UVa rebounds, knocks off Dartmouth
By Whitey Reid
Published: April 20, 2008

According to Will Barrow, the worst part of Virginia’s 10-goal loss to Duke last weekend was having to wait a week to get back on the field.
“You get hit in the mouth like that and all you want to do is play another game,” Barrow said. “After that game, I wished that next Saturday was 10 minutes later. I just wanted to play again and show that we were much better than what we showed.”
On Saturday afternoon at Klockner Stadium, Virginia did just that.
The fourth-ranked Cavaliers, behind four goals from senior Ben Rubeor, closed out their regular season with an 11-7 win over Dartmouth in front of a crowd of 2,157.
Virginia, which will host Maryland in the first round of the ACC Tournament on Friday, didn’t play one of its best games — the Cavs were edged in groundballs, 32-30, and also lost 12 of 22 faceoffs — but seemed to play with more focus than they had in their preceding three games.
“I feel like we’re not quite flowing the way I would like us to,” said Virginia coach Dom Starsia, “but I thought it was a very workmanlike effort and a good win against a team that’s been coming on.”
Virginia (11-2) didn’t begin the game very well. Dartmouth (5-7) jumped out to a 2-0 lead and was able to dictate tempo.
“The first couple of goals that they got were because of groundballs that we sort of mishandled and they made plays on,” Starsia said. “I was concerned about that.”
UVa didn’t get on the scoreboard until less than four minutes remained in the first quarter when Danny Glading scored.
But the goal got Virginia going.
UVa scored five more times over the next 14 minutes to take a 6-2 lead. The Cavaliers led 8-4 at the half and Dartmouth was never able to get within two the rest of the way.
“I thought we played very smartly at the end of the game,” Starsia said. “It was probably as cerebral of a win as we’ve had
in sometime.”
One of the keys to the victory was Virginia’s play on defense. In the loss to Duke, UVa allowed the Blue Devils to penetrate at will. But versus Dartmouth, UVa did a much better job.
“I thought that when we were settled and in the box our defense did a nice job,” Starsia said. “I thought we rode well. That’s the beginning of good team defense – the riding piece of it.
“I tell these guys all the time that defense is a group activity as much as anything else and we can be proud of how we defended today.”
In goal, Bud Petit was solid. Making his third straight start, the fifth-year senior finished with seven saves and showed no signs of the hip flexor injury that had bothered him against Duke.
Offensively, Virginia seemed more prudent in its decision-making, particularly in the second half.
“We needed that game to prepare us for [the ACC Tournament],” said Virginia senior Pete Lamade. “We’ll be playing two teams that beat us significantly in the regular season.”
“We have to play smarter as team. We tend to rush into things a lot, which is good sometimes and bad other times. Playing [Duke and Maryland] we’re going to have to slow the ball down sometimes and not make dumb mistakes. But we played a lot smarter today than we had in the past.”

 

Virginia Closes Regular Season with 11-7 Win Over Dartmouth
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 04/19/2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—Senior Ben Rubeor scored a season-high four goals and Danny Glading notched three to lead Virginia to an 11-7 win over Dartmouth Saturday afternoon in the Cavaliers’ final regular season game of the season at Klöckner Stadium.

The moves the Cavaliers to 11-2 this season as they prepare for next weekend’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at Klöckner Stadium. Dartmouth stands at 5-7 this spring and has two regular season contests remaining.

“I thought that was a very workmanlike effort and a good win against a team that’s coming on. I thought that we played very smartly at the end of the game,” said Virginia head coach Dom Starsia. “It was probably as cerebral a win as we’ve had in some time. I thought defensively we played the whole day. They got a couple of unsettled opportunities and a couple of extra-man (opportunities), but I thought when we were settled in the box, I thought our defense did a nice job.”

Dartmouth controlled the tempo during the first 10 minutes and scored twice during that span to take the early lead. Jonathan Livadas opened the scoring with two minutes and 14 seconds elapsed with a nice dodge from the top. Josh Gillam scored nearly six minutes later as the visitors’ lead grew to 2-0.

