U.VA. NOTES
Richmond Times-Dispatch May 23, 2006

SOUTH BEND-BOUND? In an unexpected move, assistant Gene Cross is expected to leave Virginia and basketball coach Dave Leitao to join Mike Brey's staff at Notre Dame.

Cross followed Leitao to U.Va. in April 2005. They'd worked together at DePaul the previous three seasons. Cross, 34, is an Illinois graduate who grew up in the Midwest.

A spot opened on Brey's staff when former Virginia Military Institute standout Lewis Preston left Notre Dame to become an assistant at Florida. Gators coach Billy Donovan, coincidentally, first tried to hire another U.Va. assistant, Rob Lanier, to fill that slot.

Attempts to reach Cross and Leitao yesterday were unsuccessful.

THE MAIN EVENT: Last week, the NCAA's Web site listed 11:30 a.m. as the starting time for the men's lacrosse semifinal that would match the Virginia-Georgetown and Syracuse-Johns Hopkins winners in Philadelphia.

After U.Va. and the 'Cuse each won its quarterfinal, however, the NCAA had a change of heart. ESPN officials want to showcase the U.Va.-Syracuse semifinal, and so it will start Saturday at 2 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field.

Massachusetts and Maryland will meet at 11:30 a.m. ESPN2 will televise both semifinals.

The Cavaliers and the Orange are known for playing an up-tempo, high-scoring brand of lacrosse. Virginia won 20-15 when they met at Klocker Stadium in March.

"Usually when we play a second time, the game is played a little closer to the vest," U.Va. coach Dom Starsia said. "When we play in the early part of March, we don't even know our own teams very well, never mind the other team, so it tends be more of kind of a players' game."

SEVEN UP: Virginia's football program yesterday received its seventh commitment for 2007. Chase Minnifield, a 6-0, 180-pound rising senior at Henry Clay High in Lexington, Ky., chose U.Va. over Louisville, his father's alma mater.

Frank Minnifield was a Pro Bowl cornerback for the Cleveland Browns, whose assistants in 1992, his final season with the team, included Al Groh, now U.Va.'s coach.

The younger Minnifield starred at running back and defensive back as an 11th-grader but may end up at wideout in college.

AT LAST: During the regular season, Virgina's baseball team played three-game series against 10 of its 11 ACC counterparts. The exception? Florida State.

U.Va. and FSU will finally meet tomorrow at 10 a.m., in the first game of the double-elimination ACC tournament at Jacksonville, Fla. Virginia, the No. 3 seed in the eight-team tourney, is ranked No. 7 in the latest Baseball America poll. FSU, the No. 6 seed, isn't in Baseball America's Top 25. - Jeff White
 

Cavs assistant eyeing a move
Cross talking with Notre Dame
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
May 23, 2006

The University of Virginia men’s basketball team might be losing a key cog.

Gene Cross, an assistant coach on Dave Leitao’s staff, is considering leaving for an assistant’s position at Notre Dame, Leitao told The Daily Progress on Monday evening.

“It’s just something that came up a short time ago, and they’re in the middle of having discussions,” Leitao said. “The severity of it remains to be seen. Probably the people at Notre Dame know more about it than I would.

“It’s ongoing. I don’t know what level it is to yet.”

Cross, who could not be reached for comment, served as an assistant on Leitao’s staff at DePaul for three years before coming to Virginia. Prior to that, he was an assistant for six seasons at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

The Chicago native played at the University of Illinois, graduating in 1994. According to Leitao, the chance to return to the Midwest is a drawing card for Cross.

“I’m sure he’s looking at it from a professional and personal standpoint that way,” Leitao said.

Cross, 34, is the second Virginia assistant who has considered leaving this offseason. In late April, Rob Lanier turned down a chance to join Billy Donovan’s staff at Florida.

Ironically, Lewis Preston, the coach who wound up taking the Gators’ gig, would be the person Cross is replacing at Notre Dame.

Cross has helped secure one of the better Virginia recruiting classes in recent years. If Solomon Tat rectifies his visa problems, UVa would have three incoming recruits who are ranked in the top 150 players by Rivals.com.

In addition, Cross has helped the Cavs land post players Ryan Pettinella and Jerome Meyinsse.

Leitao said he has yet to think about possible replacements for Cross. He sounded pragmatic about the potential loss.

“I think on one hand it’s part of the business,” Leitao said, “[and] on the other hand you want to keep the continuity; [but] like I said, it’s still ongoing.”

