Seeding surprises UVa AD
Craig Littlepage says it appears the committee considered UVa's finish during the ACC season.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Before the NCAA men's basketball tournament pairings were announced, Dave Leitao would not have been surprised to see Virginia involved in a game between Nos. 8 and 9 seeds.

"That's interesting," UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage said Tuesday. "Dave and I haven't talked about it. That's the first time I'd heard that."

Littlepage is in his final season as a member of the NCAA selection committee, a group for which he served as chairman in 2006. He doesn't know what went into Virginia's selection as a No. 4 seed in the South Region because he was required to leave the room when talk turned to the Cavaliers.

"I thought maybe we'd be a [No.] 5," he said.

To be seeded among the top five teams in any region, theoretically Virginia (20-10) would have qualified as one of the top 20 teams in the country. However, there were no polls or power ratings this week that had the Cavaliers in the top 25.

Littlepage had been sequestered in another room for 20 minutes when there was a knock on the door and he was invited to rejoin the committee.

"When I looked at the computer and saw that we were on the No. 4 line, I must say it raised my eyebrows," Littlepage said. "I was thinking that maybe someone was trying to pull one over on me and just get a rise out of me.

"I didn't say anything but I think there was a realization that I looked surprised. I can't imagine my exact reaction. Maybe I blinked my eyes."

If it was a parting gift, it was a nice one, but Littlepage has been involved with the committee long enough to know it doesn't act that way.

"I don't know definitively because I did not speak to any members of the committee about this," Littlepage said. "You wouldn't want to do anything to breach the committee's policy and practices, but it appears consideration was given to the fact that we were the co-regular season champion in the No. 1-rated conference in the country."

Littlepage is thinking that Virginia may have benefitted from North Carolina's ACC Tournament championship, which cemented the Tar Heels' standing as the No. 1 seed in the East.

Since the Cavaliers tied Carolina for the regular-season championship, Littlepage said, it would have been difficult for the committee to place them five, six or seven lines behind the Tar Heels on the seeding scale.

"There was going to be some bunching in some leagues and you knew that Virginia, Virginia Tech and Maryland were not going to be separated by too much," Littlepage said. "What we usually do is look at head-to-head competition."

Virginia was 3-1 against Tech and Maryland, including 2-0 against the Terps, who also were a No. 4 seed. The Hokies were 2-1 against UVa and Maryland but got a No. 5 seed.

On the other hand, the Cavaliers lagged behind many of their ACC colleagues in the various power ratings and did not move past NIT-bound Clemson and Florida State until the final week of the regular season.

Virginia had non-conference victories over Gonzaga and Arizona, and the Cavaliers also played Purdue and Stanford, "but for some reason, it didn't move the needle very much," Littlepage said.

"There are things the committee considers that the RPI does not reflect."

In 2006, it was Littlepage who was grilled by CBS analyst Billy Packer, a responsibility that he was more than willing to relinquish.

"I felt on Sunday night that, 'Boy, it would be difficult to do this again,' " said Littlepage, whose five-year term expires in September. "I say that more about the selection process than the committee membership overall. This past selection weekend was particularly grueling."

When the selections were completed and the interviews done, the committee sat back and speculated on matchups that would prompt conspiracy accusations. Among them is UCLA's first-round game with Weber State, the alma mater of Bruins' coach Ben Howland. That could set up a possible second-round game with Pittsburgh, where Howland coached before going to UCLA.

"That falls under the heading of, 'You couldn't have made it up,' " Littlepage said.

As a seventh seed, Indiana could have played 10th-seeded Texas Tech and former Hoosiers coach Bobby Knight in the first round, but those teams were sent to different regions.

"That could be a discussion," Littlepage said. "We wouldn't hype to impact the event."
 

Men's All-State Team
U.Va. guard Singletary repeats as top player; Grant is coach of year
BY JOHN MARKON
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Mar 14, 2007

For Sean Singletary, it was another close call at the buzzer.

The University of Virginia's junior point guard has been named the state's collegiate player of the year by The Times-Dispatch for the second consecutive season, but only by the narrowest of margins. In a vote of nine T-D basketball writers and editors, the final tally was five for Singletary and four for Zabian Dowdell, Virginia Tech's outstanding senior guard.

Virginia Commonwealth's Anthony Grant was the staff choice as the state's coach of the year. Grant, an NCAA participant and Colonial Athletic Association champion is his first season as a head coach, received eight votes with one cast for Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg.

"I think [Dowdell's] a great player," Singletary told The T-D's Jeff White. "We always show respect for each other when we play. We'll talk to each other online, just going back and forth.

"All these accolades come with team success, so I'm happy about that. And I'm happy that my mom can see me doing well, because she's happy when I get awards."

Singletary's mother, Jacqui, is a cancer survivor.

Singletary and Dowdell were unanimous selections to The T-D's first team, as was Eric Maynor, Virginia Commonwealth's sophomore point guard. The other first-team selections were Virginia guard J.R. Reynolds, a senior from Roanoke, and VMI forward Reggie Williams, a junior from Prince George who prospered in the Keydets' run-and-gun offense, leading all Division I players in scoring at 28.1 points per game.

