Lineburg recruits SW Va.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Name recognition won't be an issue for Virginia's football program in its upcoming recruiting ventures into Southwest Virginia.

UVa head coach Al Groh confirmed Tuesday that receivers coach Wayne Lineburg has been given responsibilities for Lynchburg, Roanoke and Danville, as well as parts west.

Lineburg, the Cavaliers' receivers coach, is a former Radford High School quarterback and the youngest son of legendary former Bobcats coach Norman Lineburg.

"Two things went into this," Groh said. "One was his awareness of the area. The other was the area's awareness of him. The Lineburg name is well-known in Southwest Virginia."

Lineburg, a walk-on quarterback for the Cavaliers in the early 1990s, has been one of the principals in a UVa recruiting surge this offseason that has resulted in commitments from six in-state players. There were three Virginians in the Cavaliers' 18-man February signing class.

Lineburg was the lead recruiter for two UVa recruits along the U.S. 29 corridor, safety Corey Lillard from Liberty High School in Bealeton and quarterback Quintin Hunter from Orange County.

"From having worked at Richmond and William and Mary, he's basically recruited all parts of Virginia," Groh said. "So, initially, we could have put him anywhere in the state. But, with Wayne's background and the family history in Southwest Virginia, it made sense for him to take it over."

Previously, Levern Belin recruited Southwest Virginia for the Cavaliers, but Belin had little background in the area.

George Washington High School coach Dan Newell, whose David Wilson has emerged as a national recruit, once interviewed for a job at Radford before taking a position at Pulaski County. He needed no introduction to Lineburg.

"If [the Cavaliers] have a chance, I feel that that's their best chance of making a connection," Newell said. "I feel good about the way he represents UVa and his relationship with kids in this part of the country."

No strangers

Sunday's first-round matchup with North Carolina in the NCAA women's lacrosse tournament will pit Virginia coach Julie Myers against her one-time teammate, Jenny Levy, the Tar Heels' coach. Playing under their maiden names of Plzak and Slingluff, Myers and Levy were All-Americans on Virginia's 1991 NCAA championship team.

In her 13 seasons as UVa women's lacrosse coach, Myers has won an NCAA championships and five ACC championships, including the last three, but been named ACC coach of the year only once, when she shared the award with Levy in 2002.

Maybe that's because the voting is held before the ACC tournament and the Cavaliers have won the regular-season title only once under Myers, when they had a 3-0 conference record in 2002. Myers was national coach of the year when UVa won the 2004 NCAA title.

Odds 'n' ends

First-year UVa women's golf coach Kim Lewellen has been named ACC coach of the year, the sixth UVa coach to be so recognized this year. The others were Al Groh in football, Jason Dunn in men's cross country, Brian Boland in men's tennis, Kevin Sauer in rowing and Mark Bernardino in both men's and women's swimming.

nMaryland-Baltimore County, which visits second-seeded Virginia for a first-round men's NCAA lacrosse tournament game Sunday at 5 p.m., has won 11 games in a row after a 1-3 start. The Retrievers received an automatic berth after rallying from a nine-goal deficit to defeat Albany 14-13 in the America East championship game.
 

Shaw, Garrison aren't Cavalierabout the end of college careers
By Tom Renner
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 05/04/2008 02:41:48 AM EDT

As Tim Shaw and Drew Garrison wrap up their college careers at the University of Virginia, it's very possible that they could wind up going out as NCAA champions.

There is also the probability that neither of them will contribute as much as they would have preferred as the Cavaliers get ready for their NCAA run.

Shaw, a senior defenseman from Darien, and Garrison, a senior attack from New Canaan, figure to see limited roles for Virginia, 12-3, which is ranked fourth in the Division I national poll.

Shaw underwent surgery for a sports hernia on Thursday, and is unlikely to play for the rest of the year. Garrison has been used primarily as a substitute for coach Dom Starsia, and has played in 11 of the Cavaliers' 15 games.

Shaw had played in every game, starting 10, until last week's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, when his injury - which was initially believed to be a groin strain - prevented him from playing. Virginia beat Maryland in the semifinals before losing to Duke in the championship game.