Virginia did not have its first extended offensive possession until late in the first quarter. The Cavaliers scored on their first good settled opportunity when Glading took a pass from midfielder Jack Riley and hitting an open shot from 10 yards out with 3:41 left.

The Cavaliers drew even less than two minutes later as Brian Carroll scored his 11th extra-man goal of the season. He found himself open in front and took a good feed from Glading for the equalizer.

Glading tallied his second of the quarter on a nice rip off and excellent pass by Peter Lamade to give Virginia its first lead with 47 seconds to play in the opening quarter. Virginia scored its fourth in a row as Rubeor’s long bounce shot beat goalie Michael Novosel with 10 seconds on the clock.

Will Barrow and Rubeor scored the first two goals of the second quarter to extend UVa’s lead to 6-2 late in the second quarter.

Jimmy Mullen ended Virginia’s 6-goal run with his only goal of the game three minutes and 29 seconds before halftime. Ari Sussman, Dartmouth’s leading scorer, got the first of his three goals 30 seconds later to cut Virginia’s lead in half.

Rubeor scored twice to close the half to give Virginia an 8-4 halftime lead.

Sussman scored the only two goals of a slow-paced third quarter as the Big Green halved Virginia’s lead for the second time.

Carroll ended Virginia’s nearly 23-minute scoring drought with his second goal of the afternoon with 9:14 to play. Glading pushed Virginia’s lead back to four with an extra-man score three minutes later.

Tim Daniels answered Glading’s goal eight seconds later to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 10-7, but Dartmouth was unable to get any closer. The Big Green won the ensuing faceoff but misfired on four shots in the next two minutes before losing possession.

The Cavaliers ran off nearly three minutes and closed the scoring as Lamade beat a double team and found Gavin Gill alone in front for an uncontested shot on an open goal with 1:10 to play.

This game was webcast on ACC Select (www.accselect.com/virginia) and is available via replay.

The Cavaliers return to action Friday night in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Duke and North Carolina square off in the first semifinal game Friday at 5 p.m. Virginia and Maryland follow at 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s championship game is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Dartmouth 2-2-2-1—7 record: 5-7
Virginia 4-4-0-3—11 record: 11-2
att—2157

Scoring (G-A)— D: Ari Sussman 3-1, Jonathan Livadas 1-1, Tim Daniels 1-0, Josh Gillam 1-0, Jimmy Mullen 1-0. V: Ben Rubeor 4-2, Danny Glading 3-2, Brian Carroll 2-0, Gavin Gill 1-1, Will Barrow 1-0, Peter Lamade 0-3, Garett Ince 0-1, Jack Riley 0-1.

Goalie Summary—D: Michael Novosel 60 mins., 8 saves, 11 goals allowed. V: Bud Petit 60 mins., 7 saves, 7 goals allowed.

Shots: D—31, V—34
Ground Balls: D—32, V—30
Clearing: D—12x17, V—14x17
Faceoffs: D—12, V—10
Penalties: D—3-2:30, V—4-3:00
EMO: D—1x4, V—2x3

 

Virginia Tops Wake Forest 4-1 in ACC Semifinal
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Courtesy: David Petkofsky/UVa Media Relations

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Top-ranked Virginia advanced to the finals of the ACC Tournament for the fifth consecutive season with a 4-1 victory over Wake Forest Saturday at Sanlando Park. The Cavaliers rallied from losing the doubles point with a strong singles performance to lift them past the Demon Deacons.

“Overall, I thought we played a little bit better today,” said head coach Brian Boland. “Give Wake a lot of credit for playing a tremendous doubles point. I was proud of how the guys responded from that early deficit and played well in singles.”