The five players on the T-D's second team were Old Dominion forward Vitas Vasylius, Virginia Tech guard Jamon Gordon, Virginia State center Avis Wyatt, George Mason forward Will Thomas and VCU guard B.A. Walker.

Singletary and Dowdell made the all-Atlantic Coast Conference first team with Reynolds on the second team. Maynor (CAA) and Williams (Big South) also were on their all-conference teams.

Singletary ranked third in the ACC in points per game (18.9), second in free throw percentage (.891), third in 3-point field goals made (76) and sixth in assists per game (4.57).

Singletary noted that he and Dowdell benefited from having outstanding backcourt partners.

"I have J.R. here, and he has Jamon," Singletary said. "So, we're in a similar situation. [Dowdell] has a year on me, but he's a tremendous player, a tremendous jump-shooter."

Singletary, who is less than ideally sized for the NBA at 6-0 and 165 pounds, has said many times he plans to be a four-year player at Virginia. Doing so would give him an opportunity to become The T-D's first three-time player of the year since U.Va.'s Ralph Sampson, who won the first of his three awards in 1981.

Grant is the third VCU coach to be cited as coach of the year. The others were predecessor Jeff Capel in 2004 and J.D. Barnett in 1983.

"I'm appreciative," Grant said, "but I understand these awards represent a lot of hard work by a lot of different people. I feel like I'm a small part of a big thing."

Grant also was selected as CAA coach of the year. His Rams (27-6) were picked sixth in a preseason vote of conference coaches but ultimately won 16 of 18 regular-season CAA games to finish first and then won the tournament as the No. 1 seed.

A few more notes on the all-state team:

Singletary is the only repeater from last year's first team. Dowdell and Williams were second-team choices last year. Gordon was a first-team pick last season before dropping to the second five this year.
Williams is only the fourth VMI player to make the T-D's first team. The others were Ron Carter in 1978, Gay Elmore in 1983 and Jason Conley in 2002. Carter and Conley also were selected players of the year.
Sampson is the only three-time player of the year. Two-time winners other than Singletary are Virginia's Jeff Lamp (1980-81), Virginia's Bryant Stith (1991-92) and Richmond's Greg Stevenson (2000-01).
Players receiving at least one second-team vote and thus earning honorable mention are VCU's Jesse Pellot-Rosa, Tech's Deron Washington, Virginia Wesleyan's Brandon Adair, Virginia Union's Brad Byerson, Liberty's Larry Blair, Longwood's Maurice Sumpter and George Mason's Folarin Campbell.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Mar 14, 2007

BACK TO BASICS: After a disastrous trip to Puerto Rico, where it went 1-2 in the San Juan Shootout, Virginia looked in late December like a basketball team on the verge of falling apart.

The Cavaliers' defense had been atrocious in losses to Appalachian State and Utah, which shot 54.2 and 62.3 percent from the floor, respectively. The Mountaineers were 13 of 26 from 3-point range against U.Va.; the Utes, 11 of 21.

"I put the blame squarely on my shoulders," second-year coach Dave Leitao said Monday, "in that we looked at ourselves from last year and knew we weren't very good -- in [the ACC] especially -- on the offensive end, and we spent a whole lot of time over the summer as a staff, when the [players] reconvened, late summer, early fall, making sure we were a better offensive team. And I think in doing that, I took their minds, even subconsciously, away from what was going to make them successful, and that's defending people."

Back in Charlottesville, assistant coach Steve Seymour "reminded all of us," Leitao said, that "if we're going to be anything, win, lose or draw, we've got to do it on the defensive end. That's what makes me, or makes us, tick."

Since then, Leitao said, defense has been the focal point of most practices, and, "I think that's in large part the reason why we're sitting here today."

U.Va., which shared the ACC regular-season title with North Carolina, has advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in six years. Virginia (20-10), seeded No. 4 in the South Region, meets No. 13 seed Albany (23-9) in the first round Friday.

UP AND AT 'EM: Four first-round games will be played Friday in Columbus, Ohio, starting with U.Va.-Albany at 12:15 p.m. The final game, between Holy Cross and Southern Illinois, isn't likely to begin before 9:45 p.m.

"I love it," Virginia guard J.R. Reynolds said of the early tipoff. "That way I won't have to wait all day and be anxious getting ready to play."

VOICE OF EXPERIENCE: The only player on Leitao's roster who has participated in the NCAA tournament is junior center Ryan Pettinella, who spent the 2003-04 and '04-05 seasons at Pennsylvania.

Penn won the Ivy League title in 2005 and met Boston College in the NCAA tourney's first round at Cleveland.

In the Quakers' 85-65 loss, Pettinella played 12 minutes and had six points (on 3-for-4 shooting), two rebounds, two turnovers and one steal.

"When I was there last time, the emotions were really running high, and I couldn't really sleep the night before the game," Pettinella recalled. "It was like a dream come true to make that tournament and be in that situation, and to have it that close was unbelievable."

GETTING ACCLIMATED: Solomon Tat, a freshman from Jos Plateau, Nigeria, wore a Jim Brown jersey No. 32 for the Cleveland Browns to the gathering at which U.Va. learned its NCAA-tournament draw Sunday night.

"I like soccer better, but I love to watch American football," said Tat, who spent the 11th and 12th grades at Community Christian School in Georgia. "I'm getting used to knowing the rules and all that stuff, so I guess I'm developing an interest."

