After faltering last year, Cavs eye return to final four
Saturday, May 17, 2008 - 12:06 AM

VIRGINIA VS. MARYLAND
NCAA men's lacrosse
Today:quarterfinal, noon
TV:ESPNU

By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Once during Dom Starsia's illustrious tenure at the University of Virginia -- in 1997 and '98 -- has his lacrosse team failed to advance to the NCAA tournament's final four in consecutive seasons.

For that to remain the case, the Cavaliers must win today at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. Second-seeded Virginia (13-3) meets No. 7 seed Maryland (10-5) at noon in an NCAA quarterfinal. The second game of the doubleheader matches No. 5 seed Johns Hopkins (9-5) and unseeded Navy (10-5) at 3 p.m.

In 2006, U.Va. won its fourth NCAA championship -- its third under Starsia, who replaced Jim Adams as coach after the 1992 season. A season ago, however, Delaware ousted second-seeded Virginia in the first round. Starsia and his players were spectators during the final four, a role to which they don't want to become accustomed.

"In our sport, there's such a disproportionate amount of attention paid [to the final four], and it's really important for all programs to be part of it," Starsia said this week.

"If you miss out on it one year, it's not the end of the world. If you miss out on it for two years, it means something, I think."

In 2005, when Starsia's current seniors were freshmen, the Wahoos lost in overtime to eventual champion Hopkins in the NCAA semifinals.

"It would be a great honor to make it there three out of four years here at Virginia," said senior Will Barrow, a starter on the defensive midfield. "I think the attitude this week is that we think we should walk away with a win against Maryland. I think anything less than a final four appearance would definitely be a huge disappointment for us."

Virginia and Maryland have split their two meetings this season. The Terrapins romped 13-7 in College Park, Md., on March 29, after which Collegiate School graduate Bud Petit took over as the Cavaliers' starting goalie. With Petit in the cage, U.Va. beat Maryland 11-8 in an ACC tournament semifinal April 25 in Charlottesville.

Facing the Terps a third time, Starsia said, makes "the preparation a little easier, in that we don't have to watch eight films to get a handle on a team."

Maryland-Baltimore County was one such opponent. Even after extensive preparation, U.Va. barely beat UMBC in the first round, rallying for a 10-9 victory at Klockner Stadium last weekend.

"Winning the first round for higher-seeded teams, it used to be something you could take a little for granted," Starsia said. "I don't think that's the case anymore. Are you ecstatic when you win? No. It's just a relief."

The other two NCAA quarterfinals are tomorrow at Cornell. Top-seeded Duke meets unseeded Ohio State at noon, and No. 3 seed Syracuse and No. 6 seed Notre Dame follow at 3 p.m.

The NCAA semifinals are May 24 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., with the championship game there two days later.

 

