Five Cavaliers drafted on second day
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
April 25, 2005

It took a day longer than any of the players involved had hoped it would but the names of several former Virginia football players were called out on Sunday in the NFL Draft.

Elton Brown, Alvin Pearman, Chris Canty, Andrew Hoffman and Patrick Estes were selected on the second day of the draft, giving the Virginia program a total of seven selections in this year's event, the most in school history.

The Pittsburgh Steelers took Heath Miller with the 30th pick in the first round and outside linebacker Darryl Blackstock was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round.

It was the same Arizona Cardinals franchise that got the ball rolling on Sunday for Virginia's contingent of players as guard Elton Brown was taken in the fourth round with the 111th pick overall.

It marked the first time since 1986 that a pair of former Cavaliers were taken by a team in the draft. In 1986, New Orleans took Jim Dombroski (6th pick overall) and Barry Word (62nd).

The 6-foot-4, 330-pound Brown had been considered a lock to be taken on the opening day of the draft, but his stock slipped when he missed the NFL combine with tendonitis in his knee.

Brown said he was pleased to be with the organization, which has a number of former ACC players, and to play for coach Dennis Green.

"I am excited about the opportunity to be a Cardinal now," Brown said through a released statement. "Some of the players from the team came from my conference. I had to block [former Florida State star] Darnell Dockett, probably one of the best defensive players I have played against."

As a senior, Brown did not give up a sack and led UVa with 76 knockdown blocks, earning the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the best in the league for the second straight year.

Sixteen picks after Brown was taken, running back Alvin Pearman was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars (4th round, 127th pick). Pearman, who watched the draft in Charlottesville with his family and members of Miller's family, was excited to get a shot to play for the Jaguars.

"I am ecstatic," Pearman said. "It is a big load lifted off your back and at the same time, all it is, is an opportunity. It is a dream come true, but at the same time it is an opportunity - an opportunity that I have to take advantage of."

While the Jaguars were one of the teams that expressed interest in Pearman, the Charlotte native did not know what to expect on the draft's second day.

"I had known that they were interested," Pearman said. "You might know a team is interested, but you don't know how interested they really are. I tried to stay as level headed as possible and not expect any team in particular. It just kind of worked out that way."

Canty, a defensive end, was selected by the Dallas Cowboys with the 132nd pick of the draft, late in the fourth round.

During his career at UVa, Canty made 243 tackles (145 solos), seven sacks and 24 tackles for a loss. His senior season was cut short with a knee injury in UVa's fourth game against Syracuse.

Canty spent Sunday night with his family in Charlotte and denied an interview request, but said that he was "pretty excited to have an opportunity to play in the NFL."

In the sixth round, the Cleveland Browns used the 203rd selection to draft Hoffman, a 6-4, 296-pound defensive tackle.

Four minutes before the pick was announced, Hoffman received a phone call.

"They told me that we are going to be drafting you here in a minute and they connected me over to the head coach [Romeo Crennel], and I talked to him and they let me go and watch it on TV."

Hoffman had 52 tackles, five sacks and made 11 tackles for a loss with the Cavaliers in his senior campaign.

"I actually think it is a perfect fit for me," said Hoffman, who watched the draft at a restaurant in Ashburn. "It is going to be an opportunity to build with another team, which is what I have come from in high school and college football. The program that they are going to have there is going to be real good, and the coaching staff there ... I have a feeling that we are going to get along great.

"Going to a 3-4 defense is going to be a good fit for me."

The final Virginia player selected on Sunday was Estes. The San Francisco 49ers used a compensatory pick (No. 248) to draft the 6-6, 268-pound tight end from Richmond.

Estes was used primarily as a blocking tight end at UVa, something the 49ers have made public that they were looking for before the 2005 season.

One of the players that went undrafted - safety Marquis Weeks - wasted little time in signing as a free agent. Shortly after the draft, Weeks agreed to a free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks.

"I was being asked all day if it was better to be drafted or go with free agency," Weeks said. "The team that was talking with me about drafting me, Seattle, was the team that I ended up going with anyway. I guess it didn't matter to me."

