Rams' pick of versatile Hagans a steal
David Teel
May 21 2006

No need to banter about Bernardini, Barry Bonds or border security today. It's NFL minicamp season and issues abound, from Marques Hagans and toasted ravioli to Michael Vick and sturdy knees.

The St. Louis Rams chose Hagans in the fifth round of last month's NFL draft, and from the sounds of the team's recent rookie workouts, the selection was a felony heist.

"What he is is a heck of a football player," Rams coach Scott Linehan told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "For a guy to be able to do what he's done - play a number of positions in his college career and be successful at it, come to an NFL minicamp and play receiver full-time and be really effective. ... That's hard. That's not a natural thing."

Hagans moonlighted as a receiver and punt returner at Hampton High School and the University of Virginia. He was primarily a quarterback, and a darn good one, but at 5-foot-10 Hagans is shorter than the NFL's stodgy prototype for the position, mandating a switch.

Whatever. If that's what it takes to stay in the league, so be it. Beats workin' for a livin'.

Hagans gets it, and his maturity, intelligence and warmth should play well in any locker room. That and his talent.

"He just makes plays," Linehan said. "Making tough catches is part of making plays. But what he does is catch the ball well with his hands. A lot of times, guys that convert over (to wide receiver) want to 'body catch.' He catches everything with his hands and goes out and gets the ball. And that's something that's really hard to teach."

With Torry Holt, Kevin Curtis and Isaac Bruce, the Rams are stocked at receiver. But Hagans might prove irresistible for spread formations or as a punt returner.

Should he stick with St. Louis, Hagans, a confessed chowhound, will find the city's Italian cuisine irresistible. Memo to Marques: Sample the authentic eateries up on The Hill and be sure to order the toasted ravioli appetizer (veal instead of beef) with marinara dipping sauce.

Hagans was among 51 ACC players chosen in the draft. North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams, the first ACC product ever selected No. 1, debuted in recent Houston Texans practices to polite reviews.

Williams' arrival came on the heels of general manager Charley Casserly's departure. Casserly accepted a position at NFL headquarters, but not before, in concert with owner Bob McNair and coach Gary Kubiak, bypassing Southern California running back Reggie Bush in the draft.

Bush's NCAA rules issues notwithstanding, he's a once-a-generation player. Williams is not. Picking him was madness.

Williams, by the way, finished fourth in ACC defensive player of the year voting behind Maryland linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, Boston College end Mathias Kiwanuka and Virginia Tech end Darryl Tapp. Of 72 votes cast, Williams received four.

The No. 1 pick of the 2001 draft was much less contentious: Virginia Tech's Vick. He's twice quarterbacked the Atlanta Falcons to the playoffs, but last season he declined as a runner and passer, and the Falcons missed postseason at 8-8.

Media blamed offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and the fired quarterback coach, Mike Johnson.

But during minicamp Vick cited the sprained right knee he sustained early last season. The injury, he said, was worse than anyone knew.

"I couldn't be as mobile as I wanted to be," Vick told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It wasn't Coach Knapp's fault, it wasn't the quarterbacks coach's fault. It was just me doing something (not running as much) that I felt was best for me. I don't know if it was best for the team, but I did what I could. I wanted to stay in the pocket. I wanted to protect myself. This year I want to come out and be myself, stay healthy and play my game."

Spin? Truth?

There's no spinning this: Vick is healthy and has a renowned new position coach: former Virginia and Washington Redskins assistant Bill Musgrave.

Moreover, the defense that often failed him last season should be better with the acquisition of end John Abraham, safety Lawyer Milloy and cornerback Jimmy Williams (Bethel High and Virginia Tech).

So no excuses in Atlanta. Playoffs or housecleaning.
 

Cavs continue march to title
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
May 21, 2006

Georgetown lacrosse coach Dave Urick chuckled when a member of the media used the word “dominant” to describe Virginia.

“That’s an understatement,” Urick said.

Today, Urick’s team has the unenviable task of facing top-seeded Virginia in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

The undefeated Cavaliers (14-0), coming off a relatively easy 14-10 first-round win over Notre Dame last Saturday, are heavy favorites to win their fourth NCAA title.

Virginia is the team nobody wants to face.

“It’s a significant challenge,” said Urick, whose squad squeaked out a 9-7 win over Navy last weekend. “They’re the type of team that, during the season, certainly separated themselves from the pack. The rest of us all have had two or in some cases three losses.

