No ankle problems for Pearman
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
April 13, 2004

The last time Virginia fans saw Alvin Pearman in action he was slicing and dicing through the Pittsburgh defense in the Cavaliers’ 23-16 win in last season’s Continental Tire Bowl.

Pearman, a Charlotte, N.C., native, marked his homecoming with 104 yards rushing and six catches for 32 yards.

The game did not end the way Pearman had envisioned as he missed most of the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. However, he has shown no ill effects of the injury in Virginia’s spring practices.

“I feel good. This is the time of year where you get to fine tune some things,” Pearman said. “In the winter, you are lifting weights and working on your speed and now is the time where we focus on the football aspect. It is going well.”

As one of the rising seniors in the program, Pearman has embraced a leadership role within the team.

“It is funny I am kind of the salty dog now. I never thought it would come, but I am the one in the team meeting room giving advice and putting my two cents into things,” Pearman said.

Pearman knows that with Wali Lundy back healthy and Michael Johnson and Jason Snelling returning from redshirt seasons that the UVa backfield could be a major strength for the team.

“We have a lot of young guys that are going to be able to contribute,” Pearman said. “There is a great feeling amongst the team, the media and the fans and we are excited about it.”

While rehabbing his ankle injury, Pearman also had to persevere through a strange recruiting saga that surrounded his brother, Andrew.

Initially, Andrew verbally committed to play for UVa but just before signing day he decided to take several official visits. Andrew later changed his mind electing to attend Hawaii, deciding not to follow in his brother’s footsteps at Virginia.

“[Andrew] is a weird dude,” chuckled the elder Pearman. “Never once did I tell him where to go, where not to go but I tried to provide as much input as I could.

“I had no idea where he was going to wind up. In the long run, it is his decision and he made it with his heart. That is what he wanted to do,” Alvin Pearman said.

Alvin also knows that it will be hard to stay in close contact with his brother playing five time zones away but he plans to visit as often as he can once his playing days at UVa are over.

“It would be nice if I could find a cheap plane ticket out there,” Alvin said.

Go east young man. The Virginia spring festival is slated for Saturday at Scott Stadium but only half the stadium will be used.

Due to renovations, fans will be asked to stay on the east side of the stadium. Gates open at 10:30 a.m., and the team will take the field at 12:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

 

Zidenberg UVa bound
Poquoson star heading to Virginia as recruited walk-on
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
April 12, 2004

When the Virginia football team entered spring practice, coach Al Groh was aware he had two of the three members of the 2003 VHSL AA all-state backfield committed to playing for the Cavaliers in 2005.

Bluefield running back Ahmad Bradshaw signed to play for UVa shortly after signing day, and soon after, Western Albemarle running back Bryan Lescanec agreed to join the team as a recruited walk-on.

Now you can call it a clean sweep.

On Sunday, Poquoson running back Josh Zidenberg confirmed that he will join the football program next year as a recruited walk-on.

Zidenberg said the deciding factor was that he was told he will have the chance to work offensively with the Cavalier running backs.

“[The deciding factor] was that they were going to give me a shot on offense,” Zidenberg said. “From the beginning they wanted me at defense and then they called up last week and said that Coach Groh would let me give it a shot on offense. That was the clincher.”

Zidenberg, who is 6-foot, 210 pounds, rushed for 2,811 yards this season and guided Poquoson into the state semifinal, where they lost to Monticello.

For his high school career, Zidenberg totaled close to 6,200 yards. Defensivley, Zidenberg played at safety for the Islanders.

Zidenberg indicated that he was prepared to enroll at a prep school like Fork Union before UVa assistant Mike London called.

What is it that Zidenberg thinks will help him get onto the field in the UVa backfield?

“I think my combination of speed and power with their H-back position slash fullback position,” Zidenberg said. “I think I am able to block and I am quick enough and athletic enough to carry the ball as well.”

Academically, Zidenberg said the decision to come to Virginia was a no-brainer. The 17-year-old has already scored 1050 on his SAT and maintains a 3.6 GPA while taking advanced placement classes.

“On the academic side Virginia is second to none,” Zidenberg said.
 