"It was tough not being able to play,'' Shaw said. "You're always wishing you can get in there and make a difference."

Shaw tried to play with the injury throughout the season. It was his first year as a starter for Virginia, and he wanted to remain on the field. He's hoping to be back on the field for the tournament, but he realizes his career might be over.

"This whole thing started about two months ago and it's just been getting worse,'' Shaw said. "It really affects my lateral movement and when I try to sprint straight ahead. It really impacts what I'm able to do and I wasn't performing the way I'm capable. I'm hoping I'll be back in two weeks and to play in the NCAA tournament. It's the last dance, so I'm trying to get back."
Shaw was a lacrosse and football standout at Darien, where he rushed for more than 1,300 yards during his senior year. In lacrosse, however, many college decisions are made at the beginning of the senior year, and Shaw jumped at the opportunity to attend Virginia early in his senior year at Darien.

"In high school I thought I was going to play football in college, but then I started getting all these looks for lacrosse and you have to make your decision quickly,'' Shaw said. "It flew at me fast. It offered me a great opportunity and I had heard great things about the school. It seemed like a great fit."

Shaw said he missed football, but wouldn't trade in his experience for playing lacrosse at Virginia, where he was part of a national championship team in 2006.

"There's always the question what if I had gone to an Ivy League school to play football,'' Shaw said. "You always look at it like the grass is always greener. But I don't regret the decision to come play lacrosse at Virginia at all."

Garrison has five goals, tying his career high he set in his sophomore season. He understands his role on the team and though he doesn't get the playing time he would prefer, it has offered him a perspective that will help him after his career is over.

"The way I thought things would turn out is very different from four years ago,'' Garrison said. "Now I appreciate the smaller things. I've matured a lot over the last few years. I appreciate the guys you read about in the box score every day, whether it's the walk-on goalie who gets shelled in practice every day or somebody who practices but doesn't make it on to the field."

Garrison and Shaw are among the many Fairfield County players who have ventured to play in the premier lacrosse conference in the United States. Wilton's Steve Giannone is also on the roster at Virginia.

The competition was part of the reasoning behind Garrison's decision to attend Virginia.

"You have to like the school you're going to, and you want to be happy,'' Garrison said. "In terms of lacrosse, I wanted a shot to win the NCAA title every year. That's an important aspect of it. That's what we work for every year."

Regardless of what happens for Shaw and Garrison in the NCAA tournament, their careers will be finished at the end of the month. Both have already secured employment in New York City, and both expressed interest in assisting the lacrosse teams at their respective alma maters.

Still, it will be an adjustment for both of them to finally put down the equipment and get into the business world.

"I thought I'd be ready, but maybe I'm not as ready as I thought I was,'' Garrison said. "It's an emotional time. There's definitely more than an athletic component involved."

"I think playing here has prepared me for the real world,'' Shaw said. "I'm doing pretty much the same thing. I'm going to class in the morning, and then have practice in the afternoon. I think I'm used to that regiment already. I'm real excited to get to work.''

For now, however, employment can wait until the end of the NCAA tournament. Garrison and Shaw have come to the realization, like most college students, that four years goes by in an eye-blink in college.

"It's been a fast four years,'' Garrison said. "I'm ready to move on, but I'm just trying to slow it down over this last month."
 

