UVa lax teams eye Terps in postseason paths
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
April 29, 2005

Baltimore is the destination for the Virginia lacrosse programs this weekend and they are hoping for a long stay.

The ACC men’s and women’s tournaments begin today at M&T Bank Stadium. The second-seeded and defending champion Cavalier women (12-3) face third-seeded Maryland in the semifinals today at 1 p.m. The second-seeded Virginia men face Maryland (9-2) in the semifinals tonight at approximately 8:30 p.m.

Both games are rematches of regular-season contests that were both won by the Cavaliers.

The Virginia women defeated Maryland 15-8 on March 5 while the Virginia men downed the Terps 10-2 on April 2.

While there is obvious symmetry in the matchups today for both Virginia teams, certainly the Virginia-Maryland women’s tilt is a rematch separated by a greater amount of time.

“Maryland was our second game of the season. A lot of time has passed. It’s clearly anyone’s game. We need to make sure we are sharp and ready to compete for every possession,” said Virginia women’s coach Julie Myers. “I think were essentially a different team than we were the second game of the season and Maryland is a much improved team. It should be an excellent matchup.”

The Virginia women, the defending National Champions, ended their season with a loss to Georgetown last Wednesday followed by a victory over Vanderbilt last Sunday.

“I cannot say that I liked the way we played Sunday against Vanderbilt. I cannot say we hit the ground running or fixed the things that needed fixing. We improved from Wednesday to Sunday but we still need to improve defensively,” Myers said.

Of course, teams that have had recent postseason success like the Cavaliers tend to enhance their focus this time of year and that could be the best cure-all for any ills that Myers sees at the moment.

“We just need to be worried about getting better every game. This time of year, you have to be getting better and better each game,” Myers said.

While the Cavalier women’s most recent game was only five days ago, the Virginia men will be playing for the first time since a 9-6 victory over Denver on April 17. While one might assume there is trepidation after such a hiatus, Virginia coach Dom Starsia views it differently. He believes the break has aided his team.

“I would say that it was a very welcomed break. With the schedule and everything else, I just think that for the players injured and for those that are healthy, it was nice to get away from it for a little while,” Starsia said.

The break also gave Virginia a little distance from a 17-2 defeat to Duke a day before the victory over Denver.

“I think the result against Denver was very important. It was an opportunity to put ourselves upright again going in the near two-week break. It [the win against Denver] gave us the opportunity to get back some shred of self-respect,” Starsia said.

Unlike their female counterparts, the Cavaliers’ victory over Maryland is fairly vivid.

“We know in the ACC Tournament that we are going to face teams that we are very familiar with. Given our schedule this year, we have played the three ACC schools very recently,” Starsia said. “It’s not a complicated preparation. There is not a lot of new information. The team that is able to get itself emotionally charged and is ready to play for 60 minutes will probably have a big edge.”

M&T Bank Stadium will create a setting that is unlike any ACC Tournaments before this one.

The ACC Tournament is usually played in college facilities like UVa’s Klockner Stadium or North Carolina’s Fetzer Field. The capacities of those two facilities pale in comparision to the 69,000 seats at M&T Bank Stadium, though only the lower tier of the stadium will be utilized this weekend.

“I think the venue itself is a treat for our players. I hear the chatter from our players about how excited they are about it. It does add a spark to the weekend. Of course, my first choice would be to play at Klockner but this is definitely my second choice,” Starsia quipped.

Starsia and most of the juniors and seniors have positive feelings about playing again at M&T Bank Stadium. The last time they played there, the Cavaliers defeated Johns Hopkins to capture the 2003 NCAA title.

“There is a little level of familiarity there that will be comforting for us,” Starsia said. “It will be nice to be back there again.”

Welsh had hand in drafted Cavs
UVa notes
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

More than four years after his retirement as Virginia football coach, George Welsh continues to share in Cavaliers milestones.

Of a school-record seven UVa players who were selected in the NFL Draft this past weekend, two were signed by Welsh and his staff and the other five committed during Welsh's last season in 2000.

One, nose tackle and Cleveland Browns draftee Andrew Hoffman, actually played for Welsh.