“You have to make sure your players have a healthy respect for them, but at the same time don’t have too much respect for them and keep in mind what got us here.”

Princeton, which plays No. 2 Maryland in the opening quarterfinal matchup at Towson, is the only team that has played Virginia close this season. In the 7-6 game, the Tigers utilized a patient offensive approach that was able to slow UVa down.

Urick said his team won’t copy Princeton’s gameplan.

“Our style is what it is and we don’t deviate too much from it,” he said. “In this game we have to make sure we take care of the ball and make them earn everything they get.

“Faceoffs will be a big part of the equation.”

In its win over Notre Dame, Virginia didn’t win the faceoff battle for just the third time all season.

The Cavaliers made up for it by winning the ground ball battle (53-41) and getting excellent goalie play from Kip Turner (10 saves).

Urick said Virginia’s run-and-gun offense is what concerns him most. UVa leads the nation in scoring with 15.5 goals per game.

“They do a great job of creating good scoring opportunities,” he said. “It’s not like they have a lot of intricate offensive patterns or anything. They’re just alert, really well-coached players that take what the defense gives them, and they finish and shoot extremely well.”

Virginia coach Dom Starsia isn’t expecting the Hoyas to slow things down.

“I don’t think Georgetown will change its stripes at this point,” Starsia said. “They’re a very aggressive team, an athletic team. I think they’re one of the teams that feels it can run up and down the field with us.

“I think they’ll play to their strengths. I expect a high-energy game and for them to come after us. We’ll have to respond with the same kind of energy and enthusiasm.”

This won’t be Virginia’s first look at Georgetown (12-2). Before the season started, the Cavs and Hoyas scrimmaged.

“They’re really talented,” said Virginia senior Michael Culver. “It’s a challenge playing against a team of their defensive capabilities. On offense they’re very athletic, fast and very skilled. They’re not in the quarterfinals for nothing.”

Said Virginia junior Drew Thompson: “They’re kind of similar to Notre Dame, only a little bigger, a little stronger, a little faster.”

The winner of today’s game advances to the Final Four in Philadelphia next weekend and plays the Syracuse-Johns Hopkins winner.

“Each subsequent round is going to require a little better effort,” Starsia said. “We know we’ll need to be better than we were last weekend to [win] this one.”

GROUND BALLS: To prepare itself for today’s game that will be played on artificial turf at Towson, Virginia practiced all week on its synthetic surface behind University Hall. … Senior Matt Ward said his right hand has shown improvement. Ward sustained a hairline fracture on April 30 against Maryland. “It’s getting better every day. I’m able to shoot a lot better than I could last week.” … Virginia and Georgetown last met in the quarterfinals of the 2003 NCAA Tournament. UVa won the game, also played at Towson, 12-7. This will be just the second meeting between the schools.
 

Icing on the cake
UVa seals record-setting regular season with sweep
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
May 21, 2006

Tom Hagan and his teammates had two goals on Saturday - they wanted to win and they wanted to do it a convincing fashion.

Accomplishing the second part would give Virginia coach Brian O’Connor the opportunity to play all or almost all of the seniors who were honored before the final regular season game at Davenport Field.

Ultimately, Virginia had to settle with going 1 for 2.

The Cavs raced out to a quick seven-run lead after four innings, but a pesky Virginia Tech team that was playing its final game under coach Chuck Hartman fought back before Virginia’s bullpen sealed an 11-7 win in front of 2,624 fans.

“We got up early and we weren’t quite able to give the coaches the ability to let us get some of those other guys in,” said Hagan, one of the six seniors honored before the game. “We would have liked to have seen that, but the win is more important right now. It’s nice to go out on Senior Day and definitely get that win.”

Despite the series sweep over the Hokies, Virginia (45-11, 21-9 ACC) finished one game behind North Carolina (22-8 ACC) in the ACC’s Coastal Division standings. The Cavaliers will be the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament and play sixth-seeded Florida State on Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Jacksonville, Fla.

The win put the struggling Hokies (20-33, 4-25 ACC) out of their misery. Virginia Tech, which went 0-15 in league road games, did not qualify for the ACC Tournament and finished with a losing record for just the third time in 41 years.

Just like they did in Friday’s 6-0 win, the Cavaliers scored in the first inning.

