Milestone, life lessons move Starsia

By Anna Katherine Clemmons
ESPN.com

On a cold February Saturday in Philadelphia, the University of Virginia men's lacrosse team opened its 2010 season by defeating Drexel University 11-8. A total of 1,472 fans filled the stands, many dressed in Cavalier Orange. They witnessed head coach Dom Starsia's 200th career victory at Virginia.

Virginia lacrosse coach Dom Starsia encourages his players to take nothing for granted.
With the win, the 57-year-old head coach became only the second coach in lacrosse history to win 200-plus games at one school (UVa), having crossed the 100-game milestone at another (Brown University). Starsia also became the first-ever head coach to accomplish such a feat at two Division I schools and has now totaled more than 300 career wins.

The New York City native is the first to say that the milestone was a collective feat, accomplished thanks to hundreds of players, coaches, staff and family throughout his 36 years of coaching. He also points out the poignancy of this record, coming after perhaps his career's most challenging 18 months.

The trio spans three generations and roles in Starsia's life: player, colleague and father. Each is also symbolic of the speech Starsia gives his players when he gathers them for a moment of silence after every practice and game. It's a lesson he says is more important than the milestones. It may ultimately be his legacy: Be grateful for where you are and for what you have. Don't take it for granted. Because you never know when it might be taken away.

*****

On Nov. 22, 2008, then-junior UVa lacrosse player Max Pomper was taking a nap at his friend Kevin Ogletree's house. Ogletree was a receiver on the football team, which had played in its second-to-last regular-season game that afternoon. Both were close friends of UVa senior Will Barrow, a star midfield defenseman on the lacrosse team. Pomper had fallen asleep when Ogletree burst into the room.

"'Hey man, I heard something crazy about Will,'" Pomper remembered Ogletree saying. "We've got to drive over to his place."

The two sped toward Barrow's house and arrived to find a swarm of police cars. That's when they realized that the horrible rumor -- that their friend was dead after an apparent suicide -- might be true.

University of Virginia lacrosse player Max Pomper relied on coach Dom Starsia to help the team get over the death of teammate and friend Will Barrow in 2008.
Pomper and Barrow grew up in neighboring Long Island towns. Pomper, a year younger, cites Barrow as a major reason he chose to attend UVa. The two started alongside each other for three years. Their fathers, also good friends, often made the seven-hour drive together to Charlottesville to watch their sons play. Barrow served as team captain on the 2007 Final Four squad and was a member of the 2006 championship team. He'd recently signed with MLL's Chicago Machine as the 11th overall draft pick.

The day before, Pomper and Barrow had volunteered at a local lacrosse clinic together.

"Will was fine, his regular self, so unfortunately I think it was just one bad night that turned into a terrible night," Pomper said.

The news shocked the team. They gathered often on the offseason days, trying to come to grips with the sudden loss.

"I've never been involved in something in which college males have been so openly emotional," Starsia said. In one of those meetings, then-fifth-year captain Mike Timms, who'd lost both his parents at a young age, addressed his teammates.

"He got up and said, 'In case you're wondering, fellas, there's no answers to this, all we're doing is trying to figure out how to live with the questions,'" Starsia remembered. "I was stunned that a college student had that kind of wisdom."

The players say that much of last spring -- and continuing into this year -- was played in Will's honor.

"A lot of guys on the team before games will write his number underneath their eye-black, and I write his number in Sharpie on my arm," Pomper said. "But to be quite honest, we don't need that to remember Will. He's in our hearts and minds every day."

As the anniversary of his passing approached this fall, Pomper decided to organize an event in Barrow's honor.

"A lot of people talked about his death and the way in which his life ended, but Will also lived an incredible life, and I wanted to celebrate that," Pomper said.

The Virginia lacrosse team still keeps alive the memory of teammate, Will Barrow, who died in 2008.
Barrow loved football and had several Division I scholarship offers to play out of high school. So Pomper organized a "Remembering Will Barrow" flag football tournament.

Initially, he thought it'd be a small event. But when word began to spread, the lacrosse community responded and the tournament grew into 28 teams from up and down the East Coast that raised more than $8,000 for HELP, UVa's student-run crisis hotline.

"I think the football tournament really helped because it gave us a way to talk about it again," Starsia said. "It gave the players a way to see that, while we may not understand this, maybe something good will come out of it."

The tournament wasn't the team's only philanthropic endeavor this fall. Senior Ken Clausen, a two-time All-American, joined with team trainer Rebecca Vozzo and teammate Todd Faiella to organize "Mustache Madness" throughout November and raise funds toward prostate cancer research.

More than 17 lacrosse teams nationwide became involved, with team members collecting sponsorship dollars while growing mustaches. "Prostate cancer is under the radar somewhat, especially at our age," Clausen said. "You see all these great things for breast cancer, so we wanted to take a different approach."

Almost every UVa team member participated toward the $33,000 raised, even those who Clausen joked only managed a few whiskers.

"Playing lacrosse at UVa, we have a unique opportunity to have an effect on a lot of people and make a difference in the community," Clausen said. "Coach has always said he wants us to leave this program a better person more so than a better lacrosse player."

The team also joined with players' parents in sending care packages to former Cavaliers defenseman James King, a Marine Corps lieutenant now serving his second deployment to Afghanistan. Team members have kept in touch with the former player while shipping care packages with everything from socks to hot chocolate to King and the 110 Marines in his command. The team also regularly organizes a Special Olympics 10K run each fall.

"This year was particularly extraordinary in terms of giving back," Starsia said. "I'd like to think that we've always been a program that has some perspective about our place in the world, but we also have had a year that's not an ordinary one by the standards of what we generally do. This required the players to assume a lot of the responsibility and we had kids who really wanted to step up and do things."

*****

Around the first of January each year, UVa assistant media relations director Michael Colley sent an e-mail to friends and colleagues proclaiming the exact number of days until the first day of lacrosse season. Colley had joined UVa's sports media relations office in 1991 and worked with the lacrosse team for more than a decade.

And while he was also the contact for football and women's basketball, most people would say that lacrosse was his favorite. The players affectionately referred to the 46-year-old as "Media Mike." He was equally close to the coaches and staff.

Virginia lacrosse media relations director Michael Colley, right, with 2006 Tewaaraton Trophy winner Matt Ward after the 2006 NCAA championship game. Colley died in July of 2009 at age 46 of a heart attack.
They were shocked to learn in July of 2009 that Colley, while vacationing with friends in Virginia Beach, had suffered a heart attack and died.

"There are invaluable people to these services who aren't in the front of the battle lines and whose faces aren't as recognizable," Starsia said. "Mike was one of those guys -- very passionate about lacrosse and there for me at every moment. He'd also become a very good friend."

After his passing, the Virginia Athletics Foundation started a fund in Colley's memory. More than $24,300 has been raised so far toward the lacrosse program.

"It's been a year in which you lose Will Barrow, someone in the prime of his life who decides to take his own life, and then you lose Mike Colley, who in the prime of his life gets his life taken away," Starsia said. "I'm going through my father now; it's been kind of extraordinary to have experienced all these different things."

Starsia's father is currently under hospice care. While Starsia didn't go into detail over his father's illness, it's clearly an emotional issue. Starsia is extremely close to his family: his oldest daughter, Molly, is entering the Peace Corps and his son, Joe, is an assistant lacrosse coach at Dickinson College. Starsia also has two twin daughters, Maggie and Emma, who have minor mental disabilities and live with him and his wife, Krissy.

Last Saturday's win began a season filled with more uncertainty for the No. 2 ranked Cavaliers than in recent years, with regard to roles on the field. The attack is particularly young, led by sophomore Steele Stanwick (the 2009 ACC Rookie of the Year). And the senior class in particular feels the pressure of having not won a national title since 2006.

Said senior Brian Carroll: "You come in here as a freshman thinking that you gotta win at least one of the years. We've been so close these past two years and every year we've beaten the national champion in the regular season. Now it's senior year, our last push, and we really want to get it done."

