Petit named U.Va. goalie
Saturday, Apr 05, 2008 - 12:07 AM

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Since graduating from Collegiate School in 2004, Bud Petit has been best known as the No. 2 goalie for one of the NCAA's premier lacrosse programs.

Today, Petit will step into a leading role. He'll start in the cage for fourth-ranked Virginia (0-1 ACC, 9-1 overall) against No. 6 North Carolina (0-2, 7-2) in Chapel Hill. ESPNU will televise the 4 p.m. game.

"I think Bud gives us the best chance to be successful," U.Va. coach Dom Starsia said yesterday.

After redshirting in 2004, Petit backed up Kip Turner for the next three seasons, starting only once during that span -- versus Manhattan in February 2005. Now a graduate student, the 6-4 Petit battled Adam Ghitelman for the starting job this year, but Starsia went with the 5-9 freshman from Long Island, N.Y.

With Ghitelman as their starter, the Cavaliers didn't lose until last weekend, when Maryland hammered them 13-7. But Ghitelman's save percentage (49.7 percent) is by far the lowest of the ACC's starting goalies, and he's clearly been pressing.

"Bud's had a good week," Starsia said, "and I feel as much as anything it'll give Adam a chance to catch his breath. . . . What happens next week, I don't know."

Petit has played in four games this season, allowing four goals and making eight saves. In 29 career appearances, he has given up 52 goals and made 48 saves.

Petit won't be the only Collegiate graduate in today's game. His U.Va. teammates include Mike Thompson, while another former Cougar, Michael Jarvis, plays for UNC.

-- Jeff White

 

Cavaliers Tussle with Tar Heels in Chapel Hill
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 04/04/2008
Courtesy: David Petkofsky/UVa Media Relations

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—Despite last week’s 13-7 setback against Maryland, Virginia head coach Dom Starsia refuses to adopt a “Chicken Little—The Sky is Falling” mentality as his team prepares to face sixth-ranked North Carolina tomorrow afternoon in Chapel Hill.

“It’s funny how radically different you feel after a win and a loss,” he said earlier this week. “The swing in either direction is so unbelievable. After watching the film a couple of times on the bus ride back and again ... on Sunday morning ... I would say that it was less about our effort and just more about out performance.

“I thought we were ready to play. I think we carried the play to Maryland in the first quarter of the game, but we couldn’t score enough to make it easy on ourselves. They’d get a couple of goals and we were creating good opportunities but not finishing.

“We’ve got to take from the game things that we need to get better at and also the things that we can say, ‘look, we can build on some of these things we did. ‘”

Several areas the team undoubtedly wants to improve upon this week include faceoffs and defensive play.

Playing extensively for the first time, sophomore Brian McDermott won just two of 15 faceoffs last week and has fallen below 50 percent for the year (.477). Freshman Garett Ince won four of six and is likely to take on a bigger role this week. Starsia noted after the Maryland game that he wished he had played Ince more. Fellow rookie Nick Elsmo could also get some turns at the X this weekend.

McDermott and company aren’t the only players seeing their first action in key spots. Adam Ghitelman has started the entire season in goal with varying results. He had 14 saves on the big stage at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium to highlight the win over Syracuse early in the season. He had several point blank stuffs against Johns Hopkins. But he had a rough outing against Stony Brook before being replaced by fifth-yearman Bud Petit.

Should Petit get the start it would be his first start since the Manhattan contest three years ago. That season Starsia alternated him and Kip Turner by halves before settling on Turner, who took the team to the national semifinals that season.

The 7-2 Tar Heels are coming off an impressive 13-8 win over Johns Hopkins at Homewood last weekend. They jumped out to a 4-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and built the lead to 11-3 after three quarters on the way to their first win at Homewood in 14 years.

The North Carolina offense features a balanced attack and a deep midfield. Four players have scored at least 10 goals, while eight have registered at least 10 points.

Junior goalie Grant Zimmerman keys an experienced defense that features two seniors and a junior on close defense.

“I think Grant Zimmerman has been playing probably as good a first half of the season as any goalie in the country overall,” Starsia noted.

“This is a game that is going to require our best effort,” Starsia said. “From our reaction in practice earlier this week, we certainly think that our players understand that and are ready to play their best.”