UVa pitchers getting it done
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
April 13, 2004

Before the season started, Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor stated that the Cavaliers would go as far as the starting pitching would take them.
He should know.
As a player, O’Connor pitched in the College World Series for Creighton. He was later drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies and played in the organization until he took a coaching position at his alma mater.
As a coach, O’Connor tutored 17 eventual professional pitchers and 13 Major League draft selections at Notre Dame. Two of those players - Brad Lidge (Houston Astros) and Aaron Heilman (New York Mets) - are currently in the big leagues.
It is safe to say that O’Connor’s impact has carried over to the Virginia pitching staff this year.
Following a three-game sweep of Clemson this weekend, Virginia ranks second in the league in earned run average (3.03) and first in ground ball outs (10.63 per game).
The main reason for the success lies in the Virginia weekend pitching rotation. The trio of Andrew Dobies, Joe Koshansky and Matt Avery are all ranked among the ACC’s top nine pitchers in ERA.
Dobies, a left-handed junior, headlines the list with a 6-0 record and a 1.89 ERA.
“The numbers that kid has thrown up this year have been tremendous,” O’Connor said.
“I would like to see him matched up statistically against everybody else’s Friday night starter. I would imagine he would fair pretty well.”
Koshansky, a senior who also plays first base, is 6-1 with a 2.59 ERA and allows a low average of just 6.71 hits per game.
Avery, a sophomore, has a 2.47 ERA and is 4-1 on the season. On Saturday, Avery pitched his first collegiate complete game in UVa’s 3-1 win over Clemson that secured the sweep and earned him ACC Player of the Week honors.
“In my opinion, [Avery] really grew up a lot [Saturday]. Matt had been doing some good things all year long in that No. 2 [rotation] spot but there was something about today … he took a step up.”
With the strong starting pitching, the Cavaliers have jumped into the top spot in the ACC standings and into both national polls in the 23rd spot.
At 11-4 in the league, UVa is percentage points ahead of North Carolina (8-4), Florida State (6-3) and Clemson (6-3).
The schedule down the stretch favors the Cavaliers, as well.
“We only have one road series left at Maryland. We have Florida State at home, who is going to be in the thick of things, and we have Wake Forest at home,” O’Connor said. “We are really in a good position. We just need to continue to do the things that have gotten us here.”
While the team has already tied a school record for ACC wins and stands 22 games over .500, it comes as no surprise to the players on the team.
“We worked hard to get to where we are at,” said sophomore Matt Dunn. “We deserve to win. We are just executing and winning. [The feeling] is not out of this world. We expected to do this. You don’t work hard for nothing.”

Mid-season recognition. Koshansky was recently named to Baseball America’s mid-season All America team as a utility player.
Koshansky leads the team with 10 homers, 48 RBI and boasts a .624 slugging percentage.

Hitting the road. Virginia will travel to Blacksburg on Wednesday to play Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on WINA (1070-AM).
 

Tech football player arrested on felony charge

The Blacksburg Police Department arrested redshirt freshman Michael Hinton, a safety on the football team early Monday morning and charged him with malicious wounding and destruction of property

by Adam Abramson
Sports Editor

The Blacksburg Police Department arrested a Virginia Tech football player early Monday morning. Redshirt freshman Michael Hinton, a safety on the football team was taken into custody from Cochrane Hall at approximately 2 a.m.

A representative from the Montgomery County jail said Hinton was charged with destruction of property and malicious wounding for an incident at a Blacksburg McDonalds early Sunday morning. He was released from the jail.

Aggravated malicious wounding is a Class 2 felony according to the Code of Virginia. The charge is brought if the victim is “severely injured and is caused to suffer permanent and significant physical impairment.”

Destruction of property is a Class 1 misdemeanor according to section 18.2-137 of the Code of Virginia.

According to the Virginia Tech Comprehensive Action Plan, a player charged with a felony “shall be suspended automatically from practice and playing privileges until the charges are dropped, dismissed or otherwise resolved.” The athletics director, Jim Weaver, will decide actions taken against a player charged with a misdemeanor.

In an unrelated incident, the coaches suspended Hinton in December for a violation of team policy. No specifics were released from the coaching staff surrounding the incident — he was let back on the team to practice this spring.

Hinton came to Blacksburg on a football scholarship after attending Hargrave Military Academy. Last season, he sat out, taking a redshirt during the football season, but opted to run indoor track this winter.

Hinton was one of the top prospects in the 2003 recruiting class. According to TheInsiders.com, an Internet recruiting service, Hinton was ranked the No. 17 safety in the nation.

