Weeks makes move to safety
By John Galinsky / Daily Progress staff writer
April 1, 2004

Marquis Weeks has already figured out one thing he likes about his new position.
“Instead of getting hit,” he said, smiling, “I’m hitting.”
And there’s at least one more reason Weeks prefers safety to tailback right now: opportunity.
Virginia’s rising senior realized that he might not see much action in a crowded backfield for the Cavaliers next season. He faced the same situation his first three seasons, when he carried the ball a total of 63 times, and nothing figured to change with Wali Lundy, Alvin Pearman and Michael Johnson still on the roster.
So Weeks talked to UVa coach Al Groh in the offseason about how he could get on the field more often.
“We had detailed conversations about a number of things that could be career options for him,” Groh said. “He gave it a significant amount of thought and decided [playing safety] was a career option he wanted to pursue.”
Good idea. Safety may be Virginia’s thinnest position in terms of talent, experience and depth. One starter, Jermaine Hardy, is out for the spring with a torn ACL. The future of Willie Davis, who suffered severe nerve damage in a collision against South Carolina, is uncertain. Jay Dorsey quit the team. And Jamaine Winborne, who started at safety in the second half of the season, has completed his eligibility.
That left rising sophomores Lance Evans and Robbie Catterton, who combined for 11 tackles last season, as the only Cavaliers with any experience at safety participating in spring practice.
In other words, safety is a problem position. But will Weeks be the answer? He has been taking advice from Hardy and defensive backs coach Bob Price, trying to accelerate his learning curve. Until this week, he had not played defense since he was a high school senior in 1999. Even then, he played cornerback, not safety, so he admits it has been a tricky transition.
“Learning the defense is actually pretty hard - learning the coverages and learning the techniques,” Weeks said.
But Groh clearly has confidence in his newest safety. On the first day of practice, he gave Weeks an “Orange Crush” jersey signifying a starter on defense. Only five Cavaliers have been accorded that status this spring: Weeks, linebacker Darryl Blackstock, and linemen Chris Canty, Andrew Hoffman and Brennan Schmidt.
“He’s earned it,” Groh said of Weeks. “He’s done everything we’ve asked him to.”
The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Weeks has been a special teams standout on kickoff returns and kickoff coverage. Groh also appreciates that Weeks has been “a great team player,” not complaining about playing time and continuing to work hard.
“It feels good to be starting,” Weeks said. “He said it’s my job to lose, so I’m going to try my hardest to keep it. He gave me the jersey, but if I don’t learn the defense, I can’t wear it.”

Irish eyes. Don’t call him Chris Olsen. He would prefer to be known by his full name, Christian. Better yet, he’d like to be known as Virginia’s starting quarterback.
Christian Olsen, a rising sophomore, is one of four candidates to replace Matt Schaub. Though he has been in UVa’s program less than a year, the Notre Dame transfer should not be hindered by a lack of familiarity with the Cavalier offense.
Groh said that the Fighting Irish offense under Tyrone Willingham has much in common with Virginia’s, and Olsen agrees.
“There are a lot of similarities - the routes, the reads, the scheme. All the West Coast stuff,” Olsen said. “Knowing that offense before I got here definitely helped me as opposed to when I went to Notre Dame not knowing a college offense at all. … I feel very comfortable with the offense right now.”
Olsen also has spent many hours watching film of Virginia’s offense the past two years with Schaub at the controls.
“Matt ran it the way it’s supposed to be run,” Olsen said. “That’s how you learn from the best.”