Faceoff is set for 4 p.m. The game is being televised on ESPNU. Radio coverage is provided by WINA, AM 1070.

 

Virginia Rolls to 5-2 Win at No. 10 North Carolina
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Courtesy: David Petkofsky/UVa Media Relations

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Top-ranked Virginia recorded its eighth top-10 victory of the season with a 5-2 win over No. 10 North Carolina Friday night at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (22-0, 8-0 ACC) are the only remaining team undefeated in ACC play after handing the Tar Heels (15-4, 5-1) their first league defeat.

The Cavaliers took the early 1-0 advantage by winning the doubles point. Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and Ted Angelinos (Athens, Greece) fell behind 5-2 at No. 3 against David Stone and Tristan Heinrich, but rolled off six straight games to win 8-5. Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) and Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) topped Chris Kearney and Taylor Fogelman 8-6 at No. 1 doubles to clinch the opening point.

In singles, the Cavaliers quickly made the score 3-0 with a pair of easy wins. At No. 1, Devvarman cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Benjamin Carlotti at the No. 1 position, while Angelinos dismantled Will Plyler 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 singles. North Carolina cut the lead to 3-1 as Kearney snapped Sanam Singh’s (Chandigarh, India) 20-match winning streak at No. 4 singles. Singh played valiantly despite missing practice most of the week due to a minor injury, and fought hard against a hot player in Kearney. Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) clinched the match with a come-from-behind win at No. 5 singles against Fogelman. After dropping the first set 6-2, Shabaz rolled off nine straight games to win the second set 6-0 and take a 3-0 lead in the final set en route to winning it 6-2. The Tar Heels picked up their only other point at No. 2 singles as Hardy edged Inglot 7-6 (5), 7-5. In the final match on the courts, Huey topped Clay Donato in a third set superbreaker to make the final score 5-2.

The win was Virginia’s 25th consecutive ACC victory against ACC competition, setting a new school record. The previous record of 24 was set from 2004 to 2006.

The Cavaliers will conclude the road portion of their regular season schedule on Sunday as they visit No. 41 Duke. Match time at the Ambler Tennis Center is 1 p.m.

No. 1 Virginia 5, No. 10 North Carolina 2

Doubles:
1. #1 Devvarman/Huey (UVa) def. #10 Kearney/Fogelman (UNC) 8-6
2. #43 Donato/Hardy (UNC) def. Inglot/Shabaz (UVa) 9-8 (3)
3. #45 Angelinos/Singer (UVa) def. Stone/Heinrich (UNC) 8-5

Singles:
1. #1 Somdev Devvarman (UVa) def. Benjamin Carlotti (UNC) 6-3, 6-1
2. #73 Stefan Hardy (UNC) def. #9 Dominic Inglot (UVa) 7-6, 7-5
3. #31 Treat Huey (UVa) def. Clay Donato (UNC) 7-5, 3-6, 10-5
4. #83 Chris Kearney (UNC) def. #125 Sanam Singh (UVa) 6-2, 6-2
5. Michael Shabaz (UVa) def. Taylor Fogelman (UNC) 2-6, 6-0, 6-2
6. Ted Angelinos (UVa) def. Will Plyler (UNC) 6-0, 6-0

Order of Finish: Doubles- 3,1,2 • Singles- 1,6,4,5,2,3
Records: Virginia (22-0, 8-0 ACC), North Carolina (15-4, 5-1 ACC)

 

No. 14 Baseball Falls in Series Opener at No. 2 Florida State
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Courtesy: Jim Daves/UVa Media Relations

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The 14th-ranked Virginia baseball team dropped a 10-3 decision at No. 2 Florida State Friday night in front of 5,722 spectators at Dick Howser Stadium.

Jeremy Farrell (Jr., Westlake, Ohio) hit a two-run home run, his sixth of the season, for Virginia, while Patrick Wingfield (Sr., Winchester, Va.) added two hits. Tony Delmonico went 4-for-5 to highlight the Seminoles’ 17-hit night.

Virginia starting pitcher Jacob Thompson (Jr., Danville, Va.) pitched 6.1 innings and allowed seven runs (six earned), 11 hits and five walks while striking out one. He took the loss and fell to 4-1 this season while suffering his first defeat since June 4, 2006, vs. Evansville – a span of 23 games in which he earned 15-consecutive wins.