Cavs to take on Heels
By Bart Isley
Published: May 6, 2008

Virginia’s women’s lacrosse team knew it would be in the NCAA tournament. The Cavaliers just didn’t know they’d be facing off against familiar ACC foe North Carolina.
Virginia (14-3) will take on the Tarheels Sunday in the first round of the NCAA tournament after being tabbed as the No. 4 seed in the tournament by the selection committee. The game will be at Klockner at 1 p.m. with the men’s first round NCAA game scheduled for 5 p.m. that night against UMBC.
“You usually can’t get [to the title game] without beating an ACC team,” said Virginia head coach Julie Myers. “And if we can get past UNC, our next potential ACC game is in the championship, so it’s a less ACC-heavy bracket than it usually is for us.”
Virginia played North Carolina on March 16 and rolled past the Tarheels 16-5.
The Cavaliers picked up the ACC’s automatic berth with a pair of comeback victories over Duke and Maryland in the ACC tournament. The Cavaliers stormed back from an 8-3 deficit in each game, including the 10-9 championship victory over the top-seeded Terrapins. Maryland is the No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament behind No. 1 Northwestern and the University of Pennsylvania.
Duke rounded out the tournament’s ACC selections.
The winner of the Virginia/North Carolina matchup will face the winner of Towson and No. 5 Syracuse on May 17 at the higher seed’s campus. If Virginia wins both, they could potentially face Northwestern in the national semifinal.
Virginia has had a week off to recover from the ACC title run and Myers believes the time for healing and recovering has been crucial for the Cavaliers.
“It was great because we came off such an emotional win,” Myers said. “I don’t think it would’ve been such a good week if we didn’t come back and get that victory.”
The time off has also given two of Virginia’s offensive stalwarts, Ashley McCulloch and Blair Weymouth a chance to rest their respective ankle injuries this week. Weymouth has battled her ankle problems all season, and a week off should be of huge benefit for the junior.

 

Soroye’s return to UVa still up in the air
By Whitey Reid
Published: May 7, 2008

Virginia big man Tunji Soroye wants to return for a fifth year, and the UVa coaching staff would like to have him back.
However, a “Tunji Time” redux is still up in the air according to Virginia coach Dave Leitao.
On Tuesday, Leitao told The Daily Progress that an official decision on Soroye’s status isn’t imminent.
“I have no idea [when it will happen]. It’s not anything that I have any control over. Before anything happens, we have to get the paperwork,” said Leitao, reiterating a statement he has made since the season ended. “Everything’s that going to happen is based on the paperwork. We have to get that organized.”
Sources have told The Daily Progress that Soroye has been working out with teammates and attending team meetings.
The 6-foot-11 Nigerian, barring anything unusual, is expected to be granted a medical redshirt after playing in only two games last season.
The bigger question is how Soroye is going to pay for his tuition, since Virginia does not have any available scholarships.
Soroye could give next year’s team a huge boost on the defensive end. UVa was last in the ACC in shotblocking this past season.
“Pride of Lithuania” recovering
Virginia big man Lars Mikalauskas is doing well after his recent shoulder operation. Last week, Mikalauskas was able to remove the “Ultra Slinger” device that he had been required to wear following the surgery to his left shoulder.
The Lithuanian has begun some light range-of-motion exercises and is on target to return to full activities by October.
“He’s just rehabbing,” Leitao said. “It’s a long process.”
The normal recovery time for the surgery can be up to six months. Mikalauskas underwent the same procedure that Sean Singletary did following his freshman season.
Bad apple?
Leitao said he wasn’t allowed to talk about the program’s interest in former Connecticut guard Doug Wiggins.
However, sources say that the Virginia coaching staff is currently doing its homework on Wiggins. They want to learn what kind of person he is before they even think about bringing him aboard.
The 6-foot Wiggins was suspended for two games by Huskies coach Jim Calhoun this year after he was caught with alcohol on campus. He has also reportedly failed two drug tests.
If Virginia added Wiggins, a current member of the team would have to leave since the program is at the 13-scholarship limit. Wiggins will have to sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules and won’t be
eligible until the 2009-10 season.
Wiggins averaged 6.8 points and 17.7 minutes as a freshman, when he started two games. As a reserve in 2007-08, he averaged 6.7 points and 2.5 assists in about 19 minutes per game.
Wiggins was considered the best player in the state of Connecticut coming out of East Hartford High School in 2005-06.
Hoop happenings
The Southern Invitational, one of the biggest AAU basketball tournaments in the country, comes to town this weekend.
Play begins on Friday and runs through Sunday. Games will be played at John Paul Jones Arena, University Hall and UVa’s Aquatics and Fitness Center.
Tickets can be purchased at the door.