The Cavaliers fell behind 1-0 by losing the doubles point for just the fifth time this season. Dominic Inglot (London, England) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) scored an 8-5 win over Maruisz Adamski and Carlos Salmon at the No. 2 position. The Demon Deacons drew even with a win at No. 1 doubles as No. 9 Cory Parr and Mariusz Adamski upset No. 1 Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) and Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) 8-5. With the opening point on the line, the match at No. 3 doubles went to a tiebreaker as both sides held serve in every game. In the breaker, Wake’s Jason Morganstern and Jonathan Wolff edged Ted Angelinos (Athens, Greece) and Lee Singer (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) 7-5 for the 9-8 win.

Virginia answered with a dominating singles performance. The Cavaliers won all six first sets to take over the momentum in the match. Huey evened the score at 1-1 with his 6-2, 6-1 win over Parr at No. 2 singles. The win was Huey’s 126th career singles win, moving him into sole possession of second place on the UVa career singles win chart, moving past Brian Vahaly and trailing just Devvarman. Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) gave Virginia the lead with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Andrew Brasseaux at No. 6 singles just seconds before Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) topped Adamski 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles to make the score 3-1. Shabaz clinched the win with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Morganstern at No. 4 singles, beating Devvarman, who was two points from victory, to the clincher. Angelinos was leading in the second set of his match at No. 5 singles in the other match that was abandoned.

With the victory, Virginia extended its school record winning streak to 27 matches overall and 30 straight against ACC opponents (regular season and posteseason). The Cavaliers also improve to 13-1 at the ACC Tournament since 2004. The win was also Virginia’s third semifinal win over the Demon Deacons in the past four years.

Virginia will meet the winner of Florida State-Miami semifinal winner on Sunday at 11 a.m.

 

Cavs advance to ACC finals
By Whitey Reid
Published: April 20, 2008

In college tennis, winning the doubles is often the catalyst to beating an opponent.
On Saturday morning in Altamonte, Fla., Virginia lost the doubles point to Wake Forest.
However, UVa roared back in the singles and cruised to a 4-1 victory in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
No. 1 Virginia (27-0) will play Miami/FSU in today’s final that begins at 11 a.m.
“I thought we played a little
better,” said UVa coach Brian Boland in a telephone interview. “We’re getting a little bit better each day. Hopefully we’ll play our best match [today].”
Virginia, which had beat N.C. State in the quarterfinals on Friday, came within an eyelash of winning the doubles but Ted Angelinos and Lee Singer lost to Jason Wolff and Jonathan Morganstern in a tiebreaker. Coupled with Somdev Devvarman and Treat Huey’s 8-5 loss, it enabled Wake (17-10) to earn the point.
“That didn’t discourage me that much because I thought we came out ready to play and fought hard,” Boland said. “It was really close. I just thought Wake played really well.”
The singles action wasn’t nearly as competitive.
Huey set the tone by crushing Cory Parr, 6-2, 6-1. Then, Houston Barrick, Sanam Singh and Michael Shabaz all won in straight sets to close out the match.
“The doubles could have gone either way, but we feel whoever we’re playing we can always get the job done in singles,” Shabaz said. “We were able to take care of business and look pretty good.”
Shabaz was pleased with his performance.
“I really served well,” he said. “I wasn’t broken the entire match, which really put a lot of pressure on my opponent.”
Meanwhile, Singh, who lost his match to N.C. State on Friday, bounced back strong.
“He played well,” Boland said. “He played how we had seen him play earlier in the season. The last couple of weeks he had been unhealthy. This was the first day where he really felt good again, so I think that made a big difference for him.”
Both Devvarman and Angelinos were leading their matches when play was halted after Virginia clinched.
For the second straight day, Boland chose to rest Dom Inglot, who has been bothered by a sore arm.
“He felt like he could play all three days,” Boland said, “but we didn’t want to do that unless we absolutely needed to. When we do play him, he’s going to be very fresh and I think he’ll play incredible.”
Boland was looking forward to today’s championship.
“We’ll be ready,” he said, “to hopefully step it up another level.”
Aces
With the victory, Virginia extended its school-record winning streak to 27 matches overall and 30 straight against ACC opponents (regular season and posteseason). The Cavaliers improved to 13-1 at the ACC Tournament since 2004. The win was also Virginia’s third semifinal win over the Demon Deacons in the past four years.

