Cavaliers Receive Top Seed in NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 04/30/2008
Courtesy: Jim Daves/UVa Media Relations

CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Virginia men’s tennis team had three singles players and one doubles team selected for the 2008 NCAA Individual Championships, to be held May 21-26 at the Michael Case Tennis Center at the University of Tulsa. The selections were headlined by Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India), who is the No. 1 seed for the singles tournament, and with Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.), the No. 1 seed for the doubles tournament.

Devvarman, the 2007 NCAA Singles Champion, is looking to be just the fourth player in the past 50 years to win consecutive singles crowns. Also the 2006 NCAA singles runner-up, Devvarman could become the first player since Northwestern’s Marty Riessen (1962-64) to reach three consecutive NCAA singles finals. This season, Devvarman has posted a 36-1 singles record, including a 23-0 mark in dual match play. He has been ranked No. 1 in the ITA rankings every week of the season.

Dominic Inglot (London, England) is a 9-16 seed in the tournament, marking the first time in history that the Cavaliers have had two players seeded. Inglot is currently ranked No. 17 in the ITA rankings and has a 20-9 overall singles record. It will be Inglot’s first NCAA Singles Championship appearance.

Huey is making his second NCAA singles appearance, as Virginia ties the school record set in 2005 with three players in the singles draw. Huey has a 30-5 singles record this season and is ranked No. 28 in the ITA rankings.

Devvarman and Huey, ranked No. 1 in every week of the year in the ITA rankings, are the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Doubles Championship. Last year, the duo was the No. 2 seed in the event and fell in the semifinals. Huey and Devvarman won both the ITA All-America Championships and the ITA National Indoor Championships in the fall, and are looking to be just the second team to win all three major tournaments in the same season, joining California’s Doug Eisenman and Matt Lucena who won all three during the 1989-90 season.

First-years Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) and Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) were selected as the sixth alternate for the NCAA Doubles Championship and could still make the draw if enough teams pull out of the tournament. The Cavaliers have never had multiple teams in the NCAA Doubles Championship.

Virginia, the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Team Championship, opens play May 10-11 as it hosts first and second round action at the Snyder Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (28-0) meet Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round, with VCU and Penn State also competing in the Charlottesville Regional.

 

Cavs draw Knights in NCAAs
By Whitey Reid
Published: April 30, 2008

Many college tennis observers believe this is the year the Virginia men’s team will capture its first-ever NCAA championship.
Count Patrick McEnroe among them.
On Tuesday afternoon, the ESPN commentator elicited loud cheers from a throng of Virginia tennis fans that had gathered to watch the NCAA Tournament Selection Show at the Boar’s Head Sports Club.
When asked during the broadcast if UVa was the team to beat in this year’s tournament, McEnroe said, “You’ve got to like the Cavs.”
Undefeated Virginia was tabbed as the No. 1 seed and will host first- and second-round action at the Snyder Tennis Center next week. The Cavaliers will meet Fairleigh Dickinson (12-8) in a first-round match on Saturday, May 10, while VCU will play Penn State in the other first-round tilt in Charlottesville.
“We’re honored to be the No. 1 seed,” said Virginia coach Brian Boland. “The guys have worked hard all year and I think they deserve it.
“Now we just need to go out and enjoy the journey and take one match at a time.”
Last weekend in Florida, Virginia (28-0) won the ACC Tournament in dominating fashion.
Senior Somdev Devvarman, the top-ranked player in the country, says the team is on a mission.
“Our practices have been really good,” Devvarman said. “We’re just getting stronger and stronger. We’re going to be really tough out there.”
The Cavaliers become the first ACC team to receive the No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. The previous high seed in conference history came in 2005 when Virginia was the No. 2 seed.
The selection marks the fifth consecutive year that the Cavaliers have received a national seed and will host a regional. Virginia is the only school to be a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past five years.
In each of the past four years, UVa won first- and second-round matches at home to advance as one of 16 regional winners to the NCAA Championships. This year, the University of Tulsa will host the NCAA Championships.
Boland doesn’t know much about FDU, his team’s first-round opponent. However, he’s pretty familiar with VCU and Penn State.
On Feb. 1 in Charlottesville, Virginia defeated VCU, 7-0. Two weeks later, at the Indoor National Championships in Seattle, UVa beat Penn State, 4-0.
“They’re both great programs,” Boland said. “Todd [Doebler] has done a great job of bringing Penn State along and VCU has been a powerhouse for many years. We have so much respect for them.”
Last season, Virginia came up just short in the NCAA Tournament, losing in the finals to Georgia.
“We learned so much from last year’s loss and the new guys we added this year — Michael Shabaz and Sanam Singh — have pushed the team to another level,” said UVa senior Treat Huey. “They’re unbelievable freshmen players. With them, our depth is unbelievable.
“We feel ready and excited.”
Added Boland: “The majority of our team from last year is back and we’re hungry. They push each other every day and make each other better. It’s a special group of guys.”
It’s a group that has received a great amount of support from the Charlottesville community. Virginia led the country in attendance this season and had a nice turnout for Tuesday’s festivities.
Shortly after McEnroe touted UVa as the team to beat in the tournament, he talked about the Cavs’ powerful one-two punch of Devvarman and Huey.
“That was great,” said Huey, smiling. “I’ve never met him, but he’s a pretty good guy to get some recognition from.”