Virginia's offense is led this season by sophomore Steele Stanwick.
Starsia says that despite roster experience (or inexperience), the goals haven't changed much in his 36 coaching years.

"On September 1st, we line up thinking we have a shot to be playing on the last day," Starsia said. "And we do. We haven't been this young on the attack in a long time, so we'll suffer some offensive growing pains early in the season. … I'm anxious to see how it plays out. If we come along and get better, we could be a different lacrosse team in the second half of the season."

At afternoon practice the day before the Drexel game, players hustled onto an alternative field. Continuous Charlottesville snowstorms had forced the team onto a cleared side field, where snow was piled as high as 12 feet along the perimeter. While several assistant coaches ran players through drills, Starsia stood in sweatpants and a UVa jacket and hat, passing the ball with Clausen. Taken out of context, the two resembled a father playing catch with his son.

"I tell people that this is not a career, this is a life," Starsia said. "I've heard others speak about separating job from home … but this has required such an investment over time, it's the only way I know how. I treat my players like my children because I don't have time to figure out a separate set of rules."

Starsia gathered his team at midfield a few minutes into practice, talking through the next day's season opener. "We gotta get it right from the first moment," Starsia implored his team, looking at the faces circled around him.

"I've never really had a coach like him," Stanwick said. "Most of my coaches have always been hands-on, but he gives you a lot of freedom. At the same time, he's one of those guys you never want to disappoint. He always gets the best out of me: every practice, every game."

Entering his 18th UVa season, Starsia has already led his teams to three NCAA titles and 11 Final Four appearances. In both of the past two seasons, UVa has lost in the semifinal round of the NCAA tournament. Starsia's teams have been recognized, both nationally and within the conference, for their collective sportsmanship, even during losing seasons.

"Dom is the quintessential coach that really puts in perspective what UVa is about," says team statistician Myron Ripley, who's worked with the lacrosse team since the 1980s. "The lacrosse program is trying to get back to some realm of normalcy after such a tough year. It was hard, but also puts into perspective what's important."

Starsia was voted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2008. His office bookshelves are filled with autobiographies of coaching legends, including Dean Smith and Tony Dungy. When asked one of his proudest moments during his coaching years, he recalled not one of his national championships nor 2006's undefeated season, but the night before his HOF ceremony.

"I had 75-80 Brown guys and 75-80 UVa guys there and that was a blast," Starsia said. "I'm proud of the fact that all these guys were in the same room, enjoying each other's company. If you said that's my legacy first and foremost, I'd be happy with that … the wins and losses are fickle at best. I've always felt like this is so much more about the relationships."

Anna K. Clemmons is a writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine.

 

Time for Bennett to show crisis management skills
By Aaron McFarling

We shouldn't turn away, no matter how ghastly the sight.

We shouldn't write this off as some sort of lost season for Virginia basketball. There's no such thing as a "lost season" on the road to glory.

It all matters, even the bad stuff. So we'd better pay attention these next two weeks -- starting tonight.

Let's begin by agreeing on something: The first year is never the one to make end-all judgments on a coach. The team UVa's Tony Bennett puts on the floor at Boston College tonight will look nothing like the one he'll unleash in two years. Coaches need to find players, and players need to fit systems, and the fitting process takes time. We all get that.

But tonight's game matters. So does Saturday's game against Maryland in Charlottesville. So does the game -- maybe "games," we don't know for sure, even though we can speculate with confidence -- in the ACC Tournament next week.

The Cavaliers need to show something.

More importantly, Bennett needs to show something.

How does UVa's new coach manage a basketball crisis? This, we really don't know. In his first season as a head man, Bennett took a Washington State team picked to finish last in the Pac-10 and won a whopping 26 games, taking national coach of the year honors.

The next season, he won 26 games again.

The next, he got hired away by UVa as one of the hottest young coaches in America.

That's a pretty charmed career.

But now look: After an unexpectedly strong start, Bennett's Cavaliers have dropped seven in a row. And it's not so much that they're losing them -- UVa was picked to finish 11th out of 12 ACC teams, after all -- but it's HOW they're losing them. They haven't shot 40 percent in any of the losses. Despite Bennett's defense-first mentality, they've allowed 50 percent shooting or better in four of the defeats.

Worst of all? In the past five games, they've been outscored by double digits every time.

"We are not playing well," Bennett said after the latest loss, a 67-49 home setback against Duke, "there's no doubt about it."

The temptation is to shrug it off as inevitable growing pains. They are who we thought they were, as Dennis Green famously put it.

But are they really? Maybe before the season began, but not since. After all, this team started 14-6, including 5-2 in the ACC. All but one of the six losses could have been victories. The Cavs won eight straight from Dec. 21 to Jan. 18. If they had zero talent, none of that happens.

So there's more to it than a lack of talent. During the past month, there's been a failure to maximize the talent on hand. And it's Bennett's job to change that.

"I think you try to find little victories," Bennett said. "Little things to say, 'All right, these things we've done well.' And you just try to make improvements. Focus on the quality of what's going on. When there's things that are quality, you recognize them. When they're not, you obviously bring those out. And you keep working at them.

"And you don't get as hung up on the end result, because all that's going to do is -- it doesn't help. [The big picture] is what it has to be for us."

That's fair. The big picture is that UVa is in the first phase of a rebuilding process that could take years. But you've got to start laying a foundation, even if wins don't come. That means you need to make progress.

My suggestion for frustrated Cavs fans? Watch UVa's defense tonight. Boston College shoots 44.8 percent from the field on the season. See if the Cavs can keep it lower than that. Preaching defense as your identity -- as Bennett has done -- is fine, but ranking dead last in the ACC in field goal percentage defense -- as the Cavaliers have done -- is not.

Do you really need the injured Sylven Landesberg or a slew of blue-chip recruits to defend effectively?

No. You need players willing to buy in and a coach who knows how to manage a crisis.

U.Va. senior pushes for strong finish
VIRGINIA AT BOSTON COLLEGE
Today:9 p.m.
On the air:TV -- ESPNU; radio -- WRVA (1140), 8:30
By Michael Phillips
Published: March 3, 2010
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CHARLOTTESVILLE Earlier this season, Jerome Meyinsse was promoted to a starting spot in the University of Virginia lineup, unseating sophomore Assane Sene. This is the sort of thing that can create ill will among teammates.

"A lot of people were telling me that, to 'be mad because he got your spot,'" Sene said. "But he's a big mentor for me. He's a good guy a great guy and he's just been helping me get better."

It's hard to find anybody with a bad thing to say about Meyinsse, a senior from Louisiana who is seeing four years of hard work pay off with a stellar senior season.

His 21 points against Duke Sunday night were a career-high, a record he's been pushing skyward since the start of the season. In the previous three years, he saw very little action during games.

"It's a great feeling," he said after the Duke game. "It just shows that my four years of hard work have paid off, and it just seems that every game I've gotten better. It's been a fun experience."

Meyinsse's career is just a few games from being over. After tonight's tilt with Boston College and Saturday's senior-day contest against Maryland, it's likely that the Cavaliers' final games of the season will be played at the ACC tournament.

Instead of pursuing a future in hoops, Meyinsse will stay in the classroom. He's one of just 36 ACC athletes to receive a coveted Weaver-James-Corrigan scholarship for postgraduate education, and the only basketball player on that list.

His plan is to stay in Charlottesville and pursue a master's degree in economics -- he's a diligent student who also pulled down a minor in math as an undergraduate. Rounding out his credentials is a stint as president of the university's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

But he'll have time to think about all that in a few weeks. For now, he's focused on his final games on the basketball court.

"I'm trying to play as hard as I can, play every game like it's my last," he said. "I don't want my career to end, but I'm going to try to go out hard."

That's meant keeping his teammates motivated Meyinsse and the other two seniors are captains as well as upbeat during a seven-game losing streak that's shown no signs of abating.