At 6-5, 220 pounds, the chiseled Tat would not look out of place on a college football team.

ON THE DIAMOND: After losing two of three games at Wake Forest in their first ACC series, the Cavaliers fell three spots, to No. 7, in the latest Baseball America poll. U.Va. will face another major challenge this weekend when they visit top-ranked North Carolina.

The teams are scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. Friday, at 1 p.m. Saturday and at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Heading into its game against visiting Niagara yesterday, U.Va. was 16-3, and four of coach Brian O'Connor's players were hitting better than .400: sophomores Jeremy Farrell (.415), Greg Miclat (.425) and David Adams (.482) and junior Brandon Guyer (.435). Junior Sean Doolittle, the reigning ACC player of the year, led Virginia with three home runs heading into yesterday's game.

IN THE CREASE: A season ago, U.Va. stamped itself as one of the greatest teams in the history of NCAA men's lacrosse, finishing as an unbeaten national champion.

Don't expect such dominance from his or any other team this season, Virginia coach Dom Starsia said.

"From what I've seen so far, there isn't a complete team in the field," Starsia said. "Maybe by this time last year, you're thinking, 'Can any team beat Virginia?' There's nobody you're saying that about now. All the top teams are flawed."

Among other notable results this season, U.Va. has lost to Drexel, Johns Hopkins to Albany, Syracuse to Army and Duke to Loyola (Md.). The Wahoos, however, have beaten Syracuse and Princeton this month and have the talent to return to the NCAA's final four.

Starsia's biggest concern remains his first midfield of senior Drew Thompson, sophomore Steve Giannone and freshman Brian Carroll. That group needs to increase its production to take pressure off attackmen Danny Glading, Ben Rubeor and Garrett Billings.

-- Jeff White
 

Getting their feet wet
Cavs try to debunk the experience myth
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 14, 2007

Ryan Pettinella was in Cleveland and couldn’t sleep a wink.

Pettinella, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, was playing Boston College in the NCAA Tournament the next day.

The Rochester, N.Y., native had dreamed all his life about taking part in the Big Dance. Now, it was about to happen.

“I was up all night just thinking about the game,” Pettinella recalled, ‘but once I got on the court, I took a couple deep breaths and just focused in.”

The Quakers wound up losing to BC. Pettinella had six points and two rebounds.

Two years later, the rugged post player is back in the NCAA Tournament. Having transferred from Penn after his sophomore season, Pettinella is the only player on Virginia with Big Dance experience.

How important is that as UVa, the No. 4 seed in the South Region, prepares to play 13th-seeded Albany in the first round on Friday?

“It’s a factor only if you need it to be a factor,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “When you have two teams competing against each other, understanding what happens on the floor becomes paramount in what you’re trying to do to be successful.

“The surroundings and the preparedness and all that … it’s obviously better to have been through that before, but there have been teams - you can use Florida as an example last year - that don’t have a tremendous amount of tournament experience and can still do a lot of damage.”

The Gators’ starting five had just one game of NCAA Tournament experience (from the previous season) prior to winning the whole shebang in 2006.

Of course, it’s hard to forget the 1992 “Fab Five” Michigan team that started five freshmen and made it all the way to the title game.

Virginia will be playing an Albany team that has eight players who took part in last season’s tournament when the Great Danes lost to Connecticut in the first round.

“I think we have a lot more confidence from that,” said Albany guard Jamar Wilson. “You know how it feels and how everything goes. It definitely helps the confidence and the camaraderie of the team.”

Virginia guard Sean Singletary pooh-poohed the experience factor.

“In the NCAA Tournament, there is a lot of anxiety,” Singletary said, “but when it all comes down to it, it’s just a game of basketball - two rims, a basketball and you just go after it.

“There’s a lot of hype, and there should be because it’s a great experience, but we just want to take it as a regular basketball game - go out there and be competitors and be ready to play.”

Still, in an elimination tournament where one bad game - and in many instances just one bad possession - can bring an abrupt end to your season, experience probably isn’t a bad thing to have on your side.

Particularly when you consider that Virginia’s psyche could be slightly dented after losses to Wake Forest and N.C. State.

Seniors J.R. Reynolds and Jason Cain have each played in two NIT games. As freshmen, they lost to Villanova. Last season, they lost to Stanford.

However, the NIT is to the NCAA Tournament what the Arena Bowl is to the Super Bowl.

CBS preempts its daytime soap operas with the NCAAs. Many people who aren’t even basketball fans skip work to watch. Even 80-year-old grandmothers (the ones mad that “The Young and the Restless” isn’t on) fill out brackets.

What was going through Pettinella’s mind as he walked out on the court for his first experience?

“It was more like shock and awe,” he said. “My emotions were running very high. I was very excited, very nervous. That had been my main goal - to get to the tournament on that national stage.

“But I think once you get on the court and start playing, the emotions kind of wane and you just really get into the game and used to the environment.”

Pettinella sounded giddy as he talked about getting another chance in the NCAAs.

“That’s what every player works for,” he said. “They call it the Big Dance for a reason. It’s just a phenomenal opportunity. It’s the pinnacle of Division I basketball.”

