No. 1 Virginia Finishes Sweep of Boston College With 11-1 Win
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 03/21/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The No. 1-ranked Virginia baseball team finished off a three-game series sweep of Boston College Sunday afternoon with an 11-1 victory over the Eagles at Davenport Field. The win also clinched a perfect 5-0 week for the Cavaliers.
The Davenport Field crowd of 3,206 on Sunday pushed Virginia's attendance for the weekend to 9,642 - most ever for a three-game series at UVa. The previous mark was 7,559, set May 11-13, 2007, for a series with North Carolina State.
Virginia starting pitcher Cody Winiarski (Jr., Franksville, Wis.) recorded his best outing as a Cavalier, working six innings and allowing one earned run, three hits and two walks while striking out three. Winiarski earned the win to improve to 2-0 this year. Neal Davis (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) and Whit Mayberry (Fr., Alexandria, Va.) combined to shut the Eagles out over the final three innings.
Virginia's starting pitching was impressive all weekend. Winiarski, Danny Hultzen (So., Bethesda, Md.) and Robert Morey (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.) each earned wins and went at least six innings. Over the weekend the trio combined to record a 0.81 ERA in 21 innings and allowed just two earned runs, 10 hits and three walks while striking out 23.
Boston College starter Hunter Gordon (0-1) was knocked from the game after putting the first two runners on in the second inning. He gave up six runs, four hits and two walks.
Eight of the nine Virginia starters recorded at least one hit. Dan Grovatt (Jr., Tabernacle, N.J.) homered as part of a 2-for-4, four-RBI day, while Phil Gosselin (Jr., West Chester, Pa.) also had a pair of hits. Gosselin went 7-for-10 with three doubles over the weekend.
Virginia (17-3, 5-1 ACC) jumped on Gordon quickly for four first-inning runs. Gosselin singled to lead off and moved to second on a Keith Werman (So., Vienna, Va.) sacrifice bunt. After Gordon walked Grovatt and Steven Proscia (So., Suffern, N.Y.) to load the bases, Jarrett Parker (Jr., Stafford, Va.) ripped a 3-1 pitch off the right-center field wall to clear the bases and give the Cavaliers a 3-0 lead. Tyler Cannon (Sr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) then singled through the drawn-in infield to push the lead to 4-0 and extend his hit streak to a dozen games.
In the second the Cavaliers added a pair of runs while forcing Gordon from the game. John Barr (Jr., Ivyland, Pa.) singled to right to lead off and Gosselin was hit by a pitch, spelling the end of the day for Gordon. Geoff Oxley came on in relief and was quickly tested when Werman laid down another bunt. Oxley slipped and fell while fielding the ball, allowing Werman to reach with a single to load the bases. Grovatt and Proscia then hit consecutive sacrifice flies to stretch the lead to 6-0.
Virginia tacked on two more runs in the third inning on a two-out, two-run single by Grovatt, scoring Franco Valdes (Sr., Miami, Fla.) and Barr.
Boston College (7-12, 1-5) scored its lone run in the fourth inning on a solo home run to right field by Mickey Wiswall. The Cavaliers got that run back in the sixth inning when Grovatt homered to left-center for his fourth long ball of the season.
The Cavaliers increased their lead to 11-1 in the seventh when Gosselin scorched a double to right, scoring Valdes and Stephen Bruno (Fr., Audubon, N.J.).
Virginia continues its season-long nine-game homestand at 5 p.m. Tuesday when it plays host to Marshall. The game will be broadcast online through V Pass at VirginiaSports.com.

Dominant starting pitching leads to series sweep
Morey, Winiarski follow Hultzen’s gem; trio holds BC to three runs, 10 hits
Andrew Seidman and Aaron Perryman, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Baseball / Featured / Sports
March 22, 2010 0

After he watched the ball fly off the bat of senior right fielder John Spatola and sail over the right field wall in the top of the seventh inning, sophomore Danny Hultzen walked back to the mound, toed the rubber and dialed in on the next batter. He threw two quick strikes, seemingly unshaken. But when the home plate umpire called three straight balls, Virginia’s quiet, composed ace wiped the sweat off his forehead and circled the mound. For the first time Friday night, the preseason All-American selection appeared to be rattled by Boston College batters.

The brief respite and a deep breath refocused Hultzen, however, as the southpaw caught sophomore third baseman Anthony Melchionda looking with 91 mile per hour heat on the outside corner of the plate for his 10th strikeout of the game.

“The ump was calling strikes all night,” Hultzen said. “Maybe that fatigue was setting in, but I just tried to battle through that.”

Five pitches later, Hultzen recorded his 11th strikeout with another fastball to end the inning. And it did not get any easier from there for the Eagles, as the Cavaliers cruised to win the game 7-1 and sweep the series in front of a record crowd of 9,642 fans, the most ever for a three-game series at Virginia. Hultzen combined with juniors Robert Morey and Cody Winiarski to log a season-high 21 innings during the weekend and limit Boston College to 10 hits, allowing only two earned runs while fanning 23 batters. Virginia batters, meanwhile, recorded double-digit hits in each game, outscoring their counterparts at the plate by a total of 22-5.

Hultzen, who improved to 4-1 on the season with the victory, finished the first game of the series with 12 strikeouts — one short of his career high — and was electric from the outset. He struck out the side in the second and, after surrendering his first hit in the top of the third, fielded a sharp ground ball up the middle and threw to first to retire the side.

His counterpart on the mound, Kevin Moran, was not as effective in the early going, allowing six earned runs, eight hits and two walks in just 2 1/3 innings of work. Junior center fielder Jarrett Parker first tagged Moran in the bottom of the second for a double that carried at least 300 feet into the left-center field gap and rolled all the way to the wall. Senior shortstop Tyler Cannon then extended his hit-streak to 10 games with a double that fell in nearly the exact same spot to score Parker and put the Cavaliers on the board. Virginia continued to inflict damage with two outs when junior left fielder Phil Gosselin ripped a double through the left side of the infield to score Cannon, followed by a single up the middle off the bat of sophomore second baseman Keith Werman to score senior catcher Franco Valdes.

Virginia added another three-run inning in the bottom of the third. Sophomore Steven Proscia and Parker began the inning with back-to-back doubles, with the latter landing just in front of the 408 mark in dead center field.

