Cavs overcome State roadblock
Despite early struggles, UVa explodes in 6th inning to dispose of longtime foe
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
May 24, 2007

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Jacob Thompson fired the first pitch Wednesday at the 2007 ACC Baseball Tournament at 10:06 a.m.

About six hours later at the Baseball Grounds, Virginia sat firmly in the driver’s seat in its four-team bracket thanks to yet another Herculean effort from Thompson and a tournament-shocking victory provided by previously slumping Georgia Tech.

Virginia, after stumbling out of the blocks offensively, provided its ace hurler ample run support in a lone frame. The right-hander made the lead stand, propelling the third-seeded Cavaliers to a 6-1 victory over No. 6 North Carolina State, a team they have now faced in every league tournament since 1996.

UVa, which improved to 42-13 overall, received another boost when Georgia Tech mounted a late rally to upset second-seeded North Carolina, 8-4, in the tournament’s second game.

With a win over Georgia Tech today at 4, the Cavaliers could clinch a berth in Sunday’s championship game. That scenario, of course, would require a win from N.C. State over North Carolina.

Those variables, however, were promptly squashed by Virginia coach Brian O’Connor.

“It is the oldest cliché in coaching, but I believe you have to take them one game at a time,” O’Connor said. “You can’t worry about what exactly does it take to get yourself into the championship game … we all know it takes winning [today].”

After five innings against N.C. State, O’Connor was looking at making statements from the opposite end of the spectrum.

The Wolfpack (36-20), clearly a nemesis for Virginia for the last decade, had a 1-0 lead at that point, and their starter, Clayton Schunick, was on cruise control.

In fact, Schunick, who entered the contest with a 5.44 ERA, retired nine straight from the third to fifth innings.

Virginia’s fortunes changed in the sixth inning, a frame that started with a mere single from Brandon Marsh.

“That was big hit because it was the first pitch of the inning,” said Virginia first baseman Sean Doolittle. “Marsh walked right up and saw a fastball and hit it right back up the middle.”

Doolittle followed with a single on a bouncing ball through the right side of the infield.

“I hit the second pitch that I saw, so in a matter of three pitches we had two runners on,” Doolittle said, “and at that point we kind of knew that we had a big opportunity.”

He was so right.

Brandon Guyer, after fouling off a bunt attempt and taking a pitch, executed a drag bunt that rolled evenly between third and the mound. Schunick beat third baseman Ramon Corona to the ball and, unaware that he had company on the play, flipped an untimely backhand toss past the unoccupied bag and into foul territory.

The error allowed Marsh to score, tying the game at 1, and left two runners in scoring position.

“It was really funny,” said N.C. State coach Elliott Avent. “It was not that good of a bunt, but … it was one of those in-betweens, just hard to read.

“If we have a guy that doesn’t get off the mound so good, we come get it and get an out [at first]. It was not that good of a bunt, but it worked out for them.”

The mess was magnified when Virginia sophomore David Adams punched a two-run single up the middle. The Cavaliers went on to score on a bases-loaded walk and a two-run single from freshman Tyler Cannon.

Suddenly staked a five-run lead, Thompson took a new approach and an obvious swagger back to the mound.

In the process of improving to 11-0 on the season and joining crowded company with the most career wins in program history (21), Thompson said his pitching coach Karl Kuhn gave him valuable information.

“As humid and as hot as it was out there … I wanted to get hitters out in three pitches or less,” Thompson said. “That’s what I tried to do.”

Thompson retired six of the final seven batters he faced, before giving way to reliever Jake Rule in the ninth.

“Jacob pitched his best down the stretch of the game and gave us eight great innings,” O’Connor said. “To save our bullpen in a tournament like this, I think, can be really important.”

Schunick, who was charged with all six runs, took the loss, falling to 5-3 on the season.

Adams, Cannon and Doolittle combined for six of Virginia’s 10 hits.

Corona led the Wolfpack with three hits, two of which were doubles.