Pettinella, who was actually recruited by a number of America East schools, including Albany, said he has already given advice to a couple of his teammates of what they can expect come Friday.

“You have to play like it’s your last game,” he said, “because if you lose that game, you go home.”

Leitao said he has far greater concerns than worrying about his team’s lack of tournament experience.

“It’s one of many things that you’d like to have in your corner,” he said, “but at the end of the day you still have to get on the court and contribute in a positive manner in order to be successful.”

Does Leitao consider Pettinella’s experience a benefit to other members of the team?

“I don’t think there’s [anything] from a wisdom standpoint that he can impart on the group that will make them defend better or shoot better on Friday,” Leitao said.

If there is, Pettinella might want to consider a career in coaching.
 

Reynolds, Singletary staking their claim
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
March 14, 2007

Before the season began, I wrote a column about the top half-dozen backcourt tandems in Virginia hoops history.
In a purely unscientific venture, we talked to some former Wahoo stars and coaches about the various strengths and weaknesses of those backcourts. While we didn’t rank them in any particular order, it was an interesting task about a subject we had never really touched upon and resulted in a strong response from Cavalier fans across the country.
One basic requirement helped narrow the field, that the backcourts had to have played together for at least two seasons and no small forwards were eligible to be in the mix.

The list
Our research essentially came down to these duos in no particular order: Jeff Jones-Jeff Lamp; Othell Wilson-Rick Carlisle; Barry Parkhill-Tim Rash; Harold Deane-Curtis Staples; Buzzy Wilkinson-Bob McCarty-Bill Miller; J.R. Reynolds-Sean Singletary.
Readers have debated since then just what order these backcourts should be in, however it would be difficult to not rank Jones and Lamp at the top for a variety of reasons, including Lamp’s scoring ability, Jones’ distribution skills, total wins and advancement into the postseason.

Something to prove
Several of the old ’Hoos wanted to reserve judgment on the current backcourt of Singletary and Reynolds until their season concluded. They have played together for three seasons and what they do in terms of winning in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend will have a bearing on where they rank in Virginia history.
Certainly the statistics are there. Only five other UVa guards have scored more than Reynolds (1,629). Should Singletary (1,384) stick around for his senior year, he could surpass quite a few of those.
The fact that they produced an ACC co-championship together and accumulated a 20-win season certainly advanced their cause in their last campaign together. Getting to the NCAAs was a bonus that shined an approving glow on their career.
Moving on to the Sweet 16 would only enhance their status in UVa basketball annals.

A strong supporter
At least one admirer of the Cavalier backcourt already liked what he saw in Singletary and Reynolds even before they hit their stretch run together.
Craig Littlepage, the Virginia director of athletics, is a big fan. ’Page, who served two assistant coaching stints at UVa and has been involved in the school’s athletic administration since he hung up his coaching shoes, has a lot of working knowledge of Cavalier backcourts for the past three decades.
So, as the old commercial used to go, when Littlepage speaks, we should listen.
“I believe as a tandem, these two guys have to rank among the best that played together for one primary reason,” Littlepage said. “They’ve been the backbone of our offense and have had to carry the team’s offensive load.”
That’s an intelligent observation.
The aforementioned backcourts throughout Cavalier history had the luxury of consistent scoring options either in the low post and/or other perimeter players that shared the offensive workload.
For example, Parkhill and Rash had center Scott McCandlish down low and Bill Gerry or Jim Hobgood at the power forward, all double-digit scorers.
Lamp and Jones had someone named Ralph, not to mention Lee Raker.
Wilson and Carlisle also had Sampson, Jimmy Miller and eventually Olden Polynice.
Deane and Cory Alexander (before he was injured) or
replacement Staples had Junior Burrough and others to rely upon.
You get the picture. They had a ying for their yang. Meanwhile, as Littlepage aptly pointed out, Reynolds and Singletary have often been the only option.
No wonder coach Dave Leitao recognized this early on, prompting him to say that he was going to ride these guards until he can’t ride them any longer. So far the ride has produced what could be Virginia’s best basketball season since 1995.

 

UVa shows no mercy vs. MSM
By Sean McLernon / smclernon@dailyprogress.com | 978-7247
March 14, 2007