"I'm surprised that somebody noticed," said Welsh, who still has an office in the UVa athletic department.

When the Cavaliers went 6-6 in Welsh's last season, then followed that with their first losing season (5-7) in 14 years, there was reason to wonder if the talent level had slipped.

"It looked that way at the beginning," Welsh said. "As it turned out, obviously, the cupboard was not bare."

When it was announced on Dec. 11, 2000, that Welsh was retiring, UVa had 15 commitments and was expecting a 16th that day from Fork Union Military Academy quarterback Marques Hagans.

UVa eventually lost All-America fullback Rikki Cook, who signed with Rutgers and later transferred to North Carolina, and Winston-Salem, N.C., defensive end Mark Jetton, who signed with Clemson and transferred to Elon, but there were few defections.

New coach Al Groh and his staff held onto tight ends Heath Miller and Patrick Estes, tailback Alvin Pearman, offensive lineman Elton Brown and defensive end Darryl Blackstock, whom they actually re-recruited one year later out of Fork Union. All were drafted Saturday or Sunday, as were Hoffman and third-round pick Chris Canty out of the 1999-2000 recruiting class.

"I'll tell you what helped - and I think it's helped Al - is having the stadium renovated," Welsh said. "They were all in for a recruiting weekend [in December 2000] and, before that, they'd all been up for a game."

Captains named

Defensive end Brennan Schmidt, held out of spring football after undergoing shoulder surgery, will serve as one of Virginia's captains for the second year in a row. Schmidt will be joined by Hagans, tailback Wali Lundy and cornerback Tony Franklin. ... As expected, San Diego linebacker Darren Childs was admitted to school and becomes UVa's 23rd football recruit.

Pitching rich

Overshadowed by Virginia's three-game baseball sweep of No. 4-ranked Georgia Tech was a 9-3 victory Wednesday over William and Mary. The Cavaliers are 9-1 against in-state teams this season and 19-2 in two seasons under head coach Brian O'Connor.

UVa, which plays three-game series against ACC opponents over 10 consecutive weekends, historically has struggled in mid-week intrastate contests. Those teams often would send out their No.1 starters, hoping to feast on UVa's high RPI, while the Cavaliers would save their best for ACC play.

Pitching depth has been a top priority for O'Connor, whose freshman class includes pitchers Pat McAnaney (6-0, 1.93 earned-run average), Sean Doolitte (1-0, 1.16 ERA, 41 strikeouts in 31 innings) and Robert Poutier (3-1, 0.50 ERA). UVa's 2.76 ERA going into the William and Mary game ranked sixth in Division I.

Lacrosse showdown

Virginia has been ranked as high as No. 1 in women's lacrosse and No. 2 in men's lacrosse, but neither of UVa's lacrosse teams is top-seeded for this weekend's ACC tournaments in Baltimore.

The UVa women, the defending champions in Division I, went undefeated on the road but lost three home games. The UVa men, winners of the 2003 national championship, suffered their most lopsided loss since 1959 when Duke drilled them 17-2 two weeks ago.

The Cavalier men (8-2) have enjoyed a major resurgence after last season, when they went 5-8 and failed to make the NCAA Tournament. Moreover, they've done it without senior attackman Joe Yevoli, the leading point scorer among active ACC players going into this year. Yevoli, who underwent back surgery, is taking a redshirt year.

Budding dynasty

After going 50 years without an ACC men's tennis championship, Virginia won its second in a row Sunday in Cary, N.C., and should be a force for years to come.

The Cavaliers did not have a senior in the lineup that defeated Florida State in the final, 4-1, and two of UVa's top four singles players are freshmen, Somdev Devvarman from Chenai, India, and Treat Huey from Alexandria.

"That kid from India is the best freshman in the country," said Florida State coach Dwayne Hultquist, whose team lost a doubles match - two, in fact - for the first time since January. "They have the most talent [in the ACC]. That is pretty clear."

NCAA-bound

The Virginia women's golf team, ranked 29th nationally in its second year of existence, is seeded eighth out of 21 teams for the NCAA East Regional from May 5-7 in Gainesville, Fla. UVa's five-player lineup is composed of four sophomores and one freshman.