 

Doolittle ready for Jackets
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
May 24, 2007

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Sean Doolittle admitted it. He had no clue.
Yes, when the two-way star walked into the Baseball Grounds on Tuesday for a practice session, he had no idea when he would take the mound for Virginia.
Would he get the ball in the ACC Tournament opener against North Carolina State?
Having been shelled by the Wolfpack in his shortest start of the season a few weeks prior, the shot at redemption was intriguing.
As the workout started, however, Doolittle suddenly had a better feeling for what was in store for his left arm: 24 additional hours of rest.
Doolittle, 7-3 on the season with a 2.63 ERA, will start today against Georgia Tech at 4 p.m., hoping to match Wednesday’s masterful outing by teammate Jacob Thompson.
“I liked the decision because it let me focus on hitting and helping give our team a chance to win offensively,” said Doolittle, who finished 2 for 4 in the Cavs’ 6-1 victory over the Wolfpack.
What factored into Virginia coach Brian O’Connor’s decision for holding Doolittle back?
An obvious reason, he pointed out, was that his flame-throwing southpaw did not face the Yellow Jackets during the regular season. Doolittle, likely pitching in his last ACC Tournament, was slated to face Georgia Tech on April 15, but that contest was canceled due to inclement weather.
During his career, Doolittle has faced Georgia Tech four times, just one, however, as a starter.
The start, a ro ad game in 2006, remains special. Doolittle earned the win with six strong innings and seven strikeouts.
“That was Coach O’Connor’s 100th career win, so that made it a big day,” Doolittle said. “It was also my first ACC start. That obviously was cool.”
Doolittle also made three relief appearances against Georgia Tech in ’05. The first two were sizzlers - he combined to hurl seven scoreless innings of relief in two back-to-back outings, striking out 10. The other appearance, which came in the title game of the ACC Tournament, went down as the first loss of his Doolittle’s career after he went 1.2 innings and gave up two earned runs.
As for Yellow Jackets coach Danny Hall, he said he plans to counter with Eddie Burns (3-3, 3.78 ERA).
Burns, a sophomore, started against UVa in the second game of the series in April, allowing three runs and seven hits in four innings.

Arms in the outfield
In the first three innings on Wednesday, three different outfielders helped record big outs for their teams.
In the top of the first, Virginia’s left fielder Brandon Guyer gunned out Ramon Corona at the plate on a two-out single.
Minutes later, N.C. State right fielder Ryan Pond nailed David Adams at the plate on a single off the bat of Patrick Wingfield. That play also ended the frame.
Virginia right fielder Brandon Marsh joined the party in the third when he hauled in a fly ball and fired back to first in time to double up Marcus Jones.
“The ground is hard here,” O’Connor said, alluding to the lack of rain in Jacksonville the last month. “You can hit a lot of balls through the infield. The ball gets to the outfielders very, very quickly.
“Those won’t be the last of those that we see this week.”

Getting better with age
Whether it was the snap of his glove or his body language, it was obvious that Thompson was uncomfortable on the mound early against N.C. State.
“I really didn’t feel that great in the pen,” Thompson said. “I wasn’t putting hitters away early. They were hitting everything.”
Thompson eventually calmed down - he allowed only one hit after the fourth inning.
“I couldn’t find a groove early,” Thompson said, “and once I settled in and got angry, I seemed to find it more.”

One and done
During a post-game press conference, a reporter asked Virginia’s coach about bringing Thompson back to pitch in the title game on Sunday, should the Cavaliers advance that far.
O’Connor, as though he was ready for the question, answered quickly.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “No chance.”
O’Connor even pointed out that his ace tried to pitch a complete game, begging him to pitch the ninth.
“He wanted to go out, but he has a pretty important game next weekend [in the NCAA Tournament],” O’Connor said. “And he is going to have a long career in this game. I obviously have to do what is best for him.”

Sounding off
“[Jacob Thompson] is not the ACC Pitcher of the Year for one reason: Bryan Henry is 14-0 with great stuff. [The ACC] actually has two Pitchers of the Year. [Thompson] is 11-0 for a reason and I don’t know that anybody in the league has a one-something ERA that is a starter. He is a great pitcher and he commands two pitches outstandingly. He is really good.” - N.C. State coach Elliott Avent

 

UVa's Morgan a baller at heart
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
May 24, 2007

Most college athletes who play at the Division-I level have to make sacrifices.

But when Jessy Morgan first stepped foot on the Virginia campus, there was one sacrifice she was unwilling to make.

Morgan didn’t want to give up one of her biggest passions: pick-up basketball.

As a freshman, the Baltimore native spent countless hours playing with Alisa Wulff, a former member of the Virginia basketball team. Morgan was a total hoops junkie.

