’ lackluster performance in his final two games - he was just 6 of 29 from the field - also hurt.

“It’s unfortunate that six players couldn’t make the first team because J.R. is very deserving of that,” said Leitao in a press release. “Getting as close as he did speaks to that.”

The All-ACC third-team selections consisted of Wake Forest’s Kyle Visser, Georgia Tech’s Javaris Crittenton, N.C. State’s Brandon Costner, Virginia Tech’s Jamon Gordon and Miami’s Jack McClinton.

 

Tampa tourney is wide open
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
March 6, 2007

Scattershooting around the ACC, while believing this is the most wide-open ACC Tournament in memory ...

Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton is one of several ACC coaches who agreed.

“I think that’s just the way the it is in the ACC now,” Hamilton said Monday. “The whole regular season race was wide open. The tournament should be the same way. We’re going in with the idea that anybody can get hot and come out of this tournament successful.”

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said that the tournament, which begins Thursday at noon in Tampa, Fla.’s St. Pete Times Forum (the first time the event has been held in Florida) has the potential to be the best ever.

“I don’t think we’ve ever been this deep,” said Swofford, who has been affiliated with either a member school or the league office since 1973. “None of us could remember a year when we were competitively deeper than we were this year. There are a number of teams that genuinely feel that they have a chance to win it.”

There has been some criticism for moving the tourney to Florida for the first time. Previously, the ACC Tournament has been held outside the state of North Carolina only a handful of times to either Atlanta or to Washington.

Swofford said that some critics mistakenly blamed the move on expansion, but the decision to play it in Tampa came before expansion occurred.

“It’s even more appropriate now with 12 schools in the state of Florida,” Swofford said.

One of the problems is that neither FSU or Miami are located anywhere close to Tampa.

“Washington is not like Greensboro, Charlotte is not like Atlanta,” the commish said. “Tampa will be unique in itself. That brings a freshness.”

Carolina-Duke bloodshed

The parties involved in Sunday’s altercation at the conclusion of UNC’s home win over Duke seemed satisfied that the situation was handled properly after revisiting the matter on Monday. Late in the game, Duke’s Gerald Henderson made a swipe at Carolina center Tyler Hansbrough, fracturing the Tar Heels’ nose and drawing blood.

Hansbrough, who often takes a beating down in the lane, had some angry words for Henderson after he realized his face was covered in blood, and had to be restrained from going after the Duke freshman.

“Tyler’s a warrior on the floor,” said UNC teammate Wes Miller. “Sometimes it’s hard to restrain yourself in situations like that, but I think Tyler showed a lot of class. He thought he got a cheap shot, but to be able to walk away from it showed a lot of class.”

Carolina coach Roy Williams confirmed Monday that Hansbrough suffered a non-displaced nasal fracture, but will play Friday in the ACC Tournament.

“His nose did not have to be set or straightened out,” Williams said. “We’re going to make a mask for him and I’m going to ask him to wear it the next couple of days. Whether we’ll ask him to wear it in the game, I don’t know yet.”

Williams also revealed that Hansbrough received an injury to his mouth earlier in the game that will probably force him to have a root canal after the season.

So, after digesting the incident overnight, was Williams satisfied with the fact Henderson was ejected from the game and will be suspended for Thursday night’s ACC Tournament game against N.C. State?

“I know Gerald Henderson and his family,” Williams said. “I think he’s a wonderful kid. I don’t think it was an intentional or planned thing. It was unfortunate.

“The referees looked at the tape and made their decision,” he added. “If I had seen it on tape, I would have made the same decision. I don’t think Gerald said, ‘Hey, I’m going to go hurt Tyler Hansbrough. I do believe the referees made the right decision. At the same time, I don’t think Gerald Henderson is a bad person.”

The Krzyzewski response

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said he looked at the play three times between the end of the game and his postgame press conference, then reviewed several more times Sunday night.

“[Hansbrough’s] actually fouled by Steve Johnson and by that time, Henderson has left the floor and his intent is to try to keep [Hansbrough] from scoring,” Coach K said. “The ball never goes up there. In the middle of that jump, [Henderson] never extends his arm, but his hand is open. You can see him turning and closing his eyes, and he hits Tyler. If it was intentional, his hand would have been closed and he would have met him head on.”

Krzyzewski said it was unfortunate that Hansbrough got hurt and that if he thought it was intentional that he would suspend Henderson longer than one game.

“There’s a lot going on in a short period of time,” the Duke coach said. “I don’t blame anybody. That wasn’t his intent. I believe that with all my heart. The main thing is for Gerald’s reputation. He’s not that kind of player.”

Stat of the Week I

Over the last 20 years, Clemson had an astonishing 1-70 record in ACC road games against teams that finished the season with a winning record in league play. Beating the Hokies made the Tigers 2-70, but a very memorable two.