New job for Byington

Salem graduate Mark Byington, who spent last season on Pete Gillen's staff as UVa's director of basketball operations, was named an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky on Thursday.

Byington, a former UNC-Wilmington player and ex-College of Charleston assistant, had been overseeing the UVa basketball office during Virginia's recent coaching search. He joins the staff of new Colonels coach Jeff Neubauer, formerly a West Virginia assistant.

Balancing the books
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
April 28, 2005

Thursday in Indianapolis, the university presidents who make up the NCAA's Board of Directors are expected to do something deep down they know they shouldn't: extend the college football season from 11 to 12 games.

The impetus for the extra game is solely and completely to make money (an average of $1.5 million per school). There is no other reason for it, which runs in direct contrast with the mission of the NCAA. But with schools overwhelmed by their outrageous athletic largesse, expect situational ethics to be applied.

Besides, it is not like student-athletes have a way to voice a protest.

All you need to know about the state of college athletics can be found by following the money, or waste thereof. For example, let's follow it all the way to Charlottesville, Va.

In 2001, the University of Virginia was snookered into giving men's basketball coach Pete Gillen federal judge-like job security with a 10-year, $11 million contract. By 2005, the marriage was over and the school bought out the deal for $2 million.

After whiffing on a number of top candidates, Virginia hired DePaul's Dave Leitao at nearly $1 million per year for five years. But to do so they had to pay DePaul a fee which has been reported to be between $1.5 million and $3 million. (UVA media relations director Rich Murray wouldn't clarify Wednesday, so let's split the difference and go with $2.25 million.)

Meaning Virginia, which hasn't won an ACC championship since 1976, will spend about $5.2 million on head basketball coaches this year.

We repeat: $5.2 million on basketball coaches.

How is this necessary?

In 2006, the school is opening an opulent $130 million basketball arena, even though the old University Hall was perfectly suitable. The new place will seat 15,000 even though Charlottesville has just 39,000 residents and UVA hoops averaged 7,617 fans last year.

State politicians declined to provide a single dime of public money, leaving UVA to raise the funding itself.

Of course, getting that $130 million together hasn't been easy. Murray says $88 million has been raised thus far. Luxury box and premium seating revenue is expected to help, but that requires an open arena and a winning team.

The school won't say as much, but if another $42 million isn't found by next year, it will be forced to meet construction costs with a loan that will cost millions more in debt service.

All of this bumbling, stumbling management, multi-million dollar mistakes and mega-debt exposure would get you fired in the private sector, but not in college athletics, where spending like the Hilton sisters is the norm.

But even here the millions add up, and someone has to pay the piper, which is why the NCAA is willing to turn its back on its core mission and squeeze the student-athletes for every last penny.

Whether it is more games and more bowls, mid-week television deals, conference championship football games and basketball tournaments, or increased travel in overexpanded leagues, the players are stuck making up for the suits' mistakes.

Athletic directors make terrible businessmen, because few have ever been in business. They have deplorable track records of hiring and firing coaches, where politics and perception rule, because few have ever coached.

And when it comes to negotiating contracts, the AD almost always gets bamboozled by the coach's more cunning agent.

It's not just Virginia, which is no better or worse than most. It is nearly everyone.

East Carolina is currently paying three head football coaches. Tennessee is paying three basketball coaches, including Jerry Green who was fired even though he led the school to the NCAA tournament in each of his four seasons.

Meanwhile, facility construction has become an ego-driven game of luxurious million-dollar locker rooms, Fortune 500-caliber coaching offices and ornate lobbies – all in the name of competitiveness.

The reason Virginia built the new stadium is because the University of Maryland already had. The reason Maryland did is because Ohio State (which has spent $300 million recently on facilities) already had. And so on.

Which brings us to the 12th game, the most blatant example of educators trying to balance their books on the backs of their students. One more Saturday means one more big check to cover one more big mistake.

Naturally, when the proposed change came to an NCAA subcommittee earlier this month, these ethical and educational issues weighed so heavily on the members that not a single word of debate was heard before near-unanimous passage.