Virginia coach Dom Starsia was a little worried about his team coming out sloppy Tuesday night against Mount St. Mary’s following Saturday’s hard-fought victory over Princeton.
Scoring the game’s first nine goals quickly put those fears to rest.
The No. 2 Cavs dominated the overmatched Mountaineers, rolling to an easy 23-6 victory at Klockner Stadium. Virginia (5-1) has now won five straight since opening the season with a loss to Drexel.
“I felt like we had to work,” Starsia said. “I felt like that Mount St. Mary’s team was a feisty group. It never felt easy, but it seemed like we were prepared to do the work we needed to do.’
Ben Rubeor led the Cavaliers with four goals, giving him a team-best 19 scores for the season. Danny Glading added three goals and dished out a team-high four assists in a victory that saw 13 different Cavaliers find the back of the net.
“Everyone was moving well and everyone was alert,” Glading said.
“This was a great opportunity for some of the younger guys to get out and get some experience.”
One of those players was freshman midfielder Mike Thompson, who scored the first goal of his career in the second half. Midfielder Joe Dewey registered a hat-trick after failing to score in the Virginia’s five other games this season. Midfielders Kevin Coale and Ryan Burns also scored their first goals of the year in the victory.
The Cavaliers held a 12-2 lead at halftime, scoring the game’s first nine tallies
before Mount St. Mary’s attackman Dave Orban spoiled the potential shutout. Orban led the Mountaineers (0-3) with three goals.
Virginia opened the second half with a six-goal run that culminated in a Gavin Gill tally, his third of the game, at the 10:06 mark to put the contest even further out of reach.
Backup goalkeeper Bud Petit spelled Kip Turner to start the third quarter. Turner finished with four saves, while Petit recorded one stop. But even if the keepers had let every shot on goal pass by, the Cavaliers would still have won easily. Virginia’s 23 goals are the most the team has scored since a 23-9 rout of Albany at Klockner in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Mount St. Mary’s has lost by double digits in all of its contests this year, falling to No. 17 Delaware, 19-5, and No. 14 Bucknell, 14-2. With Tuesday’s defeat, the Mountaineers drop to 0-4 all-time against the Cavaliers, with all four losses coming in the last five seasons.
Virginia has now won 19 straight games at Klockner Stadium, as the season-opening home loss to Drexel took place at U-Hall Turf Field. The Cavaliers’ last loss on the grass at Klockner came on March 13, 2004, against Princeton.
UVa will look to make it 20 straight on Saturday when it plays host to No. 15 Towson (2-1) at 1 p.m.
 

Cavs blow apart high-powered Terrapins
By Sean McLernon / smclernon@dailyprogress.com | 978-7247
March 14, 2007

The Maryland women’s lacrosse team came into Tuesday’s game at Virginia averaging more than 18 goals per contest.

Against a stingy UVa defense, the Terrapins barely got off 18 shots.

Powered by five goals from Blair Weymouth, the No. 5 Cavaliers jumped ahead early and shut down one of the most high-powered offenses in the country en route to a 15-4 victory over the No. 3 Terrapins at Klockner Stadium.

“I’m still in shock,” Weymouth said. “This is unbelievable.”

Maryland (5-1) had scored at least 15 goals in all five of its contests before Tuesday, but against the Cavaliers (6-0), the Terrapins scored only one in the first 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Virginia offense was firing on all cylinders, controlling possession and attacking the goal often. The Cavaliers scored 14 of the game’s first 15 goals.

“We really wanted to make sure that we kept control of the game,” said Virginia coach Julie Myers. “No matter what offensive set we were in, we wanted to be aggressive. Maryland’s pressure defense made us go to goal a little bit more often than we would like to, but it seemed like that was the only open lane.”

Whitaker Hagerman opened the scoring 5 minutes in on a restart and the floodgates opened from there. A pair of goals apiece from Weymouth and Brittany Kalkstein put Virginia up 5-0 with 9 minutes left in the half.

Maryland’s Casey Magor got one past Virginia goalkeeper Kendall McBrearty with 5:52 remaining, but Megan O’Malley answered for the Cavaliers on a fastbreak on the ensuing draw just 16 seconds later. Two more tallies from Weymouth and Kate Breslin made the score 8-1 at the half.

The UVa onslaught continued after the break, with Kalkstein scoring 9 minutes in and Weymouth finding the net again 10 seconds later.

Weymouth’s fifth score of the night gave the Cavaliers a 10-goal lead at the 20-minute mark, starting a running clock because of the double-digit disparity.

“We were working the ball and finding the open people,” Weymouth said. “They looked like they had no idea what was going on, so I guess we were just taking it to them pretty well.”

Kalkstein, Ashley McCulloch and Megan Havrilla added to the advantage in the next 6 minutes to make the score 14-1. Kaitlin Duff also scored for Virginia.

Kalkstein finished with four goals and Weymouth recorded a team-high three assists in addition to her five tallies.

Magor led the Terrapins with two goals.

McBrearty finished with a career-high 14 stops for an impressive .764 save percentage. Maryland’s Allie Boute finished with only nine saves.

The competition gets no easier for the Cavaliers, who travel to face No. 1 North Carolina (6-0) on Saturday.

“This is big, not only for our confidence but for our ACC record and for keeping our momentum going,” Myers said of the Maryland win. “It was a great opportunity today that we were able to take advantage of.”

Ground balls

Starting attack Jess Wasilewski left the game in the first 4 minutes after Maryland’s Katie Pumphrey hit Wasilewski with her stick, striking her across her goggles, which tore her nose open. “She has the whole stick mark across her whole face,” Myers said. “She looks like she had been in a car accident.” According to Myers, Wasilewski will need stitches and is questionable for the UNC game. … Virginia outshot Maryland, 30-22, but the Terrapins won the draw control battle, 12-9.

 

Cavs post record victory
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
March 14, 2007

The members of the 1901 and 1990 Virginia baseball teams have company in the record books.

That might not have been the case had the Cavaliers played all nine innings.

Virginia blasted out 25 hits and tied the single-game scoring record as it whipped Niagara, 29-2, in a game that was halted in the middle of the eighth.

“Whenever they ran out of arms was when we were going to call the game. That’s basically what happened,” O’Connor said. “I would have never thought that this would happen because I think they have a very good coach and they beat VMI earlier in the season.”

