Virginia tops Boston College to halt slide
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
May 18, 2007

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Winning 40 games in a season is never easy.

Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor has promised that. Even he, however, had no idea just what it would take to reach that milestone this year.

After stumbling in three consecutive games for the first time this season, the Cavaliers finally reached their goal Thursday.

Virginia plated a pair of runs in the 10th inning and recorded a timely game-ending double play to down Boston College, 5-4, at Shea Field.

“At times in a season when things aren’t going right for you, it is hard to get out of [the slide],” O’Connor said. “That could have been a game that we lost at the end, but we hung in there and found a way to win it.”

Virginia (40-13, 18-9 ACC) not only snapped its losing streak, but the Cavaliers also moved into a tie with fourth-ranked North Carolina for the top spot in the ACC’s Coastal Division. The Tar Heels open a three-game series at Maryland today.

The Cavaliers’ victory did not come in optimal fashion. In addition to taking an extra frame, Virginia had to overcome the elements - the game-time temperature was in the 40s, which was magnified by a constant breeze.

Jacob Thompson, the Cavaliers’ ace right-hander, appeared unfazed on the mound after surviving a wild first inning.

After being spotted two early runs - Sean Doolittle delivered an RBI single for UVa and scored on a sacrifice fly from David Adams - Thompson gave both runs back.

The sophomore committed his first error of the season, throwing errantly to second on a fielder’s choice, which ultimately led to a pair of unearned runs.

“We came out swinging the bats real well right away and unfortunately Jacob took a chance and tried to throw a guy out at second base and it didn’t go well,” O’Connor said.

Thompson, who did not earn a decision, settled into a groove in the second inning - he retired 11 straight Boston College batters until allowing a two-out walk in the fifth inning to Peter Frates.

The Cavaliers regained the lead in the sixth, at 3-2, as Adams drilled an RBI single up the middle off the foot of BC starting pitcher Kevin Boggan.

Thompson pitched around a pair of two-out singles in the sixth and struck out the Eagles in order in the seventh on just 10 pitches.

“Late in the game, Jacob was as dominating as he has been,” O’Connor said. “He was down in the zone with his fastball, he had good velocity and he was throwing his breaking ball for strikes.

“I thought he pitched really well other than that first inning.”

Thompson, however, ran into trouble in the eighth. The Eagles put two runners in scoring position with a leadoff single and a one-out double.

Virginia reliever Jake Rule, as he had done against N.C. State last Friday, rescued Thompson and minimized the damage by allowing an RBI sacrifice fly and inducing a ground out.

“When I came into that situation we had the lead, so I was just trying to throw strikes,” said Rule (5-4), who retired five of the six batters he faced and earned the win. “I just wanted to keep it at 3-3 and let our offense come in and do the job.”

In the 10th, Doolittle opened the frame with his third hit of the game - the junior belted a two-strike changeup off BC reliever Ted Ratliff (6-3) into center.

Brandon Guyer, who finished 3 for 5, followed with a bunt single and stole second.

Adams gave the Cavaliers the lead with an RBI single to right that initially would have only scored Doolittle, but UVa third base coach Kevin McMullan sent Guyer from third once BC right fielder Johnny Ayers misplayed the ball.

Both runs mattered - Virginia closer Casey Lambert allowed a lone run in the bottom of the 10th before getting BC third baseman Eric Campbell to ground into a double play that secured the reliever’s 11th save of the season.

“Casey gave up the one run, but he didn’t let it impact him and he did the job for his team,” O’Connor said. “I was really proud of our team today. I thought we really battled and competed like I said we had to.

“If we play hard like we did today and really compete on the mound, we are going to have a lot of success.”

Virginia and BC (24-26-1, 12-16 ACC) are slated to play today at 1 p.m., weather permitting.

 

Miclat goes under the knife, out for 9 months
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
May 18, 2007

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Visually, it appeared that Greg Miclat had played nine full innings.

The eye black on his face, somewhat smeared by sweat on a humid night at Davenport Field, helped with the imagery.

The crack in his voice and the concern flashed upon his face Tuesday night told a different story at Davenport Field, where Miclat has turned numerous double plays and turned his share of singles into two-base hits.

