UVa secures 7th straight win
By Whitey Reid
Published: March 9, 2009

Heading into Sunday’s Virginia-Cornell clash, coach Dom Starsia said he expected fans to get their money’s worth.
He was certainly right about that.
On an unseasonably warm March day that saw the game-time temperature touch 80 degrees, a crowd of 4,547 was treated to some exciting end-to-end lacrosse.
In the end, No. 1-ranked Virginia — behind three goals apiece from Shamel Bratton and Steve Giannone — overcame a one-goal halftime deficit to down No. 4 Cornell, 14-10, at Klockner Stadium.
Virginia (7-0), which knocked off Syracuse at the Carrier Dome last weekend, added another impressive win to its ledger and stayed undefeated.
“I was more impressed with us today than I was on Friday up at the dome,” Starsia said. “I thought this was a gut-check win for us.
“This was a good team that had a week to prepare for this. It felt like we were a little tired and I give our kids a lot of credit for working hard and taking control of the game in the second half.”
Cornell (2-1) was led by Ryan Hurley’s four goals. However they all came in the first half.
Cornell outplayed Virginia the first 30 minutes. The Big Red won nine of 15 faceoffs and outshot UVa, 26-22. Behind Hurley, they led 7-6 at the half. It was the first time this season that Virginia had trailed at any point in a game.
“We knew from the beginning that this was going to be a tough test for us defensively,” said Virginia goalie Adam Ghitelman, who had 10 saves. “They were making cuts in the crease that we weren’t able to stay with.
“In the second half, we definitely locked down. We talked about that during halftime — that we had to stick to the guys in the crease.”
One of the keys for Virginia was putting the clamps on Cornell sniper Max Seibald, who had four goals and two assists in the team’s first two games. UVa held Seibald to just a goal on the afternoon.
“The scouting report was that he was big and fast and could go both ways,” said Virginia defender Mike Timms. “That’s kind of what he did all day. He was a tough load to handle.
“I think we knew that no matter who was on him, we were going to have to have some help. We did a good job sliding when we needed to and got the ball out of his hands.”
Virginia took the lead in the third quarter, scoring the first three goals — Giannone, Brian Carroll and Bratton — to go up 9-7. A George Huguely goal on an assist from freshman Steele Stanwick put Virginia up 10-8 at the end of the third quarter.
UVa took command of the game at the start of the fourth quarter, scoring four straight goals for its biggest lead of the game, a 14-8 margin.
“I never really felt comfortable until I looked up at the clock and there were about five minutes to play and we had a four or five-goal lead,” Starsia said.
Overall, Starsia — whose team hosts Vermont on Tuesday — was very pleased with his team’s performance.
“I’d like to see us play well for 60 minutes,” he said, “but it was especially satisfying for us to step up in the second half and get this win today.”
Added Carroll, who had two goals and three assists: “On a day when we didn’t necessarily play our best and made some mistakes, we were still able to pull it together against a very, very good Cornell team. It’s a good win for us.”

 

Virginia Posts Impressive 14-10 Win Over Cornell
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/08/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—Top-ranked Virginia used a dominating second-half performance to break open a tight contest and defeat No. 4 Cornell 14-10 this afternoon before 4547 fans at Klöckner Stadium. The match-up is the first regular season game between the two teams since 1971. With the win the Cavaliers improve to 7-0 this season, while Cornell is now 2-1.

“I was more impressed with us today than I was on Friday up at the (Carrier) Dome,” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia. “I thought that this was a gut check win for us. This was a good team that’s had a week to prepare for this. I felt like we were a little tired and I give our kids a lot of credit for working hard and taking control of this game in the second half.”

With Cornell concentrating on stopping the Cavalier attack, it fell to the midfielders to provide the offense.

“Our middies needed to step up,” said Starsia. “A lot of teams don’t slide to our middies. Cornell was trying to funnel guys in one direction to one hand or the other and trying to get away with not sliding to us and we needed to hit some of those shots and we did. That gives us much better balance offensively and makes us more dangerous.”

Starting midfielders Shamel Bratton and Steve Giannone led the way for UVa with three goals apiece. Fellow midfielder Brian Carroll scored twice and assisted on three other goals. Overall the Virginia midfield group scored 10 of the team’s 14 goals.

Giannone scored off the opening faceoff to give Virginia the lead 11 seconds in. Carroll scored his first goal of the day a short time later to the delight of the large crowd taking in the unseasonably warm weather.

Attackman Ryan Hurley answered with Cornell’s first goal of the game 35 seconds after Carroll as the Big Red outscored UVa 3-1 and force the first of five ties in the game.