UVa, Maryland get their rubber match
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: May 17, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Dom Starsia has always believed in building his offense with outstanding attackmen, and that’s what he’s counting on in today’s NCAA quarterfinals men’s lacrosse match against Maryland.
Starsia’s second-seeded Virginia squad (13-3) will be taking on the seventh-seeded Terrapins (10-5) for the third time this season, and today’s noon contest at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (ESPNU) will be the rubber match. Maryland won the first encounter in April, knocking off the then, newly No. 1 ranked Cavaliers in Baltimore, 13-7. UVa won the rematch by an 11-8 score in Charlottesville during the ACC tournament semifinals.
The Cavaliers have been clicking on offense of late as Starsia’s three-pronged all-star attack has slowly returned to health and full speed. Senior Ben Rubeor and juniors Garrett Billings and Danny Glading have rediscovered their scoring touch and are ready for a shootout with the Terps.
“When we’re all up and firing, we’re a handful to cover,” Starsia said of his scoring trio.
In the last two weeks, Glading, who was injured against Towson in mid-March, has been a completely different player in Starsia’s estimation. He finally bounced back from the injury and regained his conditioning. Rubeor, who suffered a knee injury on the first day of practice and missed the first three games, has returned to good health. Billings was also nicked up for much of the season.
“We’re more effective in what we like to do with them at their peak,” Starsia said. “We had them a lot of responsibility. That’s how our program works. We’ve always done that. When you can depend on them, and they’re playing well, it makes us even more effective offensively.”
Starsia believes that when Glading can attack from behind the goal, it opens up the field for everyone else on the UVa offense and makes the Cavs more dangerous.
Still, beating Maryland is no easy task, with everything at stake. The winner advances to next the NCAA Final Four next weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. Today’s survivor will face the winner of Sunday’s No. 3 Syracuse (13-3) vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (14-2) game in the NCAA semifinals next Saturday at Gillette.
“It’s two teams that know each other really well, so I think it will just come down to execution,” Glading said of today’s third contest against the Terps. “We need to shoot high percentage shots because if one of their goalies gets hot, as we saw in the first game, they can make a lot of saves.”
Glading was correct in his analysis. In the first meeting, Maryland goalie Jason Carter made a career-best 15 saves.
“We need to take care of the ball and not settle for shots that are going to be easy saves for their goalie,” Glading said. “We have to move the ball until we get really good shots.”
Starsia agreed that preparing for the Terps wasn’t as complicated as facing a fresh opponent that Virginia hadn’t seen because of the familiarity in having already played twice. The Cavaliers are well acquainted with the Terps and their tendencies, which simplified preparation.
“I don’t think there are going to be an surprises for them or us,” Billings said. “We’ve been generating a lot of shots, so I think as long as [UVa goalie] Bud Petit has a big day and we capitalize on our chances, we should be good.”
Starsia was the first to admit that anyone looking for a brilliant stroke of genius in strategy may be over-thinking the situation.
“This isn’t rocket science,” said Starsia, a veteran of 26 seasons as a head coach. “There’s no elaborate scheme out there that’s going to carry the day. What we need is to do the things well that we have been working on since the beginning: win the ground ball battles, shoot efficiently, and communicate on defense.”
Still, both coaches hinted they may attempt to throw one another a curve or two.
“I heard [Maryland] coach [Dave] Cottle mention that we made some adjustments from the first game to the second game, nothing dramatic, and now it’s their turn to make some adjustments,” Starsia pointed out. “I don’t think you change things too dramatically at this time of year. We may change a couple of little things to give them a couple of different things to think about.”
One thing for fans to look for in the first game of the doubleheader — host Navy plays Johns Hopkins in the second game — is a lot of physical play. Maryland manhandled UVa a bit in the first game and the Cavaliers responded in the second meeting.
“That’s always a theme in a game between Virginia and Maryland,” Starsia said. “For some reason [the Terps] define themselves as a little more blue-collar and we’re more white-collar in our sport. If you go back and look at the rosters, I’d guess they would be remarkably similar.”
Twenty players from the combined rosters of today’s game will face high school teammates in the clash.
“Maryland prides itself on physical play and feels like it can push us around, and frankly they did push us around a little bit the first time,” the Virginia coach said. “We did respond better the second time around. But I don’t expect this to be a game determined by who takes the other guy’s head off. I define toughness as Ben Rubeor taking an extra step to get a better angle for his shot, or by our guys doing the fundamental thing over and over again.”
Groundballs
Maryland is 7-1 at home and 3-4 on the road this season. ...Both the Cavaliers and the Terps are making their 31st NCAA tournament appearance in the sport, tying them for the second-most in NCAA history. ...Only Hopkins has more with 36. ...Maryland leads the all-time series by a 44-37 margin in a rivalry that dates back to 1926, the second year of the UVa program ...The two teams have met at least once every season since 1950. ...This is the sixth consecutive year that they have met at least twice.

