Henry lights a fire under Cavs
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
April 11, 2007

RICHMOND - Tim Henry is accustomed to splitting time with Mike Mitchell in centerfield.

The senior, however, is not comfortable losing mid-week games.

After watching Virginia’s players sluggishly troll through the first two innings on Tuesday, Henry gathered the team in the dugout and delivered an eye-opening pep talk.

It worked.

UVa scored in five of the game’s last seven innings and got 4.2 innings of scoreless work from its bullpen to cruise to an 8-1 victory over Virginia Commonwealth at The Diamond, the home of the Richmond Braves.

If losses to Duke and VMI last week did not send the team a wake-up call, Henry certainly did.

“I don’t know that I have seen Tim do that before,” said Virginia coach Brian O’Connor. “That’s just good leadership, and that means that there are a lot of people in our dugout that care about the right things.”

With the win, the Cavaliers improved to 30-7 overall. VCU (19-15) has now lost eight of the last 10 meetings in the series.

Virginia, which left 12 runners stranded on base, lived dangerously early - VCU loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, but came away with only one run off Cavalier starter Jeff Lorick (4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 K).

As Lorick kept the Rams in check, VCU starter Phillip Deane slowly lost control of the contest.

Deane, who took a no-hitter into the eighth inning a week ago against the Richmond Spiders, retired six of the first seven batters that he faced Tuesday, before giving up a lead-off double to Tyler Cannon in the third.

Virginia knotted the game two batters later after Mitchell advanced Cannon with a sacrifice bunt and Greg Miclat pushed an RBI bunt single down the first-base line.

“That was a big run for our team,” O’Connor said. “That gave us a lot of confidence against a really good pitcher.”

The Cavaliers took the lead for good with two runs in the sixth - Deane, who worked 5.1 innings, walked one batter and pushed two runs across by plunking four different Cavaliers.

In the seventh, UVa plated three more runs to take a 7-1 lead, sending most of the 2,237 fans in the crowd, which was a VCU record, scampering for the parking lot.

Virginia, which took advantage of eight hits, five VCU walks and six hit batsmen, used four pitchers in relief, including Michael Schwimer for 2.1 innings during the fifth, sixth and seventh frames. The right-hander earned the win on the mound to improve to 2-0.

“That was as good as Schwimer has pitched this season,” O’Connor said. “He was dominant tonight on the mound.”

For the Cavaliers, reaching the 30-win mark has never arrived quicker. In fact, Virginia first baseman Sean Doolittle was stunned to hear about the accomplishment.

“I didn’t know that tonight was our 30th win,” Doolittle said. “I think maybe that is a good thing because Coach O’Connor has us going after it day in and day out.

“When you do that, you tend to win the tight ball games and the games that drag out like tonight’s game did, and over the course of a season, that starts to add up.”

Virginia, which will play host to VCU on May 1, returns to action Friday as it welcomes Georgia Tech to Davenport Field for a three-game series.

 

Cavs will have hands full vs. Georgetown
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
April 11, 2007

During the 1980s, one of the most popular wrestlers in the WWF was a guy who used to make his entrance into the ring with a parrot in tow. His name was Coco Beware.

Today, on Senior Night at Klockner Stadium, the fifth-ranked Virginia women’s lacrosse team must beware of a Coco.

Georgetown’s Coco Stanwick is a first-team All-American and Tewaarton Trophy finalist. The senior gives every opponent fits.

“She’s the heart and soul of that team,” said Virginia coach Julie Myers.

Stanwick, a Baltimore native, has 37 goals and 17 assists this season for the No. 9 Hoyas (7-4). Her 54 points are seventh-best in the country.

In the team’s 14-3 win over Loyola (Md.) on Saturday, Stanwick scored four times as the Hoyas strung together 11 unanswered goals.

However, Stanwick’s true prowess is in draws. She has a team-leading 47 draw controls, which ranks third in the country. By comparison, Virginia’s leader is Brittany Kalkstein, who has 29.

“We haven’t had a player in the country in a long time that has been able to do what she has on draws,” Myers said. “She just has a knack for doing the right thing and an amazing stick, both her right and left hand.

“She dominates them and doesn’t make many mistakes when that ball is near her.”

Virginia defender Claire Bordley is well aware of Stanwick’s exploits. In the summer of 2003, she played with the Georgetown star on the United States Under-19 team.