Bratton scored with 8.4 seconds left in the first quarter, but Hurley scored to open the second quarter scoring and tie the score at four.

The back-and-forth scoring continued for the next eight minutes as Virginia would score only to see Cornell score an equalizer.

Cornell midfielder Rocco Romero scored his only goal of the game with five minutes and 13 seconds before halftime to tie the score at six apiece, the fourth tie of the first half.

Chris Finn scored four minutes later to give the Big Red a 7-6 lead at the break. The Cornell lead marked the first time all season the Cavaliers trailed at any point in a game.

The lead was short lived as Giannone tied the score for the final time in the opening minute of the third quarter as the Cavaliers scored the next three goals to take the lead for good.

Rob Pannell scored with 1:41 left in the third quarter to bring Cornell to within one at 9-8, but Virginia rattled off the next five goals over the next seven and a half minutes. During the scoring spree the Cavaliers scored on five of eight shots. George Huguely scored his first goal in six games with 3.8 seconds remaining in the third quarter to extend the lead to 10-8.

The Cavalier attack scored the next three with Garrett Billings, Steele Stanwick and Gavin Gill finding the back of the net. Bratton’s goal with 7:38 to play pushed Virginia’s lead to 14-8. Cornell scored the game’s final two goals to reach double figures for the second time in three games.

Longstick midfielder Mike Timms keyed a tremendous effort by the Virginia defense. He held midfielder Max Seibald to only one goal and that came with just over two minutes to play. The Cavalier ride forced Cornell to fail six of 10 clearing opportunities in the third quarter as the Big Red committed nine turnovers in the quarter.

Goalie Adam Ghitelman made 10 saves, his fourth double-digit performance of the season.

Chad Gaudet won 11 of 13 faceoffs in the second half, including all seven in the final quarter, to allow Virginia to seize control and build its lead.

Virginia returns to action at home at Klöckner Stadium on Tuesday night against Vermont, coached by former UVa All-American defenseman Ryan Curtis. The game is scheduled to start at 7 pm.

Cornell 3-4-1-2—10 record: 2-1
Virginia 4-2-4-4—14 record: 7-0
att—4547

Scoring (G-A)— C: Ryan Hurley 4-0, Rob Pannell 2-4, Rocco Romero 1-1, Kyle Doctor 1-0, Chris Finn 1-0, Max Seibald 1-0, Austin Boykin 0-2. V: Shamel Bratton 3-0, Steve Giannone 3-0, Brian Carroll 2-3, Steele Stanwick 2-2, Garrett Billings 1-1, Gavin Gill 1-0, John Haldy 1-0, George Huguely 1-0, Danny Glading 0-1.

Goalie Summary—C: Kyle Harer 60 mins., 4 saves, 14 goals allowed. V: Adam Ghitelman 60 mins., 10 saves, 10 goals allowed.

Shots: C—39, V—41
Ground Balls: C—35, V—39
Clearing: C—20x27, V—21x23
Faceoffs: C—11, V—17
Penalties: C—2-2:00, V—6-4:30
EMO: C—1x5, V—1x2

 

Gardner notches OT goal to lift UVa
By The Daily Progress Staff
Published: March 9, 2009