“We played basketball every opportunity we could - between classes in the morning and afternoon,” said Morgan, a senior. “I remember playing pick-up and then running to [lacrosse] games.”

Morgan, who was on several intramural teams, spent so much time on the hardwood that Virginia coach Julie Myers eventually had to step in.

“I’m probably the only player banned from intramural sports,” said Morgan, laughing.

Morgan is glad that Myers made her focus more on lacrosse. She still longs for the day when she can play as much basketball as she wants, but she is thankful Myers helped her reach her lacrosse potential.

On Friday, Morgan will be a vital player when Virginia takes on Duke in the NCAA Final Four in Philadelphia.

“She is our vocal leader for sure,” Myers said. “She’s always talking and directing the defense. She’s been huge toward our success.”

Morgan has had hoops in her blood since she was a kid. That’s what made saying goodbye to the sport so difficult. She grew up playing in her backyard with male cousins.

Morgan was a three-sport star in high school. She lettered all four years in basketball, volleyball and lacrosse.

It was the summer before her senior year that Morgan attended a lacrosse camp at Virginia and made the determination that she could go farther in lacrosse than in basketball.

Still, it wasn’t easy to quit the sport cold turkey - especially when she arrived at UVa and began playing in pick-up games with members of the men’s team, including J.R. Reynolds and Jason Cain.

“They’re good,” Morgan said. “I’m gonna give them their props, but I can get a couple of baskets off them - even though I know I wouldn’t win [a game of one-on-one].”

It’s that kind of bravado - believing she can play with at least one guy who might be playing in the NBA next year - that has made Morgan a success on the lacrosse field. Myers said Morgan has a competitive streak that is perfect for a defender.

That, along with tremendous athletic ability, is what originally grabbed the attention of the Virginia coaching staff.

“You could tell lacrosse was pretty new to her,” Myers recalled, “but she was a great athlete and someone we thought we could work with.”

And once Myers got Morgan to kick hoops to the curb, it was smooth sailing.

“It took us about a year to get it in her head that she was here to play lacrosse,” Myers said, “and that she needed to have a stick in her hand as often as she had a volleyball or basketball in her hand.”

As a freshman and sophomore, Morgan barely got on the field. She appeared in just 15 of the team’s 44 games.

However, Morgan began working much harder in the summer before her junior year.

“I think she realized that she didn’t want to just play lacrosse - she wanted to be good at it,” Myers said, “and get on our field come game time.”

Morgan wound up starting all 19 contests. Last March, after the team hammered Princeton, 16-3, Morgan was named National Player of the Week by InsideLacrosse.com.

“It was my chance to show what I could do,” she said, “and show the things that I had learned in my first two years.”

Morgan, who has notched 31 ground balls this season (fifth on the team), believes her basketball skills have been a help in her development as a lacrosse player. Seeing the field is something that comes natural to her, she said.

Believe it or not, Morgan - who wears No. 23 in honor of Michael Jordan - is tinkering with the idea of trying to play college basketball after the completion of her lacrosse career. She has already graduated from Virginia but still has one year of Division I hoops eligibility.

Morgan has had preliminary discussions with UVa coach Debbie Ryan about joining the squad. She is also considering playing at smaller schools near her home in Maryland.

“I can’t wait for the summer to play,” Morgan said. “I usually play every day during the summer. [Basketball] is always in the back of my mind.”

Still, Morgan says she has no regrets about choosing lacrosse.

“It’s given me a lot more opportunities,” she said, “and opened up a lot more doors.”

 

Devvarman Advances On Day One of the NCAA Singles Championship
Huey falls in first round action
May 23, 2007

ATHENS, Ga. - Virginia junior Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India) reached the second round of the 2007 NCAA Singles Championship with a 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 win over Sheeva Parbhu of Notre Dame Monday morning in a first round match at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. In other first round action, Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) fell 6-3, 6-4 to Jesse Levine of Florida.