It was not as a safety, but rather as a running back, the position he played when he arrived at Virginia, that Seattle was interested in using Weeks at. He is also expected to play special teams, a role he excelled at for UVa.

Prior to his senior season, Weeks agreed to play safety for UVa coach Al Groh.

"To come in as a running back, it is a dream come true," Weeks said.

Cavs have a banner draft year
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

Only Oklahoma and Florida State had more players selected than Virginia, which, for the first time, saw seven of its players taken in the NFL Draft.

Three Virginia Tech players were selected, but the bigger story might have been the Hokies' player who wasn't drafted, quarterback and ACC player of the year Bryan Randall.

Fourteen other quarterbacks were selected, including Southern California backup Matt Classen, but at least Randall was in distinguished company. Also passed over was 2003 Heisman Trophy winner Jason White from Oklahoma, all-time NCAA passing leader Timmy Chang from Hawaii and ACC quarterbacks Brock Berlin, Darian Durant and Chris Rix.

Cornerback Eric Green was the only Hokie to be selected on the first day. He was joined Sunday by safety Vincent Fuller, who went to Tennessee in the fourth round, and offensive tackle Jon Dunn, a seventh-round pick of the Cleveland Browns.

Hokies who could sign free-agent contracts as early as today include Randall, defensive end Jim Davis and punter Vinnie Burns. Davis' chances of being drafted were hindered when a shoulder sprain prevented him from working out at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Second-day selections from Virginia included three fourth-rounders: offensive guard Elton Brown (Arizona), running back Alvin Pearman (Jacksonville) and defensive end Chris Canty (Dallas).

Nose tackle Andrew Hoffman went to Cleveland in the sixth round and tight end Patrick Estes was a seventh-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers.

Estes was one of two UVa tight ends to be drafted, joining John Mackey Award winner Heath Miller, selected by Pittsburgh in Saturday's first round.

Cavaliers' outside linebacker Darryl Blackstock, taken by Arizona late Saturday in the third round, was one of three straight Cardinals' selections from Virginia schools - Green, Blackstock and Brown, who also played with Blackstock at Heritage High School in Newport News.

Arizona's second-round pick was Miami cornerback Antrell Rolle, immediately tapped as a starter by Arizona coach Denny Green. Eric Green could be the Cardinals' "nickel" back.

"The Cardinals' whole attitude is changing right now," Eric Green was quoted on the Arizona Web site. "They are getting a new stadium, they are getting new jerseys and they are getting everything started from new.

"We are going to start from scratch and we are going to show the country who the No.1 team in the nation is."

Denny Green compared Blackstock to Karlos Dansby, a second-round Cardinals pick in 2004 who was one of the team's bright spots this past season.

"I think he's going to have the same impact that Dansby did," Green said. "We're a team that relies on speed; that's his thing. We're a team that relies on blitzing; that's his thing. We're a team that relies on guys [who are] very tall, angular players that make it difficult to throw.

"That's what Darryl Blackstock does, so I think he'll fit right in."

Outside linebacker Dennis Haley from Salem and safety Jermaine Hardy from Roanoke are among the UVa players hoping to catch on as rookie free agents.

Wide receivers catching on for U.Va.
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© April 24, 2005

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Asked about the performance of Virginia’s wide receivers last year, Fontel Mines got right to the point.

“We were kind of the downfall of the team,” he said.

Mines is probably being overly critical, but there was no doubt that Virginia’s receiving corps didn’t strike fear in many opponents last year. The Cavaliers seldom threw the ball downfield, relying instead on short passes to the running backs and tight ends. No receiver caught more than 30 balls and only two caught more than seven.

Developing receivers was one of the priorities of Virginia’s just-completed spring practice, and if Saturday’s scrimmage at Scott Stadium is any indication, the Cavaliers have made progress.

Mines, a junior from Richmond, was one of several receivers who looked impressive in an afternoon of pitch-and-catch in front of 6,100 fans. Official statistics were not kept, but four Virginia quarterbacks spread the ball around generously.

They also spread the defense with deep completions. Deyon Williams caught a 38-yarder. Theirrien Davis caught one for 36, and several other completions went for 15 or more yards. Considering the offense began each drive at the defense’s 49-yard line, the results were encouraging.