“She’s an all-around player and an on-field leader,” Bordley said. “She does it all. You can’t just have one specific game plan for her. We definitely have a good task at hand in trying to contain her.

“She may not be the fastest girl on the field, but her field savvy is second to none.”

Myers said Virginia (10-2) will double-team Stanwick. Bordley, along with Jessy Moran and Jen Holden, will have their work cut out.

“We’ll hopefully disrupt her with some good pressure out of Jessy and Jen and then Claire will do the rest of the clean up,” Myers said.

Georgetown is 3-0 in the Big East this season, but 0-3 against the ACC. The Hoyas have lost to Duke, North Carolina and Maryland.

After losing in devastating fashion to Duke on March 31, No. 6 Virginia (10-2, 2-2) bounced back with a win at Old Dominion last Wednesday.

“We’ve got four games before the ACC Tournament and we’re taking them one at a time,” Bordley said, “but we’d love to go 4-0 and get some momentum. We realize this is a great opportunity for us.”

 

HOOS WHO: Scott Deke
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com
April 11, 2007

When Scott Deke laces up his cleats on the first day of September, the Virginia quarterback will essentially be in his backyard.

Sure, Wyoming is almost 1,100 miles from his doorstep in California, but with the exception of playing in a bowl game on the left coast, it would appear as good as it gets.

Deke would correct that point.

After biding his time holding clipboards and running scout teams for three years, Deke would love nothing more than to make his long-awaited Cavalier debut.

With anticipation of playing next season, whether as a starter or a backup to returning signal-caller Jameel Sewell, the right-hander has approached spring practice with a different attitude.

“I have to make myself ready every day because I want to be out there,” Deke said. “I want to be playing, so if my opportunity comes, I want to be able to shine.

“Jameel is obviously a fantastic player and was our starter last year and there isn’t any reason he shouldn’t be our starter next year, but if this team needs me and Jameel’s not ready from the [wrist] surgery, I have to be ready to step in, and that’s what I want to do.”

With the graduation of Christian Olsen and the premature departure of Kevin McCabe, it was only natural that Deke has watched his name climb up the Cavaliers’ depth chart.

“That is not strange to me. I think it is fortunate,” Deke said. “Now that I have the opportunity, I just want to make sure I take advantage of it and, if I practice hard every day, hopefully my name will continue to go up [the depth chart].”

Regardless of how Sewell’s wrist responds and the impact of incoming quarterback Peter Lalich, Virginia coach Al Groh said it has been beneficial to get Deke and redshirt freshman Marc Verica numerous reps this spring.

“This is the most turns that Scott Deke has ever gotten,” Groh said. “It certainly has been beneficial to him. He’s gotten the opportunity to show some things and do some things that he hasn’t previously.

“He’s got a much better idea of where the ball should go. His deal is going to be to improve his accuracy to go along with that.”

For now, Deke is just happy to be chasing his dream on the practice field.

“Getting back out here this spring is certainly better than waking up early and working out in the snow,” Deke chuckled. “It is always good to shake the cobwebs off and come out and work as a team.”

 

Sports Focus: U.Va. Football
Tight ends: a key for Cavs Virginia's pass offense could be tied to Santi's recovery from a disappointing 2006 campaign
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Apr 11, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE For all the preseason talk about "Tight End U," that was not a phrase often associated with the University of Virginia once the actual games started last year.

That Tom Santi, Jonathan Stupar and John Phillips are gifted football players is undeniable. Still, none of the Cavaliers' top three tight ends will look back on 2006 with particular fondess. U.Va. finished 5-7, in large part because of its struggles on offense.

An inexperienced line needed help trying to stop pass-rushers. That meant Virginia's tight ends had to spend more time blocking than running routes, especially during the first half of the season.

Even after the line stabilized, the tight ends never seemed fully integrated into the Cavaliers' passing game.

The combined statistics of Santi, Stupar and Phillips were modest: 46 catches for 430 yards and one touchdown.

"Last season was a challenge," Santi said. "I think it was a challenge for everybody."

Especially for Santi, who had capped the 2005 season by catching five passes for 128 yards at the Music City Bowl in his hometown of Nashville, Tenn., and who entered '06 as an all-ACC candidate.