The No. 2 Virginia women’s lacrosse team used a six-goal rally late in the second half — and a game-winning goal from freshman Julie Gardner with 52 seconds remaining in overtime — to secure a come-from-behind win over Penn State, 12-11.
“I think Julie was feeling it,” head coach Julie Myers said. “She’s a great first-year player who was in the right spot, she had a good look, her hands were free, so she took the shot and scored. It was a little bit earlier than we would have liked, but our whole team stood up after
that, won the draw control and made a stance for the comeback win.”
The win improves the Cavaliers’ record to 5-1 on the season, as they handed the Nittany Lions their first loss.
For the second consecutive game, the Cavaliers gave up the first goal of the contest, with Erica Mihm getting Penn State on the board faster than any opponent this season — at 28:50.
Senior All-American Blair Weymouth rallied for Virginia, winning the ensuing draw control and converted it into a goal just 10 seconds later. redshirt junior Whitaker Hagerman then made it two straight for the Cavaliers at 27:46, with a free position goal.
The Nittany Lions knotted the score before Duff’s free position score quickly pushed Virginia ahead by one. About a minute later, Penn State converted a free position goal of its own and after 10 scoreless minutes, tallied three more scores in a span of a minute to take a 6-3 lead with 8:16 left in the opening half. Penn State did not relinquish its lead until the overtime period.
Entering the second half with a four-goal advantage at 8-4, the Nittany Lions extended their lead to six, at 11-5, by the 17:06 mark before
Weymouth and All-American Jenny Hauser led the Cavaliers in a six-goal run to end regulation and force overtime.
Weymouth sparked the run, converting back-to-back free position goals, before senior All-American Ashley McCulloch and Hagerman tallied goals for the Cavaliers, bringing them within two with 4:43 to play.
Hauser notched her second score of the day before senior Katie Shannon gained possession for the Cavaliers following a Penn State turnover and heaved the ball up field to Hauser. Hauser ran the ball into the
offensive end and fired a shot past Nittany Lion keeper Stephanie Ellis with just 15.3 to play to force overtime.
“Blair, Jenny, Ash and Whit have all been in huge games before, as well as comeback games and blowout games,” Myers said. “They are our experience so we needed them to take over in order to take the pressure
off our midfielders. For the majority of the game, we had been playing so much of the game in our defensive end.”
Each team had a chance in the overtime period, with redshirt sophomore Lauren Benner coming up with a huge save for Virginia. Gardner then capitalized for the Cavaliers, giving them their first lead since 10 minutes into the contest — with her game-winning goal.
Weymouth and Hauser led the Cavaliers with three goals, while Weymouth added an assist for a game-high four points.
Kalkstein won six draw controls, while Shannon had three to go with three caused turnovers.
Mihm led Penn State with three goals, while Ellis came up with 14 saves.
Benner had seven saves for Virginia.

 

Gardner’s Overtime Goal Sends No. 2 Virginia Past Penn State, 12-11
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/08/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va - Despite being down 11-5, the No. 2 Virginia women’s lacrosse team used a six goal rally late in the second half - and a game winning goal from freshman Julie Gardner with 52 seconds remaining in overtime - to come-from-behind and defeat Penn State, 12-11, on Sunday afternoon in Klöckner Stadium.

“I think Julie was feeling it,” head coach Julie Myers said. “She’s a great first-year player who was in the right spot, she had a good look, her hands were free, so she took the shot and scored. It was a little bit earlier than we would have liked, but our whole team stood up after that, won the draw control and made a stance for the comeback win.”

The win bumps the Cavaliers to 5-1 on the season, while that was Penn State’s first loss, dropping the Nittany Lions to 4-1.

For the second consecutive game, the Cavaliers gave up the first goal of the contest, with Erica Mihm getting Penn State on the board faster than any opponent this season – at 28:50. Senior All-American Blair Weymouth rallied for Virginia, winning the ensuing draw control and converted it into a goal, just 10 seconds later. Redshirt junior Whitaker Hagerman then made it two straight for the Cavaliers at 27:46, with a free position goal.

The Nittany Lions knotted the score at 2-2, before junior Kaitlin Duff’s free position score quickly pushed Virginia back ahead by one, with 20:39 on the clock. About a minute later, Penn State converted a free position goal of its own and after 10 scoreless minutes, tallied three more scores in a span of a minute to take a 6-3 lead with 8:16 left in the opening half. Penn State would not relinquish their lead until the overtime period.

Coming out of halftime with a four-goal advantage at 8-4, the Nittany Lions would extend their lead to six, at 11-5, by the 17:06 mark, before Weymouth and All-American Jenny Hauser led the Cavaliers in a six goal run to end regulation and force overtime.

Weymouth sparked the run, converting back-to-back free position goals, and senior All-American Ashley McCulloch and Hagerman tallied goals for the Cavaliers, bringing them within two with 4:43 to play.

Hauser notched her second score of the day at 1:47, bringing Virginia within one, before senior Katie Shannon gained possession for the Cavaliers following a Penn State turnover and heaved the ball up field to Hauser. Hauser ran the ball into the offensive end and fired a shot past Nittany Lion keeper Stephanie Ellis with just 15.3 ticks on the clock to force overtime.

“Blair, Jenny, Ash and Whit have all been in huge games before, as well as comeback games and blow out games,” Myers said. “They are our experience so we needed them to take over in order to take the pressure off our midfielders. We spent the majority of the game in our defensive end.”

Each team had a chance in the overtime period, with redshirt sophomore Lauren Benner coming up with a huge save for Virginia. Gardner then capitalized for the Cavaliers, giving them their first lead since 10 minutes into the contest – with her game-winning goal.

Weymouth and Hauser led the Cavaliers with three goals on the afternoon, while Weymouth added an assist for a game-high four points. Hagerman notched two scores for Virginia, while Duff, Gardner, Kalkstein and McCulloch each tallied one. Freshman Josie Owen and Shannon each added an assist.