 

Groh adds to his recruiting class
UVa Roundup
From staff reports / Charlottesville Daily Progress
May 23, 2006

Virginia’s football program added one commitment on Monday and could add another this afternoon when one of the state’s top defensive players will announce his decision at a press conference.

On Monday, Chase Minnifield, a running back and defensive back from Henry Clay High School in Lexington, Ky., announced his commitment to the Cavaliers. Minnifield, who will likely play wide receiver in college, chose UVa over Louisville and a host of other schools. He is the son of former NFL standout Frank Minnifield.

This afternoon in Gloucester, linebacker/defensive end Aaron Taliaferro, will announce his decision at the school. He has narrowed his list to Virginia, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Kansas State and Maryland. Taliaferro has been compared to former UVa outside linebacker Darryl Blackstock.

Men’s tennis falls to No. 1 Georgia

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - The No. 8-seeded Virginia men’s tennis team had its season come to a close Sunday night with a 4-0 loss to No. 1 Georgia in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia (28-0) opened the match - which was moved inside because of rain - by taking the doubles point, then earned wins at Nos. 1, 2 and 4 singles to clinch the victory.

“I was pleased with our effort tonight,” said Virginia head coach Brian Boland. “We got caught in a bad situation tonight, as it is always tough to play the national indoor champion inside.”

The loss closes UVa’s record at 24-9 this season. Four Cavs will remain in California for the NCAA Individual Championships later this week. Rylan Rizza and Nick Meythaler will compete in the doubles championship, while Rizza and Somdev Devvarman will compete in the singles championship. Trent Huey could also make the singles field as an alternate.

Three rowers earn national honors

Three members of the Virginia women’s rowing team have been honored by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association.

Juniors Heather Gardner and Melanie Kok were named to the first-team All-South Region, while junior Kerry Maher earned second-team all-region accolades. The three Cavaliers each rowed for UVa’s nationally ranked varsity eight crew.
 

UVa's Doolittle earns top honor
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
May 23, 2006

Shortly after arriving in Jacksonville, Fla., on Monday for the ACC Baseball Championship, Sean Doolittle got a strange text message on his cell phone.

It is one that he will never forget.

Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, a teammate of Doolittle’s last year at Virginia, offered congratulations for an award that Doolittle knew nothing about.

“Zimmerman, of all people, texted me after our practice,” Doolittle said. “He wrote ‘Congratulations on Player of the Year.’”

Doolittle did a double-take and asked fellow pitcher Pat McAnaney what it meant.

“I showed it to ‘P-Mac’ and said ‘What is this?’ He said he didn’t know and he didn’t know what to tell me,” Doolittle said. “I think he was trying to play it off. I wasn’t sure if that was ‘P-Mac’ being ‘P-Mac,’ or what the deal was there.”

Hours later, Doolittle found out what Zimmerman was talking about. At an honors banquet at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, Doolittle was officially named the ACC Player of the Year.

“It still hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Doolittle said, “but I’m really excited about it.”

Doolittle, who was also named to the All-ACC First Team as a starting pitcher, had some company. Tom Hagan was a first-team selection as a designated hitter and utility player, while right fielder Brandon Marsh and starting pitcher Jacob Thompson earned second-team honors

“There are so many great players in this league and for Sean Doolittle to be the Player of the Year, and for those other guys to win awards it is great,” said Virginia coach Brian O’Connor. “I am so happy for them.”

Virginia (45-11, 21-9 ACC) earned the No. 3 seed and a date with Florida State in the opening round of the tournament. The Cavaliers, who are ranked as high as fifth in the latest national polls, will play the Seminoles on Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Doolittle, who played in every game for UVa this year, is the second Cavalier to be named ACC Player of the Year in three seasons. Joe Koshansky won the award in 2004.

Like Koshansky, Doolittle pitched on the weekend in league play and played first base. On the mound, Doolittle went 10-1 with a stellar 1.90 ERA. With the bat, the sophomore hit .318 and led the team with 52 RBI and 50 walks.

Doolittle said he didn’t think about winning the league’s most coveted honor at any point this season.

“With a team like this, I have had so much fun just playing and having the success that we have had this year. I have not focused on individual success and individual statistics,” Doolittle said. “You just go out there and play.”

Doolittle said he couldn’t have won the award without the trust of his coaches to let him do the two things he loves more than anything - hit and pitch.

“There were a number of programs when I was getting recruited and going through the whole recruiting process that I had interest in, but they were only going to let me pitch,” Doolittle said. “It was pretty easy for me to tell them ‘No thanks’ when Virginia promised me that I had the chance to do both in that ‘Koshansky role.’”