 

Virginia rolls to victory
By Jay Jenkins
Published: April 30, 2008

How it exactly happened is a miniature mystery to Phil Gosselin.
The fact that the Virginia infielder did not need the hamate bone in his wrist only added to his disbelief.
The timing, of course, only compounded the situation.
But just four weeks after surgery to remove the broken wedge-shaped bone in his wrist, Gosselin made a successful return to the diamond — and Mount St. Mary’s pitching staff paid the price.
Gosselin collected three hits and three RBI as Virginia awoke from an offensive slump with an 11-1 win at Davenport Field.
“I didn’t think there would be any chance of Phil coming back until the North Carolina series,” said Virginia coach Brian O’Connor. “It was great to see him get back in there and get him some at-bats going into the North Carolina series.”
The series with UNC, however, will not be played until May 9 as the Cavaliers take a 10-day break for exams.
Entering that layoff with a five-game losing streak was not something Gosselin or any other player on the roster had experienced in their college careers at UVa.
“That was huge,” said shortstop Greg Miclat. “It’s a huge win for our team. We were close against William and Mary and at Miami, but we didn’t play well enough. Going into this 10-day break being on top helps set the tone for our practices and, hopefully, our practices will remain upbeat, and it certainly helped to have Phil’s bat back in the lineup.”
Snapping that losing skid, which included two one-run losses at Miami, looked challenging after the game’s first few minutes.
Mount St. Mary’s (12-26) plated an early run off Virginia starter Robert Poutier in the first inning.
“I made a few bad pitches, including a change up over the middle of the plate,” Poutier said. “That cost me the run.”
Poutier settled down, pitching five innings for his second win of the season, and got ample support as Virginia scored at least a run in each of their first five frames against four Mountaineer hurlers. In fact, and thanks in part to a four-run fourth, the Cavaliers led 10-1 when Poutier was pulled.
“When your offense comes back and scores runs, it is a big boost for the club,” Poutier said. “We scored runs in the first five innings which was huge for our offense, which was struggling down at Miami.”
After Poutier struck out five, Virginia’s relievers retired 10 of the 12 batters that they faced via the strike out. Seldom-used reliever Brad Grove even struck out the side in order in the seventh.
“They couldn’t figure out his change up,” O’Connor said. “He pitched pretty well tonight and that was great to see.”
Gosselin had help offensively — three Cavaliers joined the rookie with a multi-hit game. Jeremy Farrell may have been the best, tallying four hits and his ninth homer of the season.
For the game, Virginia had 16 hits and played errorless defensively.
Mount St. Mary’s starting pitcher Kent Worthington allowed three earned runs in two innings, taking the loss to fall to 1-2 on the season.

 

U.VA.NOTES
Wednesday, Apr 30, 2008 - 12:07 AM

Baseball in need of late-season push
To advance to the NCAA tournament for the fifth consecutive year, Virginia's baseball team has some work to do.