“I’ve been getting pitched a lot differently this year — took an adjustment,” Parker said, adding that opposing pitchers have thrown him more off-speed pitches this season. “Still adjusting to it, actually, so I got a few pitches tonight — I’m just trying to be aggressive and hit ‘em well.”

After a Cannon ground-out to second moved Parker to third base, sophomore first baseman John Hicks hit a single through the right side of the infield to extend the Cavalier lead to 5-0. Hicks eventually scored on a wild pitch that sent Moran to the clubhouse.

The six-run lead was all Hultzen needed as he allowed only three more base runners the whole game. His eight-inning performance was the longest outing of his young career.

“Danny Hultzen has put together four really tremendous outings for us in a row here, and that’s what your Friday night starter needs to do,” coach Brian O’Connor said. “For us to have a chance to win this league championship, throughout this entire season, that Friday night starter needs to go out and do the job for you.”

Virginia’s dominant starting pitching continued Saturday as Morey worked a season-high seven innings while allowing zero runs and just four hits as the Cavaliers took game two against Boston College 4-3.
Morey “was working ahead in the count, he was locating his pitches, [and] that’s what he hadn’t done this year,” O’Connor said. “He’s got some really good swing-and-miss stuff — a good fastball, good breaking ball, good slider — but all that’s gotta come together with throwing strikes to be efficient. So he finally did that today and that’s what he was doing last year when he was really successful for us, so hopefully that’s something he can repeat.”

Despite the excellent starting pitching, it was Virginia’s dynamic closer that almost blew the game. In the ninth, junior Kevin Arico entered the game in a non-save situation and the normally automatic pitcher — who had not given up a single run all year — ran into an Eagle squad unwilling to give up just yet.

Senior center fielder Robbie Anston started the rally with a single to right field and moved to second on an Arico balk. After walking the next batter, Arico appeared to find his form, striking out junior first baseman Mickey Wiswall and inducing a fly out off the bat of Melchionda to right field. With Spatola at the plate and the count 0-2, Arico needed one more strike to clinch the shutout and the series for Virginia. His next pitch struck Spatola on the foot, however, and suddenly, the bases were loaded. Arico again worked the count to 0-2 — this time against freshman catcher Matt Watson — with another chance to win the series. But again, the Eagles proved resilient, and Watson slapped a double off the left-center field wall to clear the bases and bring the potential tying run to the plate. Arico finally buckled down and converted on his third 0-2 count and struck out the next batter, sealing the narrow win.

The Cavaliers ended up needing all the runs they could muster on a day when they were not that easy to obtain. Boston College sophomore starting pitcher Mike Dennhardt entered the game with an inflated 10.91 ERA but shut out the Cavaliers in all but two innings.

Dennhardt’s “got some good stuff,” Gosselin said. “Steven Proscia went to high school with him so he told us, ‘Be ready, he’s a good pitcher.’ So we knew we were gonna have a tough time. He threw strikes, had a good fastball, threw off-speed for strikes, so he did a nice job. We did just enough to beat him.”

Virginia got on the board in the third when Gosselin poked a two-out single through the left hole in the infield. A balk moved Gosselin to second, and Werman capitalized on the opportunity with a triple that rolled all the way to the center field wall to give Virginia a 1-0 lead.

Grovatt made it back-to-back triples for Virginia when he knocked a sharp liner past a diving Spatola in right field that rolled to the wall. Werman scored to put Virginia up 2-0. The Cavaliers added two more insurance runs in the seventh, highlighted by a double to left by Gosselin, who finished the series 7-for-10 at the plate with four RBI. The runs gave Virginia a 4-0 lead and provided the bullpen with enough support to seal the game.

Winiarski helped Virginia clinch the sweep Sunday with his best outing this season, scattering three hits and allowing just one earned run during six innings of work. Parker gave his pitcher plenty of breathing room early with a bases-clearing triple in the first inning, while Grovatt added a home-run in his two-hit, four-RBI performance. The Cavaliers ultimately tallied 11 runs, scoring in double-digits for the eighth time this season. But for all of Virginia’s offensive firepower, O’Connor emphasized that the team’s formula for success is closely tied to the starting pitching.

“We really set the tone the entire weekend from the mound, and I knew that we needed to do that because I really like BC’s offensive ball club,” he said. “All three of our starters went out there and pitched really great games, and when you play great defense like we did this weekend, and you pitch like we did, we’re gonna be tough to beat.”
 

No. 1 Cavs complete sweep of Eagles
By Jay Jenkins
Published: March 21, 2010
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Perhaps it’s something in the water.
For the third straight day, Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor handed the ball to a starting pitcher and promptly assumed a relaxed position in the dugout.
Cody Winiarski tossed his career-best performance, allowing just one run over six innings as top-ranked Virginia whipped Boston College 11-1 in front of 3,206 fans at Davenport Field.
Behind Winiarski’s stellar efforts, Virginia completed a three-game sweep of the Eagles (7-12, 1-5 ACC) and improved to 17-3 overall and 5-1 in the league.
“To get a sweep is big,” O’Connor said. “If you want to have a chance to win a regular season title, when you have an opportunity to sweep a team you need to do it. “Fortunately, we did.”
Winiarski, who entered with a 7.13 ERA, was spotted a comfortable 4-0 lead in the first inning after Jarrett Parker delivered a three-run triple and scored on Tyler Cannon’s single.
Virginia scored two more in the second and third innings, respectively, to jump up 8-0.
“We took advantage of our opportunities early and gave Cody a comfortable lead to pitch with,” O’Connor said. “We are not going to take advantage of every opportunity, nobody does, but we sure did today and they were part of the game.”
Winiarski, a JUCO transfer, admitted that he felt pressure to perform Sunday after stumbling in last week’s start at Florida State, the Cavaliers’ lone loss in the series. That was amplified after rookie Branden Kline was masterful in registering his first collegiate win Wednesday at James Madison.
“Branden pitched phenomenal so I definitely felt some pressure to perform, but I didn’t look at it in a bad way,” Winiarski said. “I want to compete, not only with yourself, but with my teammates because it makes your team stronger.”
Winiarski (2-0) stated his case to hold onto the No. 3 spot in the weekend rotation by allowing just three hits over his six innings.
One of the hits, however, translated into one of the longest home runs in stadium history — BC’s Mickey Wiswall pounded a pitch that soared over the light pole in right field to account for the Eagles’ lone run.
“I didn’t even need to look at it,” Winiarski chuckled. “I just put my head down.”
Virginia finished with 11 hits, including a solo homer from Dan Grovatt. It was the junior’s fourth homer of the season.
Boston College starter Hunter Gordon allowed six earned runs in one inning of work and took the loss, falling to 0-1 on the season.
The Cavaliers will host Marshall on Tuesday at 5 p.m. before opening a weekend set at home with 11th-ranked Clemson on Friday.