So now it goes to the presidents, the self-proclaimed moral compass of the NCAA, who are expected to ignore missed study time and misplaced priorities to help fund a broken system of excess.

And then they'll wonder why some kid takes a handout from a booster.

NCAA approves 12th game
More money trumps concerns about strains on athletes, academics
DAVID SCOTT
Staff Writer

If there is a mixed message in the NCAA's decision Thursday to allow Division I-A football teams to play a 12th regular-season game beginning in 2006, the president doesn't see it.

Myles Brand, who has said skyrocketing expenses and academic strains are college athletics' biggest worries, endorsed Thursday's vote by the NCAA's Division I board of directors. The board's Division I-AA members rejected the measure.

"I don't see it as a defeat, but I don't see it as a solution either," said Brand. "I think we have a willingness of student-athletes and fans to (have) a 12th game. These institutions need these additional financial revenues.

"If there's one problem that hasn't gone away, it's finding a way to limit the increase in expenditures. That didn't go away, but we didn't add to it."

The proposal passed by an 8-2-1 vote despite opposition by the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and the American Football Coaches Association. Representatives from the ACC were the only dissenting votes when the proposal passed the Division I Management Council this month.

"I guess we've got to be for it, if it was voted in," said N.C. State coach Chuck Amato, in Charlotte to speak to the Wolfpack Club booster organization. "Time goes on. That's progress. But I don't think it's got the best interests of the athletes in mind."

The 12th game, while not lengthening the season, will be played in place of a team's bye week. An extra game could be worth $2 million or more for some of the country's larger programs.

"That bye week is good for us to step back and take a breath, to get injuries healed," Amato said. "And it's also a good week to get caught up academically."

The board of directors is composed of college presidents, a group that has opposed a football championship playoff on the grounds it would take away from players' class time because of the increased number of games.

Kansas President Robert Hemenway, who chairs the board of directors, concedes Thursday's message is, at least, murky.

"I think we're in kind of a confusing period, to be honest," said Hemenway. "The (Bowl Championship Series) is trying to perfect its process and presidents have had a lot of skepticism about a playoff. We have to refine the processes and make them work as well as we can."

With the 12th game, the NCAA will consider making seven victories the number necessary to be bowl eligible, an increase from six.

Also, the board approved a measure that allows I-A schools to count one win against a I-AA school every year in determining bowl eligibility, starting with this season. The previous rule allowed I-A schools to count wins against I-AA opponents only once over a four-year period.

The board also adopted a rule that requires football programs to have an average home attendance of at least 15,000 once over a two-year period to retain I-A status.

Maryland men, women take ACC lacrosse shots
Both teams face Virginia in semis today at M&T; Navy hosts Patriot event
By Gary Lambrecht
Sun Staff
Originally published April 29, 2005

The Maryland men's lacrosse team will try to end any suspense regarding its NCAA tournament hopes when it faces Virginia tonight. North Carolina, a huge disappointment so far this spring, wants to prolong its desperate attempt to secure a postseason tournament bid by upsetting Duke, which sports the most prolific offense in the nation.

The women's team from Maryland thinks it can make a run at its sixth league-tournament title, but also will have to get past Virginia today to give itself a chance. The Terrapins probably would have to upend another high-scoring, top-seeded Duke team to complete its mission.

And all of it will play out at M&T Bank Stadium, where the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament is being staged for the first time and is the hub in a lacrosse-packed weekend.

Besides the ACC tournament, during which the men's and women's divisions will conduct their respective semifinal games during a long day of action today before concluding with championship games on Sunday, there are numerous other options for fans of the sport.

The festivities actually began last night at M&T and The Senator Theatre.

North Carolina routed Virginia Tech, 15-5, yesterday at M&T in the play-in game of the women's tournament to advance to today's semifinal game against top-seeded Duke. Boys' Latin beat St. Paul's, 13-10, in the first-ever high school game at the home of the Ravens.