Virginia, thanks to the most lopsided win in school history, improved to 17-3 overall. Niagara (3-7) had a two-game winning streak snapped.

The offensive outpouring started early - UVa scored nine in the first and led 15-0 after two innings - and continued as Niagara used six relief pitchers.

“It is very easy in the middle of the week when you face a lot of different pitchers within a game for guys not to adjust what they need to do offensively to each particular pitcher,” O’Connor said. “We did a good job of that today. We just strung a bunch of hits together. “To score 29 runs on one error is unheard of.”

Nine different Cavaliers registered multi-hit games, headlined by left fielder Brandon Guyer. The junior, who entered the game with 10 RBI on the season, drove in nine runs with three singles and a double.

“I felt good [at the plate], but it kind of helped out that I came up in just about every at-bat with the bases loaded,” Guyer said. “I have to credit my teammates to get on base.”

Guyer joined a short list of players in the program with 100 RBI for a career with a two-run single in his second plate appearance, which just so happened to come in the first inning.

“We took advantage of all their mistakes today,” Guyer said. “There is nothing more you can ask of us.”

Andrew Carraway (2-0) earned the win on the mound. Three relievers, including Pat McAnaney, who made his season debut, closed out the win with five innings of work.

Virginia returns to action on Friday as it opens a weekend series on the road with top-ranked North Carolina (16-1, 3-0 ACC).

Extra bases

Virginia first baseman/ pitcher Sean Doolittle did not play against Niagara. O’Connor said it was a routine day off but announced after the game that Doolittle would be moved to the No. 3 spot in the weekend rotation to allow the southpaw to play first base in the two opening games. Jacob Thompson and Matt Packer will pitch on Friday and Saturday, respectively. ... Virginia shortstop Greg Miclat (sore arm) started as the designated hitter but moved into the field at first base during the middle of the game. O’Connor said he may start Miclat at first when Doolittle pitches on Sunday to ensure that both players are in the batting order.


 

Men's Lacrosse: Cavs overcome curse of orange uni's with win
Virginia scores 23 goals to win out over feisty Mount Saint Mary's team; offense dominates game with 42 shots on goal
Megan McDonald, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

Last night, with a 23-6 win against Mount Saint Mary's, the sixth-ranked Virginia men's lacrosse team successfully broke the curse of the orange uniforms.

The Cavaliers' (5-1-0) last outing in orange jerseys was in 2005 against Duke whenthe Blue Devils won 17-2. The Blue Devils claimed that year's ACC regular season title and left Virginia stunned. While the team has since agreed to don the uniforms for select photo shoots, last night was the first time the Cavaliers took the field in orange since that major 2005 defeat.

After scoring 23 goals, Virginia probably left the field with a little more confidence in those jerseys. Nevertheless, Virginia coach Dom Starsia felt that his team faced a quality Mount Saint Mary's team and noted that the lopsided final result could be misleading.

"It was not like the VMI game -- I felt like we had to work," Starsia said. "I thought this Mount team was a really feisty group, and they were battling out there the whole time. It never felt easy, but we were prepared to do the work we needed to."

In the first quarter, Virginia scored seven unanswered goals. Senior captain Drew Thompson led the assault on Mount St. Mary's by putting the Cavaliers on the board in the fourth minute. Thompson then shot twice more and found the back of the net once again before the game reached the fifth minute of play. An illegal pocket call on Thompson voided his goal, however, and landed him in the penalty box for a full minute.

"We wanted to come out and get on them early and get everyone a chance to play," sophomore Danny Glading said. "I think we all were moving hard tonight and everyone was alert and we really got on top of them from the beginning."

The remainder of the first half saw goals by senior Foster Gilbert, junior Ben Rubeor and sophomores Glading, Steve Giannone, Gavin Gill and Kevin Coale. Coale actually scored in the face of seven Mount St. Mary's defenders for which the Mount promptly received an illegal procedure penalty.

After pelting the Mount with 42 shots on goal, Virginia entered the locker room at the half with a 12-2 lead. When play resumed, as Starsia started substituting for his starting players, Michael "Bud" Petit replaced senior Kip Turner in the goal.

Indeed, given the fierce competition Virginia has faced recently from programs such as Syracuse and Princeton, last night's early lead provided a chance for many young Cavaliers to leave the bench and gain valuable experience. For their part, freshmen George Huguely, Mike Thompson and Ryan Burns each scored; it was Thompson's first collegiate goal.

Also in the second half, freshman Brian McDermott began facing off for the Cavaliers. As next season's probable face-off man, Starsia said experiences like last night will invaluable part of McDermott's development.

"This was a great opportunity for a lot of the young guys to get out and get that experience," Gladding said. "And for the team as a whole, we get to learn how to play with different personnel and with guys we don't get to play with in every game. It's really a good experience for the whole team coming together."

With 12 different Cavaliers scoring for Virginia and a solid showing by the defensive line, last night's result not only lifted a curse -- it provides confidence as the team heads into Saturday's tough matchup against Towson.

"A game like this, it can be a little messy or you can play hard and play well," Starsia said."I thought that for us, tonight was a step forward."

 

Bouncing back "Puerto-Rico" style
Joey Mancini, Cavalier Daily Columnist

Remember Virginia's losses in Puerto Rico? Nope, not me. For the most part since December, fans have wiped those games clean from collective memory.