Kalkstein won six draw controls, while Shannon had three to go with three caused turnovers. Duff also caused three turnovers, while Benner had three ground balls. Freshman Bailey Fogarty had two ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Mihm led Penn State with three goals, while Ellis came up with 14 saves.

Benner had seven saves for the Cavaliers.

Virginia will return to action next Saturday, heading to Chapel Hill, N.C. for a noon contest against No. 9 North Carolina.

 

Virginia completes sweep of Wake
By Jay Jenkins
Published: March 9, 2009

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Late in Sunday’s game, the public address announcer at the Wake Forest Baseball Park stopped announcing the score between innings.There was a good reason: the natives were restless.
For the second time in the three days, Virginia demolished Wake Forest, winning the series finale 21-5 as the Cavaliers registered 25 hits.
The Cavaliers (12-0, 3-0 ACC) finished the series sweep with 47 runs, the program’s highest run total in a league series in 19 years (UVa scored 50 runs in two games at Maryland in 1990). With 12 straight victories, it also marks the best start to a season in school history.
“It was unbelievable to score that many runs. Our guys didn’t play to the scoreboard — they played the game hard and they played the game the right way the whole time,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “This really was not an ordinary weekend. To score this many runs in a three-game series in this league is really amazing.
“But I told our team after the game that they deserve it because they have had the right approach and have worked very, very hard. When you keep a good attitude and work hard things fall your way.”
After falling behind 2-1 in the second inning following a two-run homer by Wake Forest third baseman Carlos Lopez, the Cavaliers erupted offensively.
Virginia scored six runs in the third and five more in the fourth as they chased Wake starter Michael Dimock (3.2 IP, 13 H, 12 ER, 2 SO) from the contest.
Wake’s bullpen did not fare much better — the Cavaliers added two runs in the fifth, four in the sixth, two in the seventh and a lone run in the eighth.
It was not until the ninth inning that Virginia failed to score again in a frame.
As was the case in each contest during the series, every Virginia starter recorded a hit in the game. Designated hitter John Hicks (4 for 5, 4 R, 3 RBI) and catcher Franco Valdes (3 for 6, 2 R, 4 RBI) each connected on home runs, giving the team 13 on the season.
Hicks, a rookie from Goochland, finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle.
“I felt pretty good at the plate today,” Hicks said. “Before the game we were in the cage and Coach [Kevin McMullan] told me a couple of things that I was doing wrong and I worked on them in the cage. It came over into the game and it felt pretty good.
“Every time that I got up to the plate it seemed like somebody was on base.”
It could have been worse — Virginia left 10 on base.
It was more than enough offense for Virginia starter Will Roberts, who worked six full innings in his ACC debut, allowing seven hits and three earned runs. Roberts (2-0) struck out seven batters.
Wake Forest (6-4, 0-3) added a pair of runs in the ninth inning off Virginia’s bullpen.
Virginia will host Navy on Tuesday at 4 p.m. and VMI on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in a contest postponed from last week.

 

Baseball Finishes Off Sweep of Wake Forest, 21-5
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/08/2009

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Virginia baseball team continued its recent offensive onslaught with a 21-5 pummeling of Wake Forest Sunday afternoon at Wake Forest Baseball Park. UVa swept the three-game series, the Cavaliers’ first ACC season-opening sweep since 2004 at Georgia Tech.

Virginia improved its record to 12-0 this season (3-0 ACC) – the best 12-game start in school history. The 12-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the nation, pending Georgia’s result today with Quinnipiac.

UVa racked up 47 runs in the series, the Cavaliers’ most in an ACC series since the Cavaliers piled up 50 at Maryland in 1990. For the third straight game, every Virginia starter had at least one base hit, and the Cavaliers finished the series with 61 hits, including a season-high 25 Sunday.

Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.) and John Hicks (Fr., Sandy Hook, Va.) each had a career-high four hits. Parker doubled three times, scored three times and drove in a pair, while Hicks fell a double short of the cycle, scored four times and drove in three. Franco Valdes (Jr., Miami, Fla.) homered as part of a 3-for-6 effort and drove in four runs. Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) finished his monster weekend with a double and three RBI. He went 8-for-13 with five doubles, seven runs scored and seven RBI in the series.

On the mound, Virginia’s Will Roberts (Fr., Richmond, Va.) pitched six strong innings, allowing three earned runs, seven hits and two walks while striking out seven in improving to 2-0 this year. UVa lit up Wake starter Michael Dimock (0-1) for 12 earned runs and 13 hits in 3.1 innings.