Stat of the Week 2

Mind-boggling is the fact that Georgia Tech freshman Thaddeus Young took a mere 25 free-throw attempts in 16 ACC games this season. He took 106 field-goal attempts.

In last Thursday’s game against North Carolina, Young scored 25 points, but didn’t attempt a single free throw. Go figure.

Put me in, Coach

Maryland coach Gary Williams had a bit of a dilemma on his hands on Senior Day, which traditionally lends itself to starting all the team’s seniors.

The Terps had six, leaving no chance of walk-on Gini Chukura to make the token start.

With about four minutes left in the game, fans started chanting “We want Gini,” and about two minutes later, Williams put him in.

“A lot of those guys who were chanting, they never had a job before,” Williams said. “You have to win that game first before you put those guys in.”

That is unless you’re N.C. State where Coach Sidney Lowe started senior walk-on Justin Clark against Wake Forest. Clark had played only five total minutes in four years.

Well, he hit all three shots, scored eight points and played 22 minutes in the win, leaving Lowe to consider playing Clark even more to help the team’s backcourt depth for what’s left of the season.

Quote of the Week I

When Sunday rolled around, Maryland still had a chance to become the fourth seed in the ACC Tournament if Duke had upset North Carolina, which left at least one Terp in an unusual predicament in having to pull for the Dookies, a team that Maryland has no love for.

“I’ll probably be sick to my stomach doing it, but I’ll have to root for Duke in that one,” said senior center Will Bowers. “I might feel a little ill and I’ll probably have to take a shower after the game.”

Quote of the Week 2

Comes from N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe in trying to inspire his Wolfpack team to give this week’s ACC Tournament all they’ve got.

“It’s a one-game season now,” Lowe said. “We are going into this thing and we have to play every game like it’s the last of your career.”

Lowe speaks with experience. As a senior, he and the middle-of-the-pack State team, went on a roll and won the ACC Tournament, then continued the roll by winning an improbable NCAA championship, beating Ralph Sampson and Virginia twice along the way in 1983.

Free throws ...

... With Saturday’s loss to Wake Forest, Virginia dropped 10 spots in the RPI from 34th to 44th. ... Meanwhile, Virginia Tech dropped from 23rd to 31st after losing Sunday to Clemson. ... The seven ACC teams to compile 20 or more wins in the regular season is a league record (BC and FSU each have 19). ...One thing we’ve learned over the years at NCAA bids time is to never overlook a team’s strength of schedule. Virginia Tech’s is 15th nationally, UVa’s No. 43. ... Florida State’s Al Thornton could have broken his school’s single-game scoring record (46 points by Ron King in 1971) on Saturday, but turned down an uncontested basket as Miami had conceded the loss. Said Thornton, who scored 45: “I really didn’t know [about the record]. But if I did know, I still wouldn’t have laid it in. I didn’t want to embarrass the Miami team.” Now, that’s class and sportsmanship. ... Up until upsetting Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Sunday, Clemson had lost 43 consecutive games against ranked opponents away from Littlejohn Coliseum. ... By the way, the Tigers might want to make sure K.C. Rivers is kept happy because they’re 20-4 when he scores in double figures and only 1-5 when he doesn’t. ... Maryland became the first team in ACC history to overcome a 1-4, 2-5, or 3-6 start in league play and still finish with a winning ACC record.

 

Kerney gets big payday with Seattle
Falcons also part with Lehr, Lelie
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Former Pro bowl defensive end Kerney agreed to a six-year, $39.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, with $19.5 million of the deal guaranteed, according to his co-agent, Rich Rosa. The price tag was way too rich for the Falcons to retain the player they drafted in the first round in 1999.

And Lelie, a wide receiver, signed a two-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers.

In all, five Falcons starters have been released or have departed since the start of the free-agency period Friday. Also gone are fullback Justin Griffith and linebacker Ed Hartwell.

Kerney almost signed with the Denver Broncos, where he would have been reunited with former Falcons defensive line coach Bill Johnson. However, he opted for a more lucrative deal with Seattle, where he will join former Falcons head coach Jim Mora, the Seahawks' new secondary coach.

"This is like having 1,000 pounds lifted off my back," Kerney said about sweating out his decision. "I couldn't lose. I tried to take my relationships with Jim and Bill Johnson out of it. I felt like I had a slightly better chance to win a Super Bowl with Seattle."

Though the overall package isn't as huge as the six-year, $45 million contract defensive end John Abraham signed with the Falcons last offseason, Kerney will receive nearly $5 million more in guaranteed money. Kerney and Abraham share the same agents, Rosa and Tony Agnone.

Lehr, signed as a free agent in 2005, started at left guard the past two seasons but was suspended for four games last season for violating the NFL's steroid policy.