FSU starter Matt Fairel (7-0) earned the win after tossing seven innings and allowing two earned runs, six hits and three walks while fanning seven.

Virginia (24-7, 8-5 ACC) cracked the scoreboard in its first at bat, as Farrell ripped a two-run home run to left field to score David Adams (Jr., Margate, Fla.) and give the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead. The hit stretched Farrell’s hit streak to 10 games, tying a career high from his freshman season.

Florida State (26-3, 12-1) scored four in the bottom of the first inning. Buster Posey tripled with one out to score Tyler Holt, and Jack Rye followed with a groundout to score Posey and tie the game. After Dennis Guinn walked and Delmonico singled, Tommy Oravetz singled to score Guinn, and Delmonico scored on the play on a UVa fielding error.

The Seminoles added two runs in the third inning. Delmonico hit a run-scoring single with one out and after a sacrifice bunt, Ohmed Danesh singled to plate Delmonico and give FSU a 6-2 advantage.

In the seventh inning, FSU added a run on a groundout by Mike McGee to score Delmonico. The Seminoles tacked on three runs in the eighth on back-to-back solo home runs by Jason Stidham and Posey off Kevin Arico (Fr., Flemington, N.J.) and a run-scoring single from McGee.

Virginia scored its final run in the ninth inning on a Greg Miclat (Jr., Concord, N.C.) groundout to plate Wingfield.

Game two of the series is at 7 p.m. Saturday and will be webcast by ACC Select.

 

'Noles get to Virginia's ace
FSU lights up All-American junior for six runs in win
By Steve Ellis
DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER

When Jacob Thompson is on, he is All-American on.

With a 93 mph fastball that is downright unhittable when he locates it, Virginia's Thompson took to the mound with 15 consecutive victories dating to the final game of his freshman season in 2006.

None of that mattered to the Florida State Seminoles as they stepped to the plate Friday night. FSU reached the junior for a career-tying six earned runs on the way to a 10-3 victory.

"Our mentality was to come out and jump up on that fastball because he has a pretty good curveball," said shortstop Tony Delmonico, who went 4 for 5 against No. 14 Virginia. "We definitely made him feel uncomfortable in the first inning. After that he got rattled a little bit.

"He's a good pitcher but we took it to him. Sometimes the game plan comes through and it sometimes it doesn't."

It did in a big way for No. 3 FSU (26-3, 12-1 ACC) in front of a crowd of 5,722, which handed Virginia (24-7, 8-5) its worst ACC defeat of the season. The Seminoles received a six-hit effort in seven innings from Matt Fairel (7-0).

In its first encounter with Thompson (4-1), FSU struck for four runs in the first inning on its way to scoring six runs on 11 hits off the right hander. The 6-foot-6 Thompson, a first-team All-American as a sophomore, is Virginia's all-time Virginia leader with 25 victories in just 2½ years. He also walked five.

"He's not pitching his best baseball right now. We know that," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "He's better that what he did today — no discredit to Florida State."

"They have a great offensive ball club. But he just didn't put the pitches where he needed to and to their credit, he hit them."

Down 2-0, FSU scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Tyler Holt opened with a walk and a batter later, Buster Posey tripled to bring him in as part of a three-hit inning that also included a Virginia error.

With Thompson out of the game, FSU put it way out of reach in the eighth on consecutive home runs from Jason Stidham and Posey, their 7th and 9th respectively this season.

"That one felt good," Posey said of his towering shot over the scoreboard.

Thompson's counterpart, Fairel, continued to embrace his role as FSU's ace that he took over three weeks ago.

If not for a bungled run-down in the first inning, Fairel would have escaped the first inning without a run. Instead, David Adams scampered back to first and Jeremy Farrell hit a home run for a 2-0 Virginia lead.

Fairel tied a career-high with seven strikeouts. Fairel's outstanding season may lead to a tough decision for the left hander in June. Although just a sophomore, he'll be eligible for the draft because he'll turn 21 on July 8.

For now, Martin won't dwell on that. Fairel said he won't either.