First baseman Sean Doolittle went the opposite way for a two-out solo home run that barely cleared the left-field wall, which was moved in before the season.

“I call that home run a $20,000 home run. You know why?” O’Connor asked. “Because it cost $20,000 to bring that wall in.”

To hit his fourth homer of the season, Doolittle “stayed on the ball,” O’Connor said. “He put a very good swing at it and the wind was blowing out a little bit. I thought that was big to kind off ignite us early on to get that key first run.”

UVa chased Virginia Tech starter Greg Fryman (3-7) from the game in the third inning with five runs as Doolittle delivered another blow - the sophomore hit a two-run, bases-loaded double just past Virginia Tech first baseman Sean O’Brien.

UVa pushed its lead to 7-0 with a lone run in the fourth and appeared to be heading for an easy win until the top half of the sixth. That’s when Virginia Tech roughed up UVa starter Mike Ballard for four earned runs.

“We talked after the fifth inning and he said he felt really, really good,” O’Connor said. “He thought he could pitch deep into the ball game. He goes out there and walks the leadoff hitter and falls behind on the second guy. He kind of lost it a little bit.”

Virginia added runs in the sixth and seventh before the Hokies struck again for three runs off reliever Andrew Carraway in the eighth to trim the lead to 9-7.

Thanks in part to an RBI single by Brandon Marsh, who went 2 for 3 with two runs, the Cavaliers added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, before closer Casey Lambert worked a perfect ninth.

The out signaled the end of Hartman’s coaching career, which started in 1960 at High Point College and included 1,444 wins.

“Obviously, it is very emotional for their team and their coaching staff,” O’Connor said. “Coach Hartman has meant so much to the game of baseball, nationally and in the state of Virginia. Even when we jumped up 7-0, I knew that they were going to fight back and we had to play our best to win the ball game.”

EXTRA BASES: Virginia enters the ACC Tournament as one of the hottest teams in college baseball. The Cavaliers have won 20 of their last 22 games.

“Your goal as a coach in college baseball is to get your team firing on all cylinders at the end of the year,” O’Connor said. “From now on is where it counts. We have had a great regular season, but we will be judged from how we play from here on out. I think so many guys are stepping up and playing their best baseball right now. I just feel like we have a lot of options and a lot of guys are clicking right now. If we continue to do that and pitch like we have pitched, we are going to be a force to be reckoned with when it comes down to the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Regionals time.” Left fielder Brandon Guyer (ankle) was held out of action on Saturday, but O’Connor said the sophomore could have played. “He could have went today,” the coach said, “but I decided to rest him and get his ankle healthy. I think he’ll be back and ready to go come Wednesday.” … Another Cavalier suffered an injury in the eighth inning on Saturday. Doolittle fouled a pitch off his right foot but stayed in the game to complete the at-bat. After drawing a walk, O’Connor took Doolittle out of the game. “I’m confident that he will be fine,” O’Connor said. “That happens a lot in baseball and he is a tough kid. He’ll shake it off.” If he does, Doolittle will start on the mound against Florida State on Wednesday. … For the series, Virginia hit .277. Virginia Tech finished 24 for 99 at the plate (.242). … The Cavaliers turned five double plays in the series. … UVa has won the last six games against the Hokies to take a 76-74 lead in the all-time series.

 

Cavalier Men's Tennis Advances to NCAA Quarterfinals With 4-0 Win Over Miami
Virginia meets No. 1 Georgia on Sunday
May 21, 2006

STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 8 seeded Virginia men's tennis team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year with a 4-0 win over Miami Saturday night in a round of 16 match on the campus of Stanford University. The Cavaliers will meet top seeded Georgia in a quarterfinal match Sunday night at the Taube Tennis Center.

The Cavaliers (24-8) took the early 1-0 lead in the match by winning the doubles point. Darrin Cohen (Lafayette, Calif.) and Doug Stewart (Malibu, Calif.) got the Cavaliers started by cruising to an 8-0 win over Vivek Subramanian and P.J. Passalacqua at No. 3 doubles. The win was Cohen's 103rd career doubles win, establishing a new school record. Virginia clinched the doubles point at No. 2, when Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) and Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) closed out an 8-5 win over Tim Krebs and Eric Hechtman. The match at No. 1 doubles was abandoned with No. 7 ranked Rylan Rizza (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Nick Meythaler (Owensboro, Ky.) leading No. 10 Luigi D'Agord and Daniel Vallverdu.