Tigers fall to Cavaliers' controlled offense, 15-10
Towson keeps pressure on but Virginia dominates faceoffs, on-goal shots
By Jeff Seidel Special To The Baltimore Sun
March 22, 2010

The Towson offense pushed No. 1 Virginia throughout Sunday's game. They scored four goals in the first quarter, had two players finish with hat tricks and stayed close for long stretches.

But the Virginia offense proved too much for the Tigers to stop. The Cavaliers pressured Towson with accurate shooting and kept possession for long stretches by controlling faceoffs and ground balls, which helped them pull away for a 15-10 victory before an announced 2,477 at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

The performance of the Virginia offense left Towson coach Tony Seaman shaking his head afterward. Chris Bocklet led the Cavaliers with four goals, and they put 31 of their 37 shots on goal - including all 17 in the second half.

In addition, Virginia (8-0) won the game's first seven faceoffs and finished with a 17-10 edge. Brian McDermott won nine of 12 draws as the Tigers couldn't stop him.

"They're No. 1 for a pretty good reason," Seaman said. "They have amazing shooters. The two differences in the game today were shooting and faceoffs. We allowed them to win 17 faceoffs, and you can't win when you do that."

The Cavaliers also held a 48-26 edge on ground balls, limiting Towson's chances to get any kind of possession. Virginia also scored on two of its three extra-man chances, but the Cavaliers stopped the Tigers on five of their six.

Towson (1-4) never even got possession on three of its six extra-man chances.

"Those kind of things kill you," Seaman said.

Still, the Tigers made it a tough day for the Cavaliers, who never had complete control of the game until the fourth quarter. Towson goalie Travis Love was making just his second career start and kept the Tigers close with 16 saves.

Love made seven stops in the third quarter, but Virginia kept up the offense, which helped it find good shots.

"They're just very consistent," Love said. "They don't miss the goal."

Towson didn't miss much in the first quarter, taking a 4-2 lead despite losing all seven of that period's faceoffs. The Cavaliers helped the Tigers with eight turnovers in the period as the Tigers scored three in a row for the two-goal lead.

"I thought we did a couple of bonehead things on defense [early]," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "I thought Towson came out and took the play to us … early in the game."

Christian Pastirik (three goals, two assists) and Matt Hughes (three goals) each scored for Towson in the first quarter. But Virginia settled down and quickly took command in the second quarter. The Cavaliers scored three goals in the first 2:59, five in a row and six in the period en route to an 8-6 halftime lead.

Towson cut the lead to 8-7 early in the third period when Stephen Norris took a quick pass from Brock Armour behind the cage and beat goalie Adam Ghitelman from in front. But Virginia then scored five of the next six goals for a 13-8 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers had good scoring chances throughout the game but often misfired. Only 19 of their 34 shots were on goal, helping Virginia stay in front for most of the game. Brian Carroll (Gilman) helped the Cavaliers with two goals and two assists while Steele Stanwick (Loyola) also added two goals, but Towson kept battling throughout.

"I think we fought toe-to-toe with those guys," Pastirik said.

Bocklet Scores Four Goals to Pace No. 1 Virginia in Road Victory at Towson
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 03/21/2010