Tonight's game represents an opportunity against an evenly-matched team in the standings. Both U.Va. and Boston College have records of 5-9 in ACC play. Interestingly, the last time the Cavs had a losing streak of this length, it was snapped with a victory against the Eagles in Boston.

Meyinsse could play a big role in breaking that streak, and coach Tony Bennett said he's integral to the team's success because of the number of roles he plays.

"He's a hard worker, and he's willing to do whatever it takes," the coach said, noting that he was the team's only scoring threat against Duke.

Most nights, Meyinsse's contribution is in other areas of the stat sheet, But regardless of what he's doing, the moral of the story is the same.

"I just try to go out and work hard in practice and work hard in the games every day," he said. "Just show everybody that hard work will pay off."

Landesberg Update
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/02/2010
March 2, 2010
10:28 p.m.

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- The UVa men's basketball team should have its leading scorer back Wednesday night against ACC rival Boston College.

Sylven Landesberg, who suffered a deep bruise in his right thigh last Tuesday in Coral Gables, Fla., didn't play five nights later against fifth-ranked Duke at John Paul Jones Arena.

The sophomore swingman from Queens, N.Y., was not able to practice before that game, and he was held out of the Cavaliers' 67-49 loss.

Landesberg practiced Monday night at JPJ, however, and again Tuesday night at Conte Forum. After the session in BC's arena, Landesberg said he expects to play Wednesday night.

Boston College (5-9, 14-14) hosts UVa (5-9, 14-13) at 9 o'clock. ESPNU will televise the game.

-- Jeff White

Still mired in slump, Cavs aim for late turnaround
Virginia gears up for Boston College; Landesberg is listed as day-to-day
Abbey Lou Hendricks, Cavalier Daily Senior Writer
Featured / Men's Basketball / Sports
March 3, 2010 1

The Virginia men’s basketball team travels to Boston College today, seeking its first win since Feb. 3, when the Cavaliers topped N.C. State, 59-47.

Virginia’s latest disappointment came Sunday night, as the team fell to Duke, 67-49, at John Paul Jones Arena.

This weekend’s game featured a Virginia squad that lacked its leading scorer, sophomore guard Sylven Landesberg. Landesberg suffered a bruised thigh in the team’s 74-62 loss at Miami, and his status has been listed as day-to-day. The all-around star has spent limited time practicing since the injury.

“If he can go the day of the game and there’s a big turnaround, yes, I would play a kid that way,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said.

Junior forward Mike Scott, the team’s second-leading scorer, failed to make up for Landesberg’s absence against the Blue Devils. Scott has hit a dry spell as of late, shooting 0-13 since leading the team with 14 points in a loss at Clemson Feb. 20.

Poor shooting from all areas of the court also has plagued the Cavaliers as a team. Against Duke, Virginia made a modest 31.4 percent of its shots.

“There were some good looks, just had some trouble capitalizing on some of our open opportunities,” Bennett said.

Senior center Jerome Meyinsse led the team in scoring Sunday with a career-high 21 points. Additionally, sophomore forward Assane Sene made significant contributions on defense with 10 boards and two blocks. Sene, who averages only 13.5 minutes, 1.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, will look to continue his stronger recent play against the Eagles.

“The one thing with Assane, whether he plays a little or a lot, he gives everything he has,” Bennett said.

After the Cavaliers jumped out to a 5-2 start in ACC play, Virginia faithful balked at the team’s 11th place standing in the preseason ACC polls. But now, after seven straight losses, the Cavaliers have plummeted out of contention for an ACC at-large bid and have fallen to the bottom rung of the conference standings.

“The way to respond is to hit them back if they hit you, just keep playing hard,” Sene said. “We are losing, but at the same time, we still the same team as what we were when we were winning.”

The Cavaliers face the Eagles tonight for the first time all year. Boston College, though tied with Virginia for eighth place in the ACC, defeated Virginia Tech — which twice edged the Cavaliers this season — in an 80-60 thumping Feb. 24.

“The word and watching on type is the physicalness of their team — how hard they run their cuts, how they fight for position,” Bennett said.

Against Boston College, Virginia will turn to its still-improving defense to control the Eagles’ scoring pace. The Cavaliers have limited their opponents to an average of 63.2 points per game, thanks in large part to the strong skill sets of guards sophomore Sammy Zeglinski and freshman Jontel Evans.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers also will look for strong offensive performances from junior guard Jeff Jones and Zeglinski. Jones has emerged as a long-range threat, shooting 42 percent from behind the arc since conference play began, while Zeglinski’s ball-handling and clutch-shooting ability have aided his team all season.

Faced in February with the team’s precipitous decline in performance, and knowing that other players must become key contributors because of Landesberg’s nagging injury, Bennett has focused on rebuilding Virginia’s confidence from the ground up.

“I think you try to find little victories, little things to say, ‘Alright, these things we’ve done well,’ and you just try to make improvements, and again focus on the quality of what’s going on,” Bennett said. “You don’t get as hung up on the end result, because all that’s gonna do is — it doesn’t help.”

Cavaliers search for stroke
By Whitey Reid
Published: March 2, 2010
Updated: March 2, 2010
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During his playing days at Wisconsin-Green Bay, Tony Bennett could really stroke it. How sweet of a shooter was Bennett? Well, his 3-point field goal percentage of .497 still ranks first all-time in NCAA history.
Well, right about now, the Virginia coach has to be wishing he could lace up his high tops again.
In the last seven games, Bennett’s squad has given new meaning to the term “bricklaying.”
Virginia hasn’t shot more than 38 percent from the field in its last seven games. In three of those games, UVa shot less than 34 percent, including a 31-percent brick-a-thon in the loss to Duke on Sunday.
Not surprisingly, Virginia has lost all seven of the games.
Tonight, the Cavaliers (14-13, 5-9 ACC) will look to snap out of their funk when they play at Boston College.
“You try and keep taking good shots and hopefully they’ll drop one of these times,” Bennett said. “We’re running out of time. Hopefully they will.”
Bennett is keeping his fingers crossed that he’ll have leading scorer Sylven Landesberg available tonight. The sophomore missed the Duke game on Sunday night with a bruised thigh. On Monday, Bennett called Landesberg’s status “day-to-day.”
After losing four straight, BC (14-14, 5-9) bounced back with wins against North Carolina and Virginia Tech before losing by five on the road at Georgia Tech on Saturday.
“They’re playing some good basketball and are well-coached,” Bennett said. “The word and watching them on tape is the physicalness of their team — how hard they run their cuts and fight for position. I know it will be very physical.”
BC coach Al Skinner disputed the notion that Virginia has regressed during its seven-game slide.
“I’m not sure if I would say they’re slipping,” Skinner said. “It’s just that the level of competition in this league, you have to be ready to play every night.
“They’re required to shoot the ball well from the perimeter and on nights that you don’t shoot the ball very well, you’re going to come up a little short ... That’s probably the biggest factor — when you don’t have a lot of interior scoring, you have to shoot the ball well from the perimeter, and that’s difficult to do night in and night out.”
Dunks
BC coach Al Skinner, who is good friends with former Virginia coach Dave Leitao, said he expects to see Leitao back in coaching soon. “He’s done a good job everywhere he’s been, whether it’s been as a head coach, an assistant,” Skinner said. “I think he brings a lot to the table and has something to offer to whichever university he goes to.” ... UVa leads the all-time series with BC, 6-3. The Eagles won both meetings last season. ... The last time UVa visited BC (in 2008), the Cavaliers also entered the game on a seven-game losing streak and snapped it with a 79-74 win over the Eagles.

Mike Scott's scoring struggles remain a mystery

In the past two games, Mike Scott has played 34 minutes. He has attempted 13 field goals. And he's scored zero points.

Virginia was losing by double-digit margins even while Scott had good games, but his recent disappearance has befuddled both Scott and Coach Tony Bennett. There remains no explanation other than the shots fail to drop.

"There's not much to say," Scott said. "I just can't buy a basket. It's like a lid up there. I don't know what it is."