He caught a career-high 29 passes last season but averaged only 8.7 yards per reception. Worse, the previously sure-handed Santi dropped more passes than he cares to remember.

"Nobody's going to judge me harder than I judge myself," he said after practice Saturday. "That's just the way I am. I was very disappointed with that."

U.Va.'s coaching staff put together a video that chronicled his drops, and "it wasn't technique," said Santi, a 6-5, 245-pound rising senior.

"It was just concentrating on the point of the ball at the last second and getting in a hurry trying to turn upfield too fast. I just got into bad habits and had to break them."

Santi is "a natural catcher," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "He's got too many drops for the ability he has to catch the ball."

And so the staff "told him, 'Look, you've got a history of catching the ball. Just relax and catch the ball,'" Groh said. "There have been some occasions where it's looked like he's just fought the ball a little bit, and then he kind of gets mad at himself when he drops it."

For all of Santi's troubles last season, only one Cavalier caught more passes: wide receiver Kevin Ogletree (52 receptions for 582 yards and four touchdowns). Late last month, however, Ogletree suffered a torn ACL in practice, and it's doubtful that he'll play this season. With Ogletree out, U.Va.'s most experienced wideout is rising junior Maurice Covington, who had six catches last season.

All of which has increased the importance of Santi and his fellow tight ends to Virginia's passing attack.

"I would think the total number of catches by that position will be up pretty good," Groh said. "It will have to be up for us."

Santi is the fastest of U.Va.'s tight ends, and look for him out wide often this season -- not only because of the loss of Ogletree, but also because of Rashawn Jackson's move from linebacker to fullback. In the absence of a true fullback last season, Santi often lined up in the backfield.

"Tom, if you look at him, he's not a fullback, although he's done a lot of those jobs well," Groh said. "He clearly isn't a wide receiver, but he's not one of these bulky tight ends, either."

In 11-on-11 work Saturday, Santi showed off his skills, twice breaking free in the end zone to catch touchdown passes. Groh wants to take advantage of Santi's speed, and Virginia figures to dive deeper into its playbook once starting quarterback Jameel Sewell fully recovers from a wrist injury.

"I don't think we've installed all the stuff we're going to do," Santi said. "We've got some new things that we've put in, but I think we're really just kind of scratching the surface right now in the spring."


 

Big E
Jeremy Root, Cavalier Daily Columnist

Iremember it like it was yesterday: standing in the student section at University Hall during Gillen's last season with my head in hands as senior power forward Elton Brown missed another free throw. What had happened to the player who was a runner-up McDonald's All-American, an honorable mention All-ACC as a freshman in 2001-02, the recipient of the team's most improved player award his sophomore year and an honorable mention All-ACC selection his junior year after averaging 14.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game?

We had such high hopes for him senior year with a new freshman point guard from Philadelphia by the name of Sean Singletary to take some of the pressure off the low post and allow Brown to develop into the player we all knew he could be. An all-ACC selection was a realistic goal.

Alas, Brown's senior campaign was an embodiment of the entire squad's season -- a disappointing one that ultimately led to Gillen's forced release.

Brown finished his career ranked 20th on Virginia's all-time scoring list with 1,356 points, but averaged under 13 points per game in 2004-05 and shot under 55 percent from the charity stripe. The Hack-a-Shaq became Hack-an-Elton and Big E became a liability at the end of close contests.

"In college I was handcuffed basically where it got to the point where I couldn't really play my game," Brown said. "At the same time it was frustrating knowing I had so much more to give and I couldn't give [it]. That hurt my own play and it hurt myself."

After being passed over in the NBA Draft April of that year, Virginia fans read Brown's name in the news, but not in the way they were hoping. May 13, 2005, Brown was arrested on weapons chargers after he allegedly pointed a handgun at a man in a Charlottesville shopping mall.

It made local headlines, but passed by relatively quickly as people took it to be another case of an athlete who didn't make the professional level and whose career was spiraling downward.

Yet, this classic case turned out to be anything but typical.

"I hadn't been myself when I didn't get drafted," Brown said. "I got in trouble. Lots of teams were interested in me when I left college, but I couldn't leave the state [after the legal trouble], couldn't show my talent. Everything happens for a reason. It made me a better person; it made me a better player."