Line dance. Virginia’s starting offensive line returns intact from last season, but there has been some reshuffling among the backups.
Rising junior Brian Barthelmes, who lost his starting spot at left guard to rising sophomore Ian Yates-Cunningham, is working exclusively at tackle. Gordie Sammis, who redshirted as a freshman, has moved from tackle to center.
Meanwhile, rising junior Braden Campbell and rising sophomore D.J. Bell have switched from defense to offense. Campbell is working at tackle and Bell at guard, at least temporarily.
“We want to take a good look at it and see if that’s something we can do,” Groh said.
Campbell, who had wrist surgery, is playing with a cast and probably would have had a difficult time playing defense this spring, Groh said. He made 17 tackles each of the past two seasons.
Even without Campbell and Bell, the Cavaliers should be well-stocked at defensive end with Canty, Schmidt, Kwakou Robinson, Chris Johnson, Allen Billyk and incoming recruit Chris Long.

Notable. Rising sophomore linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who led Virginia in tackles last season, missed Monday’s practice to meet with a faculty advisor, Groh said. He was back at practice Wednesday, though he did not have an orange jersey. … Rising junior Kurt Korte, a William & Mary transfer, has been punting along with rising sophomore Noah Greenbaum. … Scott Robinson, a backup receiver, has had to give up football because of shoulder problems but will remain on scholarship and run track.
 

Appelt leads Cavs past Dukes
Junior scores three straight goals to give Virginia victory
By John Galinsky / Daily Progress staff writer
April 1, 2004

No one can accuse Amy Appelt of being selfish. She rarely forces shots. She looks for open teammates. In many ways, she is the consummate team player on the lacrosse field.

When the situation calls for it, however, the Virginia junior knows when to assert herself. She proved that yet again in Wednesday night’s game against No. 7 James Madison at Klockner Stadium. With the score knotted at 9 with less than five minutes remaining, Appelt scored three straight goals to give the No. 5 Cavaliers a 12-9 victory.

“I’m kind of the leader of the team on offense and I think my teammates look for me to do something at the end of a game,” Appelt said. “It’s kind of my role.”

Scoring lots of goals is Appelt’s role, and no one does it better. She finished the game with seven, matching her career high, and now has 50 on the season. No other player in the nation has 40.

“That’s why you’re psyched she’s on your team,” said UVa coach Julie Myers, whose team completed a perfect five-game homestand and is now 9-2 overall. “When your best player wants the ball, good things tend to happen. And when you have a player who’s that talented who is that committed to winning, you’re very fortunate.”

Appelt helped the Cavaliers rally from an early 5-1 deficit by scoring three goals in the first half and four in the second. Caitlin Banks and Tyler Leachman also delivered two goals apiece for Virginia, which has averaged 16.2 goals per game since installing a new motion offense two weeks ago.

The Dukes (5-3) stalled UVa’s attack by maintaining possession of the ball on offense and giving up few open shots on defense. Frustrated early on, the Cavaliers stopped moving as much.

“We had to keep yelling, ‘Run the pattern. Trust the pattern.’” Myers said. “Luckily, we kept running the pattern and it started working.”

Virginia scored four straight goals - two by Appelt and two by Banks - and went into the half trailing 6-5. Morgan Thalenberg tied it with a long-range shot in transition to open the second half and the game see-sawed from there.

The Cavaliers took the lead twice, but James Madison answered each time to tie the game. The Dukes went up 9-8 on Kelly Berger’s goal with 8:33 remaining before Leachman scored 47 seconds later to create the sixth tie of the game.

That set the stage for Appelt, who dodged from behind the cage, fought through a double team and scored with 4:22 left. It looked like she was shut off on the play, but she would not be denied.

“Persistence,” Appelt said. “I thought with a little more footwork, they wouldn’t be able to stick with me.”

“She’s powerful,” said JMU coach Kellie Young. “Very, very powerful.”

Appelt added an insurance goal with 1:33 remaining, then scored again with seven seconds left after the Cavaliers won the ensuing draw and played keepaway for more than a minute.

“She’s such a great player,” Banks said of Appelt. “She always finds a way.”
 

Sources: U.Va. to keep Gillen
Job apparently in jeopardy in February, but strong finish earned him another chance
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Apr 1, 2004

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The University of Virginia has decided to retain Pete Gillen as men's basketball coach, The Times-Dispatch learned last night.