TOWSON, Md. - The No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers (8-0) overcame a first quarter deficit and rode four goals from Chris Bocklet and four points from Brian Carroll to handily defeat the Towson Tigers (1-4), Sunday afternoon at Unitas Stadium, 15-10.
Virginia outshot Towson (37-34), nearly doubled the Tigers in ground balls (48-26) and won the first seven faceoffs, and won that category too (17-10). The Cavaliers were also perfect on clears (17-of-17) for the second game this season.
UVa also was a perfect 18-of-18 on clear attempts at Mount St. Mary's (Feb. 23), marking the first time the Cavaliers succeeded on every clear attempt in a game since they also went 18-of-18 against Massachusetts in the 2006 NCAA championship game, May 29, 2006.
"I thought it was a good road win," said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia. "It was a noon start on the first hot day game of the year - at the same time I wasn't completely happy with our effort overall. We got after it enough to win today."
Towson dented the scoreboard first after a Shamel Bratton (Huntington Station, N.Y.) turnover began a transition for the Tigers. Matt Lamon tallied the goal with 13:52 remaining in the opening quarter on the pass from Tim Stratton.
Virginia wasted no time evening the score at one goal apiece after Brian Carroll (Towson, Md.) scored on the Cavaliers' next offensive possession courtesy of a Shamel Bratton helper with 13:06 left in the first quarter.
Chris Bocklet (South Salem, N.Y.) scored off of a Steele Stanwick (Baltimore, Md.) pass with 11:36 left in the first quarter to give Virginia a quick 2-1 advantage, but that would be the last the Cavaliers would score in the first quarter.
The Tigers scored three straight goals to take a 4-2 advantage. Will Harrington scored on a Christian Pastirik pass with 7:28 left to tie the game at 2-2. Matt Hughes gave the Tigers the lead again with 6:53 left in the opening period when he scored via a Joe Wascavage pass. Pastirik capped the scoring streak with 1:49 left in the quarter on Stratton's second assist of the game.
The Cavaliers then stormed out to a 7-4 advantage after scoring four goals in the first 3:33 of the second quarter en route to five straight scores. Chris LaPierre (Medford, N.J.) scored on a Carroll pass with 13:43 left in the first half, followed by a Shamel Bratton unassisted score with 12:28 left in the quarter.
Bocklet scored on Shamel Bratton's second assist with 12:01 remaining and Stanwick scored his first goal since the VMI game with 10:14 remaining before the intermission. Matt Kugler (Fairfax Station, Va.) capped the streak with a goal on a Rhamel Bratton (Huntington Station, N.Y.) assist with 7:49 left in the second period.
The Tigers bounced back with Pastirik's score with 4:56 left in the quarter, cutting UVa's lead to two goals, 7-5. Hughes beat the UVa defense off the X and scored unassisted with 1:38 left before the break, cutting UVa's lead down to one score, 7-6.
However, Stanwick bounced his second goal of the game through with 15 seconds left to send Virginia into the intermission with an 8-6 advantage.
Towson cut its deficit back to one goal, 8-7, via a Stephen Norris score on a Brock Armour helper only 1:05 into the third quarter.
Virginia then scored the next three goals of the game to take an 11-7 lead. Rhamel Bratton started the run with a score at 12:33 left in the third quarter on a Carroll pass. Bocklet scored on a Matt White (Ridgefield, Conn.) pass in an extra-man situation with 10:40 left in the period. White, the freshman, with the assist has tallied at least one point in every single game of his collegiate career. LaPierre capped the run unassisted with 2:42 left in the third quarter.
Pastirik scored his third goal of the game with 38 seconds left, cutting the Tigers deficit to three goals, 11-8. However UVa capped the third quarter scoring after Carroll picked up a ground ball and fired it in for the unassisted score with seven seconds left, giving the Cavaliers the 12-8 advantage.
Connor English (Manhasset, N.Y.) scored unassisted 30 seconds into the final quarter to give UVa the five-goal lead, 13-8.
Michael Brashears scored the man-up goal after Rhamel Bratton was penalized for slashing. Pastirik assisted the Brashears score with 10:52 left in the game, cutting UVa's lead to 13-9.
Virginia scored back-to-back goals to cap the Cavalier scoring for the day. Bocklet scored his fourth and final goal on a LaPierre pass with 5:40 left, followed by John Haldy's (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) unassisted score with 4:27 left, giving UVa the 15-9 lead.
Towson scored one more goal with 1:23 left on Hughes' third goal of the game, via the Carl Iacona pass, capping the scoring at 15-10, Virginia.
"This is an active and feisty Towson team who played very hard," said Starsia. "I thought there were a couple times we could have buried the game, but they didn't go away - that is a testament to who they are."
Bocklet registered his fourth four-goal game (on four shots) of the season and second consecutive to pace the UVa attack. Carroll also tallied four points with two goals and two assists in front of his hometown crowd. Adam Ghitelman (Syosset, N.Y.) picked up a game-high six ground balls while registering nine saves in between the pipes.
Towson became only the second of UVa's eight opponents to register double digits in scoring, matching Syracuse's 10 scores on March 7. Pastirik and Hughes each scored three goals to lead the Tigers' scoring. Pastirik led all players with five points, including two assists.
Virginia returns to action on Saturday, hosting Johns Hopkins at Klöckner Stadium. The game is slated for noon and will be broadcast in the Charlottesville area on WINA AM 1070 with John Freeman calling the action. The contest will also be televised live on ESPN2.
Virginia 2-6-4-3-15

Towson 4-2-2-2-10
Att-2477
Scoring (G-A) - V: Chris Bocklet 4-0, Brian Carroll 2-2, Chris LaPierre 2-1, Steele Stanwick 2-1, Shamel Bratton 1-2, Rhamel Bratton 1-1, Connor English 1-0, John Haldy 1-0, Matt Kugler 1-0, Matt White 0-1 T: Christian Pastirik 3-2,Matt Hughes 3-0, Will Harrington 1-0, Mat Lamon 1-0, Michael Brashears 1-0, Stephen Norris 1-0, Tim Stratton 0-2, Brock Armour 0-1, Carl Iacona 0-1, Joe Wascavage 0-1
Goalie Summary - V: Adam Ghitelman 60 mins., 9 saves, 10 goals allowed T: Travis Love 60 mins., 16 saves, 15 goals allowed
Shots: V-37, T-34
Ground Balls: V-48, T-26
Clearing: V-21x21, T-18x21

Faceoffs: V-17, T-10
Penalties: V-6-5:00, C-3-2:00

EMO: V-2x3, T-1x6


 

Virginia serves up wins
By Whitey Reid
Published: March 21, 2010
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“I love ‘Showbiz!’” said excited fan Meriel Colglazier, referring to Virginia’s Michael “Showbiz” Shabaz, moments after he had whipped Baylor’s Denes Lukacs on Sunday afternoon at the Snyder Tennis Center.
Suffice to say, Lukacs probably doesn’t feel the same way about the Cavaliers’ No. 1 singles player. Using a wide assortment of spins on his shots — most notably a slice forehand — Shabaz kept Lukacs off balance from the get-go en route to a 6-3, 6-2 beat-down that paved the way to a 5-2 team victory over the No. 8 Bears.
In the nightcap of the doubleheader, Virginia, playing with its reserves, defeated
Gardner- Webb, 9-2.
With the wins, top-ranked Virginia improved to 20-1 and capped off a successful weekend that began with a dominating win at Maryland on Friday.
“Beating Baylor definitely gives us a lot of confidence going into the [the heart of] ACCs,” said Shabaz, who is ranked No. 4 in the country. “We’ve been pretty pleased with our performances so far.”
Lukacs, ranked 16th, was never really in the match, which was a bit surprising given the fact he has played former Virginia star Somdev Devvarman tough in recent years.
Shabaz said he came into the match with a real strategy.
“It was windy today and I knew he hated the slice,” Shabaz said. “He just wanted my power. So I felt like if I could just mix it up, I could get under his skin a little bit.
“He didn’t like it too much, so I just continued to do it, and it just paid off.”
Virginia, which won the
opening doubles point, lost at No. 5 singles when Houston Barrick fell to Roberto Maytin in straight sets. However, moments later, UVa clinched the match when Sanam Singh and Drew Courtney notched straight-set wins of their own.
Tied at 4 in the second set against Dominik Mueller, Courtney seemed to raise his game a notch. He drilled a forehand winner, and then closed out a strong approach shot with a backhand volley to break Mueller.
Courtney calmly held his own serve, closing out the match with a service winner.
“The kid was tough — I knew he was a side-to-side grinder and I would have to just hit through him a little bit,” said Courtney, who played at No. 4. “Luckily, I was able to come out with some big serves and take control.”
Courtney, like Shabaz, has liked what he has seen so far this spring from the team.
“We played well on Friday against Maryland,” said the sophomore, “but it’s kind of a different feeling coming out and playing well against a top-10 team.
“I felt like came out strong, we came out fired up and we got the job done.”
 