The Cavaliers took the momentum from doubles into singles, as they took five of the six first sets. Cohen, a northern California native playing less than an hour from his hometown, put Virginia up 2-0 with his 7-5, 6-4 win over John Hoyes at No. 6 singles. The win was Cohen's 100th career singles win, as he became the first player in school history to record both 100 singles wins and 100 doubles wins in his career.

At No. 2 singles, Rizza won the first set in his match against Vallverdu. In the second set, Vallverdu rallied from a break down to force a second set tiebreaker. In the breaker, Rizza fought off three set points against, including one on a call over-ruled by the umpire, before winning the breaker 12-10 to record a 6-3, 7-6 win. The Cavaliers needed one more point to clinch their ticket to the quarterfinals, and were leading in the remaining four matches. Stewart and Devvarman were both leading 4-1 in the third set, while Marko Miklo (Bratislava, Slovakia) was up a set at No. 5 singles. However, it was Huey who clinched the win as he rallied from dropping the first set to down Krebs 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 at No. 4 singles.

With the victory, the Cavaliers advance to the quarterfinals for the second time in school history. The win was Virginia's eighth NCAA Tournament win in the past three years, only Baylor (12) and UCLA (12) have more during that time.

Sunday's quarterfinal match against Georgia is slated for 6:00 p.m. at the Taube Tennis Center on the campus of Stanford University. The winner will advance to Monday's semifinals.

 

Sports Focus: U.Va. Lacrosse
Seeking finishing touch Cavaliers know great season won't be satisfying without winning NCAA championship
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER May 21, 2006
NCAA LACROSSE TOURNAMENT
GEORGETOWN VS. VIRGINIA
TODAY:
3 p.m., quarterfinal, Towson, Md. TV:
Comcast SportsNet

Perfect regular season? Special.

ACC title? Nice.

March routs of perennial powers Syracuse and Johns Hopkins? Memorable.

At the University of Virginia, the men's lacrosse team is in the midst of the finest season in school history. But Cavaliers coach Dom Starsia knows it won't mean much if his team stumbles this month.

"If you want to examine the body of work of this team, take the results from the middle of January till May 1," Starsia said on the eve of the NCAA tournament.

"But if you want to look ahead to the future and think about what people are going to remember about this season, it's going to be the results in the month of May. And that goes for the fans, but it also goes for the participants. You can talk till you're blue in the face about 'having a great year, boys,' but at this point we have to finish the season undefeated."

Top-seeded U.Va. (14-0) passed its first test last weekend, beating Notre Dame 14-10 in a first-round game in Charlottesville. Next comes against a quarterfinal matchup with No. 8 seed Georgetown (12-2), today at 3 p.m. at Towson University in Maryland.

Final exams ended more than a week ago at U.Va. Now, with the final four in Philadelphia tantalizingly close, Starsia's players are locked on lacrosse. The Cavaliers are bidding for their fourth NCAA title.

"At the very best we're at this for about another 10 days," Starsia said. "I think you can find that focus and you can sharpen it when you're about to look at it in those terms, when you have a veteran team the way we have."

Players such as Matt Ward, Kyle Dixon, Matt Poskay, J.J. Morrissey were freshmen on the U.Va. team that won the NCAA championship in 2003. They suffered through the misery of 2004, when Virginia failed to qualify for the NCAA tourney, then led the team back to the final four last year.

The Cavaliers lost in overtime to eventual NCAA champion Hopkins in the semifinals at Philadelphia last May.

"I've got guys that know what's going on and have been to the end of this thing," Starsia said, "so I feel like I'm getting some help on the practice field in terms of us getting ready."

Virginia and Georgetown scrimmage each other annually, but they've met in a game only once. That was on May 18, 2003, in an NCAA quarterfinal at Towson, coincidentally. Ward, an attackman, had a game-high three assists and scored one goal in U.Va.'s 12-7 victory.

Three years later, he'll face the Hoyas again, but this time with a broken bone in his right hand. Ward suffered the injury in the ACC tournament final April 30 against Maryland, but it didn't keep from totaling four goals and an assist against the Fighting Irish last weekend.

"I feel better each day," Ward said Thursday. "It's going to continue to get better, and hopefully during the game it'll be out of the back of my mind and I won't be thinking about it at all."