 

No. 16 Virginia Baseball Loses Saturday vs. Wake Forest
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 04/19/2008
Courtesy: Jim Daves/UVa Media Relations

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Wake Forest’s Tyler Smith hit two home runs and drove in four runs as the Demon Deacons downed the No. 16 Virginia baseball team, 14-3, Saturday night at Davenport Field. Jeremy Farrell (Jr., Westlake, Ohio) drove in two for the Cavaliers, while Tyler Wilson (Fr., Midlothian, Va.) tossed three scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Charlie Mellies (1-4) pitched eight strong innings for Wake Forest and allowed three earned runs, six hits and two walks while fanning six. Virginia’s Jacob Thompson (Jr., Danville, Va.) fell to 4-2 this season after starting and lasting 3.2 innings. He gave up seven runs, although only one was earned. He also allowed five hits and two walks and struck out three.

Virginia (30-11, 12-8 ACC) finished with seven hits from seven different players. Wake (15-23, 7-12) knocked Cavalier pitchers around for 13 hits, with three coming from Willy Fox. Allan Dykstra added two hits, including an inside-the-park home run, and four RBI.

After Virginia took a 2-1 lead in the first inning, the Demon Deacons roared back to score the next 14 runs over five innings.
Wake tallied a run in the first on a double by Mike Murray, but Virginia countered with two in its half of the first on RBI singles by David Adams (Jr., Margate, Fla.) and Farrell.

The lead was short lived, as the Demon Deacons tied the score in the third on a single by Dykstra.

Wake then blew the game open with six unearned runs in the fourth inning. Virginia committed two key errors to prolong the inning, and Wake took advantage with the big blow coming from Dykstra, who launched a ball off the top of the right-field wall. The ball caromed off the wall, past right fielder David Coleman (Fr., Richmond, Va.) and back toward the infield. The Cavaliers’ relay to the plate was just late as Dykstra slid home for a three-run inside-the-park home run to give the Deacs an 8-2 lead.

Wake added two in the fifth inning on a solo home run by Smith and an RBI single by Fox and tacked on four in the sixth inning, with three coming on Smith’s second long ball.
Virginia scored the final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth as Dan Grovatt (Fr., Tabernacle, N.J.) tripled and then scored on a Farrell sacrifice fly.

The teams wrap up the three-game series with the rubber game at 1 p.m. Sunday. The game will be webcast on ACC Select.

 