Brown eventually made it to Houston and began to train at Velocity, a sports facility where players such as Rockets superstar Tracy McGrady and Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson had worked out.

From there, Brown went overseas to play basketball in Greece where he led the league in rebounding and began to restart his career.

His success in Europe pushed him to try his luck again in the United States with the NBA's Developmental League (D-League).

"If you're playing in the backyard to the NBA, they get to see you more, see your growth, your development," Brown said. "I figured I would go there so they could see me on a daily basis playing games and eventually get called up for an NBA team."

Brown caught on with the Colorado 14ers and just Sunday was selected to the Gatorade All D-League First Team. He was named to the D-League All-Star game in February and is currently averaging 18.0 points per game and 9.5 boards, good for 11th and third in the league, respectively.

"My coach said he drafted me for a reason and he wanted me to just go out and play," Brown said. "'If you feel like you can make the shot, just shoot it. Keep shooting if you miss.' He gave me the confidence I didn't have in a while."

It's been quite the roller coaster ride for the 6-foot-9, 250-pound low post player from Newport News, Va. But the uphill climb is still not complete. Brown's goals remain loftier than dominating the NBA's developmental program.

"I have a number of teams that are interested in me in the NBA," Brown said. "Teams are looking at me coming for summer league if I don't get called up for this [season]. From the sources I heard, from the general managers, scouts and speaking to my coach, next year I'll be in the NBA."

We wish you best of luck in that goal, Mr. Brown. Even if you don't catch on with an NBA team for an extended period, you've come much further than most expected and much further than many before you who were placed in similar scenarios.

I had my doubts watching you at the free line of U-Hall two years ago and reading about your off-the-court issues. Those doubts exist no longer.

 

A glimpse at the gridiron
Eric Kolenich, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

I'll be honest. I usually don't buy the hype about Virginia football 4 ˝ months before the season starts.

But for some reason, maybe because as a rising fourth year, I am faced with my last chance to see Virginia football in all its glory, I've found myself the slightest bit interested in this Saturday's spring game, which starts at 2 p.m.

I know, I know. I'm a sucker. It happens every year. A season starts with great potential and ends with abject disappointment and a minor bowl game. But I don't care. I'm in on the 2007 squad and I'm ready to see what they bring to the field this week.

Fans will finally get their first glimpse of glory this weekend. Like any other season, we've got plenty of questions to be answered.

The first of these is a question even infrequent football fans tend to ask: what's the deal with Al Groh?

Football pundits have debated this offseason whether or not Groh is on the hot seat this year. Some are saying another miserable season will end Groh's career in C-ville, while others believe that no matter what happens to Groh in his seventh season, he's not at risk to lose his job.

Groh's contract lasts through the 2010 season. It also stipulates that should Virginia fire him "without cause," like not winning enough, he will receive his salary (about $2 million) times the number of years left in his contract. In other words, should Virginia fire him at the end of 2007, they'll owe him $6 million. And that's the reason why many have come to believe that Groh is safe in 2007. But if the wins don't go up this season, it will only get easier and easier for the athletic department to cut Groh's contract early. As for now, we all hope this will be a non-issue.

Meanwhile, questions still arise on the field. Seniors Chris Gould and Noah Greenbaum are competing for the position of placekicker. Gould went 11 for 19 last year, while Greenbaum was one for two.

Sophomore quarterback Jameel Sewell is undergoing a shorter practice schedule due to surgery on his wrist during the offseason. Virginia recruited quarterback Peter Lalich from Springfield, Va., who is considered one of the top QB's in the nation. At this point, no one knows whether he will redshirt in 2007 or if he will suit up immediately. Should Groh redshirt him and Sewell struggle early, expect fans to raise fury and call for Littlepage to exercise his $6 million option on Groh.

In general, the 2007 edition of the Cavaliers have more reasons to smile than frown. Virginia had 19 of 22 starters returning for 2007 until junior wide receiver Kevin Ogletree tore his ACL, taking himself off the roster until 2008. That lowered the number to 18. Of the four spots to fill, three are offensive ball carriers.

On defense, the Cavaliers return an impressive squad led by senior Chris Long. Behind him are junior Jon Copper and sophomore Jeffrey Fitzgerald. Both had breakout seasons last year and are entering their second year as starters for the defense. With another year of experience under their belts, the defense should compete just as well as it did last year, if not better. Copper and Fitzgerald stand as two of the brightest spots on the Virginia roster going in to this week's spring game.