The Cavaliers scored first when Hicks drilled a solo home run to left field in the second inning. It was Hicks’ second homer of the season.

Wake Forest (6-4, 0-3) responded with two runs in the second inning on a Carlos Lopez two-run home run to left field.

The lead was short lived. UVa came right back with six in the third inning, getting the lead right back on a two-run single by Dan Grovatt (So., Tabernacle, N.J.). Two batters later, Cannon doubled to plate two more runs, and he scored on a Hicks triple. John Barr (So., Ivyland, Pa.) followed with an infield single to bring Hicks home and give UVa a 7-2 lead.

The Cavaliers kept pouring it on in the fourth inning, tallying five runs. UVa got run-scoring singles from Proscia and Hicks, but the big blow was a three-run home run to left-center field from Valdes. It was his third long ball of the season.

Wake Forest posted a run in the fourth on Lopez sacrifice fly, but UVa countered with a pair of runs in the fifth, scoring one on a throwing error and the other on a Cannon sacrifice fly.

UVa tacked on four in the sixth inning with two coming on a two-run double by Parker and single runs scoring on a Hultzen single and a Proscia double. In the seventh, Virginia added two more runs, with one scoring on a Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) single and the other on a Jared King (Fr., Radford, Va.) RBI grounder.

The Cavaliers scored their final run in the eighth inning on a Valdes double. Wake Forest put two runs up in the ninth on a two-run double by Dustin Hood.

Virginia returns home to start a 12-game homestand at 4 p.m. Tuesday when it takes on Navy. UVa then will play VMI at 4 p.m. Wednesday in a game rescheduled from last week before No. 6 Florida State comes to Davenport Field for the first time in five years over the weekend.

 

UVa Golfers Finish Second at Seminole Intercollegiate
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/08/2009

Tallahassee, FL – Despite posting its highest score of the week, the Virginia men’s golf team did not drop down the leaderboard and finished second at Florida State’s Seminole Intercollegiate at Golden Eagle Country Club. The Cavaliers shot 5-over 293 Sunday to complete the 54-hole tourney at even par 864. Vanderbilt, on the strength of a final-round 1-under 287, finished first at 863.

Virginia’s showing will strengthen the Cavaliers bid to return to the NCAA Championships. They finished ahead of No. 16 Arkansas, No. 26 Florida State and No. 28 Mississippi in the 12-team tournament. Earlier in the week Virginia won the Argonaut Invitational in Pensacola, Fla.

Will Collins led the Cavaliers in scoring, posting his second consecutive top-five finish. Collins shot 1-under 71 during the final round to place third overall at 1-under 215. He was fourth at the Argonaut Invitational, his best collegiate finish. The Seminole Intercollegiate was his third top-10 finish as a Cavalier.

Conrad Von Borsig, who started the day tied for first place on the leaderboard, shot 78 and dropped back to 10th. It marked the fourth top-10 finish during his four-year career. Kyle Stough and Steven Rojas tied for 18th at 219 and Ben Kohles was 28th at 222. Cole Willcox, playing as a non-scoring individual, was 22nd at 221.

Vanderbilt’s Ryan Haselden took medalist honors by one shot at 3-under 213.

The Cavaliers return to action March 20-22 at the Chris Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, Ga.

Seminole Intercollegiate
Golden Eagle Country Club
Par 72, 6,965 yards
Tallahassee, FL
Final Results

Team Results
1. Vanderbilt 290-286-287-863
2. Virginia 289-282-293-864
3. Florida State 292-289-287-868
4. Mississippi 288-282-299-869
5. Mississippi State 292-292-292-876
5. Arkansas 296-287-293-876
7. Mercer 293-294-292-879
8. Auburn 297-301-287-885
9. Western Carolina 304-295-299-898
9. UAB 296-294-308-898
11. Maryland 308-302-297-907
12. Col. Of Charleston 310-301-307-918

Individual Leaders
1. Ryan Haselden, Vanderbilt 67-72—74-213
2. Carlos Sainz, Mississippi State 71-73-70-214
3. Will Collins, Virginia 74-70-71-215
3. Jon Curran, Vanderbilt 74-73-68-215
3. Jason Cuthbertson, Arkansas 73-75-67-215
6. Chris Gold, Maryland 72-72-72-216
6. Drew Kittleson, Florida State 69-74-73-216
6. David Lingmerth, Arkansas 73-68-75-216
6. Matthew Savage, Florida State 73-71-72-716
10. Bill Jones, Mercer 75-72-70-217
10. Will McCurdy, Auburn 75-75-67-217
10. Conrad Von Borsig, Virginia 68-71-78-217