Wake blows past UVa
By Jay Jenkins
Published: April 20, 2008

Several patches of rainfall sent collections of 2,000-plus fans at Saturday’s Virginia baseball game scooting for the parking lot.
It was Wake Forest’s offense and Virginia’s poor defense, however, that created a monumental mass exit long before the contest was completed.
With 12 runs in the middle-third of the game, Wake Forest routed Virginia, 14-3, to even the three-game weekend series at Davenport Field.
The Demon Deacons (15-23, 7-12) hit three homers, including one of the inside-the-park variety, and pounded out 13 hits against five different Cavalier pitchers. Virginia fell to 30-11 overall and 12-8 ACC, snapping a four-game league winning streak.
“They beat us up tonight,” said Virginia coach Brian O’Connor. “We certainly didn’t play well enough to win a game in this league.”
Wake Forest pitcher Charlie Mellies, seemingly unfazed by several lengthy plate appearances by his offense, kept Virginia off balance as he scattered six hits over eight innings en route to his first win of the season.
Mellies (1-4) was near perfect after the first inning. In the opening frame, and after being spotted an early one-run lead, the right-handed pitcher allowed three hits, including RBI singles by David Adams and Jeremy Farrell, but he retired the final two Cavaliers to strand a pair of runners.
The squandered opportunity loomed large when UVa starter Jacob Thompson allowed a lone run in the third inning and failed to escape the fourth.
“Up to that point, Jacob was battling,” O’Connor said. “He was trying to grind it out for a while. Unfortunately, he gave up two walks to open the fourth inning.”
After allowing the two free passes, which were his only walks in the game, Thompson got Wake third baseman Tyler Smith to hit a ground ball to shortstop Greg Miclat. But the junior’s throw to second base eluded Adams’ glove and squirted into the outfield grass, giving Wake a 3-2 lead.
Following a sacrifice bunt, Wake scored on a passed ball with one out and later on a two-out throwing error by catcher Franco Valdes.
“We didn’t catch very well tonight behind the plate,” O’Connor said. “Mistakes like that will hurt you against a quality opponent and it did tonight.”
O’Connor pulled Thompson, who worked 3.2 innings, in favor of Matt Packer just moments before Allen Dykstra ripped a 3-2 pitch off the wall in right-center field that skipped away from two outfielders and resulted in an inside-the-park three-run homer, giving Wake an 8-2 lead.
The Demon Deacons continued the onslaught in the fifth and sixth innings and they plated six more runs. Both scoring sprees were fueled by the first two homers of the season from Smith.
Virginia answered for a lone run in the sixth after Dan Grovatt tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly to deep center from Farrell, but the damage was done.
“It was one of those things where the game got away from us,” Farrell said.
Thanks to the two miscues defensively in the fourth, only seven of Wake’s runs were earned, but that only compounded the pain suffered in Virginia’s first home ACC loss.
“I think it is time for a gut check,” Farrell said after a pair of team meetings. “We have to do that as a team.”
It was the third poor start in a row for Thompson, who fell to 4-2 on the season and lost at home for the first time since 2006.
“I don’t know what we can do,” O’Connor said. “He’s struggling and he’s the only one that can make the adjustment.
“I can’t touch a player and give him confidence. He’s just not making the pitches he needs to make. When he’s been good, he’s gotten action on the first three pitches.”
In what seemed like a fitting punishment, Virginia’s players spent several minutes following the game placing a massive white tarp over the infield.
That protection should help ensure that the third game of the series can be played today at 1 p.m., and O’Connor said Wake Forest agreed to stay well past the league’s mandated start time (6 p.m.) for a Sunday contest if it meant overcoming an expected dose of rain.
 

U.VA. NOTES
Saturday, Apr 19, 2008 - 12:07 AM Updated: 08:16 PM

M. Groh gets aerial tips from Texas Tech coach
In the Gator Bowl, Jan. 1 at Jacksonville, Fla., Texas Tech attempted 69 passes in a 31-28 win over Virginia, which threw the football 28 times.

In U.Va.'s spring game last Saturday, 70 of the 86 plays were passes. Coincidence?

Maybe not. Virginia's coaching staff spent much of December studying Texas Tech's trademark spread offense. And since the end of last season, offensive coordinator Mike Groh twice has been to Lubbock, Texas, to meet with Red Raiders coach Mike Leach and his assistants.

U.Va. coach Al Groh declined to discuss his staff's offseason trips, and his assistants aren't available for interviews. But Leach this week called the younger Groh a "really good guy, very impressive. I wish I could have spent more time with him."

In Jameel Sewell, its starter last season, U.Va. had a quarterback who was a gifted runner. Sewell was placed on academic suspension in January, however, and the three players battling for his job - Peter Lalich, Marc Verica and Scott Deke - are traditional drop-back quarterbacks.

The Cavaliers have exceptional tailbacks in Cedric Peerman and Mikell Simpson and an all-ACC-caliber tight end in John Phillips, so don't expect to see many five-receiver sets this season. But U.Va. may well incorporate elements of Texas Tech's pass-oriented offense.

Cavs' depth at WR may be stronger than usual
The verdict, of course, won't come until this fall, but U.Va. appears to have its deepest and most talented group of wide receivers in eight seasons under Groh.

All-ACC candidate Kevin Ogletree is back from a knee injury, and he's expected to start alongside rising senior Maurice Covington.

Staton Jobe, who started 12 games at wideout as a redshirt freshman last season, found himself competing for a spot in the rotation this spring. Others in the receiving corps include Dontrelle Inman, Kris Burd (Matoaca High), Cary Koch and Jared Green.