Devvarman, the tournament's No. 2 seed, opened his match strong. After Parbhu held serve in the first game of the match, Devvarman won six consecutive games to take the first set 6-1. He continued the momentum into the second set and built a 4-1 lead. However, Parbhu responded and rallied to win four consecutive games to take a 5-4 lead. With Parbhu serving for the second set, Devvarman broke to get to 5-5. Parbhu broke back in the following game and then held serve to win the second set 7-5. In the deciding set, Parbhu took an early advantage by breaking Devvarman at 1-1 to take a 2-1 lead. He held that advantage until Devvarman broke back to even the final set at 4-4. Both players held serve over the next four games to force a tiebreaker to decide the match. Devvarman jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the breaker before Parbhu won a pair of points to cut the advantage to 3-2. The Cavalier junior then won the next four points to win the breaker 7-2 and the match 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (2).

For Devvarman, it marked the third consecutive year he won his opening round match of the NCAA Tournament. Last season he reached the finals, falling to UCLA's Benjamin Kohlloeffel. In that tournament, he defeated Parbhu in the quarterfinals. The win was also Devvarman's 39th singles win of the season, the second most in school history and tying his personal high set in 2005. He is one win of tying the school record of 40 single wins in a season set by Brian Vahaly in 2001 when he reached the NCAA singles final in Athens.

Huey played third seeded Levine, the ITA National Freshman of the Year, who has an undefeated collegiate singles record. The players remained on serve in the first set until Levine broke Huey to go up 5-3 and then held to win the opening set 6-3. Levine opened a 4-0 lead in the second set and was up 5-1. Huey held serve and then broke Levine in the next to close to 5-3 in the set. After Huey held to get to 5-4, Levine held to close out the set and the match, 6-3, 6-4. Huey ends his singles season with a 35-7 record.

Devvarman will meet Oleksandr Nedovyesov of Oklahoma State in the second round Thursday. Nedovyesov defeated Roy Sichel of Charlotte 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in a first round match Wednesday. Thursday also marks the start of the NCAA Doubles Championship. Devvarman and Huey are the No. 2 seed in the draw and will play Travis Helgeson and Matic Omerzel in the first round.

 

Four Cavaliers Named to All-Regional Teams
Breslin, Weymouth, Wasilewski and Holden recognized
May 24, 2007

Four Virginia women's lacrosse players were named to the South All-Regional teams, as announced by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) tonight. Second-year Blair Weymouth makes her second appearance on the team, while fourth-years Kate Breslin and Jess Wasilewski and second-year Jen Holden were all recognized for the first time. Breslin, Weymouth and Wasilewski were named to the first team while Holden is a second team selection.

Breslin, a 2007 semifinalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy, leads the Cavaliers with 65 goals and 27 assists on the season. She now holds the record for goals as a fourth-year (with Dawn Wisniewski, 1987) and her 92 points ranks sixth all-time for a single season in Virginia history while her 27 assists ranks ninth all-time in school history. She also ranks 10th all-time in school history with 179 points. Breslin ranks 15th nationally in points per game (4.38) and 16th in goals per game (3.10). Her 9 points (6g, 3a) against Princeton ranks fourth all-time in NCAA tournament history for a single game and tied the Virginia record for NCAA championship history (Lauren Aumiller, 8+1 vs Georgetown, 2003). Her 16 points--in only two NCAA Championship games--ranks 11th all-time for a championship; she needs just six points to move into a tie for fifth all-time (ironically, with current assistant coach Amy Appelt, who had 22 in 2004). She needs three goals to move into fourth all-time for a single championships.

Weymouth ranks second on the team in points (79), goals (53) and assists (26); all three totals place her in the top-three all-time as a second-year. The 2006 ACC and National Rookie of the Year, Weymouth earned second team All-American honors in 2006 and is making her second appearance on the South All-Regional team.

Wasilewski moved into the top-10 all-time for assists as a fourth year with her 18 in 2007; she has been a mainstay on the Cavalier teams since starting as a first-year in Virginia's championship season of 2004. A significant part of the UVa midfield; Wasilewski has been a major part of helping the Cavaliers rank in the top-10 nationally in scoring defense (7.90 gapg) and scoring margin (5.10). An All-ACC honoree in 2007, this is her first regional honor.

Holden leads all field players in minutes played; she has started all 21 games in 2007 in the defense and has helped Virginia rank fifth nationally in scoring defense (7.90 GAA). Holden ranks second on the team in ground balls and fourth in caused turnovers.

Virginia will face Duke in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships on Friday, May 25 at approximately 8:30 in Philadelphia at Franklin Field.