Hagan, a senior, hit .363 and led the team in on-base percentage (.468) and stolen bases (19), which tied him for fifth-best in the ACC.

Hagan said being a first-team selection was a surprise, “especially with having no home runs.”

“I guess it is just a testament to the effort and hard work that I put in during the offseason,” Hagan said, “and just staying focused during the year and having my teammates pick me up. It was a combination of all that.”

Considering that Marsh started the season as a platoon player with Tim Henry and Mike Mitchell in Virginia’s outfield, he was a surprise pick to many. After Mitchell broke a bone in his hand, Marsh jumped into the starting lineup and never looked back, starting the final 29 ACC games.

The junior college transfer’s .371 batting average was tops on the team and fifth-best in the ACC. Marsh also finished eighth in the league in on-base percentage (.467).

“He put up great numbers and got a lot of big hits for us,” O’Connor said.

For Thompson, who went 10-2 with a 2.07 ERA in his rookie season, the honor was a “team award.”

Thompson said he was stunned when he heard his name with the likes of Clemson’s Jason Berken and FSU’s Tyler Chambliss as starting pitchers on the second team.

“I was really nervous when they called my name,” Thompson said. “I had trouble walking up there.”

Thompson was 6-2 in his 10 starts in ACC play and was the only Cavalier starter not to give up a homer against league foes.

“Jacob was Mr. Consistent all year, and the ACC coaches took notice of that,” O’Connor said. “That is the first of many awards that he’s going to win in his career at the University of Virginia.”

North Carolina pitcher Andrew Miller was named the ACC Pitcher of the Year and Wake Forest rookie Allen Dykstra was named ACC Freshman of the Year. Clemson coach Jack Leggett was named ACC Coach of the Year for the third time in his career.

Clemson (43-13) enters the ACC Tournament as the top seed and on a 15-game winning streak.

 

Defense seeking results of tests
Benjamin Niolet and Joseph Neff, Staff Writers

DURHAM - Lawyers representing an indicted Duke University lacrosse player Monday requested the results of any toxicology tests performed on a woman after she said she was raped at a team party.
Attorneys for Reade William Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., said they reviewed 1,278 pages of the state's evidence and found no report of whether the woman, an escort service employee, was tested for drugs or alcohol.

When police first encountered the woman, they took her to a detoxification clinic because they thought she was drunk. Earlier this month, Newsweek magazine wrote that Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong hinted that the woman might have been drugged.

According to the Durham Police Department's standard operating procedure, detectives on a sexual assault case should consider collecting a urine sample if there is an allegation or belief that a date rape drug was used.

Seligmann's attorneys, Kirk Osborn of Chapel Hill and Ernest Conner Jr. of Greenville, want to know whether anyone tested the woman for drugs or alcohol.

A message left for Nifong was not returned Monday.

Last week, Nifong turned over his first batch of evidence to lawyers representing Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., and Dave Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md. The three players have been charged with rape, sex offense and kidnapping. Lawyers representing the team's players have said that no rape occurred at the party -- that two dancers arrived, and one of them was too drunk to perform.

Nifong turned over the documents, two videotapes and a compact disc of photos last week. Under the state's discovery law, the prosecution must turn over to defense lawyers all of the evidence it collects.

"We've been through the discovery," Osborn said. "We're not at all concerned with what we've seen."

Osborn declined to discuss the details of the files.

Behavior issue

The woman seems likely to be one of the most important witnesses the state can call, and whether she was drunk or had been drugged is sure to come up at trial.

Court filings show that her behavior that night has become an issue in the rape case. After the two escort service workers left the party, they went to a grocery store. Police got a call about an intoxicated person refusing to get out of a car in the parking lot of the Kroger on Hillsborough Road. Police took the accuser for detoxification to a county-run clinic. There, she said she had been raped. Police took her to Duke Hospital and officially changed the case from an intoxicated person to rape.

The defense team's attorneys, bolstered by photographs taken at the party, said the accuser was stumbling and incoherent when she arrived.

The other woman hired to dance at the party, Kim Roberts, told The News & Observer that the accuser was not drunk when she arrived.

But in a previous interview with Newsweek magazine, Roberts said that the players handed the women mixed drinks. Roberts did not drink hers but after the other woman had a drink and a half, she began stumbling.

The evidence provided to the lawyers includes mention of a blood sample and cheek swab taken from the woman, but a nurse trained in sexual assault examination specifically noted that toxicology samples were not collected, according to Seligmann's court papers filed Monday.