Few tickets remain for baseball tomorrow
Fewer than 200 general-admission tickets remain for U.Va.'s baseball game tomorrow (1 p.m.) against ACC rival Wake Forest at Davenport Field.

This three-game series began last night and continues tonight. General-admission tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for youths (18 and under) and seniors (60 and over). Davenport's capacity is 3,300. For more details, visit www.virginiasports.com or call (800) 542-8821.

Petit could be back for Dartmouth game today
U.Va.'s fourth-ranked lacrosse team, coming off its most one-sided loss ever at Klockner Stadium, plays at home again today (1 p.m.) against Dartmouth. The Big Green (5-6) isn't nearly as formidable as No. 2 Duke, which scored the final 10 goals in a 19-9 win over U.Va. last Saturday.

Against Duke, Bud Petit made his second straight start at goalie, but the former Collegiate School star suffered a hip flexor during the game and was replaced late in the third quarter.

Petit, a graduate student, practiced Thursday and "looked good," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said yesterday.

"He's a little sore, but I think he can play with it, and he'll get the start if he's ready to go."

Two Cavs are up for top award in men's lacrosse
Two of the 22 nominees for the 2008 men's Tewaaraton Trophy - college lacrosse's version of the Heisman - play for Virginia: senior attackman Ben Rubeor and junior attackman Danny Glading. The five finalists will be announced early next month.

Rubeor, a Tewaaraton finalist as a junior last season, missed the first three games this season with a knee injury, but he's third on the team in scoring. With 118 career goals, he ranks fifth at Virginia.

Glading has been slowed by a hamstring injury but leads the Cavaliers in assists (28) and points (46) this season. - Jeff White

 

Issues spring up
David Teel
April 20, 2008
 

Doctors, lawyers and spiritual advisors have long advised me to avoid fried ice cream, discount liquor and Internet matchmakers.

Oh, and spring football games.

Not spring football, mind you. The actual practices — 15 is the NCAA-mandated maximum, scrimmages included — develop players and influence depth charts.

But the games themselves? The annual dog-and-pony, fan-friendly culmination of spring drills?

I've attended more than I can remember and have yet to leave enlightened. They're an April nuisance on par with Mel Kiper and pollen residue.

Half-serious rant complete, it goes without saying that Virginia and Virginia Tech completed spring practice — the Cavaliers last Saturday, the Hokies yesterday — drastically different from what most envisioned at 2007 season's end.

And not for the better.

Despite losing their respective bowls in January, Virginia and Virginia Tech then appeared prohibitive 2008 ACC Coastal Division favorites. In fact, a reprise of their winner-take-all Thanksgiving weekend collision — the Hokies won 33-21 — seemed probable.

Now the division looks like a mediocre mess. Duke is the clear bottom feeder, and Georgia Tech is replacing 16 starters and a coaching staff, but good luck distinguishing among North Carolina, Miami, Virginia Tech and Virginia.

Oh, the Hokies will top preseason Coastal forecasts and will land in national top 25s. But that will be from force of habit.

Since its Orange Bowl flop against Kansas, Virginia Tech has been decimated at its most critical offensive position — tailback. Power running is a traditional Hokies' staple and figured to be more so given the departure of four quality senior receivers — until tailbacks began evaporating.

First, coach Frank Beamer dismissed presumptive starter and 1,000-yard workhorse Branden Ore, a long overdue separation given his rap sheet. Then Kenny Lewis Jr. (left shoulder) and Jahre Cheeseman (left leg) sustained injuries that imperil their availability for summer training camp.

Jitters about the offense are evident in Macho Harris' considerable spring snaps at receiver. Other than for occasional gadget plays, no coach wants to risk his first-team, all-conference cornerback on offense, and if Harris remains on the depth chart at receiver come August, you'll know there's trouble brewin'.

Combine such offensive issues — we haven't even mention the unresolved quarterback contest between Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor — with the loss of seven defensive starters. Now add a schedule that includes a dicey opener against East Carolina in Charlotte and road trips to Nebraska, Boston College, Florida State and Miami.