 

Cavs blank Wolverines to reach quarters
By The Daily Progress Staff
Published: May 17, 2008

In Tulsa, Okla., Virginia junior Dom Inglot is a completely different player than he was only a month ago.
That was pretty obvious in Inglot’s first two NCAA Tournament matches that took place in Charlottesville — and it was again on Friday afternoon.
Inglot was on his game, hammering Michigan’s Andrew Mazlin, 6-3, 6-4, and propelling undefeated Virginia to a 4-0 win that moved the Cavaliers into a quarterfinal showdown with Baylor on Sunday.
“He served huge today,” said Virginia coach Brian Boland, whose team notched its 31st victory of the season, a school record. “I really feel he’s 100 percent healthy now, which is a big advantage for us. He’s back at full strength and I think that gives a lot of the other guys confidence.”
In April, Inglot — a player who relies on his serve-and-volley game — was not himself because of a sore right arm. The London native also battled the flu.
“It’s been a bit of a tough season,” said Inglot, speaking by phone from Tulsa, “but hopefully I’ve gone through everything I have to and can just buckle down, and everything will come together right now.”
It certainly did on Friday. Against Mazlin, Inglot got up 4-1 in the first set and never looked back.
“I had a high percentage of first serves in and when I do that it’s really difficult for the opponent to do a whole lot,” Inglot said. “When I hold my service games easily and then it comes to the opponent’s service games, he feels a lot of pressure because he knows if he slips up one time it’s going to be really difficult to break me.
“It took some time to get back from the injury, but now I’m serving well and I feel like when I’m serving well, the rest of my game will come together.”
Inglot was also strong in doubles, teaming with Michael Shabaz to beat Jason Jung and Mike Sproczynski, 8-4. The win, coupled with a victory by Houston Barrick and Sanam Singh, helped Virginia get off to a strong start by winning the doubles point — something it hadn’t been able to do in its Feb. 3 win over the Wolverines.
The momentum carried over to singles where Inglot, Shabaz and Treat Huey all prevailed in straight sets.
Somdev Devvarman, the top-ranked player in the country who is undefeated this season, was leading Matko Maravic, 7-5, 4-1 when play was halted after Virginia clinched.
“We’re going to have to continue to get better throughout the tournament,” Boland said, “but right now I’m really pleased with how we’re playing. I feel like things are clicking on all cylinders. We just need to stay focused and take it one match at a time.”
On Sunday, Virginia will play Baylor. The Bears defeated Tennessee, 4-1, in their Round of 16 match on Friday.
“They’re a tough opponent that has had a lot of success over the years,” Boland said. “We have a ton of respect for them. We’re going to have to play extremely well.”
If Virginia (31-0) gets past Baylor, it would take on the Georgia-Ole Miss winner in the semifinals on Monday.
The finals of the tournament, which will be broadcast on ESPNU, are set for Tuesday night.

 

Cavaliers Top Michigan to Reach NCAA Quarterfinals
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 05/16/2008

TULSA, Okla. – Top-seeded Virginia advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year with a 4-0 win over No. 16 Michigan in a Round of 16 match Friday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. The Cavaliers needed just two-and-a-half hours to dispatch of the Wolverines and win their school-record 31st match of the season.

“This was a great way to start the tournament for us,” said head coach Brian Boland. “We played really well, especially in doubles. We have been working on it a lot and that seems to be paying off. We are really clicking on all cylinders right now.”

The Cavaliers (31-0) grabbed the early 1-0 lead with a dominating doubles performance. At No. 3 doubles, Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) cruised to an 8-3 win over Chris Madden and George Navas. Dominic Inglot (London, England) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) broke a 4-4 tie with Jason Jung and Mike Sroczynski by winning the last four games to score an 8-4 win at No. 2 doubles and clinch the opening point.