Athletic Director Craig Littlepage, who's in San Antonio for the Final Four, could not be reached for comment last night. Neither could Gillen, who was working in his office at University Hall late yesterday afternoon. But sources told the T-D that Gillen has agreed to conditions under which he'll return for his seventh season at U.Va.

Official confirmation could come as early as today.

Sources said last night that Gillen agreed to make significant changes in the way he runs his program. What that will entail wasn't clear.

Virginia's season ended March 20. Since then, Littlepage and Gillen have met several times, but neither has commented publicly on their discussions. Littlepage is a member of the NCAA men's basketball committee, and he's been out of town for much of the past two weeks.

Gillen, 56, has seven years left on a contract worth about $900,000 annually. He has a 104-78 record at Virginia, with only one losing season. That came in 1998-99, when the Cavaliers had just six healthy scholarship players.

In 19 seasons as a head coach - at Xavier, Providence and U.Va. - Gillen has a 378-206 record, including an 8-9 mark in the NCAA tournament.

Virginia finished 18-13 this season after losing to Villanova in the NIT's second round. The Cavs, who have made four trips to the NIT in Gillen's tenure, advanced to the NCAAs in 2000-01. U.Va. is 1-6 in the ACC tournament, 0-1 in the NCAAs and 2-4 in the NIT under Gillen.

U.Va., picked to finish eighth in the ACC, tied for seventh with Florida State this season. The Cavaliers tied for third in 1999-2000, placed fourth in 2000-01, tied for fifth in 2001-02 and tied for sixth in 2002-03.

Virginia won five of its final eight games this season, a surge that almost certainly saved Gillen's job. U.Va. officials had decided in mid-February that, barring a dramatic turnaround, Gillen wouldn't return in 2004-05, sources told The Times-Dispatch. Three of the teams U.Va. defeated late in the season were nationally ranked, including Georgia Tech, which will meet Oklahoma State in an NCAA tournament semifinal Saturday.

Littlepage's support of Gillen proved crucial in Virginia's decision to retain the Brooklyn, N.Y., native, sources said. Some U.Va. officials, however, remain concerned that Gillen's return will hurt fund-raising efforts for the 15,000-seat John Paul Jones Arena, which is scheduled to open in 2006.
 

U. Va. receiver returning slowly
BY DAVE JOHNSON
Published April 1, 2004

Back on the practice field 71/2 months after breaking his leg, Virginia wide receiver Michael McGrew has moments where he looks like he was never away. Then reality sets in, and it becomes clear he's not quite full strength.

"We have to manage his situation," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said Wednesday morning. "That's been the case in every phase. He got off to a great start in the offseason program and was working hard, but then he experienced some soreness in the joints and muscles he hadn't been using. So we have to manage his situation. I'm sure that as the spring goes on, his muscles will get stronger."

A starter in 2001 and '02, McGrew was the Cavaliers' top returning receiver coming into last season. But on Aug. 12, he broke his leg and missed the entire year.

With McGrew back, the Cavaliers have plenty of bodies at wideout. Senior Ottowa Anderson had 33 receptions as a junior, and Deyon Williams and Fontel Mines teamed for 14 as true freshmen. Groh also likes redshirt freshman Emmanuel Byers, who he said has the best hands on the team, excluding tight end Heath Miller.

"The challenge for that group is to have a number of players elevate their play during the spring so they are truly capable of playing on a starting level," Groh said. "That's different than going in the game. I'm sure that's going to be a spring-long project, and there's probably a good likelihood it'll roll on into summer training camp, too."

THE OPERATION

Connor Hughes made 23 of his 25 field-goal attempts last year, but he's breaking in a new holder and snapper this spring, which puts kicking high on Groh's list of concerns.

Byers and quarterback Chris Olsen are among those working at holder. Starting center Zac Yarbrough is one of the candidates at long snapper, his position two years ago.

"We're working on it every day," Groh said. "We're probably going to work on it every day this spring, even after we've made a determination, just (so) the people involved are comfortable working with each other."