If Beamer can coax eight or nine regular-season victories from the Hokies under those conditions, Tech — 15 consecutive bowls and four straight seasons with at least 10 victories — may not endure a truly lean season until he retires.

Virginia coach Al Groh may have been forcibly retired had the Cavaliers endured a 2007 downer. But their 9-4 breakout with a relatively young roster infused the program with optimism, fourth-quarter Gator Bowl demise against Texas Tech notwithstanding.

Then academic and legal troubles prompted the exits of front-line players such as quarterback Jameel Sewell, defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald and linebacker J'Courtney Williams. Granted, Sewell was no Shawn Moore, and Williams was heralded merely on potential, but when your margin is as thin as Virginia's, every personnel dent hurts.

The unknown following the Cavaliers' spring practice is whether Groh was sincere when he said quarterbacks Peter Lalich, Scott Deke and Marc Verica are on equal footing. Lalich is the only one of the trio with significant college game experience, and if he hasn't separated himself, shame on him.

Is Groh simply sticking a burr in the backside of the quarterback he knows will start the opener Aug. 30 against Southern California? Or has Lalich, Sewell's backup last season as a freshman and all-everything at West Springfield High in Northern Virginia, yet to sell his coaches?

Considering the questions surrounding Virginia and Virginia Tech, either North Carolina (19 returning starters) or Miami (how long can the Hurricanes' decline last?) could challenge them. Moreover, a 5-3 conference record might be good enough to earn an ACC championship date with the league's most imposing team — Clemson.
 

Virginia's Chris Long used to playing in father's shadow
Cavaliers star could go anywhere within top 10 in NFL draft
Florida Today • April 20, 2008

"My earliest memory of Al Davis was ducking in the car when I came to visit my dad at training camp because there were no families allowed in," the Virginia defensive end said. "That was my earliest memory. Don't tell Al Davis that happened."

Depending on how things go in Saturday's first round of the NFL Draft, Long may have the chance to tell Davis that story himself.

The son of Raiders Hall of Famer Howie Long could go just about anywhere in the top 10 of the draft — including No. 1 to the Miami Dolphins or No. 2 to the St. Louis Rams.

But imagine the reaction in the Bay Area if Chris Long were available to the Raiders at No. 4. And don't think that hasn't crossed his mind.

"It would mean the same as playing anywhere else, honestly," he said. "It would be an opportunity to play in the NFL. Obviously, there's so much more to it there. I'm not afraid of any situation or any burden with the name.

"I've been dealing with this stuff my whole life. But obviously it will be taken to a new level in a place like that. It's pressure, but I tend to welcome any pressure with open arms."

While his father is undoubtedly proud of the success Chris Long has had, Howie has been noticeably low key when it comes to his son's career.

And Chris Long appreciates it.

"It's testament to the fact that he's such a great guy and such a humble guy," Chris Long said. "It's not his style to want to steal the spotlight from his sons. I have two little brothers and he does the same with them. He takes the back seat.

"Everybody has a time and this is our time. I've said, 'Dad, you're an old man now. It's not your time any more.' He has done a great job with that and I am grateful. I've matured to the point that now I am comfortable sharing that spotlight."

With his bloodlines, non-stop motor and ability to play defensive end in a 4-3, or linebacker in a 3-4 defense, Long is seen as perhaps the safest pick in the draft.

That's why, even though the Miami Dolphins have started negotiations with Michigan left tackle Jake Long and Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston, it would not be wise to discount Chris Long from the mix.

"I think he's very legitimate and I think he'd be one of the logical two or three people they're talking to," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock told reporters on a conference call. "I think the beauty of Chris Long ... I think you disrespect the kid when you kind of label him as an overachiever. He's an achiever with freakish athletic ability. The thing I really like about him is you are a defensive coordinator, he gives you ultimate scheme versatility.