The swift-footed, hard-throwing infielder knew he was set to board a plane in mere hours to have a life-changing operation on the very throwing arm that could, and still may, land him enough compensation to retire comfortably in a couple decades.

A trip to see Dr. James Andrews, easily regarded as the nation’s best arm surgeon, would create a stir with the average college baseball star. Not so, with Mr. Miclat.

The sophomore embraced the process, perhaps even delaying it longer than he should have, hoping throughout that he could help Virginia’s baseball program earn its first trip to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series.

“It was definitely a tough decision trying to balance out what is best for myself and knowing that I can help this team win,” Miclat said. “It is so hard sitting in the dugout in games with us behind and not having control of the game.”

The decision was essentially a no-brainer after numerous treatments started to lose their intended effect.

“The fact is, with my cortisone shots, I couldn’t get anymore,” Miclat said. “I feel the pain doing everything. Before, whenever I had pain, I got another cortisone shot and it felt good.

“It was a tough decision. It really was.”

The initial pain for Miclat, who has registered 134 hits and 53 stolen bases in two years, arose during fall workouts in October.

“It was so bad I had to shut it down,” Miclat said. “I actually didn’t throw any at all until right after Christmas.”

At that point at least, Miclat thought he was safe. That prognosis, however, changed when a stinging sensation returned.

“I lifted one day before I threw and that pretty much set me back,” Miclat said. “I felt the pain in my arm the next day, so I shut it down again and just gradually started throwing.”

As the season started, Miclat envisioned that he could pick and choose the spots to release his right-handed fastball from the left side of the diamond.

The week before the ACC schedule started, however, Miclat lost velocity.

“The series before Wake [Forest] I felt my arm strength diminish,” Miclat said. “There was a chopper [against Delaware] and I felt like I threw the ball hard and it didn’t get there as fast as it usually does.

“I didn’t handle it the best because I am so used to throwing it as hard as I can. I should have probably used it only when I needed to, but it was a learning experience.”

Despite earning periodic starts the past two months at first and third, Miclat’s partially torn labrum was living on borrowed time. And since Andrews had a surgical fellowship at UVa with Dr. Frank McCue in 1972, Miclat was rushed to the top of the patient list.

On Thursday, as his teammates were in the Boston area opening a three-game series with Boston College, Miclat started what he hopes will be a nine-month recovery process.

“Hopefully, I can start dry swinging in four months,” said Miclat, who will take summer school classes to pass the time. “I don’t know how progressive that is, but I hope to be 100 percent in the middle of February.

“I promise I’m going to do my part with rehab and everything, but the other part is in God’s hands.”

 

Holden offenses at bay
Sophomore a defensive stopper for Cavaliers
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
May 18, 2007

The vicious cycle goes something like this.

Offensive player is repeatedly stopped. Offensive player curses. Offensive player starts to argue with teammates. Offensive player tries to take the game over all by herself.

When the cycle has run its course, nobody on the field is happier than Virginia defender Jen Holden.

“That’s a great feeling - watching a [player] slowly get frustrated and slowly unwind,” Holden said. “It’s really cool.”

On Saturday, Virginia hosts North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. Whether UVa can advance to the Final Four will hinge largely on its defense.

Last month, the unit came up huge in a victory over the Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament final when goalie Kendall McBrearty was named MVP. Last weekend, it held Princeton’s offense in check.

Lost in the shuffle of Virginia’s six-game winning streak has been the play of Holden. The sophomore from Alexandria has been the team’s defensive stopper - the Cavs’ version of NBA guard Bruce Bowen.

“If somebody gets hot and needs to be shut down, we very quickly put Jen Holden on them,” said Virginia coach Julie Myers. “She’s just a tough-minded kid. She doesn’t rattle and is never scared of a matchup. She’s one of those kids that will do anything it takes to win a game.”

In high school, Holden played the midfield for three years. However, she’s been a defender since stepping foot on campus - something she says has suited her fine.

“I love playing defense,” Holden said. “I take every game as a challenge when I get faced with one of the best players from the other team.”