No. 1 Virginia Downs Baylor and Gardner-Webb
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 03/21/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE – The top-ranked Virginia men’s tennis team secured its eighth consecutive 20-win season as it swept a doubleheader Sunday at the Snyder Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (20-1, 3-0 ACC) topped No. 8 Baylor 5-2 in the first match before downing Gardner-Webb 9-2 in the nightcap.

Virginia opened the day by topping the Bears (13-3), their fifth top-10 win of the season. The Cavaliers opened the match by sweeping the three doubles contests for a 1-0 lead. Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Jarmere Jenkins (College Park, Ga.) gave UVa the early advantage with an 8-3 win over Julian Bley and Atilla Bucko at No. 3. No. 17 Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) and Drew Courtney (Clifton, Va.) won a battle of nationally ranked teams at No. 1, downing No. 33 Maros Horny and Jordan Rux. Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) and Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) completed the sweep with a tiebreaker win over Denes Lukacs and Roberto Maytin at No. 2.

In singles, the Cavaliers extended their lead to 2-0 as No. 4 ranked Shabaz cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 16 Lukacs at the top position. The Bears cut the lead in half as Maytin defeated Barrick 6-3, 6-4 at No. 5. Singh gave Virginia a 3-1 lead with his 6-3, 6-2 win over Rux at the No. 2 position. Courtney clinched the victory with his 6-4, 6-4 win over Dominik Mueller at No. 4. Singer added a 6-3, 6-4 win over Bley at No. 6 before Baylor won the final match on the courts as Bucko upset Jenkins at No. 3 in a third-set tiebreaker.

In the second match of the doubleheader, Virginia topped Gardner-Webb (6-9) 9-2 in a match using an alternative scoring system. The teams played four doubles and seven singles matches, all worth one point each.

The Cavaliers took a 3-1 lead after doubles, winning at the top three positions. Barrick and Singh won at No. 1, Philippe Oudshoorn (Apeldoorn, The Netherlands) and Steven Eelkman Rooda (Amersfoort, The Netherlands) won at No. 2, and the team of Santiago Villegas (Bogota, Colombia) and Dino Dell’Orto (Hong Kong, China) won at No. 3.

In singles, Virginia won six of the seven matches against the Runnin’ Bulldogs. Rooda won at No. 2, Villegas won at No. 3, Julen Uriguen (Guatemala City, Guatemala) won at No. 4, Milo Johnson (Tulsa, Okla.) won at No. 5, Dell’Orto won at No. 6 and Brian Fang (Hacienda Heights, Calif.) won at No. 7.

The Cavaliers continue their homestand Wednesday as they host VCU and Richmond in a doubleheader at the Snyder Tennis Center. Match time for the VCU match is 3 p.m., with the Richmond match to follow at 6 p.m.

No. 1 Virginia 5, No. 8 Baylor 2

Doubles:
1. #17 ShabazCourtney (UVa) def. #33 Horny/Rux (BU) 8-5
2. #19 Barrick/Singh (UVa) def. Lukacs/Maytin (BU) 8-7(4)
3. #41 Jenkins/Singer (UVa) def. Bley/Bucko (BU) 8-3

Singles:
1. #4 Michael Shabaz (UVa) def. #16 Denes Lukacs (BU) 6-3, 6-2
2. #3 Sanam Singh (UVa) def. #28 Jordan Rux (BU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Atilla Bucko (BU) def. #33 Jarmere Jenkins (UVa) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4)
4. #53 Drew Courtney (UVa) def. Dominik Mueller (BU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Roberto Maytin (BU) def. #87 Houston Barrick (UVa) 6-3, 6-4
6. #68 Lee Singer (UVa) def. Julian Bley (BU) 6-3, 6-4

Order of Finish:
Doubles: 3,1,2
Singles: 1,5,2,4,6,3

No. 1 Virginia 9, Gardner-Webb 2

Doubles:
1. #19 Barrick/Singh (UVa) def. Altmayer/Slesarev (GW) 8-6
2. Oudshoorn/Rooda (UVa) def. Tardif/Veeder (GW) 8-5
3. Villegas/Dell’Orto (UVa) def. Parker/Piftor (GW) 8-4
4. Herrock/Knutsson-Sundblad (GW) def. Uriguen/Johnson (UVa) 8-6

Singles:
1. Evgeny Slesarev (GW) def. #102 Philippe Oudshoorn (UVa) 6-3, 6-3
2. #113 Steven Eelkman Rooda (UVa) def. Andrew Veeder (GW) 6-1, 7-5
3. Santiago Villegas (UVa) def. Roman Piftor (GW) 6-0, 5-7, 6-3
4. Julen Uriguen (UVa) def. Rafael Altmayer (GW) 5-7, 6-1, 6-0
5. Milo Johnson (UVa) def. Jeremie Tardif (GW) 6-4, 6-3
6. Dino Dell’Orto (UVa) def. Adam Knutsson-Sundblad (GW) 7-6(4), 6-4
7. Brian Fang (UVa) def. Matthew Parker (GW) 6-0, 6-2

Order of Finish:
Doubles: 2,3,4,1
Singles: 7,2,5,1,4,6,3

Singh, Shabaz down ranked Bears, Terps
Squad sweeps Maryland en route to 3-0 weekend; Bears, Bulldogs do not pose threat to top-ranked Cavaliers
Emily Poe, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Men's Tennis / Sports
March 22, 2010 0

The No. 1 Virginia men’s tennis team easily topped No. 62 Maryland, No. 8 Baylor and Gardener-Webb this weekend, continuing an unbeaten streak that extends back to Feb. 6.
The Cavaliers began the slate of matches with a 7-0 sweep Friday afternoon against the Terrapins.

Four out of the six singles matches finished in straight sets, but Virginia still did not walk away easily. At No. 4, senior Houston Barrick pulled out his close match 1-6, 7-6 (8), 10-3 against Maryland’s John Collins. Philipe Oudshoorn also pulled out a close match at No. 6, winning 6-7 (1), 6-0, 10-2.