“We got the ball up the field well, against some tight coverage,” coach Al Groh said.

Virginia was missing several key members of the first-team defense. Linebackers Kai Parham and Ahmad Brooks, recovering from shoulder and knee surgery, respectively, did not play. Neither did defensive end Brennan Schmidt or nose tackle Keenan Carter, who are also recovering from shoulder surgery.

But the secondary was basically intact, a positive sign for a receiving corps that was in need of a confidence boost.

“We’re going to have a nice little receiving corps,” cornerback Marcus Hamilton said. “That was probably the focus of today’s scrimmage, getting the passing game going.”

Mines and Williams, both juniors, started the game. Mines caught just seven passes in seven games last year; Williams 19 in 10 games. Both players are big and fast, and have shown flashes of potential over the past two years, but have lacked consistency.

“We’ve got something to prove,” Williams said.

Williams caught three passes, while Mines caught two, including a 4-yard touchdown. Davis, a sophomore, caught three balls, as did junior Ron Morton and sophomore Emmanuel Byers.

Davis made his first career start in the MPC Computers Bowl last season, beating out Williams. Byers caught just four passes in three games last year. Morton, a highly touted recruit, has just one reception in two seasons.

“It’s definitely big for us,” Davis said. “It’s a big opportunity for a lot of guys to step up and carry the offense.”

Make no mistake, Virginia intends to remain a running team. The Cavaliers led the ACC in rushing last year and return three starters on the offensive line and senior tailback Wali Lundy, who has 2,619 career rushing yards.

But a team cannot live on the run alone, as Virginia learned at times last season.

“We showed improvement, but there’s a lot more work to be done,” Williams said. “It’s good that we have a lot of competition. All the competition is going to do is make people get better.”

More competition arrives in the summer. Senior Ottowa Anderson, who missed last season because of academic issues, is expected to return. Three freshmen receivers will also be in the mix.

“In terms of competition for playing time,” Groh said, ''if this was a horse race, we’re maybe at the quarter-mile pole.”

Notes: The offense won the game 33-0, scoring on six drives, each of which began on the 49 of the defense. The defense stopped the offense five times. … Quarterback Marques Hagans played on just two drives. He was relieved by Kevin McCabe, then Christian Olsen, and redshirt freshman Scott Deke. Tailback Cedric Peerman, a redshirt freshman from Gladys, Va., made an impressive debut, scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run, and catching four passes, including a 28-yard screen for another score. … Defensive end Chris Long had three sacks and one QB pressure. He also narrowly missed another sack when he tried to strip the ball from McCabe instead of wrapping him up. Long sacked McCabe on the next play. “I was going for the ball, and I missed,” Long said. “That’s going to bother me.”

UVa men's tennis wins ACC title
By Jim Furlong / Special to The Daily Progress
April 25, 2005

CARY, N.C. - Hugging and hollering, the jubilant Virginia men’s tennis players and coaches stood in a tight cluster as they touched and held its second-straight ACC championship trophy.

The top-seeded Cavaliers completed a three-match sweep during the 52nd annual ACC Tournament with a 4-1 victory over third-seeded Florida State on Sunday afternoon.

With Darrin Cohen named the tournament MVP, the second-ranked Cavaliers (24-2) equaled the school record for wins in a season and finished 12-0 against ACC rivals this spring.

Coach Brian Boland has directed back-to-back league titles, and freshman Somdev Devvarman scored the match-winning point against the Seminoles during windy, chilly weather at the Cary Tennis Center.

“I am very excited, probably more excited than last year,” UVa junior Nick Meythaler said. “This year we are expected to win bigger things. We are on a mission to prove we are the best team in the country. We really believe we can do it.

“[The ACC title] was a goal of ours - we will cherish the memories - but this is a steppingstone to the next step.”

The Cavaliers, with a school-record 13-match winning streak, will have plenty of time to rest before they host a four-team NCAA regional May 13-15.

“I am very fortunate to coach them,” said Boland, who owns a 48-6 record (22-1 against ACC rivals) the past two seasons. “The guys play together, work hard and they push each other.