With two ACC series left -- both at Davenport Field -- the Cavaliers are fifth in the conference with a 13-11 record. The top eight teams in the ACC advance to the conference tournament in Jacksonville, Fla.

"Really, the goal is to finish in the top five, because that has NCAA implications," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said yesterday.

The Cavaliers were 32-15 overall heading into their game with Mount St. Mary's last night, but they don't have nearly as many quality wins this season as they've had at this stage in recent years. Successful series against North Carolina (May 9-11) and Georgia Tech (May 15-17) could change that.

"Everything that we want to accomplish is right out there in front of us," said O'Connor, who's in his fifth season at Virginia. "We control our own destiny ACC-wise, how we're going to finish in the league, and NCAA-wise.

"I'm excited, because I feel like in the past years, we've really peaked as a team in late March, early April. And quite frankly, I don't think we've played our best baseball yet this year."

Devvarman, Sauerbrunn receive honors
At U.Va.'s annual all-sports awards banquet Monday night, the biggest prizes went to seniors Somdev Devvarman and Becky Sauerbrunn.

Devvarman, the defending singles champion in NCAA men's tennis, was named U.Va.'s top male athlete. He's from Chennai, India, and is ranked No.1 nationally heading into next month's NCAA tournament.

Sauerbrunn, a women's soccer player from St. Louis, was the school's top female athlete. She's been named All-America three times and all-ACC four times.

Brown still on football roster
Cornerback Mike Brown, who sat out spring football, remains on U.Va.'s roster, but his legal problems have not been resolved.

Brown appeared in Charlottesville General District Court last week, and his case was continued until May 22. In early March, U.Va. police arrested Brown and charged him with three felonies: one count each of grand larceny, possession of stolen property with intent to sell, and altering serial numbers. Brown also was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

The charges are related to a Feb. 6 incident in which a victim reported that four electronic items valued at more than $3,400 had been stolen from his vehicle at a U.Va. parking garage.

Five more to NFL?
At least five Cavaliers will attempt to hook on as NFL free agents -- safety Nate Lyles (Jets), kicker Chris Gould (Buccaneers), offensive lineman Ian-Yates Cunningham (Chiefs), tight end Jonathan Stupar (Patriots) and linebacker Jermaine Dias (Browns).

Petit makes ACC tournament team
The ACC men's lacrosse tournament was held last weekend at Klockner Stadium, and the all-tourney team included senior goalie Bud Petit, a Collegiate School graduate who has started U.Va.'s past five games. Virginia's Garett Ince didn't make the all-tournament team, but he probably deserved a spot.

Ince, a freshman from Ontario, won 12 of 20 faceoffs in U.Va.'s semifinal win over Maryland. He won 13 of 23 in an 11-9 loss to Duke in the ACC title game.

"What were the question marks for our team -- facing off and goalie play -- they're getting closer to being positives as we move into the month of May," Cavaliers coach Dom Starsia said.

The 16-team field for the NCAA tournament will be announced Sunday night, and Virginia (12-3) is expected to be the No.3 seed. The NCAAs start May 10. -- Jeff White

 

Special roles: gridirons to racetracks
Former U.Va. players now make split-second efforts for Penske teams
Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By JILL ERWIN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Bryan White and Mark Miller spent most of their college football careers on special teams. They didn't get 100 chances a game to make a big play; they had to perform in their few opportunities.

Now, the former U.Va. linebackers are putting that practice to work as crew members for two Penske Racing Sprint Cup teams. White is the jack man for Ryan Newman, and Miller is a behind-the-wall crewman for Sam Hornish Jr.'s team.

Both are used to pressure-packed situations where a split-second is the difference between success and failure.

"A pit stop is 12 seconds of controlled chaos and then you're done for another 30 minutes," White said. "You've got to keep your mind in it and be ready again 30 minutes later."

Says Miller: "You get a thrill out of that, you kind of get a little nervous, it's a rush and I love that kind of stuff."

The two were friends at U.Va. White graduated in 2006 and Miller in 2007. White had a tryout with the New York Jets but was cut from the team. It was while sitting in LaGuardia Airport, waiting for his flight home, that a friend changed the course of White's life.