Virginia jumped out to a quick start in singles, winning five of the six first sets. Inglot made the score 2-0 with his 6-3, 6-4 win over Andrew Mazlin at No. 3 singles. Minutes later Shabaz made the score 3-0 as he completed a 6-3, 6-0 win over Madden at No. 5 singles. Treat Huey (Alexandria, Va.) clinched the match for the Cavaliers with his 6-4, 6-2 win over Jung at the No. 2 position. The Cavaliers led in all three matches that were suspended.

“Overall, I thought this was the best we have played as a team all season,” said Boland. “Now we need to keep that going and keep playing better with each match.”

The win was Virginia’s school-record 31st victory of the season, breaking the old mark set last year when the Cavaliers went 30-4 and reach the NCAA Semifinals.

Virginia will meet Baylor match in the quarterfinals Sunday. Match time is set for noon CT (1 p.m. ET). The Cavaliers won the regular season meeting between the teams 7-0 on March 1 at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar's Head Sports Club.

 

Jackets win in slugfest
By Jay Jenkins
Published: May 17, 2008

For the first time in over a month, Virginia exploded offensively against an ACC opponent.
Ultimately, it did not matter.
No. 25 Georgia Tech pounded out 19 hits, including eight for extra bases, as it cruised past Virginia 14-8 in the highest-scoring league game at Davenport Field since the facility was renovated in 2002.
With the victory, the Yellow Jackets (37-17, 15-14 ACC) forced a pivotal finale and the rubber match in the series today at noon with the Cavaliers (36-18, 15-14).
“Georgia Tech has shown the ability — and did again tonight — to score runs in bunches and that was the ballgame,” said Virginia coach Brian O’Connor. “I thought we put up one of our better offensive days but they had three really big innings and it was tough to recover from that.”
Georgia Tech, which leads the ACC with 86 homers, scored three runs in the third and four runs in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively.
The biggest damage in that flurry came in the fourth inning after the Yellow Jackets went ahead 4-3, chasing Virginia starter Pat McAnaney from the contest with two runners in scoring position and just two outs. McAnaney (4-4) allowed eight hits and six earned runs in 3.2 innings.
After pitching perfectly out of the bullpen Friday in the Cavaliers’ two-run series-opening victory, reliever Andrew Carraway was summoned again to the mound. The move did not pay off this time.
Georgia Tech third baseman Brad Feltes connected on a two-run double and scored on a triple by Tony Plagman as the Yellow Jackets took a four-run lead.
“I brought Carraway in to face Feltes with runners in scoring position and two outs, thinking that he could get him out and we would go back into the dugout down 4-3 with a pretty good pitcher on the mound,” O’Connor said. “I felt good about us offensively so that is why I put Carraway into the game.
“Unfortunately, they got some good swings off of him.”
UVa rallied for two runs in the bottom of the fourth, one of which came on a solo homer by catcher Franco Valdes, to trim the deficit to 7-5, but Georgia Tech struck back during the lengthy sixth inning.
In all, the Yellow Jackets sent eight batters to the plate in the frame as Carraway (2.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER) was also removed earlier than expected.
Both teams managed three runs over the game’s final three innings, the last of which came on the second homer of the game for Virginia first baseman Jeremy Farrell.
For the contest, Farrell finished with eight total bases and three RBI, none of which seemed to matter after the six-run loss snapped the Cavaliers’ three-game win streak.

 

No. 25 Georgia Tech Slugs Past No. 28 Virginia, 14-8
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 05/16/2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Georgia Tech’s potent offense came alive and racked up 19 hits in a 14-8 victory over No. 28 Virginia Friday night at Davenport Field. With 22 runs between the two teams, the No. 25 Yellow Jackets and Cavaliers combined to tie for the highest-scoring ACC game at Davenport Field since the park opened in 2002. The teams also combined for a dozen extra-base hits, including four home runs.

Jeremy Farrell (Jr., Westlake, Ohio) earned his first career two-home run game – giving him 11 long balls this season – while he drove in three runs. Franco Valdes (So., Miami, Fla.) also homered as part of a 2-for-4 effort. Virginia (36-18, 15-14 ACC) rung up 13 hits in the game.