“Maryland is one of those teams [that is] lesser-known in the ACC, but you can’t take any match lightly,” junior Sanam Singh said. “I feel that we went there, and we took care of business.”

After the matchup with the Terrapins, the Cavaliers then spent the next day facing off against Baylor and Gardener-Webb, downing the former 5-2.

Although Baylor has caused problems for Virginia in the past, the Cavaliers swept all three doubles matches en route to the victory.

Michael Shabaz opened singles play with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 win against Denes Lukacs. Barrick then fell in straight sets at No. 5, and Baylor picked up its first match of the afternoon. But Singh and sophomore Drew Courtney each completed their singles matches in straight sets to seal the overall victory.

“Obviously, it’s a big advantage for us to play at home,” associate head coach Tony Bresky said of the Baylor match. “They have an excellent program … I think [this win] is a good sign for our team.”

Following Virginia’s win against Baylor, the Cavaliers rested their usual starters and defeated unranked Gardener-Webb 9-2. Freshman Julen Urigen and senior Milo Johnson lost 8-6 at the No. 4 doubles position and Oudshoorn lost 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 1 singles position.

The Cavaliers now look to a double-header against VCU and Richmond this Wednesday at home after this past weekend of strong performances.

“It’s good for them to get back in the swing of things,” Bresky said. “I think it was a good way to start the second half of our season.“
 

Wrong way for Wright exit
By Mike Malloy Daily Progress correspondent
Published: March 21, 2010
Updated: March 21, 2010
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AMES, Iowa—Fury, hope, confusion, shock, sadness.
The Virginia women’s basketball team traveled that vast spectrum of emotions Sunday night as the Cavaliers’ season ended with a 69-67 loss to Wisconsin-Green Bay in the first round of the NCAA tourna-ment.
It was also the end to the brilliant career of Monica Wright who finishes with 2,540 career points — the most in school history and third-best in the ACC.
Her final game was a statistical oddity. Green Bay committed a season-high 30 turn-overs, and was well off its shooting game, making 3 of 13 3-pointers after averag-ing more than six makes a game this season. The Phoenix offset that by out re-bounding Virginia 43-35 and making an eye-widening 34 of 40 free throws.
“They went to the free-throw line almost twice as much as we did. We’re an attacking team…I can’t explain that,” Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. “In the middle of the first half, it seemed like every trip down they were going to the free throw line.”
Green Bay (28-4) led 58-43 with eight min-utes left when Whitny Edwards made a 3-pointer — Virginia’s second and last of the game — starting a frantic comeback that was almost enough.
The deficit was seven with 1:24 to go but Virginia’s pressure defense continued to deflect passes and force turnovers. Green Bay turned the ball over six times in the final two minutes but never lost the lead.
“They really got into us, and we lost our poise,” said Celeste Hoewisch, who led Green Bay with 23 points.
Wright, who had 34 points — her eighth game with 30 or more this season, scored on a lob with 1:19 left to cut the deficit to four. Ariana Moorer made two free throws with 32 seconds left to make it 64-63, but Julie Wo-jta responded with two more free throws for Green Bay. Paulisha Kellum missed a jump shot moments later, and Green Bay grabbed the rebound and made one more free throw.
Wright scored off a rebound with 1.9 sec-onds to go, setting up a what-just-happened final play. Green Bay’s Sarah Eichler missed two free throws with 0.4 seconds to play and Wright grabbed the rebound. Time initially ran out, causing the Phoenix to celebrate near midcourt. The officials, though, granted Virginia a timeout and restored 0.2 seconds to the clock.
The Cavaliers (21-10) made a long in-bounds pass to Wright, who by rule needed to try to tip the ball for a shot to count. A whistle blew while the ball was in the air, and Wright caught, shot, and missed. Everyone paused for a moment, but the horn sounded and Green Bay was again jumping en masse on the floor.
“I heard a whistle behind me, but I don’t know what they were calling. I saw [Green Bay] celebrating so I knew it was over,” Wright said.
Ryan said she got no explanation about the whistle.
“I thought there was a lot of contact. There was contact before she even touched the ball,” Ryan said.
Ryan, though, was more concerned about shooting 15 of 23 (65 percent) at the free-throw line, and 25 of 67 (37 percent from the floor). Wright was 14 of 27 while the rest of the Cavaliers were 11 of 40.
“I’m not sure every-one else was on the same page until the last 11 minutes,” Ryan said.
The Phoenix closed the half on a half on 17-4 run to take a 34-27 lead. The Cavaliers went four minutes without a basket and Green Bay reeled off 11 straight points in that stretch.
Foul trouble ham-pered several Cava-liers, including forward Chelsea Shine who played only 21 minutes.
“I love cheering for this squad, but it was really hard to watch,” Shine said. “I picked up a couple of quick fouls which wasn’t smart on my part.”
The Green Bay run continued into the second half with the Phoenix darted out to a 15-6 run capped by Hannah Quilling’s 3-pointer that put the Phoenix ahead 49-33 with 16 minutes left.
There was enough time for a rally, but not quite enough points.
“We shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place,” Wright said. “We made it hard on ourselves. To work that hard and not come out with the win is very disappointing, discouraging.”
Green Bay, the only team in the history of the Horizon League to receive an at-large bid, had four players in double figures.
“We wanted to rep-resent the mid-majors and honor the [NCAA] committee for doing the right thing,” Green Bay coach Matt Bollant said. “We played like a team that belonged in this tournament.”
Wright, too, proved she belonged in the tournament, and after the final horn was the first to turn and shake the hands of the Green Bay players.
“I love my teammates, and I love my coaching staff…stop it,” she said to Shine, who had started to cry. “I’ve learned so much. I just look forward to seeing what these girls can do next year.”
Ryan has seen many players come and go in her 33 years, but said Wright was, “A very special player and a special person,” Ryan said. “I don’t think words can do justice to what Monica Wright has done for the Uni-versity of Virginia or for me personally.”
UVa legends in Ames
Monica Wright passed Virginia star Dawn Staley to become the school’s all-time leading scorer earlier this year, but Sunday she shared something with Staley. Staley coached Temple in the 2002 NCAA women’s tournament, held in Ames, and the Owls lost in the first round to host Iowa State. Wright had hoped to extend her brilliant career, but too saw it end in Ames with Sun-day’s loss to Wisconsin-Green Bay.
 