Virginia Results
3. Will Collins 74-70-71-215
10. Conrad Von Borsig 68-71-78-217
18. Kyle Stough 75-71-73-219
18. Steven Rojas 72-70-77-219
28. Ben Kohles 75-75-72-222
22. Cole Willcox* 75-72-74-221
* Playing as non-scoring individual


 

Cavs to face Eagles
By Whitey Reid
Published: March 9, 2009

It was a beautiful weekend in Charlottesville — weather-wise, and also for Virginia basketball fans.
Fresh off a euphoric win over Maryland on Saturday, the UVa men’s team received good news on Sunday: The Cavaliers will not have to face Clemson or Florida State for a third time this season.
After FSU knocked off Virginia Tech, it became official — 11th-seeded Virginia will play sixth-seeded Boston College in the first round of this week’s ACC Tournament. UVa and B.C. will tip off in Atlanta on Thursday at 9:30 p.m.
Virginia (10-17, 4-12) lost both meetings with FSU and split with Clemson, while losing its lone meeting with B.C. But clearly UVa matches up best with the Eagles.
“They’re methodical,” said Virginia guard Sammy Zeglinski. “They like to slow the game down and I think we’ll try and speed it up and get into transition.”
On Saturday, the sense of relief in the UVa locker room was obvious after the team’s 68-63 win over Maryland. Coach Dave Leitao seemed thankful that his team, behind senior Mamadi Diane’s season-high 23 points, was able to snap its four-game losing streak.
“We’ve been through a lot. Our team, our staff, everybody, our fans most
importantly — in wanting us to do better and be better,” Leitao said, “but it didn’t happen like that.
“To me, it just proves something that I’ve said all along in my lifetime — you’ve got to keep plugging, you’ve got to keep plugging and you’ve got to keep plugging and good things will happen, and it did.”
Leitao believes the win over Maryland put a “capper” on the team’s otherwise disappointing regular season.
“I think our opponent, because they’re two hours up the road, makes me feel a little bit more happy about it,” said Leitao, alluding to the rivalry, “and it gives us some momentum moving forward.”
Bouncing back
Against the Terrapins, Virginia freshman Sylven Landesberg had his highest scoring game (14 points) since notching 16 at N.C. State on Feb. 21. Landesberg was coming off a three-point effort versus Clemson.
Landesberg reiterated his comments from last week that he plans on returning to school next season. “I am committed to this program,” he said.
Sene on the mend
Freshman Assane Sene played in his first game since suffering an ankle injury three games ago. Playing with a brace on his ankle, he logged just one minute while committing a turnover.
“I told him after the game that I couldn’t afford to have the game be a proving ground to make sure that he was ready psychologically,” Leitao said. “It wasn’t fair to the rest of the guys.
“I tried him. He didn’t have his game legs back under him yet. I think his ankle feels pretty good, but that’s what we have to use practice for. Hopefully this upcoming week we’ll get him some quality reps, especially psychologically, so he can feel like himself again.”
Sammy Z optimistic
Virginia freshman Zeglinski averaged 28 minutes in his first five regular-season games, but has averaged just 14 in his final five.
“I’m doing OK,” said Zeglinski, who didn’t score in 17 minutes of action on Saturday. “My minutes have been going down, but I’m looking forward to just keep getting better. This summer I’m just going to come back and get a lot of shots up and see if things will pay off.”
Dunks
Diane’s 23-point outing was the ninth 20-plus game of his career and his first this season. …Calvin Baker’s six assists were an ACC career high…Mike Scott (11 points, 11 rebounds) had his eighth double-double of the season.

 

Virginia will face Rice-led Boston College in ACC tourney
By Staff Reports
Published: March 9, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE - If Boston College point guard Tyrese Rice's illustrious college career ends late Thursday night, the University of Virginia men's basketball team will be delighted. That's because the Cavaliers will be victorious.

Florida State's win over Virginia Tech yesterday locked Boston College into the No. 6 seed in the ACC tournament, which starts Thursday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. No. 11 seed U.Va. (4-12 ACC, 10-17 overall) and BC (9-7, 21-10) will meet in a first-round game that's likely to start no earlier than 9:30 p.m.

Each closed the regular season Saturday with a home victory. Virginia, behind senior swingman Mamadi Diane (23 points), rallied to beat Maryland 68-63. BC edged Georgia Tech 67-66 on a fall-away jumper by sophomore guard Rakim Sanders with 1.7 seconds left.