Scott is Virginia's No. 2 scorer, and when he plays well, Virginia has an inside-outside presence between along with Sylven Landesberg. With Landesberg hurt Sunday against Duke and Scott nearly invisible, Virginia struggled to find any scoring.

Scott's problems confuse Bennett, who both directly and indirectly has called for more production from the junior forward.

"I don't know what to tell you," Bennett said. "I just didn't see it from Mike in this game."

When asked if he felt Scott has received good shot attempts, Bennett said Scott "got some good looks." Scott continues trying to hit outside shots, although those tend to have just as much success as when he bangs inside.

These are lapses that are common for younger players, but Scott has started parts of three seasons. He had a similarly cold stretch last season, and former Coach Dave Leitao had just as many answers for the lack of production as Bennett can currently provide.

"He just wasn't himself the last couple games," Bennett said.

By Zach Berman
 

Billy Baron commits to Virginia, search for 6th scholarship begins

Worcester (Mass.) Academy guard Billy Baron has committed to play for Virginia next season, becoming the sixth member of Tony Bennett's first recruiting class. What makes Baron's commitment most interesting is that Virginia only has five scholarships available, so Baron's decision is an indication that Bennett anticipates a departure of some variety.

As the son of Rhode Island Coach Jim Baron, Billy Baron originally intended to play for his father at URI, where his brother starred. Bennett picked up his interest during the autumn, offered Baron a scholarship in early December and Baron visited Virginia for the Dec. 30 victory over Alabama-Birmingham. He officially switched his commitment on Tuesday.

"I'm blessed to have the father I have and the family I have to give me the opportunity to reach the decision I made and go for the best opportunity,' Baron said. "Virginia is one of the best academic schools out there, along with being in the ACC. The facilities, the people around there, everything was tremendous when I went."

Bennett is also a coach's son, so Baron said the two can relate. In fact, Bennett led Baron's recruitment. Baron said that Bennett and his father did not have a previous relationship, but that Bennett was "very up front" throughout the entire recruiting process.

Baron's coach at Worcester, Ed Reilly, said Baron suffered an injury early in the fall, which caused Baron to fall off the radar of some teams. Baron improved throughout the season in one of the top prep school leagues in the nation, averaging 28 points per game, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Baron considers him a point guard, which is a position of need for Virginia. He has combo guard abilities and will add shooting to the Cavaliers.

Baron said it was "very tough" to bypass Rhode Island, adding he's sat in the same seat since he's 10-years old. Baron emphasized that Tuesday's decision has nothing to do with Rhode Island's relative struggles this season. (The Rams have lost four of their last five games and could go another season without reaching the NCAA tournament.)

"My dad could be 26-1 right now, and I would have done the exact same thing," Baron said. "It came down because I couldn't wait anymore. I knew exactly what I wanted, and I couldn't make Coach Bennett wait any more."

By Zach Berman

Baron chooses Virginia
By Whitey Reid
Published: March 2, 2010
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To many, it was a bit surprising that Virginia coach Tony Bennett’s first recruiting class — a group of five players — had no point guards in it. UVa’s roster for next season is noticeably thin at the position. Plus, Bennett himself is a former point guard.
However, Bennett, it seems, will be adding a floor general to the 2010 incoming class after all.
On Tuesday, Billy Baron — a 6-foot-2 guard from Rhode Island who plays for Worcester Academy in Massachusetts — announced that he is signing with the Wahoos.
The development was something of a curveball, considering that Virginia, as presently constructed, has no scholarships available for next season. In addition, it was expected that Baron would play for his father, Jim, who is the coach at the University of Rhode Island.
However, apparently the draw of playing in the ACC was too much for him to pass up.
“It’s the toughest thing I’ve ever been through in my life,” Baron told the Providence Journal. “I love Rhode Island. I’ve been here since I was 10. I’ve seen every game. I love the guys on the team. It’s been my dream for them. But I realize this is a great overall opportunity.”
With the five players who have already signed for next season, Virginia is at the maximum number of players on scholarship (13). With Baron’s arrival, Bennett has to somehow free up a scholarship.
Hypothetically, that could happen if seldom-used freshman Tristan Spurlock transferred or if star Sylven Landesberg elected to turn pro.
Per NCAA policy, Bennett and his staff aren’t allowed to comment on recruits.

Billy Baron confirms commitment to UVA
4:30 PM Tue, Mar 02, 2010 | Permalink
Paul Kenyon Email

It's official. Billy Baron is going to play his college basketball at the University of Virginia, not the University of Rhode Island.

The son of URI coach Jim Baron spoke with The Providence Journal on Tuesday afternoon from the family home in East Greenwich and confirmed earlier reports that he has changed his mind and decided to accept an offer from UVA after verbally committing to URI in the fall.

``It's the toughest thing I've ever been through in my life,'' the younger Baron said, almost somberly. ``I love Rhode Island. I've been here since I was 10. I've seen every game. I love the guys on the team. It's been my dream for them. But I realize this is a great overall opportunity.''

``It's his decision. I can't be more proud of him and his accomplishments,'' his father said. ``He's worked hard for this. He's prepared for this at Bishop Hendricken and at Worcester Academy. ... I'll miss not coaching him. But it's a tremendous opportunity for him.''

Both father and son said the decision was made over several months and was totally Billy's choice.

Virginia was just one of a number of schools that recruited the 6-foot-1 guard. Others included Rutgers, Vanderbilt, Stanford and Harvard. Still, in the fall, Billy Baron announced that he wanted to do what his brother, Jimmy, had done, and play at URI for his father.

Because his father is on the faculty, he was not going to be a scholarship player at Rhode Island. Thus, he did not sign a national letter of intent as other recruits do.
Jim Baron reported that Tony Bennett, the coach at Virginia, called him and spoke to him about recruiting Billy. When Billy excelled at Worcester -- he was the team's leading scorer this season, a season that finished this week with a 68-64 payoff loss to Bridgton Academy of Maine -- Virginia offered the younger Baron a visit.

He went to Charlottesville on New Year's week. Billy Baron said he has thought about it ever since and contacted Bennett this week to tell him he would accept the Cavaliers' scholarship offer.
 

Billy Baron says picking Virginia over URI was difficult
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, March 3, 2010
By paul kenyon
journal sports writer

EAST GREENWICH — Billy Baron calls his decision to attend the University of Virginia on a basketball scholarship the toughest choice he has had to make in his life.

Should he stay with the choice he announced last fall and go to the University of Rhode Island, where he would play for his father? Or should he accept an offer from UVA and its coach, Tony Bennett?

For anyone else, it would not be that tough a decision. Virginia plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference at the highest level of college basketball. The school that Thomas Jefferson founded is one of the most demanding academically in the nation and, with its Charlottesville campus, one of the most beautiful.

But Billy Baron made it clear that it was an extremely tough decision, one he has agonized over since he visited Charlottesville on New Year’s Eve. His love of URI and his desire to play for his father, as his brother Jimmy did, made the decision difficult.

“I love Rhode Island,” the younger Baron said, almost somberly. “I’ve been here since I was 10. I’ve seen every game. I love the guys on the team. It’s been my dream to play for them. But I realize this is a great overall opportunity.

“URI holds a special place in my heart,” he said. “The players, the coaches, the fans. I’m grateful for their support and the loving relationship with my mom, my dad and my brother.”

In the end, after what he called “much deliberation and thought,” the chance to play at Virginia “was something that I couldn’t turn down. I’m grateful to have a father who put me first and was so selfless. He knew it was a great opportunity for me.”

Jim Baron, who was with his son at the family home Tuesday when they made the announcement, stood fully behind his son’s decision, even as he spoke candidly about how it brought him mixed feelings.

“It’s his decision,” the father said. “I can’t be more proud of him and his accomplishments. He’s worked hard for this. He’s prepared for this at Bishop Hendricken and at Worcester Academy. … I’ll miss not coaching him. But it’s a tremendous opportunity for him. How can I not allow him to try to reach his goals? He’s a very goal-oriented kid.”