“Winning the ACC is hard to do. .... It takes a tremendous amount of perseverance and focus throughout the whole season and then to come here and win three [dual matches] back to back [in three days]. This feels as good as last year, but last year was special [the first ACC men’s tennis crown in UVa history].”

Cohen looked somewhat surprised after he got the MVP award.

“We expected to win this coming in, but it is amazing to accomplish it,” Cohen said. “Florida State gave us a run for our money.

“When you work so hard for something - all the long practices and the hard work in the weight room - it is a gratifying feeling. It is exciting [to be the MVP] and definitely special, but I am out there to compete for the team. The ultimate goal is for the team to win.”

Besides Devvarman’s 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles and Cohen’s 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 6, Rylan Rizza cruised 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3.

Rizza enjoyed two extra personal reasons to feel elated. The Cavaliers won the ACC title on his 21st birthday and his father, Dennis, watched the UVa sweep after traveling form his home in southern California.

“That this landed on my birthday is great, and we plan to win this again next year,” Rizza said. “I was glad my father was here. He wasn’t here the first year; so I could share this with him.”

Both Boland and Florida State coach Dwayne Hultquist stressed the importance of the Cavaliers winning the doubles point.

“That was absolutely crucial,” Boland said.

The 25th-ranked Seminoles (18-7) did not play the Cavaliers during the regular season (a rainout), but have two nationally ranked doubles duos.

“We have not lost in doubles since January,” “Hultquist said.

Devvarman and freshman Treat Huey battled to win No. 2 doubles 9-7 and Cohen and Doug Stewart combined for an 8-4 victory at No. 3.

Rizza and Meythaler, who are ranked No. 17 nationally, were ahead 7-5 at No. 1 against FSU when the duel was discontinued.

Boland often emphasizes the positive momentum of winning the doubles, and the Cavaliers are 21-0 this season (41-1 the last two seasons) when they earn the doubles’ point.

In Sunday’s other singles, with about 50 UVa fans watching, Huey and Marko Miklo each won their first set before their action was discontinued. Stewart took a rare lopsided loss. Florida State senior Mat Cloer, a two-time ACC Men’s Player of the Year, sparkled to grab a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Stewart, who is ranked No. 15 for all Division 1 players.

All six UVa players gained 2005 All-ACC honors and all six will return for the 2006 season.

“They have the most talent [in the ACC]. That is pretty clear,” Hultquist. “That kid from India [Devvarman] is the best freshman in the country.”

Cavs sweep Yellow Jackets
Virginia holds off No. 4 GT
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
April 25, 2005

Perhaps it is something in the water at Davenport Field. Or maybe it is just baseball fate.

Regardless of what it is, playing Georgia Tech seems to bring out the best in Virginia.

Virginia did the unthinkable on Sunday, knocking off Georgia Tech, 2-1, completing a three-game sweep of the fourth-ranked team in the country.

For UVa, it marked the second straight series sweep over the Yellow Jackets and it raised the Cavaliers record to 29-13 overall and 9-10 in the ACC. Georgia Tech, who entered the series having won 32 of its last 34 league games, drops to 30-10 overall and 16-5 in the ACC.

"I couldn't be more proud of our entire team," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "They showed a lot of poise and a lot of confidence this weekend. Georgia Tech has a tremendous ballclub. They are the fourth-ranked team in the country for a reason."

Virginia scored single runs in the second and fifth innings, respectively, and it proved to be enough for the Cavaliers pitching staff.

Robert Poutier, who was starting in his first ACC game, earned the win on the mound for UVa. The right-handed throwing rookie worked five innings, allowing four hits, two walks and one earned run.

O'Connor said it was an easy decision to turn the ball over to Poutier (3-1). Virginia's three weekend starters - Matt Avery, Mike Ballard and Jeff Kamrath - all worked in the first two games of the series, which UVa won 4-2 and 9-2.

"He has pitched great baseball the entire year," O'Connor said. "I knew Robert Poutier would do a good job today because this kid is not [playing like] a freshman. He has unbelievable poise for an 18-year-old kid. He showed that today against Georgia Tech. He got us to the sixth inning and we went with our two usual guys and they did the job."

The usual guys O'Connor referred to - Sean Doolitte and Casey Lambert - were anything but usual against the Yellow Jackets.