BIG MAN

Though he hasn't played in a game yet - football, anyway - redshirt freshman linebacker Vince Redd stands out. You don't see a lot of linebackers going 6-feet-6, 243 pounds.

"He's got unusual size, imposing size, for that position," Groh said. "And he appears to have more than enough athletic ability for it, so he just needs development for it now."

Groh felt good enough about Redd's work ethic to allow him to walk on with Virginia's basketball team last winter. Redd joined the Cavaliers in mid-January but played only the final 70 seconds of a blowout loss at North Carolina.

"Coach (Pete) Gillen was very complimentary of how he involved himself with everything he had to do over there," Groh said. "He was on top of everything over here. He did everything the rest of the players did."

SHORTS

Groh said linebacker Ahmad Brooks didn't practice on Monday - the first session this spring open to the public -because he had a meeting with a faculty member. ... Defensive tackle Braden Campbell, who underwent offseason wrist surgery, is also working on the offensive line this spring. "We figured we'd go ahead and put him at a position that was less-hindering and find out his potential there," Groh said.
 

It's not yet a 2-way street for Dixon
UVa.'s Spalding product works to round off game
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun Staff
Originally published April 1, 2004

Even with more than a year of college lacrosse experience, Virginia sophomore midfielder Kyle Dixon is still learning on the fly.
Early this season, Dixon twice ran off the field in transition, waving on a defensive midfielder rather than getting back on defense himself.

Both plays resulted in opposition goals and drew the ire of Cavaliers coach Dom Starsia, who is trying to mold the former Archbishop Spalding star into a true two-way midfielder.

"I told him, 'Just stay out there and play,' " said Starsia, whose team travels to College Park to face No. 1 Maryland on Saturday. "Sometimes, you don't feel those things until you are convinced you can do them, and I think Kyle is starting to figure things out for himself.

"I remember [former Cavs midfielder and last year's Tewaaraton Trophy winner] Chris Rotelli was like that, too. I used to hammer Rotelli, telling him that he needs to be a complete player. But Kyle is right on schedule. He'll be one of the most dominant middies to play at the University of Virginia."

Such a proclamation won't come as a surprise to anyone who watched the 6-foot-4, 215-pound player run roughshod over the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference.

As a freshman member of Virginia's first midfield last year, Dixon scored nine goals and had eight assists.

However, with the reigning national champions having lost most of their top midfielders, he was being counted on for much more this season. It didn't happen early. Virginia suffered four straight losses, with Dixon accounting for only two goals and four assists in those games.

"My role has changed a lot," said Dixon, who worked last season almost entirely against a short stick, but now, always sees a long pole.

"Last year was pretty easy. I just moved the ball, didn't have to put up big numbers. But now I have more of a scoring role, and I'm also playing a lot more defense."

Dixon has progressed each week. Third on the team in scoring with eight goals and five assists, his two goals and an assist kept the 10th-ranked Cavaliers (3-4) in the game early two weeks ago against Towson, before they won it in overtime.

In Virginia's 9-8 upset of top-ranked Johns Hopkins last weekend, Dixon opened the game with two goals, but starred less conventionally later in the game.

With the game tied at 8 and senior goalie Tillman Johnson away from his cage to direct a clearing attempt, Hopkins long-stick midfielder Corey Harned picked up a loose ball and fired it toward the goal, only to see Dixon make a chest save.

"It was just instinct," said Dixon, "but Tillman said I had pretty good technique."
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Apr 1, 2004

ABSENTEES: Two of U.Va.'s top three inside linebackers, Kai Parham and Rich Bedesem, are not expected to practice this spring because of injuries. The third member of that group, Ahmad Brooks, didn't practice Monday, the first session that fans and reporters were allowed to attend.

Brooks, an all-ACC candidate, had "a faculty meeting Monday afternoon that took precedence," coach Al Groh said yesterday. Brooks, who started as a true freshman in 2002, practiced yesterday.