Jim Baron stressed that the decision was Billy’s and based on which school would be best for him. Both father and son said the decision was made over several months.

Virginia was one of a number of schools that recruited him. Others included Rutgers, Vanderbilt, Stanford and Harvard. Still, last fall, Billy Baron announced that he wanted to follow his brother, Jimmy, and play at URI for his father.

Because his father is on the faculty, Billy would not have been a scholarship player at Rhode Island. Thus, he did not sign a national letter-of-intent as other recruits do.

Jim Baron reported that Bennett, the Virginia coach, called him and spoke to him about recruiting Billy and handled everything completely above board. Interestingly, Bennett played his college basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, where his father, Dick, was his coach.

“He understood everything we were going through,” Jim Baron said.

Bennett made a trip to Worcester to scout Billy Baron in November, but Baron broke a thumb and could not play.

When Billy returned to action and excelled at Worcester — he was the team’s leading scorer this season, a season that finished this week with a 68-64 playoff loss to Bridgton Academy of Maine — Virginia offered the younger Baron a visit. He went to Charlottesville and came away thoroughly impressed.

“They have a new workout facility. They just built a new 17,000-seat arena. It’s beautiful,” Billy Baron said.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been an easy decision to accept UVA’s offer. But his desire to play for his father and his ties with URI made him think about it constantly. . Finally, he decided he had to accept the opportunity.

As if the family ties were not enough to make it a complicated issue, the timing of the announcement makes it that much more interesting. URI is struggling to the finish line after a great start. What’s more, Jim Baron is about to sit down with school officials to discuss a possible contract extension; his current contract has three years remaining.

Billy Baron admits that he sometimes checks Internet sites that have been critical of his father for his failure to get the Rams into the NCAA Tournament. But he insists his decision was only about him and his future, and nothing currently surrounding the Rhody program.

“This decision has everything to do with myself and what I think is best for me,” he said. “It has nothing to do with anything else.”

 

Billy Baron bails on dear old Dad
5:41 PM Tue, Mar 02, 2010 | Permalink
Jim Donaldson Email

"It's something I always wanted to do."

Until, apparently, something better came along.

It was less than three months ago that Billy Baron told Journal columnist Bill Reynolds how excited he was about going to URI.

That he said how happy he was to be following in the footsteps of his sharpshooting older brother, Jimmy.

That he talked about how much he was looking forward to playing basketball for his father, Jim, and the Rhody Rams.

He told Reynolds about how, as a kid, he had a list of goals hanging in his closet, and one of them was to one day play for his father.

"It's the thought of coming to Kingston and playing for his father that drives him most," Reynolds wrote, "this fantasy of coming to URI and helping the Rams get to the NCAA tournament, and redeeming his father. This is the dream, one that's wrapped in blood and family."

Other colleges had shown interest in him, but Billy made it plain he wasn't interested in them.

"When it came right down to it," Billy Baron said in December, "I just couldn't see myself anywhere else."

Well, don't look now, Rams fans, but Billy has bailed on Dear old Dad and good, old State U.

Forget the list of goals that hung in his childhood closet, forget not seeing himself anywhere else, forget that playing for his father at URI was supposedly something Billy Baron had "always wanted to do."

Presented with a scholarship offer from The University -- as it's known in the Commonwealth of Virginia -- Billy's decided to change his mind and take his game from Worcester Academy to Charlottesville next season and play in the ACC, rather than in the A-10.

And so if, as coach Baron's agent, Robert Ades, insists, Rhody's rivals will use against him in recruiting the fact that Baron has only three years remaining on his contract, will they not now add this line:

"Hey, the guy couldn't recruit his own son to play for him, so why should your son go to URI?"

For any other kid, it would be no surprise if he opted to spend the next four years in Mr. Jefferson's "academical village," rather than the quaint village of Kingston.

UVA is a more prestigious school, in a much more prestigious league.

But this isn't just any kid we're talking about.

This is the coach's kid.

It wasn't supposed to be about prestige for him. It was supposed to be about family.

This is a kid who, only a few months ago, said he'd always dreamed of playing for his father, that it was something he'd always wanted to do, that he couldn't see himself anywhere else.

Until, of course, he had a chance to play for the Cavaliers.


 

Title on line for Terps, Blue Devils
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: March 2, 2010
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nowBuzz up!

Scattershooting around the ACC in anticipation of tonight’s potential prelude to next week’s conference tournament championship game ...
Duke at Maryland has all the elements of the ACC game of the year if both teams play to their potential when the conference leaders collide tonight (9 p.m., ESPN) in College Park.
The Blue Devils hammered the Terrapins in Cameron Indoor Stadium a couple of weeks ago by 19 points, but tonight’s game should be a thriller diller. Both teams are playing their best basketball of the season.
If Maryland is to find a way to beat Duke and draw even with the Devils at 12-3 for the league lead, then somehow coach Mike Krzyzewski’s team is going to have to find an answer for Terps’ star Greivis Vasquez, the flashy senior who has established himself as the leading candidate for ACC player of the year honors.
If Vasquez doesn’t reap those honors, it will only be because he lets down from here onward.
The Maryland guard heads into tonight’s game ranked in the top 10 of eight career statistical categories for the Terps: points scored (No. 3); assists (No. 2); steals (No. 8); field goals made (No. 6); 3-pointers (No. 2); free throws made (No. 6); 3-pointers attempts (No. 1); and minutes played (No. 1), having clocked 4,386 minutes of court time.
If there was a category, Vasquez would also probably lead in clutch shots taken, and shots taken that put another gray hair on coach Gary Williams’ head. You know, the kind where a coach is shouting, “No, no,” then the improbable shot goes in, and the coach is shown shouting, “Yes!”
The lucky guy that draws the unenviable position of stopping Vasquez is Duke’s Nolan Smith, who didn’t need any reminders that Vasquez lit up Virginia Tech for 41 points last Saturday night.
“He’s definitely a handful,” Smith said of the Terps opponent. “In comparison to like a [former North Carolina star] Ty Lawson, he’s very different. He’s not a speedster, a jet who will beat you down the court in three seconds, but he definitely requires a lot of attention.”
Vasquez’ comments appear elsewhere in this article under “Quote of the week.”
What’s wrong with Virginia?
Personally, I believe that most of the Cavaliers’ problems can be traced back to talent — or rather, a lack thereof.
The Cavs are comprised chiefly of some very streaky shooters, which in theory translates into not very good shooters. Virginia is playing good defense, but if there’s not enough offense to support the effort, then the team is going to struggle to win.
Fact: With two games remaining in regular season heading into tonight’s game at Boston College, the Cavaliers are holding opponents to an average of 63.3 points per game, which represents their fifth-lowest scoring average by opponents since Virginia became a member of the ACC in 1954.
Not surprisingly, the four previous lows all came during the Terry Holland era: 57.2 in 1982; 59.6 in 1985; 60.6 in 1981; and 61.6 in 1984.
Most of those Holland teams had enough offensive firepower to win and win big.
What’s killing Tony Bennett’s team is a lack of offense, a lack of consistent scorers, a lack of quality inside post guys to score offensive rebounds.
Fact: Virginia is averaging a mere 66.4 points per game. Only six previous Cavalier squads, also dating back to 1954, have scored as few points during the course of a season, and only three of those efforts have come in the last 30 years.
Fact: In UVa’s 14 wins, the Cavs have shot an average of 48.2 percent; in the 13 losses, only 36.6 percent.
Fact: When Virginia shoots 40 percent or less, the Cavs are 1-10.
It’s clear why Bennett and staff have recruited six new players for next year’s squad. Virginia needs some guys who can score.
Stat of the week
Sixty-four straight opponents have failed to shoot 50 percent or better against Florida State, which leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense .369.
Stat of the week II
When Maryland beat Virginia Tech in double overtime Saturday night, coach Gary Williams became only the third coach in ACC history to win 200 conference games, joining Dean Smith (422) and Mike Krzyzewski (354).
Quote of the week
On tonight’s big rematch with Duke, which defeated Maryland 77-56 in Durham on Feb. 13, Terps’ guard Greivis Vasquez commented:
“They’re not going to beat us by 20. It’s not going to be like that. I could be wrong, but I can’t guarantee you that, but I don’t think they’re going to beat us by 20. Something could happen. I’m not God. [Wednesday] is going to be such a good day just to play basketball. Let’s play some ball.”
War of words
Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt is catching from heat from the Atlanta media, and he’s firing back in a war of words.
The Yellow Jackets, 19-9, 7-7, headed into last night’s game at Clemson, are attempting to get back to the NCAAs for the first time since 2007. Not helping is a 1-6 record on the road in the ACC, which isn’t that unusual for Hewitt’s recent teams.
What’s helping is an RPI of 33 and a good strength of schedule, ranked among the toughest 15 in the nation.
Still, Tech fans and some media covering the team have wondered aloud whether or not the school is getting its monies worth out of Hewitt, with a
173-140 record in 10 seasons, 68-89 in the ACC and only 6-5 in the NCAA Tournament, including a Final Four appearance in his first year with leftover Bobby Cremins players.
Hewitt makes a salary of $1.375 million a year with an annual rollover and a buyout of approximately $7 million.
However, in response to what he perceives as negative reporting, Hewitt is mad as hell and isn’t going to take it any more.
The Yellow Jackets coach approved some tweets produced by a Tech administrative assistant this week that went out to fans in response to what he felt was unfair treatment.
One read: “Clearly we are playing our best basketball of the season. Don’t believe what you read from the ‘experts.’”
Another: “Are you a critic or a supporter of this team? Supporters will continue to watch this team fight.”
Yet another: “To you critics: when athletes say some of the things you say, then you condemn them as quitters. Are you quitting?”
At a brief media session, Hewitt accused reporters from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other publications of “cyberbullying.”
Free throws ...
North Carolina guard Larry Drew II has vehemently denied published rumors that he plans to transfer after the season. ... Are the Tar Heels beginning to come alive just a little bit? Freshmen John Henson and Leslie McDonald are playing their best stretches of the season and perhaps that’s the spark that UNC needs to win a game or two before season’s end. ... Is Wake Forest in its late-season swoon for the second year in a row? The Deacs take a three-game losing streak to Florida State tonight. Coach Dino Gaudio doesn’t like what he sees in his team during that span: poor shooting. In the home loss to Carolina, Wake missed 52 shots and shot 29.7 percent. Ouch!