Women’s Tennis Downs Rival Virginia Tech 5-2
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 03/21/2010

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The No. 27 Virginia women’s tennis team remained unbeaten in ACC play as its topped No. 60 Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center. The Cavaliers improve to 10-3 overall, 3-0 in the ACC, while the Hokies fall to 9-4 (2-1 ACC).

Virginia took a 1-0 lead by sweeping all three doubles matches. Emily Fraser (Rye, N.Y.) and Maria Fuccillo (Rockville,Md.) cruised to an 8-3 win at No. 2 over Yasmin Hamza and Holly Johnson. Lindsey Hardenbergh (Fairfax Station, Va.) and Erin Vierra (Norwell, Mass.) scored an 8-4 win at No. 1 over Martha Blakely and Emily Lauten. Katie Gater (Dunblane, Scotland) and Hana Tomljanovic (Boca Raton. Fla.) completed the sweep with an 8-4 win over Shannon Betts amd Courtney Rauscher at No. 3.

The Cavaliers quickly won three singles matches in straight sets to secure the win. Hardenbergh downed Blakely 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 to make the score 2-0. Tomljanovic made the score 3-0 with her 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 4 over Rauscher. Fraser clinched the match with her 6-2, 7-6 win at No. 2 over Hamza. Later in the match, Vierra added a win in a third-set match tiebreaker over Betts.

“The team competed well today and came out strong in doubles and again in the early stages of singles,” said head coach Mark Guilbeau. “Virginia Tech stayed tough and definitely made our team work hard to finish out the matches we won. It was a very positive performance for this team and a well-earned victory. We look forward to two great matches next weekend at Florida State and Miami. We will work hard this week and intend to be very sharp as we move ahead.”

Virginia concludes its month of March road trip next weekend as they visit Florida State and Maryland.

No. 27 Virginia 5, No. 60 Virginia Tech 2

Doubles:
1. #50 Hardenbergh/Vierra (UVa) def. Blakely/Lauten (VT) 8-4
2. Frasier/Fuccillo (UVa) def. Hamza/Johnson (VT) 8-3
3. Gater/Tomljanovic (UVa) def. Betts/Rauscher (VT) 8-4

Singles:
1. #41 Lindsey Hardenbergh (UVa) def. Martha Blakely (VT) 6-1, 6-2
2. Emily Fraser (UVa) def. Yasmin Hamza (VT) 6-2, 7-6 (4)
3. Erin Vierra (UVa) def. Shannon Betts (VT) 6-1, 6-7 (4), 1-0 (5)
4. Hana Tomljanovic (UVa) def. Courtney Rauscher (VT) 6-3, 6-2
5. Emily Lauten (VT) def. Maria Fuccillo (UVa) 6-2, 7-5
6. Holly Johnson (VT) def. Katie Gater (UVa) 7-6 (2) , 6-1

Order of Finish:
Doubles: 2,1,3
Singles: 1,4,2,6,3,5
 

Cavaliers defeat No. 2 Arizona, Mitchell has two strong games
Ashey Robertson
Sports
March 22, 2010 0

The Virginia softball team went 2-3 in the Judi Garman Invitational last weekend in Fullerton, Ca., against some of the top-ranked squads in the nation.

The Cavaliers (14-12) opened the tournament with a 10-4 win against No. 23 Louisiana-Lafayette (16-10). Freshman Melanie Mitchell pitched all seven innings, recording 11 strikeouts along the way. Virginia roughed up the Ragin’ Cajuns for a six-run fourth inning, and rightfielder Sarah Tacke and centerfielder Giannina Cippoloni each led the team with a pair of hits and RBIs.

Virginia’s offense fell silent during its second game, as the team lost 1-0 to Fresno State (19-11). Mitchell allowed just one run while pitching the complete game, but the Bulldogs’ Michelle Moses was the Cavaliers’ kryptonite, tossing seven innings of scoreless ball and scoring Fresno State’s only run.

The Cavaliers followed that close loss with another, falling 2-0 against No. 8 Oklahoma (25-6). Although Mitchell pitched seven innings without an earned run, the Virginia squad managed just one hit. The team ultimately lost on Dani Dobb’s two out, two RBI double in the top of the seventh inning.

After that defeat, the Cavaliers suffered another loss, 8-4, to San Jose State (22-8). Led by freshman second baseman Alex Skinkiss’ three-hit day, Virginia’s bats awoke, tallying nine hits. The team’s pitching was shaky, however, as senior Nicole Koren allowed eight runs through seven innings.

Virginia managed to end the series on a high note, upsetting No. 2 Arizona (25-3) with a 2-1 victory. Mitchell outdueled the Wildcats’ star pitcher Kenzie Fowler, surrendering just one run through seven frames. Koren jumped on Fowler for a two-run home run in the first inning and provided all the support Mitchell needed for the win.

Virginia will return to Charlottesville this Wednesday for a game against Liberty.

UVa Continues Strong Play with Third-Place Finish at The Schenkel
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 03/21/2010

Statesboro, Ga. - The No. 20 Virginia men's golf team continued its streak of top-five finishes Sunday with a third-place showing at the 31st annual Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational in Statesboro, Ga. The Cavaliers shot 1-over 865 during the 54-hole tournament to finish three shots behind first-place Auburn and two strokes behind runner-up North Florida.
Virginia has placed in the top five of all seven tournaments this year and the Schenkel was the fifth time this season the Cavaliers have posted a top-three result.
Will Collins and Ben Kohles both turned in top-10 performances to top UVa. Collins was sixth overall at 3-under 213. He shot even par 72 Sunday in windy, rainy conditions. His score was his best tournament total this season and the first top-10 finish for him this year.
Kohles shot 1-under 71 during the final round to finish 10th at 1-under 215. He has placed in the top-10 in six of seven tournaments this season. Steven Rojas was 20th at 2-over 218 and Amory Davis was 49th at 8-over 224. Kyle Stough withdrew before the final round due to an injury. He stood at 5-over after the first 36 holes.
The Schenkel field included 10 teams that are ranked in the top 50 of Golfstat's current rankings. The Cavaliers finished ahead of ACC rivals NC State (7th at 872) and North Carolina (13th at 888) and eight teams from the SEC.
Virginia's next tournament will be the Hootie @ Bulls Bay in Charleston, S.C. March 28-30.
Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational
Par-72, 6,962 yards
Forest Heights Country Club
Statesboro, Ga.