Simultaneously, the documentary, Keeper of the Kohn, which chronicles Baltimore native Peter Kohn's last season as the equipment manager for the Middlebury College lacrosse team and his induction into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame, was shown to benefit the U.S. Lacrosse Youth Equipment Grant Program

Back on the field today, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, fourth-ranked Navy will play host to the two-day, four-team Patriot League tournament for the second year in a row.

The Midshipmen, who, as the tournament's top-seeded team, are trying to solidify a possible top four seed in the 16-team NCAA tournament, will take on Lehigh today in the semifinals. Should the Mids advance, as expected, they would play the winner of today's Bucknell-Army semifinal in Sunday's title game.

Then there's the neighborhood battle tomorrow at Towson University, where the 12th-ranked Tigers will try to derail top-ranked Johns Hopkins, the only undefeated (10-0) team left in Division I.

"We're looking forward to coming up there [to M&T Bank Stadium] and trying to reach another one of our goals, and it should be a great atmosphere," said Duke men's coach Mike Pressler, whose Blue Devils have been great all spring and will take on fourth-seeded North Carolina.

Off to a 13-1 start and 3-0 in regular-season ACC play for the first time, top-seeded Duke, ranked No. 2 in the country, is the clear favorite and is coming off a recent, 17-2 rout of second-seeded, third-ranked Virginia.

The Blue Devils have the game's most dynamic freshman in attackman Zack Greer, who is second in the country with 43 goals. They have a strong Player of the Year candidate in sophomore Matt Danowski, who leads the nation with 63 points (34 goals, 29 assists). They lead the NCAA with 13.39 goals per game, have allowed just 6.3 goals per game, and their only defeat came in double overtime three weeks ago at Hopkins.

A year after missing the NCAA tournament with a 5-8 record, Duke is poised to eliminate a 5-7 North Carolina squad that was picked to win the ACC. The Tar Heels, who lost seven of their first nine games, must win the ACC tournament to make it to the national tournament. First, they must pull off a huge upset.

Maryland (6-5) is feeling better about its NCAA tournament chances after last week's 9-6 win at No. 17 Fairfield. Even if it loses to Virginia, Maryland could secure a winning record and an at-large bid to the NCAAs with a victory at unranked Penn (2-10) next week. A victory over Virginia tonight would make the Terps a lock, given their strength of schedule and their season-opening victory over No. 6 Georgetown.

Nearly four weeks ago, the Terps suffered a 10-2 rout at Virginia, which is led by All-America candidate Matt Ward on attack. The Cavaliers (9-2) have lost only to Hopkins and Duke.

"[Virginia] bullied us at the offensive end of the field. Their [defense] physically dominated our attack and midfield," Maryland coach Dave Cottle said. "The good news is we beat Fairfield. The bad news is we get to play Virginia."

Revenge on mind as Cavs enter Tourney
After 17-2 debacle against Duke earlier this season, Virginia aims for rematch in finals with first round win over Maryland today
Walker Freer, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

This weekend's ACC Men's Lacrosse Tournament will resonate with hopes for revenge. Whether it is Maryland hoping to avenge its 10-2 regular season loss to Virginia, Virginia looking for redemption after a 17-2 shellacking against Duke two weeks ago, or North Carolina looking to get its first conference win of the season, everyone is out for someone else's head.

For Virginia, this weekend's tournament held at M & T Bank Stadium in Baltimore could mean the difference between a No. 1 seed and hosting a first round game in the NCAA tournament or a tougher road to Philadelphia for the Final Four. Following the tournament's two-day schedule, No.2 Duke (13-1) and North Carolina (5-7) go head-to-head in the first semifinal Friday at 6 p.m., while No.3 Virginia (9-2) faces No.9 Maryland (6-5) in the second semifinal of the night at 8:30 p.m.

Although the Cavaliers soundly defeated the Terrapins in their first match up, Virginia had its most balanced offensive day of the season, something the Cavaliers have seen little of recently. The defense, especially senior Michael Culver, also stepped up to the plate, limiting star Maryland attackman Joe Walters to only one goal.