In ACC Swimming, UVa Reigns Supreme
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 03/02/2010
By Jeff White

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- They are the kings and queens of ACC swimming, and their reigns show no signs of ending.

In a span of eight days last month, UVa was crowned ACC champion in men's and women's swimming. So what's new?

For the men, the title was their third in a row and 11th in 12 years. The women's championship was their three straight and fifth in eight years.

This marks the seventh time in Mark Bernardino's illustrious coaching career at UVa that his teams have swept the ACC championships in the same year.

The Cavaliers also doubled up in 1990, '99, 2003, '04, '08 and '09.

"It's unusual to do, it's difficult to do, but it sure makes it feel a whole lot better when you can do it," Bernardino said Monday.

Such sustained success "means you can say that what we're doing is working well for an entire program," said Bernardino, who took over as head coach at his alma mater in August 1978.

"For men, for women, for swimmers who are sprinters, distance people, strokers, it shows that we've got a real good formula. The formula for success in the pool, outside the pool, is working, and it's something hopefully a lot of people will want to be a part of."

The Wahoos were expected to dominate the ACC women's meet, held in Chapel Hill, N.C., and they didn't disappoint. UVa won 14 of 18 swimming events and finished with 877.5 points, to 642.5 for second-place North Carolina.

"We had so many girls that were so good," Bernardino said. "Fifteen girls are going to NCAAs. Fifteen out of 18 made the national championships, which is the most we've ever taken, by far, bar none. It's a monster number."

The women's meet concluded Feb. 20, the men's a week later. The men's championships were also held at UNC's Koury Natatorium, but Bernardino wasn't as confident heading into this one.

"I knew the men's was going to be a tougher go," he said. "I just felt like after the dual meet with North Carolina's men [during the regular season], I knew they were really on their A game all year long. They were well-prepared, they were focused. They gave us a hell of a shot. They made a hell of a run at us all three days of this meet."

In the end, though, UNC couldn't keep up with the 'Hoos. UVa finished with 806 points, to 656.5 for the Tar Heels.

"I just feel as though we took the best shot they had," Bernardino said. "They had the best meet they've probably had in a decade, and we were still able to pull through this thing and take advantage of our really, really strong depth, up and down the lineup in every single event."

Junior Scot Robison, the meet's most valuable swimmer, won the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle. He also helped Virginia win four relays.

"He has been over the top," Bernardino said in Chapel Hill. "He came of age last year, and I think he is so excited and motivated to be right now somebody that challenges for a spot on the Olympic team. He is full steam ahead. He wants to be somebody special, and I think he's on his way."

Robison didn't do it alone, of course. Others who contributed to UVa's victory included Matt McLean, Matt Houser, John Azar, Peter Geissinger, Tom Casey, Simon Norstedt, Eric Olesen, Daniel Johnson and Matt Murray.

Johnson, a senior from Concord, N.C., was a revelation, his coach said.

"Daniel, who did not make our scoring or our travel team for his first three years here, was selected captain this year by the guys, just because he's such a team-first, totally dedicated, hard-working kid," Bernardino said.

"In his first [ACC] championship meet ever -- he waited till his senior year to get his chance -- he took third in one event and fourth in the other. Those are the backstroke races. Third in the 200 back, fourth in the 100, with lifetime-best performances, and I thought those were huge performances as well."

Robison met the standard set a week earlier by the most valuable swimmer in the ACC women's meet, UVa freshman Lauren Perdue.

Her father, Phil, was an All-American at UVa who won three ACC championships: 100 free in 1978, 50 free in '79 and 50 free in '80.

Lauren Perdue won three individual events in Chapel Hill -- the 50, 100 and 200 free -- and was a member of four relay teams that finished first.

The perception in swimming circles has been that UVa is not a school for sprinters, but Robison and Perdue are changing that.

"They're bringing another dimension to the program," Bernardino said. "We've really focused on changing the makeup of our team. We've really geared up toward really trying to develop and recruit more and better sprinters every year.

"Despite the fact that we always had one or two good ones, we were never four- or five-deep in sprinting talent."

And now?

"For the men, we're probably three-deep," Bernardino said. "For the women, we're four-deep and more for next year.

For the second straight year, Mei Christensen, a senior from Reston, won ACC titles in the 100 and 200 backstroke. Christensen was named most valuable swimmer at the ACC meet in 2009 and, had Perdue not been so brilliant, might have been so honored again.

"Mei was unbelievable," Bernardino said. "Some people may have said she was the second-most outstanding swimmer in the meet. She was certainly one of the top couple."

Others who distinguished themselves at UNC, Bernardino said, included Amanda Faulkner, Claire Crippen, Hannah Davis, Kelly Flynn, Lauren Smart and Christine Olson.

"It's hard to single anyone out," he said. "When you have that many girls making the national meet, they all came through. They were really, really good."

The NCAA women's championships are March 18 to 20 at West Lafayette, Ind. The men's meet is a week later in Columbus, Ohio. Bernardino won't know how many swimmers he's taking to Ohio State until all the conference meets around the country have been completed.

A season ago, the UVa men placed ninth and the women 12th nationally.

This year, Bernardino said, "I think the women are positioned to make a run in the top 10. The men are positioned to be somewhere between 10 and 15, depending on the number of athletes [from UVa] that get selected."
 