Gone. Never happened.

Yet, while you tried vehemently to forget the losses, the team did its best to learn from them. Upon returning to Charlottesville, coach Dave Leitao said he wanted to "go back to square one" and "re-teach everything." Like any good coach, he didn't say Virginia would dismiss the games but instead would quickly learn from them and move on.

The result: The catalyst that would eventually carry the Cavaliers through a successful regular season. In the face of adversity, Virginia responded admirably.

Now in March, we're standing upon another portion of the season that is begging to be forgotten. Sure, a gift-wrapped No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament diverted some attention from the last 12 days. Nonetheless, it is difficult to shake the fact that Virginia's last two games were both losses -- to a pair of the worst teams in the ACC.

The temptation is to act like it never happened. But like Puerto Rico, this is not the solution.

How the Cavaliers respond to this stretch will determine their success in the NCAA Tournament.

After Puerto Rico --Virginia's first major "bounce back" -- the Cavaliers did three notable things better: 1) they played like they had something to prove; 2) they played with emotion; and 3) they won close games.

Before Puerto Rico, Virginia was expected to fight for a berth in the NCAA Tournament; afterwards, that was very much in question. In Puerto Rico, they played without emotion; since then, they largely have and in doing so have won a number of close games.

This trio of improvements is in large part intricately connected. Teams that have something to prove often play with emotion. Teams that play with emotion tend to win close games.

I've talked since before the season about Virginia as an "it" team -- a team that, though not perfect, invigorates the fan base through its personalities and storylines, coupled with reasonable success. We've also categorized the Cavaliers as "gritty" or "emotional" periodically during the year.

But these categorizations connote something else: "Gritty" teams almost always play on the margin. And for the most part, since Puerto Rico, the Cavaliers distinguished themselves by succeeding in close games.

Numbers back up such claims. Looking back at the year, I defined games decided by six points or less -- two possessions -- as being "on the margin." Sure, some close games might have been decided outside of that boundary, but we have to draw the line somewhere.

During this season, Virginia has played 11 games "on the margin" with a 7-4 record. In conference games alone, the Cavaliers played in eight such contests, finishing with a 6-2 record.

In fact, performance in games "on the margin" almost directly paralleled the final standings of the ACC.

If you take out Carolina (who had 10 ACC wins by 12 points or more) and look at every other team in the conference, ACC games "on the margin" have defined success because of the overall parity of the league.

Virginia was 6-2 in regular conference games decided by six points or fewer. Virginia Tech and Boston College finished 5-1 in such games and amongst the top four in the conference. Maryland (1-4), Georgia Tech (1-3) and Duke (1-5) performed worse on the margin and finished further down the line. Clemson (4-7) and Florida State (2-5) fell in line after that.

The regular season dregs of the ACC-- N.C. State, Wake Forest and Miami -- rarely played in close games, instead combining for 19 conference losses by 12 points or more.

This phenomenon is true not just for the ACC, but for most other conferences. The best teams in tight conferences -- those who make the NCAA Tournament --are often the ones who won close regular season or conference tournament games. Albany, Virginia's first-round opponent, finished 10-3 in games decided by six points or fewer. Tennessee, a potential second-round match up for the Cavaliers, played 11 games "on the margin" and won eight of them. The teams with the most success "on the margin" are the teams that go dancing. And success in March is based on playing with emotion and having something to prove. Gritty, emotional teams pencil themselves into the next round.

Coming off of two devastating losses but rewarded with a No. 4 seed, it would be tempting for the Cavaliers to erase the last week and a half from their memories. This, however, is not the solution.

The Cavaliers ability to re-adopt their post-Puerto Rico tenets will define their success this weekend. They are going to face teams that have played well "on the margin." To distinguish itself, however, Virginia must fall back on what has propelled the team to success "on the margin": emotional play with something to prove.

If the Cavaliers bounce back, get emotional and play like they are still making the case for No. 4 seed, then the Sweet 16 awaits.

If not, there will only be regret -- an unfortunate ending to a special season.

 

Cavaliers defeat Terps in early ACC contest
Virginia remains undefeated as Weymouth leads the way with five goals; Wasilewski suffers concussion
Paul Montana, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

During the 30 minute delay to the game yesterday due to the late arrival of a referee, the tension in Klöckner stadium built in preparation for what was billed as a clash between two titans of women's lacrosse. The No. 7 Cavaliers, however, set the pace of the game from the start to finish their convincing 15-4 defeat over No. 3 Maryland.

With the win, the Cavaliers (6-0, 2-0 ACC) maintain their unblemished record. The Terps (5-1, 2-1 ACC) were handed their first loss of the season.

"This is big, not only for our confidence, but for our ACC record, and to just keep our momentum moving in the right direction," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "It was a great opportunity that we were able to take advantage of today."

Although the outcome was in the Cavaliers' favor, it did not come without a price. Senior co-captain Jess Wasilewski suffered a concussion and a deep gash to her nose after she took a stick to the eye in the first half, an injury which may prevent her from playing in Saturday's game against North Carolina.

The Cavaliers were led offensively by sophomore Blair Weymouth, who tallied five goals and three assists. Weymouth now has 27 points on the season, just two behind senior Kate Breslin, who added a goal and four assists of her own.