With only four participating lacrosse programs in the ACC, there is a feeling of familiarity among the players and coaches. Besides the annual regular season and possible ACC Tournament matchup, there is always the chance that two teams could meet for a third time in the NCAA Tournament.

For Virginia coach Dom Starsia, this familiarity does not change his game-day approach.

The game plans "are not particularly complicated preparations," Starsia said. "Not out of any lack of respect for anybody, but simply because we're so familiar with each other. In our case, almost our three most recent games were ACC games. At this point, [the game plan] is not going to change a great deal in a week's time."

While the game plan for Maryland likely will not be tampered with, an entirely new plan of attack will be needed should Virginia win and meet Duke in the championship game. In their first meeting, the Cavaliers were out-hustled and out-played in almost every aspect of the game by the Blue Devils. The lone bright spot was the play of senior midfielder Jack deVilliers who went 12-18 on face-offs. This statistic demonstrates possession, which generally leads to more shot opportunities. With that in mind, the fact that Virginia mustered only four first half shots and did not get on the board until midway through the third quarter is mystifying.

DeVilliers voiced the anxiousness of the team.

"Sometimes you're just not clicking with the person next to you," he said, reasoning for the loss. "I think everyone wants to get out there and prove that we're not the same team that was out there when we played Duke."

Fortunately for the Cavaliers, a bit of history is on their side.

In Virginia's 2003 National Championship season, the team fell to Maryland 8-7 in the regular season. While the teams didn't meet in the ACC tournament, Virginia was able to enact revenge with a 14-4 drubbing of the Terrapins in the NCAA Tournament semifinal, propelling it to a 9-7 win over Johns Hopkins in the final. If it takes another loss to get Virginia over the hump against the Blue Devils in Philadelphia, the Cavaliers surely will not mind. After all, just ask the 2003 squad how that turned out.

Returning champs face pressure of repeat performance
Maintaining mental edge over today's opponent Maryland, Cavaliers defeated Terrapins 15-8 in Charlottesville March 8
Adrian Vigil, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

All year long, the Virginia women's lacrosse team has had to operate knowing there was a target on its back. Today, that target will get much bigger as the ACC Women's Lacrosse Tournament begins and the No. 7 Cavaliers (12-3) attempt to defend last year's ACC Championship.

"I think any returning champion is expected to do well, especially when so many starters return," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "There is a lot of pressure, but it is also a totally different year. It's something we want to create as a team again, but we need to make sure we take care of [Maryland] first before we can begin thinking about what happens on Sunday."

The Cavaliers will face No. 8 Maryland today in the first of two semifinal games. No. 1 seed Duke and the winner of the North Carolina-Virginia Tech play-in game will compete at 3:30 p.m. Virginia will enter the game with the psychological advantage from a 15-8 win over the Terps in Charlottesville March 8.

"It's nice that we were able to play so well against them the first time," Myers said. "Hopefully, Maryland is a little bit nervous. But it is many months removed, and Maryland has improved, so we're going to have our hands full."

Maryland enters with a three-game winning streak. Even more impressive is that all three wins have come against ranked opponents. But the Terrapins have a streak that they would like to forget about -- and possibly reverse. Maryland has lost its last four meetings against Virginia.

Unfortunately for the Terps, they will run into a team that has both a powerful offense and a stingy defense. The Cavaliers are one of the few teams in both the top ten in scoring offense and in goals allowed. Having that much talent on the field has put Virginia in a good position to repeat. Repeating has been on the mind of Amy Appelt, one of the team's eight seniors.

"We saw how last year's seniors went out, with ACC and NCAA Championships," Appelt said. "I think we definitely want to go out the same way."

Myers maintains that despite the desire to repeat as champions, there is not a change in her team. In fact, Myers is trying to keep her team focused by keeping this tournament a part of the regular season.

"We still have to play Loyola [on May 3rd]," Myers said. "I view the ACC Tournament as being towards the end of the regular season."

Myers also is keeping her team focused on what it does best. According to the coach, the Cavaliers are making sure they can play their own style rather than needing to adjust to Maryland's game plan. Myers also emphasized the mental fortitude that will be crucial in the game.