The five stages of Wahoo grief
Aaron Perryman, Cavalier Daily Columnist
Sports
March 3, 2010 0

Virginia fans have certainly experienced their fair share of ups and downs with the University’s revenue sports. The combination of football and men’s basketball has been a seducing siren, like that pretty girl in middle school that seemed to like you and then dropped you like a hot potato, leaving your heart in tatters.

I’ve noticed that I progressed through the five stages of grief quite nicely during both seasons so far — or maybe I just think I have because I’m a psychology major with experience in sociology classes — or I’m just some kind of nerd. Either way, examining Virginia fans’ progression through these five stages is an interesting way to look at the plight of the Virginia sports fan this season.

I love Virginia sports — especially football and men’s basketball. The expectations weren’t that high for either team this year. At first, both teams performed rather poorly, especially the football team as it lost the first three games of the season, including that humiliating opening game loss to William & Mary at Scott Stadium when the Tribe fans were the last ones to leave as they stayed behind chanting, “Our house!”

Both teams rose from the ashes, however, to give fans something to cheer about — if just for a while. Football defeated North Carolina 16-3, Indiana by a whopping 47-7 and Maryland 20-9. The men’s basketball team — 4-4 after a Dec. 7 loss to Auburn — reeled off eight straight wins to move to move to 12-4 and 3-0 in the conference. At first, the Cavaliers were feasting on scrubs but then they used that momentum to defeat UAB, Georgia Tech and Miami, all of which were ranked in the Top 25 at the time.

As the victories kept coming, both teams stumbled upon big-time matchups that weren’t as significant only a few weeks earlier — Virginia football faced Georgia Tech to determine first place in the Coastal Division, and the men’s basketball team faced Wake Forest on the road that would have validated the Cavaliers’ place as contenders in the ACC had they won. Both teams faltered in the big moment, however, as football lost a rain-soaked, hard-fought game to the Yellow Jackets 34-9 — the score doesn’t do the game justice — while the basketball team dropped a snoozer to the Demon Deacons 69-57. The football team proceeded to lose every game the rest of the season, and the basketball team has only won two games since that point. And thus began the grieving and its stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

Denial
During the football season, I was in denial probably around the very next game against Duke Oct. 31. The Blue Devils are certainly on the rise as a program, but I thought there was no way we would lose to them two years in a row. So during the latter reaches of the game, when it was clear a loss was imminent, I found myself denying it in every way possible.

For the men’s basketball season, I was probably in denial the very next game, when the Cavaliers faced the Hokies Jan. 28. We all know what happened. Virginia blew a 10-point lead with 3:44 left to rival Virginia Tech only to force overtime on a miraculous Sammy Zeglinski three-pointer, a prayer which only gave us false hope. The orange and blue ran out of magic in overtime. I stood at the end of the game stunned at what had just unfolded.

Anger
Anger was peppered throughout the football season for me because Virginia was always doing something to crush my soul. Virginia held leads during every game following the Georgia Tech contest Oct. 24, except during the Nov. 21 Clemson matchup, when the Cavaliers nearly equaled the Tigers score-for-score during the first half. Unfortunately, Virginia did not win a single one of these games — a fact that is both bewildering and maddening for the loyal fan.

When the basketball team lost a second overtime game to Wake Forest, it was a big blow, but I thought we would be okay because we had just won two games before that. Anger set in when we lost a second game against the Hokies we could’ve won. Talk about bitter moments.

Bargaining
The Boston College football game Nov. 14 was especially disheartening because I was thinking, “We HAVE to win this game. There’s no way we can keep getting leads only to lose the game. All of that losing means we will win eventually. We deserve to win a game by now. We are due.” It is this kind of language that defines the bargaining sports fan. By the time the Tech game rolled around, I was talking to the football gods: “Please. I’m a fourth-year. I now have the wisdom to understand your plan. To enjoy a magical finale against Tech, we needed to lose all those other games, right?” We led 7-0 and 10-7 and had a chance to win all the way up until the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t meant to be. Fate again wore a frown.

Similar to the bargaining I engaged in before the Tech football game, I think I was in the bargaining stage before the big basketball game Sunday against Duke. I knew that a stunner against the Blue Devils could soften the blow of a season gone down the tubes. Then I found out Sylven was not going to play. Uh oh. Major props, though, to Jerome Meyinsse on a career night.

Depression
A losing season is depressing. Things are fuzzy here, but I’d say for football, when we fell to 3-7 after that loss to Boston College and realized there would be no postseason bowl appearance, depression sunk in.

For basketball, it was as soon as I realized that we might not make the NCAA Tournament and then, oh wait — the NIT also. Depressing. Once we followed up the second loss to Tech with our first blowout loss of the season against Maryland, things were not looking good. And now, we … just … can’t … win … one … more … game. We still need to win one game just to be eligible for postseason play following the ACC Tournament.

Acceptance
For football, I had accepted the losing season by the time the Tech rivalry rolled around but, like I mentioned, was still bargaining for a miracle upset. I had also accepted that Al Groh would be fired and was looking to the future and Mike London. I’m already hoping we can surprise some people and can get to 7-5 next season, the record we would need to make a bowl (6-6 won’t cut it because we are playing two FCS teams).

Blowout loss after blowout loss had me accepting that we weren’t an elite team in basketball. I still haven’t accepted we can’t make a late push for the NIT, but the outlook is looking bleaker and bleaker. I thought we could beat Miami to secure that .500-or-better-record — now it’s the Boston College game tonight. Maryland is looking ridiculously strong right now and difficult to beat. I’m looking to the future now, too, though. Tony Bennett is bringing in a solid recruiting class, and I’m back to earth after the midseason winning streak and predicting that he can get us back to the Big Dance by 2011-12.

But seriously, here’s another part of acceptance: Who’s looking forward to our spectacular spring sports teams? No denial there. Yet.

Virginia Finishes Sixth at Kinderlou Forest Challenge
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 03/02/2010

Valdosta, GA - The No. 15 Virginia women's golf team finished sixth in the 18-team Kinderlou Forest Challenge in Valdosta, Ga., the team's first spring tournament. Virginia finished at 32-over 908. The Cavaliers posted rounds of 302, 305 and 301 during the two-day event.
Junior Calle Nielson and freshman Brittany Altomare led the Cavaliers with scores of 8-over 227 to tie for 20th overall. Nielson had rounds of 76, 80 and 71 while Altomare shot 75, 76 and 76.
Freshman Nicole Agnello was 32nd overall at 229 while Eleana Collins placed 37th at 231. Whitney Neuhauser was 59th overall at 237.
Tulane took the team title at 13-over 889. The Green Wave's Janine Fellows won medalist honors by shooting 2-under 217. She was the only player to break par during the event.
"We were able to make up some ground during the final round," said head coach Kim Lewellen. "More than anything, we were just happy to get in three solid rounds of play after the challenges we had practicing with the weather the past few weeks."
The Cavaliers return to play next March 12-14 at the LSU/Cleveland Classic in Baton Rouge, La. Virginia won the tournament last season.
Kinderlou Forest Challenge
Kinderlou Forest Golf Club
Valdosta, Ga.
Par-73, 6,265 yards
Final Results
Team Results
1. Tulane 293-296-300-889
2. Ohio State 302-292-302-896
3. Tennessee 299-298-304-901
4. Vanderbilt 300-302-301-903
4. Georgia 302-296-305-903
6. Virginia 302-305-301-908
7. Mississippi 307-299-307-913
7. Florida 295-309-309-913
9. LSU 299-308-308-915
10. Florida State 307-302-307-916
11. South Carolina 304-308-307-919
12. Kent Stat 307-303-311-921
13. Arkansas 308-313-305-926
14. North Carolina 318-318-309-945
15. Chattanooga 322-311-320-953
15. Kentucky 313-322-318-953
17. Kennesaw State 315-323-321-959
18. Mississippi State 323-321-320-964
Individual Leaders
1. Janine Fellows, Tulane 74-73-70-217
2. Marta Silva Zamora, Georgia 73-71-75-219
2. Marina Alex, Vanderbilt 71-74-74-219
4. Samantha Troyanovich, Tulane 71-75-74-220
4. Emma deGroot, Chattanooga 73-70-77-220
7. Amy Meier, Ohio State 79-70-73-222
7. Kelli Shean, Arkansas 74-76-72-222
7. Megan McChrystal, LSU 73-75-74-222
Virginia Results
20. Calle Nielson 76-80-71-227
20. Brittany Altomare 75-76-76-226
32. Nicole Agnello 79-73-77-229
37. Eleana Collins 78-76-77-231
59. Whitney Neuhauser 73-86-78-237
 

Four Cavaliers Named to All-ACC Academic Cross Country Teams
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 03/02/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Senior Stephanie Garcia, junior Catherine White and sophomore Morgane Gay were named to the 2009 Academic All-ACC Women’s Academic Cross Country Team, while senior Trey Miller was named to the men’s all-academic team, as announced by conference Commissioner John D. Swofford.