Weymouth "had a couple of mismatches that she was able to take advantage of early on in that game, where she could really turn down to goal and get that shot off," Myers said. "Her shot was on, so she's really hard to stop because she just comes with a full head of steam, and she's a really talented player, both right and left-handed."

Freshman Brittany Kalkstein also contributed four goals in the winning effort. Sophomore Ashley McCulloch scored once and added two assists, bringing her team-leading assist total to 11.

On the defensive end, junior goalkeeper Kendall McBrearty starred as the Cavaliers allowed only one goal in the first 45 minutes of play. McBrearty recorded a career-high 13 saves as she helped stifle a potent Maryland offense that had never scored fewer than 15 goals prior to last night's game.

"What we focused on in practice was just getting in front of [Maryland's] cutters," Weymouth said. "That is how they run their attack."

Although the Cavaliers' outstanding performance contributed to their convincing win, the Terrapins were flat from the opening whistle. The midfield lost the first four draws and did not have a shot on goal in the first 10 minutes of action. Senior Krista Pellizi, who came into the game with 19 goals to lead Maryland, was held scoreless until the 2:25 mark of the second half, when the game was well out of reach.

"Maryland was off," Myers said. "I credit our defense to some extent, in terms of not letting them really ever find their groove, but certainly when we play Maryland again, I can't imagine this is going to be the score."

Given Maryland's poor play, and the challenging opponents that lie ahead, the Cavaliers are by no means satisfied with their performance. With ranked opponents from North Carolina, Princeton and James Madison looming in the next two weeks, Virginia cannot afford to be complacent.

"It's our sixth game, there are so many games left," Myers said. "It's a great game, it's a great step in the right direction, but we are so far from done and we can still get a lot better."

 

Perseverance pays off
Senior guard Jamar Wilson, who stuck with Albany, leads the Great Danes into their second consecutive NCAA tournament.
BY DARRYL SLATER
247-4641
March 14, 2007

Practices that first season usually went something like this: Albany men's basketball coach Will Brown's eyes stalked his best player, freshman Jamar Wilson. Brown remembers looking for something, anything, to complain about. Sluggish body language or an untucked jersey were enough.

When Brown spotted a chance, he'd shout at Wilson.

Wilson's eyes often opened wide. His jaw dropped.

"What?! What'd I do?!"

"Go into the locker room, shower, hit the study hall," Brown would say.

Five years later, after enduring Brown kicking him out of practice because of mouthy reactions, after twice resisting temptation to play for a more prestigious program, Wilson will lead Albany into its second consecutive NCAA tournament.

The fifth-year senior combo guard, who averages 18.6 points, is Albany's all-time leading scorer (2,139 points). He will play opposite two of the nation's best guards, Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, when the Great Danes meet Virginia at 12:15 p.m. Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

"I'm willing to hand you the ball and make you the face of this program," Brown, then an Albany assistant, told Wilson when recruiting him in 2001, before Wilson's senior year at Our Savior New American School in Centereach, L.I., N.Y.

After signing with Albany, Wilson could have bailed when the school replaced head coach Scott Beeten with Brown in December 2001. Wilson said Texas, San Diego State and Pepperdine were interested in him. Wilson stuck with Albany.

The Great Danes went 12-44 in Wilson's first two seasons, and he missed most of the second with a knee injury as a medical redshirt. After his second season, in 2004, he considered transferring to a bigger-conference school.

Wilson, who is 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, wondered about testing his skills outside the America East Conference. As a freshman, he was second in the league in scoring. "I felt like, 'Coach can't afford to lose me,' " Wilson said.

Brown had tried to break him of that ego in practice. "I'd make a reason why to yell at him," he said. "He didn't like being called out in front of his peers."

"It was like he was almost a spoiled kid a little bit."

Wilson decided against transferring, and last season, he led Albany to its first NCAA tournament. In the first round, he had a game-high 19 points and six assists, as the Great Danes almost became the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed. They led Connecticut by 12 points with 11:34 remaining but lost 72-59.

"Do I think he could play now for one of those (more prestigious) teams?" said Dennis Wolff, coach of America East rival Boston University. "Probably."

Wilson stayed in part because, after all that nit picking, he started respecting Brown. In part because of loyalty he learned in 2000.

Wilson, who is black, was 16 that summer when he moved from Bronx, N.Y., to live with a suburban white family on Long Island. He craved a more stable home environment. His mom, Carolyn Wilson, kept him in line but wasn't around at nights because she worked as a guard at Rikers Island prison.

Within two weeks of moving in with John and Rosana Reade, he was calling them mom and dad. He roomed with 14-year-old Gregory, one of the Reades' three kids. He adjusted to eating dinner at the family table instead of on the couch.

"I think what really shocked him the most about us was there was no reason for us to love him and accept him into our house," Rosana said. "There was nothing for us in it."

Said Wilson: "That taught me a lot." He laughed Tuesday when reminded of advice Rosana recalls him receiving in high school when he was torn about sticking with Albany.

It came from Ron Stelzer, Wilson's high school coach and the Reades' minister: "If and when you get married, there are going to be a lot of beautiful women around you. Just because something might look better doesn't mean you can break your commitment."

Funny how good things look now.