"Matt Fairel is what it's all about," Martin said. "He gives us seven good innings and just had all his pitches going.

"We just had a lot of guys who met that challenge (of Thompson starting for Virginia) in different ways.

"Jacob Thompson is one of the best in the league. Matt Fairel felt challenged and took care of things."

Noteworthy

If tonight's game is rained out, the two teams will play a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday.

 

Cavaliers cautious with Zeglinski's rehab
Groh hails linebacker corps
By Doug Doughty

Generally speaking, coaches clam up when talk turns to injuries, but there are just enough exceptions that a reporter has to keep asking.

Such was the case Monday, when Virginia men’s basketball coach Dave Leitao participated in a season-wrapping teleconference that lasted nearly 30 minutes.

It was the first time Leitao had gone into much depth about sophomore forward Will Harris, a prognosis that was published in The Roanoke Times’ print edition and elsewhere, but I also thought he had some interesting thoughts on freshman point guard Sam Zeglinski.

Zeglinski, who has a strong case for an extra year of eligibility based on a hardship appeal, underwent ankle surgery January 25 and was still on crutches six weeks later. When Virginia played in the College Basketball Invitational from March 18-26, he had his right ankle in a boot.

“He’s probably another month from being on both of his feet,” Leitao said. “I think, in this case, he has to be totally healthy until we move forward.

“We can’t afford any setbacks, so we’ll take it really conservative. At the same time, I think it would be a positive if he would do some things very lightly on it – shoot, shoot free throws, kind of get a little bit of jogging in.

“I’m not going to rush anything.”

The biggest question about Virginia’s 2008-2009 team is the backcourt, specifically a replacement for point guard Sean Singletary, a three-time, first-team All-ACC selection who had more than 2,000 points in his career.

Zeglinski certainly will get a shot at the position. Sophomore Calvin Baker, a transfer from William and Mary, got most of the time at the point when Singletary was rested this year.

Rival coaches have scoffed at the notion that 6-6 signee Sylven Landesberg would be given a chance to play point guard for the Cavaliers, but it’s hardly out of the realm of possibility.

(Incidentally, Landesberg will be recognized as a second-team All-American in this week’s Parade magazine. Previously, he was named a McDonald’s All-American).”

“Whether [Baker] did a good job, a great job or an OK job, he was our back-up point guard,” Leitao said. “Relieving him of some of that duty would be good, but, at the same time, having those three guys as our option is something that we’re preparing for.”

One of the issues that has been simmering below the surface is Baker’s scholarship status. He paid his way this year but played close to 800 minutes.

“He and I haven’t sat down and talked about the season yet,” Leitao said.

Does Baker deserve a scholarship?

“In a lot of ways, yes,” Leitao said. “In some ways, maybe no. He’s a terrific kid who probably has done a lot to put himself in a very good position. But, again, it’s programmatic in nature.

“As we look at Calvin’s situation, obviously the two of us will talk about him specifically but it also will have a side to the program and making sure we do everything for everybody’s best interests.”

In other words, the Cavaliers this season had the NCAA-maximum 13 players on scholarship. Three of them were seniors. Virginia signed three players during the fall.

One of the scholarship seniors on this year’s team, Tunji Soroye, has expressed interest in applying for a fifth year of eligibility. Leitao hasn’t found a scholarship for Soroye, much less Baker.

What’s more, UVa is continuing to recruit players for 2008. In addition to 6-foot-7 Lilburn, Ga., forward Wesley Witherspoon, who visited Virginia in early March, the Cavaliers are recruiting Portland, Ore., point guard Paul McCoy.

IT’S NO NEWS after four years that UVa football player Jon Copper has a strong work ethic, but Cavaliers’ coach Al Groh isn’t skimping on the praise for any of his senior linebackers – Copper and Antonio Appleby on the inside, and Clint Sintim on the outside.

“Here’s three guys, as a unit, who have logged a high number of games and the intensity of their focus in the spring has been as strong as anybody on the team,” Groh said.

“Maybe some of the players who are craving playing time could take a lesson from watching those guys, who already have gotten it but are hungering to get better.”

Copper, Appleby and Sintim have played in a combined 111 games during their UVa careers, with 89 starts.