White, a biology major from Roanoke, Va., finished fourth for Virginia at the NCAA Cross Country Championships to earn All-America honors and become the highest finisher for the Cavaliers since Lesley Welch won the national title in 1982. She also won the 2009 NCAA Southeast Region Title - becoming the program's first-ever individual regional champion - and earned Southeast Region Athlete of the Year honors for her accomplishments, another first for Virginia. At the ACC Championships, White finished runner-up to earn her first All-ACC honor.

Garcia is an English major from South Riding, Va., and is earning this league honor for the third time in her career. The senior placed 44th at NCAAs this year and 18th at Regionals – earning All-Southeast Region honors. At the conference championships, Garcia finished 18th.

Gay, hailing from Bethesda, Md., hasn’t declared a major yet. Finishing fourth at the ACC Championships, Gay earned all-conference honors, before garnering all-region honors with an eighth place finish at Regionals.

Miller, a foreign affairs major from Chapel Hill, N.C., finished 15th at the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships and scored for the Cavaliers at the regional and national championships. Miller finished 44th at the NCAA Regional Championships in Louisville, Ky., and crossed in 141st at the NCAA Championships.

To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during their academic career.
 

UVa Rowers Join Together to Pull for Katie
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 03/02/2010
By Cayce Troxel

When University of Virginia student Mary Willetts and her father first emailed roughly 40 college crew coaches across the country, asking for their support in 13-year old Katie Carr's fight against cancer, they were only hoping for "something uplifting" to pass along to the young rower from Jacksonville, Fla.

What they got in return far exceeded even their greatest expectations.

"From the responses I got, I realized that many of these coaches had forwarded the letter to team members, friends and alumni," said Willetts, who also hails from Jacksonville and learned of Carr's situation through her family. "I talked to her sister today and she told me that it seems like every day Katie is receiving another letter or t-shirt from [crew] teams around the country."

While rowers of all ages and abilities, even recent Olympians, have been eager to extend their "get well" wishes to Katie through signed team photos, stuffed animals, and various other gifts of encouragement, one program in particular has gone above and beyond the rest to offer its support.

The Virginia rowing team just happened to be heading back from its winter break training trip near DeLand, Fla., when Willetts' email reached the inbox of head coach Kevin Sauer. Upon reading of Katie's plight and passing her story along to the rest of the crew, it became obvious to everyone involved what needed to be done next.

"Stopping at the hospital in Jacksonville on the way back to Charlottesville seemed like a no-brainer," senior team member Victoria Burke said. "I would hope any other team in our situation would have done the same."

"I don't think not visiting her really occurred to us," added senior co-captain Lauren Hutchins. "As soon as Kevin found out we would all be able to go see her, it was just a matter of when."

After learning of the hardships Katie has been forced to endure over her 13 short years, it's easy to understand why the Cavaliers were so quick to respond.

Born in China, she lost her biological parents at an early age. After shuttling back and forth from her grandparents' home to various foster homes, Katie relocated to the United States to live in Jacksonville with her adoptive parents, Pat and Karen Carr, and their daughter Elizabeth, now a student at the University of South Carolina.

Everything seemed to be finally falling into place for Katie until last year, when a series of tragedies suddenly struck the Carr family. First, Katie's mother died of cervical cancer; soon thereafter, her father was diagnosed with cancer, as well.

"Katie's story blew me away," Sauer said. "So much so that I thought the email might have been some sort of scam since the things Katie has gone through were hard to believe."

The bad news didn't stop there, however. As a middle school student at The Bolles School, a prep school in downtown Jacksonville, Katie turned to rowing as a sanctuary from the emotional rollercoaster her life had quickly become.

"The one thing that helped Katie cope with the loss of her mother was her desire to row and be an active piece of a successful Bolles crew team," Willetts said. "Even in middle school, Katie has proven to be a strong rower with great potential."

That all changed late last year.

During a practice row Katie heard a crack in her upper arm and was forced to visit a doctor for screening. The results that returned were, as the Willetts relayed in their email, "a young rower's and woman's worst nightmare." Katie had sarcoma, a cancer of the connective tissue and cartilage, and would need to undergo chemotherapy in an attempt to save her arm-and more importantly, her life.

"No one should suffer; cancer is a terrible disease," senior co-captain Jennifer Cromwell said. "When I learned about her family, her history, and where she had come from, I was in disbelief and shock. I was deeply saddened by the whole situation and felt an overwhelmingly strong urge for our team and myself to help her in any way possible."

And help is what they did.

Somehow maneuvering a 12-foot oar signed by each of the Cavaliers up the hospital stairwell, the team lifted Katie's spirits with its oversized present and impromptu visit. Although the 40 girls could only stay for 30 minutes, chatting and posing for photos, they nevertheless made a lasting impression on the young rower. While the signed oar now occupies a place of prominence on Katie's bedroom wall, the team itself holds an even greater significance in her fight against cancer.

"She looks back on that moment in time frequently and is still amazed at the outpouring of love and support she received from the Virginia crew team and its coaches, and in particular, Coach Sauer," said Pat Carr, Katie's father. "The team's visit really began a tidal wave of support from other college crew teams and rowers from around the country. I don't think there is any question that there has been a positive and continuing impact upon Katie."

The Cavaliers insist, however, that it's really the other way around.

"Katie is dealing with so much right now and enduring the biggest fight of her life, but she is strong and we could sense that," Cromwell said. "We were, and still are, so inspired by Katie and our visit we had with her."

Since its January visit, the team has kept in touch with Katie by posting messages on her CaringBridge account, an online blogging site used by cancer patients to post updates and keep in touch with loved ones and supporters. The Cavaliers also put together a Valentine's Day package and are hoping to arrange for Katie to attend their April 3rd regatta against Ohio State and Michigan at Lake Monticello.

"She is a very special girl who deserves it," Cromwell said. "We all wanted to take part as a team because we know that what she is going through isn't easy, so being able to have that kind of support is encouraging."

While the Cavaliers have participated in numerous outreach projects in the past, including Habitat for Humanity builds and blood drives, none have been as rewarding-or as reflective of the rowing community as a whole-than their most recent visit.

"Crew teams are bonded over a number of things across the country," Burke said. "One of them is the fact that it's not a common sport, and I think we take pride in helping each other out."

Katie will continue to draw on that support as she undergoes her final sessoins of chemotherapy. While she has been responding well to treatment and the swelling in her arm has decreased slightly, a meeting with her doctor will determine whether her arm can be salvaged or whether amputation will be necessary. Surgery is tentatively scheduled for March 18.

"There are moments when [Katie] is tempted to think 'why me?' or to think that she is somehow alone in navigating her way through these troubled and unsettled waters," Carr said. "It is in those times that she need not look any further than the mail and the blog entries on her CaringBridge web site to realize that even though there are many questions she cannot answer now-and may never be able to answer-she does know with incredible certainty that she is part of a team."

The Cavaliers couldn't agree more.

"There is no question that we are all 'pulling' for Katie, figuratively and literally," Cromwell said.