Doolittle, who struck out eight Tech batters on Saturday in the nightcap, worked three scoreless innings, scattering three hits and striking out two.

Casey Lambert worked a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 10th save of the season.

"Our pitching staff was outstanding this weekend," O'Connor said. "They challenged them and held them down and fortunately we came away with three victories."

Virginia scored its first run of the game in the second when Brandon Guyer scored from second on a two-out double down the right-field line by Scott Headd.

On the double, Georgia Tech starting pitcher Blake Wood threw a fastball in on Headd's hands and the ball veered toward the foul line and barely landed in play.

"That hit had eyes," joked Headd, who was playing despite having a broken finger on the ring finger of his throwing hand.

Georgia Tech tied the game in the top of the fifth on an RBI-ground out to first by Danny Payne.

Virginia regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Headd opened the frame with a single up the middle and after being sacrificed to second on a bunt by Mike Campagna, he scored on a single by Kyle Werman.

In Werman's game-winning at-bat, he forced Wood to throw seven pitches and just got enough of a change-up to poke the ball into shallow left field.

Virginia assistant coach Kevin McMullan was waving Headd home throughout the play and Headd slide in safely as the ball reached the plate, giving Werman his third RBI in UVa's last four games.

"[Wood] was kind of working backwards all game with a lot of us," Werman said. "He was throwing a lot of change-ups and I was finally able to recognize it."

Georgia Tech had a chance to tie the game up in the sixth. With runners on the corners and one out, Doolittle forced Jeff Kindel to pop out to shallow left.

The ball was not hit deep enough for Wes Hodges to tag up initially at third but when UVa left fielder Tom Hagan threw the ball into the infield gingerly, Hodges took off for home.

Werman, UVa's second baseman, took the throw and quickly fired home and thanks to an accurate throw and good positioning at the plate by Headd, Hodges was called out.

In the ninth, Lambert opened the inning by forcing Matt Wieters to fly out deep to center.

On his next pitch, Lambert plunked Kindel in the shoulder.

Lambert elected to throw a change-up to Andy Hawranick on his next pitch and it worked to perfection. Hawranick sent a groundball to Ryan Zimmerman at third and the All-ACC player started a quick and smooth double play (5-to-4-to-3) to end the game.

"If you are going to give up free 90's like that, erasing it with a double play - there is nothing better than that," Lambert said. "I threw a change-up there hoping he would roll over it and that's what he did. Zim made a good throw to second and Werm turned it like he always does. It was a great way to end the game."

O'Connor was able to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the final pitch hit to Zimmerman.

"I wouldn't want the ball hit to anybody else but Ryan Zimmerman in that pressure situation," O'Connor said.

Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall said he was impressed with Virginia's performance during the three-game series.

"Give them credit," Hall said. "They got hits when they needed them and they made all the pitches when they needed to make them. I give all the credit to them. They totally outplayed us the whole weekend and they deserved to win all three games."

Note. Virginia returns to action on Wednesday when they host William & Mary at 7 p.m.

Women's lax tops Vanderbilt, 12-11
From Staff Reports / Charlottesville Daily Progress
April 25, 2005

The Cavalier women’s lacrosse team honored nine seniors before its game against Vanderbilt on Sunday, and all nine were on the field as Virginia got on the scoreboard first.

However, the Cavaliers (12-3) had to hold off a pesky Commodore team, before emerging on top, 12-11.

Virginia’s Amy Appelt, playing in her final regular-season home game, scored five goals and added an assist to increase her school record.

Appelt converted an 8-meter shot, putting Virginia up 12-8, with 6:12 remaining in the contest.

Vanderbilt staged a furious comeback as Kate Hickman drove to the cage less than a minute later and scored at 54:35. Hikcman then converted an 8-meter shot at 57:57, pulling the Dores (6-7) to 12-10.

Again VU won the draw, and Hickman quick-sticked a goal into the cage at 59:05 to get Vandy to 12-11.

Vandy then won the draw and tried to set up their attack, but Nikki Lieb caused a turnover in the arc and UVa ran out the clock.

Virginia is next in action in the ACC Semifinals on Friday in Baltimore. Virginia faces Maryland at 1 p.m.