Brown sheds weight for Cards
Young offensive lineman loses 40 pounds in the off-season to fit into Whisenhunt's offense
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
May. 23, 2007 12:00 AM

Guard Elton Brown turned 25 Tuesday and has spent only two years in the NFL. Yet, it's not an exaggeration to say that his football career is at a crossroads.

After starting seven games as a rookie in 2005 , Brown was inactive for every game last year. His weight ballooned from 340 pounds to around 380, and the former fourth-round pick knew he either had to trim down or risk being cut.

So over the past few months, Brown has dropped around 40 pounds. He's at 339, he said, and would like to lose 10 more, which would bring him down to what he weighed as a senior at Virginia.

"In the off-season this year, I took it real serious," he said. "Like I said, new coaching staff, new beginning. I got my chance again."

Slow, overweight guards have no place in the new Cardinals offense. Coach Ken Whisenhunt wants guards who can run and pull. "Being 375-380 is not acceptable," Brown said, "especially in the offense we have to run."

Brown started a regular workout routine and adhered to a strict diet. No fried foods. No stops for fast food, which became routine last year.

If Brown is to make the team, it will be as a backup. He's currently playing behind Reggie Wells at left guard, but can play the right side, which he did as a rookie.

Brown misses his mom's fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, but it's worth it if it keeps him on the roster.

"It's a new beginning," he said.

 

Cowboys' DEs realize future is now
By MAC ENGEL
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
IRVING -- Inside the Cowboys' draft room during the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft, Bill Parcells was withdrawn. The Cowboys coach liked first-round pick DeMarcus Ware, but eyed another defensive player.

The scowl on Parcells' face turned to a smile when LSU defensive end Marcus Spears became available with the 20th overall pick. He was the player Parcells coveted to fit his 3-4 scheme.

The next day the Cowboys were giddy when Virginia defensive end Chris Canty dropped to the fourth round. They had their future defensive ends.

Two full seasons have passed since then, and the Cowboys' defensive bookends have been OK. Not bad. Not great. Not as good as they need to be.

"When you win, nothing is called out," Spears said. "When you lose, someone has to take responsibility for it, and me and Chris got this and we tried to deal with it."

The "this" Spears refers to is production, or a lack thereof. The pair combined for two sacks last season.

With a new head coach and a new scheme, Spears and Canty are counting on themselves to not only be better, but as good as they were advertised two years ago.

"It's not expectations, it's a level of responsibility," Spears said of being a first-round selection. "You have a responsibility to help the team get better and do certain things. Sometimes it works out quick, sometimes it works out later, and sometimes it doesn't work out at all. Hopefully, I'm turning the corner."

Those inside the Cowboys' draft circle in 2005 insisted that Spears was "a steal," and that drafting him was supposed to make passing on running back Stephen Jackson more than palatable. The pick used to select Spears was the position the Cowboys acquired in 2004, when they traded down with Buffalo, passing potentially on Jackson.

Spears was supposed to be the earth-clearing force at defensive end. But he's been plagued by inconsistency, the same type of irregularity that followed him as a collegian.

He could be dominant -- much like he was in the Cowboys' 21-14 win against the Indianapolis Colts in early November last year. He also was a force against the Seattle Seahawks in the playoff loss.

But in between there have been prolonged periods of Caspar the Friendly Ghost-like absences. He knows it, too.

"When you play well one week and come back the next week and stink it up, you are trying to find a common ground to figure out what's going on," Spears said. "Nobody needs to point a finger; I'm the guy on the field."

Canty hasn't shown the degree of domination that Spears has. He's been criticized for over-thinking, and playing too tall. But the Cowboys know there is a player in Canty, too.

"I know it's hard to say this because of what happened to us at the end of last season, but I think I played my best football of the year then," Canty said. "It was a learning experience, and I want it to carry over to this season."

Spears and Canty both feel that the slight change from Wade Phillips' style of 3-4 defense will lead to a dramatic change in their play. Rather than read and occupy opposing tackles, they will be asked/demanded to rush through gaps. It's a return to a style that Spears said he played from pee-wee football until he arrived at LSU.

From Spears to Canty to Phillips to defensive coordinator Brian Stewart, all are confident the results will speak for themselves.

"I wouldn't say they've been up and down," Stewart said. "They had been head-on with the tackle every single time and they were pretty good against the run. Now you can see how athletic and what else they can do."