The fact is, we should expect a lot from this year's squad. They have plenty of starters fighting to keep their jobs, a stellar defense and fairly easy schedule.

A quick glance at the 2007 schedule brings a smile to my face. The hardest road opponent Virginia faces is a tattered, rebuilding Miami program Nov. 10. Virginia gets the luxury of playing at home against Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. The Hokies seems to be the only national contender Virginia faces all season and the only game we have little chance of winning.

With an out-of-conference schedule consisting of Wyoming, Middle Tennessee State, Pittsburgh and Connecticut, and competition in a notoriously weak ACC, we should all have high expectations for 2007. A 10-win season for Virginia is quite possible. An eight-win season is a must.

But we're miles from knowing if the Cavaliers have six wins, eight wins or even 10 wins in them. Saturday will help answer much more basic questions, like how Sewell's wrist is working, or who is most likely to take Ogletree's starting wide receiver spot.

I can be realistic. I know that an easy schedule, a load of returning starters and a talented defense don't guarantee a winning season. But this is my last chance. Why not get my hopes up? Like always, odds are with the Cavaliers. And even if they do take a rather characteristic Cavalier plunge, I'm along for the ride. Who's got a parachute?

 

Guyer guides Cavaliers into The Diamond
Virginia takes on VCU after downing Duke, Guyer tries to hit safely for 22nd straight game
Eric Kolenich, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor

The Virginia baseball team travels to Richmond today to take on VCU at The Diamond. Virginia (29-7, 10-5 ACC) is coming off a two out of three series victory against Duke (22-13, 3-12 ACC) last weekend, Virginia's fourth consecutive ACC win. Duke managed to bag Saturday's game with four runs in the fourth inning, adding five in the fifth alone."I was disappointed in [Saturday] night's loss just because of the way that we played," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "I felt like we played soft, and we can't play the game that way. That's not what got us to this point in this program. They put us on our heels a little bit [Saturday] and I thought we didn't handle it real well, but I thought we came back [Sunday] and played the game the right way."Junior left-handed pitcher Sean Doolittle pitched well Sunday. The southpaw allowed just one unearned run, four hits and a walk during six innings. O'Connor went to the bullpen for the final three innings, tapping junior Michael Schwimer for two scoreless innings. Senior Casey Lambert came in for the final inning to secure the victory. The two allowed only three hits in their three innings of work.

"Even though you're in the ACC and you're playing against tough teams, they did surprise us a little bit with the way they kept after it, their intensity level, their fight," Doolittle said. "They weren't giving up all weekend long; they played very hard. Their ACC record does not reflect how good of a team they are."Doolittle said Duke's recent record made the win that much sweeter."It's a little bit more of a sense of accomplishment to see the teams that they've beaten the past two weeks -- Georgia Tech and Florida State -- knowing that they have that caliber a ball club that can beat teams like that," he said. "They're a very good ball club. For us to bounce back today like we did is something that I'm really excited about."Junior Brandon Guyer, the most dominant offensive force in Virginia's lineup, went two for four with a two-run homerun. Guyer also managed two runs and three RBIs. The home run was his third in the last four games."I'm just trying to put the ball in play -- just trying to simplify things," Guyer said. "[I'm] not trying to do too much, just whatever I can to help the team. That's what I've been doing, and it worked out so far, and the team's been winning."Guyer's hitting streak is now to 21 games, the longest of his career. The streak passes sophomore Greg Miclat's previous team high of 20."[Guyer] has really stepped up for us all year; he's our leading hitter," O'Connor said. "He hit two big home runs this weekend. He's a tough player, he's going to make the diving catches and he's turned himself into a really good outfielder."Freshman left-handed pitcher Jeff Lorick is set to pitch today's game on the Virginia side while VCU has not yet formally announced its starting pitcher. Freshman Phillip Deane, who led the Rams on the mounds for its last two mid-week games versus Richmond and VMI, remains a probable starting candidate.VCU stands 19-13 overall and 17-6 on their home field. First baseman Jared Bolden has performed well offensively for the Rams, hitting .437 with a .627 slugging percentage.

Bolden has also served as pitcher for two innings this season. The game is set to begin at 7 p.m.