One of the keys to Virginia’s April 29 win over UNC was holding the Tar Heels to just one goal in the second half. Myers put Holden on Kristin Taylor, an offensive dynamo who has 42 goals this season. Holden held Taylor scoreless in the game’s final 30 minutes.

“It’s a great feeling when you stop a great player,” Holden said. “It gets you pumped up for the next play. It’s almost like scoring a goal. Even though people don’t recognize it as much, I feel like it’s scoring a goal.”

Myers says Holden, who is second on the team in ground balls with 38, brings a little bit of everything to the table.

“She sees things very well and communicates very well with her teammates,” Myers said, “and she is really tough-minded, fast and strong.”

Holden has just one point in her college career - an assist last season. Myers believes that’s why she has, for the most part, flown beneath the radar, despite her participation on the U.S. Developmental Team last summer.

“She’s one of our best players,” Myers said, “but hasn’t gotten a lot of the recognition of some of the other kids because it’s easy to see how many goals other kids are scoring and so forth.”

Holden’s teammates are certainly aware of her impact.

“As a sophomore, she commands the defense - you’d think she’d leave that to older people,” said junior Megan O’Malley, laughing.

O’Malley says Holden was a huge help to her when she switched from midfield to defense this season. Holden taught her the many nuances of the position, such as when to slide and provide help defense and when to sit back and pick up cutters.

“That’s allowed us to grow,” O’Malley said, “and get us to where we are now.”

Perhaps the biggest thing Holden brings is her fiery attitude.

“She has the most competitive spirit that I’ve ever played with,” O’Malley said. “She’s all business, she’s energetic and it really keeps the team alive.

“She comes up with quick checks and ground balls that help us take possession back. She’s all over the other team’s best player. She frustrates the heck out of them.”

And Holden enjoys every minute of it.

“They’ll start yelling at each other and trying to tell each other what to do,” said Holden, with a chuckle. “Then they start trying to take it one-on-one. That’s just what we want.”

 

Virginia Men's Tennis Tops Wake Forest 4-1 to Reach NCAA Quarterfinals
Cavaliers meet Southern California on Saturday
May 17, 2007

ATHENS, Ga. - The Virginia men's tennis team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year, downing Wake Forest 4-1 Thursday afternoon in a round of 16 match at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Cavaliers will meet Southern California in a quarterfinal match on Saturday, looking to reach the semifinals for the first time in school history.

"We have a lot of respect for Wake and they played really well today," said Virginia head coach Brian Boland, "To beat a quality opponent like Wake three times in a season, let alone three times in six weeks, is a great accomplishment for any team."

In doubles, the Cavaliers (29-3) took the 1-0 lead with wins at the top two positions. Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Dominic Inglot (London, England) gave Virginia an early edge with their 8-5 win over Cory Parr and Charles Sartor at No. 2 doubles. Virginia clinched the opening point at No. 1 doubles as a battle of top-ten teams was decided in a tiebreaker. No. 2 ranked Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) and Treat Huey (Alexandria) scored a 9-8 (5) win over No. 9 Todd Paul and Mariusz Adamski.

"The doubles point is so crucial at this time of the season," Boland said. "By this point of the tournament, everyone is good and the matchups are so close. It is tough to win four singles matches against anyone here, so it makes winning the doubles so important."

In singles, five of the six matches were close, going to three sets. In the only match to be completed in straight sets, Inglot scored a 6-2, 6-3 win over Andrew Hamar at the No. 3 position to give Virginia a 2-0 lead. The lead was extended to 3-0 as Huey rallied from dropping the first set to down Cory Parr, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 singles. The Demon Deacons (23-7) cut the lead to 3-1 as Steven Forman defeated Barrick 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 5 singles. Ted Angelinos (Athens, Greece) clinched the win for the Cavaliers as he topped Andrew Brasseaux 7-6 (9), 3-6, 6-1 at No. 6 singles.

With the win, the Cavaliers extend their school record for wins in a season to 29. The victory was also the team's 15th consecutive win, one shy of the school record, and 17th consecutive win against an ACC opponent.

USC defeated Notre Dame 4-3 to reach the quarterfinals. Saturday's match between the Cavaliers and the Trojans will start at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.