Officials from the athletics department and the football team were unavailable for comment.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch Apr 13, 2004

DISTINGUISHED GUESTS: Football coach Al Groh halted practice Friday afternoon and introduced two visitors to his players. The latest generation of Cavaliers responded with a warm ovation for Kevin Ferguson and Jim Bakhtiar.

Ferguson played for U.Va. in the'80's. Bakhtiar, a native of Iran, was an All-America for the Cavaliers in the'50s.

"One of the things we've tried to build is an awareness that you're only on the football team for a short period of time, but you're in the football family for a long time," said Groh, himself a former U.Va. player.

"So when these kinds of guys come around, we like the players to meet them, and we want the visitors to feel they're part of what we do, too."

LET THE GAME BEGIN: The Cavaliers' fourth spring under Groh concludes Saturday at Scott Stadium. For the first time during his tenure, Groh believes he has enough healthy players to split his squad into two teams for a full-fledged scrimmage.

In 2001, '02 and'03, Virginia capped spring practice with a series a situational drills matching the offense versus the defense.

"Right now it looks like we got enough depth at all the positions to do it on a game-like basis," Groh said.

Virginia's "Spring Football Festival" begins at 10:30 a.m. with activities for fans. The team will take the field at 12:30 p.m. The event is free.

ALOHA: Andrew Pearman committed to Virginia last summer, and his big brother never expected him to end up anywhere else. But the younger Pearman withdrew his commitment in January after Virginia's running backs coach, Kevin Ross, left to join the staff at Army. Pearman ended up signing with Hawaii.

"He just took a visit out there. He wanted to check the place out, and fell in love with something," said U.Va. tailback Alvin Pearman, a rising senior.

"I tried give him as much input as I could along the way, give him whatever advice I could, but in the long run, it's his decision. I never told him where to go, I never told him where not to go. I honestly wanted him to come here. I told him it'd be nice to have him here, but he saw himself at Hawaii."

Pearman said he hopes to visit his kid brother in Honolulu, "if I can find a cheap plane ticket to get out there."

LATE ADDITION: Poquoson High football star Josh Zidenberg is headed to U.Va. as a recruited walk-on.

The 6-0, 210-pound Zidenberg was an all-Group AA running back in 2003, when he rushed for 2,728 yards and scored 39 touchdowns.

Virginia originally recruited him as a safety. Zidenberg wanted to play offense, however, and figured he'd have to spend a postgraduate year at a prep school to raise his stock. His plans changed when Groh called recently and said the Cavaliers were interested in him at H-back and fullback.

U.Va.'s incoming class includes the three players who made The Associated Press' all-Group AA first team at running back last season. Graham High's Ahmad Bradshaw will be on scholarship, and Western Albemarle High's Bryan Lescanec, like Zidenberg, will be a recruited walk-on.

PRESSED INTO SERVICE: Virginia has only six healthy scholarship players in its secondary: three at cornerback and three at safety.

That's meant more work for walk-on defensive backs Mario Moore (Lynchburg), Brandon Lee (Williamsburg), Ben Parziale (Forest) and Marshall Tucker (Richmond), who have "done a nice job here in the spring," Groh said.

"They've given us a lift, and they've certainly helped their chances for playing time [next season]."

Tucker graduated from St. Christopher's.

HISTORIC OCCASION: The 15th-ranked Cavaliers captured a share of their first ACC regular-season men's tennis title Saturday by knocking off Duke 4-3 in Charlottesville.

The No. 5 Blue Devils were the highest-ranked opponent U.Va. has ever beaten. Duke had won 25 straight matches over Virginia before Saturday.

Under third-year coach Brian Boland, the Cavaliers are 7-1 in the ACC and 19-3 overall. The conference's other regular-season co-champion, North Carolina, beat U.Va. on April 3 and so is seeded No. 1 in the ACC tournament at Raleigh, N.C. Virginia, the No. 2 seed, meets seventh-seeded Florida State at 3 p.m. Friday.

NO MARGIN FOR ERROR: To have an opportunity to defend its NCAA men's lacrosse title, Virginia (3-6) cannot afford another loss. The Cavaliers must beat Duke on Saturday at Klockner Stadium, win the ACC tourney (April 23 and 25 in Chapel Hill, N.C.) and then close the regular season May 8 with a victory at Penn State.

The ACC winner does not get an automatic bid to the NCAAs. To be eligible for an at-large invitation, a team must have a record of .500 or better. The Cavaliers have appeared in the NCAA tournament each of the past 11 seasons. - Jeff White