Luke Murton, Brad Feltes and Tony Plagman each had three hits for Georgia Tech (37-17, 15-14). Plagman drove in four, while Feltes and Murton each knocked in three.

Virginia starting pitcher Pat McAnaney (Sr., Syracuse, N.Y.) had his shortest start of the season as he went 3.2 innings and allowed six earned runs, eight hits and two walks while striking out six. He took the loss and dropped to 4-4 this season.

Eddie Burns (7-4) notched the win for the Yellow Jackets after going five innings and allowing five earned runs, seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Virginia took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a Tyler Cannon (So., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) single to plate Phil Gosselin (Fr., West Chester, Pa.), but Georgia Tech broke out the bats in the third inning, scoring three runs on an RBI double by Murton and a two-run double by Plagman.

Virginia tied the game in the bottom of the third on a two-run home run to right field by Farrell, but the Yellow Jackets responded with four in the fourth inning to take a 7-3 lead. Murton brought the first run home with a sacrifice fly. After Derek Dietrich was hit by a pitch, McAnaney was lifted for Andrew Carraway (Jr., Marietta, Ga.). Feltes promptly ripped a two-run double to right-center and Plagman brought Feltes home with a triple.

UVa cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth, as Valdes led off with a home run – his second of the year – and Greg Miclat (Jr., Concord, N.C.) later singled to score John Barr (Fr., Ivyland, Pa.).

Georgia Tech put up another four-spot in the sixth inning, highlighted by a Dietrich run-scoring triple which caromed high off the Blue Monster in center field. The Yellow Jackets added a run in the seventh on a Murton RBI single to push the lead to 12-5.

Virginia scored two in its half of the seventh on back-to-back RBI singles by Valdes and Barr, but Georgia Tech responded with a run in the eighth on a Plagman home run and a run in the ninth on a Jeff Rowland RBI fielder’s choice.

The Cavaliers got their final run when Farrell launched a home run over the 377 marker in left-center field in the ninth inning.

The rubber game of the series is set for noon Saturday. Please note the game time has been moved up one hour from the original 1 p.m. start time. Prior to the game, Virginia will conduct Senior Day ceremonies at 11:35 a.m. as the Cavaliers honor their five seniors.


 

Cavalier Golfers Move Up One Spot at NCAA Regional
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 05/16/2008

Chattanooga, TN – After opening the NCAA East Regional championships with a 2-over 286 Thursday, the Virginia men’s golf team shot 3-over 287 Friday to move up one spot to 16th place. The Cavaliers’ 36-hole score is 573. The top 10 teams from the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships. The Cavaliers enter Saturday’s final round nine shots out of 10th place.

Sophomore Steven Rojas produced Virginia’s best score Friday by shooting 3-under 68 on the par-71 Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn. He had two bogeys and five birdies during his round, including a run of three straight birdies at one point during his back nine. Rojas effort moved him up to 25th on the leaderboard at 2-under 140.

Freshman Will Collins shot 73 during the second round to stand 49th overall at 143. Sophomore Kyle Stough is in 63rd place at 144 including a 75 Friday. Senior Greg Carlin posted UVa’s second best score with a 71 to improve to 112th at 149. Junior Conrad Von Borsig is 132nd at 154. He shot 79 during the second round.

Top-ranked Georgia improved on its huge first-round lead by shooting 13-under 271 and stands at 32-under 536 heading into Saturday’s final round. Augusta State remains in second place at 555.

UAB’s Zach Sucher shot 9-under 62 during the second round to take over first place in stroke place at 11-under 131. He enters the final round with a two-shot lead.



 

Huey Half Of Top-Ranked Doubles Tennis Team
By Eric J. Gilmore
Thursday, May 15, 2008

Treat Huey, a 2004 St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes graduate, helped top-seeded Virginia’s men’s tennis team advance to the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year, defeating Penn State 4-0 Sunday.