"He can line up with his hand down, he can stand up and play rush line backer, you could line him up in the A gap. In certain situations, you can line him up at nose tackle or the three technique. So this is a guy who, really, the defensive coordinator will be constrained solely by his own imagination, and that's pretty cool in today's day and age in the NFL."

 

McCarty helped to reinvent UVa hoops
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: April 19, 2008

Perhaps it was God’s plan to reunite the “West Virginia Rifles” one more time last month in Charlotte at the ACC men’s basketball tournament.
Bob McCarty and Buzzy Wilkinson, perhaps the most dramatic scoring duo in ACC history, led Virginia basketball out of the dark ages at the very beginnings of the new conference back in the mid-50s. Together in 1954-55, they combined to average about 52 points per game.
That was long before the 3-point line was ever talked about.
But the fast-break offense had been invented at a small college in West Virginia about that time, and Wilkinson, who hailed from the Bluefield area, and McCarty, born and raised in Clarksburg, were perfect fits for the new concept.
Coach Bus Male was smart enough to turn the two loose along with another kid that would come along, Bill Miller, and ride their success until they had moved on.
Sad news came to Wahoo Nation on Friday that McCarty had indeed moved on, losing his battle with cancer. He passed away Wednesday in California.
The news hit many of his old teammates hard: Wilkinson, a successful businessman back in Bluefield; Miller, a longtime successful coach at Fork Union; and David Cooke, a successful businessman in Charlottesville.
Wilkinson immediately harkened back to four glorious days in Charlotte when he and McCarty sat together and watched the ACC Tournament. During one of the breaks, when McCarty excused himself to hit the snack bar, a mutual friend informed Wilkinson that it probably would be McCarty’s last visit to the event.
“I am so pleased that we sat beside each other for the tournament,” Wilkinson said when reached late Friday night. “We had a great time reminiscing. I knew he had cancer and was dying, but I didn’t know it was so imminent. Bob was one of Virginia’s greatest players and it was a privilege to have known him.”
Chris Cramer, the esteemed sports editor of The Daily Progress in those days, had nicknamed the two as the “West Virginia Rifles,” a moniker familiar to Cavalier fans that go that far back in time. It was a name that struck fear into anyone responsible for guarding them.
“Bobby was a hell of a competitor, a super shooter with a great jump shot, a and a great drive to the basket on the fast break,” Wilkinson said. “A lot of people don’t realize it, but I believe he still has the second-highest points per game average in Virginia basketball history.”
Wilkinson’s memory was impeccable. McCarty’s 19.6 points per game for his career (83 games) is second only to Wilkinson’s 28.6 average (78 games) in Cavalier history.
McCarty, one of only two Cavs to ever lead the ACC in field goal percentage (.531; Ralph Sampson was the other in 1983), is still 13th on UVa’s career scoring list with 1,625 points and was third in season scoring average (23.1) to Wilkinson, who remains both first (32.1) and second (30.1) in that category.
Cooke, who was a senior when McCarty was a sophomore (freshmen were ineligible for varsity in those days), remembered him Friday as a “super guy.”
“He could really shoot the ball,” Cooke said. “He was in that group of players that started shooting the jump shot. Up until then, it was pretty much the one-handed push or set shot, but at the end of my career they had started going to the jump shot and he had it down pat.”
Cooke’s opinion of McCarty was universal. Miller, who still lives out near FUMA, remembered McCarty as a good guy and a good shooter.
“Bob came here a couple of years ago on his way to the ACC Tournament and we had lunch with Dave Cooke,” Miller said. “That’s the last time I saw him.”
Miller — who at 5-foot-9 became the point guard, allowing 6-2 Wilkinson to move off the point — helped make UVa’s fast break a three-headed monster. McCarty, also at 6-2, streaked right, Wilkinson left and Miller went down the middle. The year (1954-55) the trio played together, they averaged nearly 68 points between them.
“Even though I wasn’t from their home state, Buzzy and Bob made me the honorary third one [West Virginia Rifle],” Miller said proudly. “It was an honor to be one.”
Somewhere, McCarty is smiling with approval.