Sanders and Rice, an L.C. Bird High graduate, each scored 20 points in BC's 80-70 win over U.Va. at John Paul Jones Arena. That was the teams' only regular-season meeting, and it was a turning point for Virginia. The Cavaliers, 1-6 in the ACC after losing to the Eagles, rallied to win three of their final nine league games.

- Jeff White

 

Aides not downfall of Leitao's club
Doug Doughty

The buzz in college basketball circles is that coaching changes are in the works at Virginia.

From all indications, four-year head coach Dave Leitao is safe. His assistants may not be.

At least part of Virginia's reasoning is that it would be unfair to get rid of Leitao if football coach Al Groh was allowed to keep his job.

Athletic director Craig Littlepage did not exercise the rollover clause that would have extended Groh's contract through the 2012 season. And, before Groh could come back for a ninth season as the Cavaliers' head coach, he was urged to make changes to his staff.

Nobody suggested that Groh hire five new coaches; indeed, if all he did was change offensive coordinators, that might have been enough to silence some critics.

Groh's older son, Mike, was the Cavaliers' offensive coordinator for three years before it was announced in early December that he would be leaving the staff. Al Groh announced the departure of secondary coach Steve Bernstein and defensive line coach Levern Belin at the same time.

Additional staff changes were needed when ex-defensive coordinator Bob Pruett retired and would-be successor Bob Diaco joined an old coaching colleague at Cincinnati.

Nevertheless, between the coaching changes and a promising recruiting class, Virginia football has built a solid foundation for the future. However, if the 2009 season yields a third losing season in four years, Groh won't be around for 2010.

Losing seasons next year for either of UVa's marquee programs will mean changes at the top. Anybody can see that, which makes me wonder about the wisdom of wholesale staff changes.

Who's going to want to come to Virginia if there's a chance that the Leitao staff will be out in another year?

That's where money comes in. Gregg Brandon, new offensive coordinator for the Cavaliers' football team, has the security of a multi-year contract. UVa is prepared to go to similar lengths to add a basketball assistant or assistants with the pedigree of a Brandon, formerly the coach at Bowling Green for six years.

Frankly, I'm not convinced that the basketball assistants are the problem. Watching Leitao pace in front of the UVa bench, I wonder how the assistants might get his attention.

"I was wondering the same thing," said a Division I head coach who has seen the Cavaliers a half-dozen times on TV.

If you had a savvy assistant, somebody who would notice that a red-hot Jeff Jones had been on the bench for seven minutes, how would he get Leitao's attention? Would Leitao listen?

I don't know if I would classify Leitao as stubborn. But, he took a hit in Saturday's edition of The Washington Post, where he was described as "demeaning" by the father of UVa senior Mamadi Diane, hero of the Cavaliers' 68-63 victory over Maryland later that day.

I've heard enough coaches talk about prying parents, so there are probably two sides this story. But, Mori Diane said that Leitao never returns his calls and treats his son "like Mamadi doesn't exist."

Given Mamadi Diane's performance Sunday, when he hit a game-winning 3-pointer and scored a season-high 23 points, it was easy to second-guess Leitao's decision not to use him more. But, Diane had gotten his chances. He'd played more than 350 minutes. Sad to say, he hadn't delivered.

One of my chief criticisms of Leitao is in the area of roster management. He has too many players and he specifically has too many players who play the same position, big guard. It's hard to find playing time for Diane, Jones, Sylven Landesberg, Calvin Baker, Solomon Tat and Mustapha Farrakhan.

Jones, who had averaged more than 11 points over the previous eight games, was limited to seven scoreless minutes Saturday. Diane and Farrakhan played a combined 45 minutes after logging 11 minutes, between them, in a 75-57 loss Tuesday at Clemson.

Two of the most overachieving teams in recent Virginia history were the 1998-99 and 2005-06 teams that were the first for Pete Gillen and Leitao, respectively. Those were both depth-challenged teams with no more than a six- or seven-man nucleus.

Two players signed this fall already have the Cavaliers at the 13 scholarship limit for 2009-10, and yet Leitao continues to recruit seniors in high school. Sure, UVa needs help, but sometimes there's a value to letting a player play through his mistakes.

History also has shown that Gillen and predecessor Jeff Jones both appeared to have the Cavaliers on the right track when their original staff was in place. So did Leitao.

Leitao already has lost members of his original staff, Gene Cross and Rob Lanier. A third wave isn't necessarily the answer.
 