Teaming with Somdev Devvarman (Chennai, India), Huey clinched the opening point with an 8-2 win at No. 1 doubles over Michael James and Brendan Lynch.

“I thought that was as good as we have played all year in doubles,” said head coach Brian Boland. “That gave us a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum that carried over into singles.”

Huey is making his second NCAA singles appearance, as Virginia ties its 2005 school with three players in the singles draw. Huey is 32-5 in singles and is ranked No. 28 in the ITA rankings.

In doubles, 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 and fell in the semifinals.

This season, 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.

Huey is already Virginia’s all-time career doubles win leader, a mark he set as a junior. The Cavaliers are 30-0 and have been ranked No. 1 in the ITA rankings every week of the season. They recently won their fourth ACC championship in five years.

As a Saint, he was a three-time All-Met Player of the Week, and was ranked No. 1 in the USTA boys’ 18s singles rankings during his senior year.

Virginia will travel to the NCAA Championships, held at the University of Tulsa. The Cavaliers will meet No. 16 seed Michigan on Friday.
 

Cannons save their best for back
By Rich Thompson
Friday, May 16, 2008 - Added 1d 7h ago

Cannons goalie Kip Turner appreciated the competitiveness of his first Major League Lacrosse training camp.

And that atmosphere should continue throughout the regular season, which starts for the Cannons tomorrow night (7) against the New Jersey Pride at Harvard Stadium.

“Competitiveness in goaltending situations breeds great goalies,” said Turner, a former University of Virginia star who is expected to share goaltending duties with incumbent Jake Coon in the opener. “I’m thankful that we have that because on any given day one goalie can play better than another.

“It’s all about being consistent and goalies pushing each other and supporting each other. I had that situation at Virginia, and it turned out for the best because we won it all.”

The Cavaliers beat UMass to win the 2006 NCAA championship and advanced to the final against Duke in ’07.

The Cannons made Turner their first-round pick (second overall and highest ever for a goalie in MLL) in last May’s draft.

“Competition is good, and I’m a big fan of that, especially in goal because the more guys you have that can push each other the better,” Cannons coach and former goalie Bill Daye said. “I was a goaltender in this league and I know what this league can do to a young goalie mentally.

“Obviously, I didn’t want to throw Kip right into the fire last year, plus Jake was having a fine year. We are looking for Kip to push for the starting position this year. He had a great collegiate career, and I think he can be an elite MLL goaltender.”

Daye, an original member of the Cannons in 2001 after an All-American career at North Carolina, brings a unique perspective to the top job.

“I think it’s a unique and interesting situation,” Turner said. “He really watches out for us and in a unique way, it’s nice having him there for support.

“You can talk to him easily, and since he’s played in the league, I can pick his brain about it. Maybe I can learn from his experiences in the league.”

Coon and Turner have different styles.

Coon, who also is an assistant coach at UMass, is more proactive and has earned the praise of fans with his hard dashes up the field. Turner, meanwhile, is wiry and athletic with quick reflexes but prefers to let the long sticks evacuate the zone.

“I play a lot more with my hands and rely on quickness and speed,” Turner said. “Jake can use his size to shut the angles down while trying to bait people to shoot and rely on my reflexes.”

The Cannons should benefit from the return of hard-nosed defender Ryan Curtis, a fellow Virginia alumnus and one of MLL’s founding stars. Curtis was acquired from Washington in the offseason.

“I’d heard amazing things about Ryan Curtis when I was at Virginia,” Turner said. “From what I’ve heard here, I’m glad he’s not on another team.”

 

Pulaski's Peak worth recruiters' look
Arrest of Tech signee Rose raised unanswered questions
By Doug Doughty

Top 50 Virginia high school football prospects
One term that I try to use very carefully is “talent scout,” particularly when describing myself.

Most of the time, these so-called talent scouts would be characterized more accurately as “recruiting analysts,” although that also might be giving them too much credit.