"I don't think it's a totally different preparation," she said. "I think we need to make sure that we are physically and mentally sharp. I think Maryland is going to exert more pressure than they did [earlier], but we should be ready for it after playing in 16 other games."

Virginia players will look to draw on their experiences of both this season and last season when they play in Baltimore. With the right attitude, the Cavaliers could end up repeating as ACC champions.

Draft bears fruit for several Cavs, but reveals holes
Sean McLernon, Columnist

In a month usually dominated by Major League Baseball and the NBA playoffs, there is one weekend in April when these two sports are pushed into the background in favor of America's new favorite pastime.

It may be months before the beginning of the NFL season, but millions of sports fans were glued to ESPN last Saturday -- as they are on the third Saturday of every April -- to see where last season's NCAA football stars will begin their pro careers.

Virginia fans got to see the selection of seven Cavaliers in this year's draft, the highest number in school history. Only two schools had more players selected: perennial powerhouses Oklahoma (11) and Florida State (9).

Now wait a second, isn't this the same Virginia team that went to the MPC Computers Bowl and lost? Isn't this the same squad that fell to Virginia Tech, Miami and Florida State by an average of 18 points? Something is not right with this picture.

Only one Cavalier went in the draft's first 94 picks -- but that's only because likely first-rounders Ahmad Brooks and D'Brickashaw Ferguson elected to return to Virginia for their final year. Plus, several more Cavaliers signed contracts with NFL teams early this week. Safety Marquis Weeks was signed by the Seahawks just a few hours after the draft ended Sunday. Linebackers Isiah Ekejuiba and Dennis Haley, along with safety Jermaine Hardy, signed on the dotted line with an NFL squad the next day.

That means there are 11 Cavaliers from this year's team who professional scouts took a serious interest in, 13 if you include Brooks and Ferguson.

So if Virginia had this much talent on the field, why was the squad not more successful in 2004? Where did the Cavaliers go wrong?

The answer lies in the positions that these draftees played for the Cavaliers. Of the seven players picked, there were two tight ends (Heath Miller and Patrick Estes), two defensive linemen (end Chris Canty and nose tackle Andrew Hoffman), a running back (Alvin Pearman), a linebacker (Darryl Blackstock) and an offensive lineman (guard Elton Brown). There are a few positions that are noticeably absent on this list.

No, I'm not talking about quarterback. That position is not a concern. Although it would be great if Marques Hagans were taller, he is still a talented signal caller at 5-feet-10, and any talk of moving him to another position is foolish.

Think less about throwing and more about catching. Yep, you guessed it: wide receiver.

Virginia's No. 1 wideout last season was senior Michael McGrew, but he didn't come up on anybody's draft board. Even Virginia's second best tight end was picked in the draft, but McGrew hasn't been able to attract any interest among NFL teams, even as a free agent. Considering that the Cavaliers run a West Coast offense that predominantly features short passes out of the backfield, the fact that Virginia's go-to wide receiver isn't even on the radar screen of an NFL team is not a good sign.

On the defensive side of the ball, both of Virginia's starting safeties signed contracts Monday. But neither Weeks nor Hardy were signed to play that position in the NFL. Seattle plans to use Weeks as a running back while the Arizona Cardinals intend to play Hardy as a cornerback. While it is not incredibly rare to have a player switch positions upon entry into the NFL, the fact that Weeks' and Hardy's skill at the safety position was not considered a valuable commodity by any NFL squad reveals another weak spot for Virginia.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Virginia was hurting in the secondary and the receiving corps this past season. But watching the draft picks and the free agent signings unfold for several Cavaliers makes it clearer than ever that these are areas that need to be addressed.

If anything, the NFL Draft was a reminder to Virginia fans that last year's team was a talented bunch. Considering that these players were the first to be under the tutelage of Al Groh their entire playing careers at Virginia is a good sign for the future. But Groh and his staff need to do more than just produce future NFL stars -- they need to focus on recruiting players who can step up and perform in these positions where the Cavaliers need help the most.