White's cell phone rang, and on the other end was longtime family friend Trent Cherry. Cherry is Penske's lead recruiter for its pit crews, and Cherry offered White a chance to come down and join the team.

So White jetted home, packed up his stuff and headed to Charlotte. His job with the team is a race-day-only one, so he works during the week in commercial real estate after getting his license in night school.

He spent his first season working with the then-Busch team and lower-tier Cup teams as a jack man so he could learn the ropes. On weeks when he wasn't loaned to other teams, he worked as the catch-can man -- he captured the overflow from the gas man during a pit stop -- with Newman's team.

With about 10 races remaining last year, White became the team's jack man. And he was having such a good time, he persuaded Miller to come join him. Miller is training to be a rear tire-changer, and works as the gas man on a Nationwide car and supports the gas man on the Cup side.

Both are dealing with the constraints of working seven-day weeks -- Miller is also in commercial real estate.

"You work Monday through Friday, travel early Saturday, race Saturday, race Sunday, and then you go right back to work on Monday," Miller said. "This first year is just a time commitment. You learn how to be organized. It's the same thing as doing football and school."

As White found out, however, his time management skills aren't always all that are needed.

After Newman won the Daytona 500, White and his fellow crew members celebrated the victory. But when it came time to head back to Charlotte from Daytona late that Sunday night, White got a rude awakening.

"I go see my general manager [and say], 'Hey, when's the jet taking off?'" White said. "'It's not taking off. We're staying here. We've got a brunch the next day.'"

White snagged a ride home with another team on their jet. But the lesson was clear.

"For them, a lot of times they just don't get it because this is their world. This is their life," White said. "I love it, but it's a hobby."

 

Virginia's play-by-play man resigns
Mac McDonald had been the voice of UVa football and basketball since 1996.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Mac McDonald's second tour as the radio voice of Virginia's athletic program has come to a close after 12 years.

The parent company for UVa's radio network announced Wednesday that McDonald resigned Tuesday.

A news release distributed by CBS Collegiate Sports Properties said that McDonald was leaving "to pursue other interests."

Doug Paschal, vice president and general manager of CBS Collegiate Sports Properties, would not say if McDonald's decision was voluntary.

"The press release, I think, gives you all that information," Paschal said.

McDonald did not respond to a voice message and the news release did not elaborate on his future plans.

"Representing Virginia athletics and being the voice has been a true passion for me," McDonald was quoted in the release. "I now have an opportunity on a couple of fronts to move forward in my career and pursue a couple goals that I have had for some time.

"I will always treasure my time with the players, coaches and administration."

McDonald was 27 when he was hired by UVa for the first time in 1980. He left the network following the 1984-85 basketball season and did not do sports play-by-play work again until 1990, when he was hired by Wake Forest.

In 1996, then-UVa athletic director Terry Holland brought McDonald back to Charlottesville. Holland had been the UVa men's basketball coach during McDonald's earlier stint.

"There's no way, no way, I ever thought I'd be back," McDonald told The Roanoke Times on the occasion of his return.

McDonald, a five-time state sportscaster of the year, also served as the host for the UVa football and men's basketball coaches' shows, "Cavalier Call-In."

"Mac McDonald's name has been synonymous with Virginia athletics for many years, and he leaves big shoes to fill," athletic director Craig Littlepage was quoted in the school's news release.

"Mac has been effective in articulating the goals of our athletic department and has provided significant service to the Charlottesville community."

Paschal did not furnish a timetable for finding a replacement.

"Obviously, this comes as a shock to us," Paschal said in a short phone interview. "So it's important that we begin the process as quickly as we can to locate the right person that fits within the University of Virginia culture."

Paschal would not say how long he had known of a potential vacancy.

"I will not get into personnel matters," he said. "Again, the press release states everything."
 