Final Results
1. Auburn 288-283-291-862
2. North Florida 285-279-299-863
3. Virginia 286-287-292-865
3. Alabama 292-288-288-868
5. Tennessee 299-291-281-871
5. Mississippi 287-290-294-871
7. NC State 289-286-297-872
8. Florida 294-297-284-875
9. LSU 291-289-297-877
10. South Carolina 293-293-292-878
11. Vanderbilt 291-291-299-881
12. Georgia Southern 292-289-302-883
13. North Carolina 300-288-300-888
14. Kentucky 295-293-301-889
15. Louisville 296-300-302-898
Individual Leaders
1. Jordan Gibb, North Florida 70-70-71-211
1. Hunter Hamrick, Alabama 73-68-70-211
1. Jonathan Randolph, Mississippi 70-69-72-211
4. J.C. Horne, North Florida 69-69-74-212
4. Kevin Phelan, North Florida 70-66-76-212
6. Logan Blondell, Ga Southern 71-68-74-213
6. Will Collins, Virginia 68-73-72-213
6. Kyle Kopsick, Auburn 72-69-72-213
6. Bank Vongvanij, Florida 69-72-72-213
10. Ben Kohles, Virginia 76-68-71-215
10. Will McCurdy, Auburn 73-70-72-215

Virginia Results
6. Will Collins 68-73-72-213
10. Ben Kohles 76-68-71-215
20. Steven Rojas 73-72-73-218
49. Amory Davis 74-74-76-224
Kyle Stough 71-76-WD


 

Hunter gets his chance at QB
March 19, 2010 12:35 am
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.

CHARLOTTESVILLE
--Every Virginia football player had an individual meeting with Mike London after he was hired as the Cavaliers' new coach in December.

When it was Quintin Hunter's turn to chat with London, he had one request: Hunter wanted to be switched from wide receiver to quarterback.

London honored Hunter's wishes.

The former Orange High School star quarterback has worked under center for the Cavaliers since they opened spring practice on Monday.

"He's looking OK right now," London said. "All these guys have room to improve. The system Quintin has been used to--spread, read, run--we're asking him to throw the ball to spots and read coverage. So there's a little bit of an adjustment he has to make."

London said Hunter's future is simple. He'll remain at quarterback if he plays well this spring. If not, he'll probably head back to wide receiver.

He's battling with Marc Verica, Ross Metheny, J.C. Poma and Michael Strauss this spring. Verica, who started nine games in 2008, is the only one with playing experience.

"We wouldn't put him there if it wasn't a chance it'll work out," Virginia offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. "Our coaches know what kind of competitor and leader he was in high school. It'll be good to see how he performs once football gets a little more real."

Hunter (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) began his career at Orange as a wide receiver in the spread offense--a shotgun formation with as many as five wide receivers.

He accounted for more than 3,000 yards passing and 2,000 rushing after he transitioned to quarterback his final two seasons.

This is Hunter's first experience at quarterback without the spread. Lazor operates a pro-style offense, which has its quarterback under center.

"It's exciting," Hunter said. "Right now, it's a great experience to try to something new."

The Cavaliers began last season in the spread before they scrapped it because it was unproductive.

The pro-style offense is unlike the spread because it also incorporates running backs and tight ends in the passing game.

"I think it's quite a bit different," Lazor said. "I think that's the part he's getting used to right now. He has to learn how to operate under center. He did a better job [Wednesday] than he did on Monday. So it's coming along fine."

Hunter made brief appearances in nine games as a wide receiver in 2009. His lone catch--for 13 yards--came on the final possession of a 30-14 loss to Texas Christian.

Still, Hunter said he's not disappointed he lost a chance to redshirt last year. He was one of 14 true freshmen to see action in Al Groh's final season as head coach.

"It can be a positive if I look at it as getting the experience," Hunter said. "I got a chance to see the way college games are played and get used to the tempo. There are a lot of positives in there."

Hunter is hoping his return to quarterback is positive, too. But if it isn't, he knows his versatility will allow him to contribute somewhere for the Cavaliers.

"Time will tell," Lazor said. "I think we have a good idea how Quintin moves, and he's going to contribute. It'll be interesting to see how it goes at quarterback."

NOTE

The Cavaliers' practice today is open to the public. Practices tomorrow, Monday and Wednesday are also open. The weekday practices are at 3:50 p.m. Tomorrow's practice is at 10:20 a.m. The spring game is March 27 at 1:30 p.m. at Old Dominion University.

No. 3 Virginia Opens Season By Sweeping Five Races vs. Bucknell
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 03/21/2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The third-ranked Virginia rowing team swept five races vs. Bucknell in the spring season opener on Sunday, March 21, on the
Rivanna Reservoir.

"It was a solid way to open our season," Virginia head coach Kevin Sauer said.

The Cavaliers' Varsity Eight, competing with Bucknell's Varsity Eight and UVa's Second Varsity Eight, finished first in that race with a time of 6:56.8. Virginia's Second Varsity Eight was second place with a time of 7:14.8, followed by Bucknell (7:18.2).

Racing head-to-head against Bucknell in three more eight-boat races, UVa won all three. The Cavaliers' Third Varsity Eight won with a time of 7:17.7, compared to Bucknell's Second Varsity Eight time of 7:31.5. Virginia's Fourth Varsity Eight won with a time of 7:39.9, compared to Bucknell's Third Varsity Eight time of 8:10.3. And Virginia's Fifth Varsity Eight won with a time of 7:39.2, compared to Bucknell's Fourth Varsity Eight time of 7:50.5.

In the Novice Eight race, Virginia won with a time of 7:46.3. Bucknell's time was 8:09.3.

The Bison entered Sunday's race receiving votes in the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA)/USRowing Preseason Top 25, while the Cavaliers were ranked No. 3.

Next weekend, Virginia travels to the San Diego Crew Classic on Saturday (March 27) and Sunday (March 28).