Growth of Lacrosse Puts a Pinch on College Game
By Christian Swezey
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, April 29, 2005; D03

The popularity of lacrosse appears to be at an all-time high. The sport is moving quickly from a regional novelty to a national force, and its surge was the subject of a recent story in Sports Illustrated.

But the growth comes with a cost. And that cost likely will be felt in the Baltimore-Washington area, which beginning today will host the Patriot League and ACC tournaments, in Annapolis and Baltimore, respectively.

Lacrosse is sanctioned at high schools throughout California, Florida, Texas and Georgia, among other states. While the game grows at the middle school and high school level, however, Division I lacrosse remains stuck on 52 teams. That means more and more high school players are competing for a finite number of college scholarships.

"We've got to find a way to get the game to grow at the college level, and I'm not particularly optimistic we can do it," said Virginia Coach Dom Starsia, whose Cavaliers will face Maryland tonight in the ACC semifinals at M&T Bank Stadium. "We're trying to jam more and more stuff into the same sack. College lacrosse is bursting at the seams."

It is estimated that there is one college player for every 200 high school players.

"That one spot is pretty precious," Calverton Coach Jonathan Montes said. "I don't see any pressure on the developing areas. I see the pressure on areas where lacrosse has always been dominant. College coaches were happy getting a third-line midfielder from the MIAA [in Baltimore]. Now I don't think they're necessarily going to look for that player. I think they're going to look for the best possible athlete."

Said DeMatha Coach Dick Long: "Teams like Duke and Navy and Georgetown have athletes on their roster. Were they blue chip lacrosse players in high school? Probably not. They are good athletes who have learned lacrosse. I think it's going to be tougher for the kid who grows up with a lacrosse stick in his hand, who has excellent stickwork but might be a step slow. Before, their stickwork would get them onto a college team.

"The growth of the sport means some of these kids are going to get lost."

Navy's recent success appears to have played a significant role in the sport's exponential growth. The sport had its perfect storm last spring in Baltimore -- a final four that included Navy playing on Memorial Day; Syracuse attackman Michael Powell, a four-time, first-team all-American; Princeton attackman Ryan Boyle, a two-time Ivy League player of the year; and tradition-rich Johns Hopkins.

Syracuse won the title over Navy, 14-13, before a record crowd of 43,898.

"It depends on which teams make it, and having Navy really drove our attendance up, especially on the day of the championship," said John Williams, the director of NCAA championships. "I think that's why the TV ratings were so good, too. There are people associated with the academy all over the country."

The Midshipmen, who will play Lehigh at 2 p.m. today in the Patriot League semifinals, lead the nation with an average home attendance of 6,526. And they perhaps offer a glimpse into the sport's future.

Starting midfielder Graham Gill played club lacrosse because his high school did not offer the sport. Senior Ben Horn, who has a team-high 19 goals, is from outside San Francisco. Sophomore Will Wallace, who has the team's hardest shot and is one of the best faceoff men in the country, is from Bloomfield Village, Mich.

"One of my friends here is from Idaho, and he told me his 10-year-old brother just bought a lacrosse stick," Horn said. "So now there's a 10-year-old playing lacrosse in Idaho. . . . I mean, you don't need to be from Baltimore or Long Island to go outside and work on your shot. All you need is a stick and a ball and a goal. And a goalie, if you're really lucky."

Last year's record crowd doesn't appear to be an aberration. The final four in Philadelphia has sold 27,268 tickets as of Monday. At this time last year, they had sold 22,747; it was 13,742 in 2003. The semifinals and title game will be among the more than 30 games to be televised live this spring. It's a far cry from when the only TV games were the final four and championship game -- if that.

Bob Scott said he does not have a videotape of his final game as coach of Johns Hopkins, a win over Maryland in the 1974 NCAA championship game.

"I think they showed something, but I'm not sure if it was the whole game or highlights, and I don't have a film of it," he said. "The televised games have been a tremendous boost."

And there may be more to come.

"We think lacrosse is the next major college sport," said Brian Bedol, the president and co-founder of College Sports TV. "We're probably not a long way from having 100 games on in season. Now that's not all on the linear network, it's on broadband and OnDemand, too. But within two years I think that's what you'll see."