Broadcaster McDonald leaves Cavs
By Jay Jenkins
Published: May 1, 2008

On numerous occasions, W.A. Hogsten called asking for help.
And every time the captain with the Charlottesville Fire Department called, Mac McDonald listened.
It was something of a role reversal: Over the past 12 years, residents throughout the state have listened to McDonald, the “Voice of the Cavaliers,” broadcast football and men’s basketball games for the University of Virginia.
That partnership ended Tuesday when McDonald offered the school his resignation.
“I do have a couple of really neat opportunities that I can’t talk about because it involves other people, and because of that I am not at liberty to say,” McDonald said Wednesday. “It will happen in a short while and then that release will come out and people will say, ‘Oh, really.’
“While everybody thinks it was a firing, it was a resignation by mutual consent. I gave my resignation and the university accepted it. Was there some kind of friction? No. I don’t think that anything I did rubbed people the wrong way.”
McDonald, a five-time state sportscaster of the year, was known as much for his work with local charities as he was for his beaming voice when calling game-winning plays on the airwaves.
“I think Mac is a bigger part of the community than just Virginia football,” Hogsten said. “Anytime we had anything with fire prevention week and stuff like that, if we needed a live broadcast or publicity, he would put a plug in for us.
“I worked with him quite a bit with that type of thing and he has always looked after us at the fire department. I hate to see him go and I don’t know the motivating factors behind it, but if he improved himself, I support it.”
Like many polled in Central Virginia on Wednesday, Hogsten said that McDonald is the only name that comes to mind when talking about Virginia athletics on the radio.
“When you think Virginia football, I can’t remember anyone else to be honest with you, and I have been a fan for quite a long time,” Hogsten said. “I just kind of blocked everything else out.”
McDonald, 54, has served as the director of broadcasting for the Virginia Sports Network since the start of the 1996 football season. It was his second stint with UVa — McDonald also handled play-by-play duties from 1980 to 1985.
“I think what I did was give my heart and soul to the university and tried to represent every program, every kid, every coach, every talk show that I did the best way that I know how,” McDonald said. “Not everybody loved my style, but there are people that think Bob Costas sucks.
“That’s OK, but nobody really worked harder at their craft and then tried to pass along knowledge of their craft to younger guys.”
Jed Williams, a former sideline reporter with the Virginia Sports Network, can attest to that.
“When I was 18 and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and first got to UVa and had no clue what I was doing, all I wanted was a sniff,” he said. “Mac went out of his way to embrace me and really mentored me for several years. He gave me opportunities beyond anything that I could have conceived of when I was just on as an intern.
“It’s hard when you are 18 or 19 or 20 to put that in perspective. I look back at it now and think he didn’t have to do that, but he has done that for a lot of people. He has such enthusiasm for it and he wants that to spread to other people. It was a real honor.”
Despite his departure, McDonald remains hopeful that his legacy will continue with his golf tournament. The Mac McDonald Invitational golf tournament has raised more than $500,000 over the past eight years for the UVa Children’s Hospital.
“I hope that what we do is throw a good enough party that they will let me still be a part of it, and let me put my name on it if they want me to put my name on it,” he said. “I don’t think it was about the ‘Voice of the Cavaliers.’ … I think it was my affinity for kids and if I was washing cars, I think that people would say, ‘Hey Mac, you have done enough for this community and you believe in it, and you were passionate enough about the charity and the kids in the hospital so we will put your name on it.’
“I hope that stays. I hope they grace me enough with that.”
Virginia has already launched a nationwide campaign to find McDonald’s replacement.
“Mac McDonald’s name has been synonymous with Virginia athletics for many years and he leaves big shoes to fill as the play-by-play ‘Voice of the Cavaliers,’” Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage said in a statement. “Mac has been effective in articulating the goals of our athletics department and has provided significant service to the Charlottesville community.
“We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

 

UNC says coach didn't endorse Obama
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By Anne Blythe, Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL - UNC basketball coach Roy Williams has not endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, the team's spokesman said Wednesday.
During a Tuesday pickup basketball game between Obama, the Democratic presidential hopeful, and the Tar Heels men's basketball team, Williams watched his players from the sidelines. He shouted comments that some took as an endorsement of Obama. "You've left the next president of the United States wide open," he yelled at one point.

In a state where the Democratic primary between Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is days away, political observers are hanging on every word and action. But Williams' playful comments were not meant as an endorsement of Obama, said Steve Kirschner, spokesman for the basketball team.