Also absent Monday, though he's listed on Virginia's spring roster, was safety Kenneth Tynes.

"We'll see whether Tynes practices or not" this spring, Groh said.

Tynes has had a rocky college career. Before the 2003 season, Groh suspended him for an undisclosed reason. Tynes, a graduate of Centreville High who redshirted at U.Va. in 2002, remained in school, and he was reinstated to the team in October. He played on special teams late last season.

Among the injured players watching practice yesterday was offensive guard Elton Brown, whose left arm was in a sling.

SWITCHING SIDES: D.J. Bell and Braden Campbell, reserve defensive ends last season, are working this spring at offensive guard and tackle, respectively.

"We want to take a good look at it and see if that's something we want to do," Groh said. "In Braden's case, he had wrist surgery in the offseason, so now he's had both wrists operated on. He really wasn't going to be able to have a very good spring as a defensive lineman."

Campbell played as a true freshman in 2002 and was in for 102 snaps last season. He finished the season with 17 tackles. Bell, who redshirted in 2002, played little in'03.

"I remember him as being pretty impressive on his high school tape at guard, blocking and pulling," Groh said.

Chris Canty, Brennan Schmidt and Kwakou Robinson figure to gobble up most of the playing time at defensive end in 2004. Campbell, at whatever position he lands, will be a candidate to redshirt.

FOOTBALL CALENDAR: Virginia will hold two more open practices before its April 17 spring game at Scott Stadium. The first comes Sunday at 2:15 p.m. The second: April 9, 4 p.m. The Cavaliers practice on the fields next to University Hall and the McCue Center. Admission is free.

IMPRESSIVE FINISH: Basketball recruit Tunji Soroye recently was named co-MVP of the National Association of Christian Athletes Division I tournament in Dayton, Tenn.

Soroye, a 6-11, 225-pound senior, averaged 11 points, 10.7 rebounds and 7 blocked shots in three games to help Montrose Christian of Rockville, Md., capture the title. He had 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks in the semifinals.

Montrose closed the season with 20 consecutive victories and earned the No.19 spot in USA Today's final national rankings.

WORKOUT WARRIOR: The stars of the football team's strength-and-conditioning program this winter, quarterback Marques Hagans said, included rising senior Ottowa Anderson, a returning starter at wide receiver.

"We've been roommates since first year, so I've seen him develop a lot, and within this past year, he's really taken strides to become bigger in the weight room and become stronger and faster," Hagans said. "When he first got here, he shied away from the weight room. Now, you can't get him out of it."

Anderson, who's from Norfolk, is listed at 6-0, 186 pounds on the spring roster, but the players' weights haven't been updated in some time. Fullback Jason Snelling, for example, is listed at 228 pounds, and Groh said last week that the former L.C. Bird High star is up to 245.

QB OR NOT QB: All-Group AAA wideout Eddie Royal chose Virginia Tech in part because quarterback Sean Glennon, his teammate at Westfield High, was headed to Blacksburg.

That the Cavaliers didn't offer a scholarship to Glennon lessened their chances with Royal. Groh instead pursued quarterback Scott Deke from Los Angeles, who committed last summer after attending camp at U.Va. Deke signed with Virginia in February.

"Obviously, that's a position that's so vital to your team," Groh said, "and besides all the tape that we scrutinize, we really believe that you got to see quarterbacks in person, and you got to see the ball in the air, you got to see the quickness of the release, you got to see the quarterback's ability to move within the pocket.

"It's hard to get a fix on those things exactly on tape, so we were lucky that all" the quarterbacks U.Va. liked the most, save one from the Midwest, "were in our camp. So we had a chance to see everything in person, and this was the player that we liked the best."

Deke, 6-2, has deep roots in this state. His mother attended Hollins; his father, Virginia Military Institute; an uncle, the University of Richmond; and a grandfather, Virginia Tech. Deke lived in Centreville for two years as a boy. - Jeff White