For day, U.Va.'s forgotten man is talk of every Cavaliers fan
March 8, 2009 12:36 am
CHARLOTTESVILLE--

It was so preposterous that even Mamadi Diane didn't allow himself to dream that big. A disastrous senior season simply doesn't end with a tour de force performance in your final home game that disables your hometown team's NCAA tournament hopes.

"I don't think they'll be writing a movie about this," Diane said with a smile yesterday.

Nope, even Disney's studios would reject it as too implausible. But there was Diane--completing his six-month sine-curve voyage from starter to forgotten man to hero--laying a season-high 23 points on Maryland, including the tie-breaking 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining in Virginia's 68-63 victory.

"God works in mysterious ways," Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao said. One of Diane's teammates--who carried him onto the court in pregame introductions and swarmed him after the final buzzer--called it "magical."

It doesn't undo a year's worth of frustration for Diane, the only player remaining who saw serious playing time on Virginia's Atlantic Coast Conference co-championship team of 2006-07. And it doesn't erase the sting of 17 losses this season--and, even worse, little or no playing time in many of them.

But for a day, Diane was king. And it's a memory that will last a lifetime.

"I didn't know what to expect," he said later. "When coach told me I would be starting, I thought that whatever time I got, I would play as hard as I could."

He was the only one who did. The Cavaliers were awful early, falling behind 21-8; Diane had their only basket in the first 5 minutes. But even on that shot, his coach saw something he hadn't seen in a while from his 6-foot-5 senior guard.

"It was in his body language," Leitao said. "When he came off that screen and hit that shot, he was comfortable and confident. His eyes told me something. He was the only guy who was being aggressive."

Confidence has been in short supply for Diane this year. He averaged 11.8 points a game last season as Sean Singletary's wing man. With Singletary now in the NBA, this was to have been his time to shine.

Instead, Diane got off to a slow start after off-season foot surgery. And the arrival of stud freshman Sylven Landesberg didn't help. Landesberg plays the same position (shooting guard) as Diane and scored 28 points in Virginia's season opener, a school record for a first-year player--more than Ralph Sampson, Bryant Stith, Jeff Lamp or anyone.

For reasons not altogether clear, Diane--who was recruited by Leitao's predecessor, Pete Gillen--slid to the end of Virginia's bench and didn't leave it for a four-game stretch last month.

That was the nadir. It's one thing to play for a bad team. It's far worse not to play for a bad team. Diane's father, Mori, told The Washington Post that Leitao had been "demeaning" to his son.

"It was definitely frustrating," Mamadi Diane said. "But I just kept working hard."

Indeed, Diane's teammates marveled at the way he accepted his demotion without complaint. Even Leitao admitted: "It can't be easy for anyone in that situation. He's handled not playing as well as any young person possibly could."

Added Landesberg: "If practice was a game, he'd be averaging 20 points a game."

Yesterday's outburst raised Diane's actual average from 4.5 to 6.3 and left him two points shy of 1,000 for his career--a mark that seemed inevitable on Nov. 1 and unreachable on Feb. 1. He should reach that in the ACC tournament, which starts Thursday night in Atlanta.

Even if he doesn't, the Potomac (Md.) native may have sabotaged the NCAA hopes of the Terrapins (18-12), who were lackluster in a must-win game and probably need to win two ACC tournament games--including a likely second-round matchup with Duke or North Carolina--to get an at-large bid.

"Senior night can work both ways," said Maryland coach Gary Williams, who also witnessed Diane's career high of 26 points in 2007. "I've seen guys get tight. But he was great. He made some big shots. That's a nice way to end up your senior year."

It's a feeling Diane didn't expect. Neither did anyone else. But he has the game tape to prove it.

Steve DeShazo: 540/374-5443

 

Roll Tide
Jeff White
Mar 08, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Mike Groh wasn’t out of football for long. The former U.Va. offensive coordinator has accepted a position at the University of Alabama, where his boss is Nick Saban.

Virginia coach Al Groh, a former colleague of Saban, announced in early December that three of his assistants, including Mike, the older of his two sons, would not return in 2009. The younger Groh later tried unsuccessfully to land the head job at Towson, which competes in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision.

Alabama has yet to announce Groh’s hiring, but I’m told he’s technically a graduate assistant at the Southeastern Conference school, though his responsibilities figure to be greater than those of a typical G.A. Groh will receive his salary from U.Va. this year, so he can afford to work for low wages in Tuscaloosa.

Groh, 37, is a former standout quarterback for the Cavaliers. He spent eight seasons on his father’s staff at Virginia, the final three as offensive coordinator.

Alabama opens the season against Virginia Tech, of all teams.