Coach Bobby Petrino said he will beef up the Falcons' undersized line, which was designed to execute the zone-blocking scheme implemented by former offensive line coach Alex Gibbs. Petrino plans to utilize more conventional run- and pass-blocking schemes, where bigger players can forcefully create space.

President and general manager Rich McKay said the shift to bigger players won't take place all at once and that the team feels it can acquire players over the next two years to fit Petrino's scheme. There is no need to rush to sign offensive linemen, McKay said, citing the team's mid-summer trade last year to land starting left tackle Wayne Gandy.

Atlanta met with veteran Seahawks guard Floyd "Pork Chop" Womack (6 feet 4, 330 pounds) over the weekend, but no deal was reached. Tyson Clabo, who started 10 games last season, P.J. Alexander and Quinn Ojinnaka, a rookie in 2006 who is expected to challenge for a starting job, could be used at left guard.

In San Francisco, the 49ers reached a tentative agreement during the weekend with Lelie, a deep threat who had a disappointing season with the Falcons, catching just 28 passes for 430 yards.

The 49ers believe Lelie can return to the form he showed during four seasons in Denver, when he had 3,003 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns while twice leading the NFL in yards per catch.

In other developments, cornerback William James — formerly Will Peterson — will visit with the Falcons on Wednesday, according to his agent, Ron Slavin. James spent part of last season with Philadelphia after a back injury derailed his career with the New York Giants.

"I think they're serious about signing him," Slavin said. "A Bobby Petrino defense is a bump-and-run defense, and that's Will's forte."

James (6-0, 200 pounds), scheduled to visit New Orleans today, wants to sign a one-year deal and prove that he is healthy, Slavin said.

The Falcons also released long snapper Gavin Tarquinio, a Georgia Tech product who spent last season — his rookie season — on injured reserve.

 

UVa opens the floodgates
By Barney Breen-Portnoy / Daily Progress correspondent
March 6, 2007

Any hopes the Virginia Military Institute had of hanging with Virginia were squashed six seconds into Monday evening’s contest. Adam Fassnacht controlled the opening faceoff for the Cavaliers and sprinted down the field where he passed the ball to Jon Borror.

Borror sent a rocket into the back of the net, giving No. 8 Virginia the first of 20 unanswered goals as the Cavaliers dismantled VMI, 20-0, in front of a sparse crowd of 518 on a brisk night at Klockner Stadium.

“It was a good night for us,” said Virginia coach Dom Starsia. “Our first-string guys had the chance to move the ball around a little bit in the first quarter. We got beat up a little bit on Saturday, so I was a little bit concerned about what type of energy we were going to bring tonight, but we took care of business early.”

Nine Cavaliers tallied goals for Virginia (3-1) in the winning effort. Junior attacker Ben Rubeor led the way with five goals, all of which came in the first half. Danny Glading notched four goals while Gavin Gill added three. Ryan Kelly and Tim Fuchs contributed two goals apiece while Drew Thompson, Ryan Burns, Drew Garrison and Foster Gilbert all got in the scorebook with one.

Borror’s early goal was just the opening of the floodgates for Virginia. The Cavaliers scored seven goals in the first six minutes and VMI (1-2) did not even clear the ball from its zone until there was a little more than seven minutes remaining in the first quarter. Virginia led 11-0 after the opening frame.

“I think we’ve learned that we can’t take any team lightly,” Rubeor said. “That’s what we took from the Drexel loss. I thought we came out and played hard today.”

The pace of Virginia’s offensive attack slowed a bit in the second quarter as the Cavaliers tacked on three goals to lead 14-0 at halftime.

Virginia continued to control the flow of the game in the second half. The Cavaliers scored five goals in the third quarter and one in the fourth.

The rout allowed Starsia to give extensive playing time to many of his reserve players.

“The last three quarters, a lot of kids got a chance to play who don’t normally get out there,” Starsia said. “But we were pretty crisp the whole time so it was a good exercise for us. We had a couple of young faceoff guys working there and a couple of young defensemen and I thought everybody that went on the field tonight did a good job. The game never got sloppy tonight.”

Four goalkeepers logged playing time for Virginia. Regular starter Kip Turner made one save. Rob Rimer made two and Mark Wade recorded one. VMI did not get off a shot on goal during the 18 and a half minutes that Bud Petit was in the game.

Virginia won 17 of 24 faceoffs and outshot VMI, 54-12.

Up next for Virginia is a home date against Princeton set for Saturday at 1 p.m. The Tigers are 1-1 on the season after falling, 7-6, in overtime to Johns Hopkins last Saturday at the Face-off Classic in Baltimore.

Last year, the Cavaliers won, 7-6, at Princeton. It was the narrowest margin of victory for Virginia in a season that ended with a perfect 17-0 record and a national title.

“I think that we are really going to be ready for the game on Saturday,” Rubeor said. “We got to watch them play last week against Hopkins. They are a very good team and they are very strong defensively, so we’re going to have to be ready.”