Nevertheless, on those rare occasions when I’m assigned a high-school game, there are players who are hard not to notice.

Such was the case at the Blacksburg-Pulaski County football game last fall, won by visiting Blacksburg 28-23 after it scored two touchdowns in the final 3:22.

It was an impressive comeback by coach Dave Crist’s club, but the most vivid image I took from the game was from a 48-yard touchdown run by Pulaski junior running back Nubian Peak. As I watched from the other side of the field, Peak blazed through the Blacksburg secondary as if the Bruins were in slow motion.

Peak had 20 carries for 193 yards that night and finished the season as the No. 3 rusher in Timesland, with 158 carries for 1,349 yards, an 8.5-yard average. When I didn’t see Peak on any lists of the state’s top juniors, I assumed that there must be a reason. Academics, perhaps?

Not so, according to Pulaski coach Jack Turner. Turner said Peak has close to a 3.0 grade-point average.

At 6 feet and 185 pounds, Peak also has good size. He has played in the secondary, so he’s got some versatility.

Speed certainly isn’t an issue. Turner said he hasn’t timed Peak for 40 yards and, the truth be known, a lot of prospects with listed 40 times haven’t been timed. But, Peak certainly passes the look test when he’s got the ball under his arm.

Fact is, southwest Virginia hasn’t been much of a mother lode for Division I football prospects in recent years, and Peak may be running into something of that. Ex-Pulaski star Jeff King played a major part in the introduction of the tight end into Virginia Tech’s passing offense, but Pulaski hasn’t turned out I-A prospects in droves.

There also might be something about the quirky nature of Pulaski’s offense, but I think it speaks more to the nature of recruiting these days. If you aren’t discovered as a sophomore, as Blacksburg coach Dave Crist was saying the other day about Bruins’ quarterback Trey Gresh, sometimes you get lost in the shuffle.

WAKE FOREST has received its third commitment from a Virginian for its 2009 class, Matt Muncy, a 6-4, 215-pound all-purpose athlete from Tazewell High School.

Muncy also had offers from Duke and Ohio University, according to rivals.com, and was attracted by the Deacons’ decision to add an H-back to their offensive scheme. Muncy said he was one of four players Wake was considering for that position, including Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic’s Tucker Windle, who committed to Virginia last week.

Wake earlier had received commitments from linebacker Mike Olson and defensive end from Loudon County’s Stone Bridge High School, the Group AAA Division 5 state champion. Olson is roughly the same size as Muncy and is representative of the rangy type of athlete that Wake covets.

JAMIE OAKES, WHO covers Virginia football for rivals.com, reports that place-kicker Robert Randolph from Naples, Fla., will be enrolling at Virginia this summer as an invited walk-on.

Coach Al Groh expressed concerns this spring over the accuracy of 2007 signee Chris Hinkebein, who was recruited as the heir apparent to Chris Gould. Adding to the mystery surrounding the kicking was the decision not to attempt field goals and extra points in the spring game.

Randolph (5-9, 161) was a third-team all-state selection off a Naples High School team that went 15-0 in winning the Florida AAA state championship. He set a school record with a 50-yard field goal.

INTEREST IS BEGINNING to pick up for Hidden Valley’s Matt Aiken, a 6-1, 190-pound wide receiver who recently was timed in 4.48 seconds for 40 yards.

Aiken, brother of UVa long snapper Danny Aiken, was the fifth-leading receiver in Timesland last year – no small feat on a Hidden Valley team whose David Turner rushed for 1,225 yards and had a Timesland-high 252 rushing attempts.

Aiken had 35 receptions for 702 yards and eight TDs, good enough for third in Timesland in that category, and had a ninth touchdown via return. He is scheduled to attend one-day camps at Louisville, UVa, Virginia Tech, Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and Richmond.

AS I’M HEADED out the door to the Western Valley District track meet, here comes word of a drug bust at Amherst County High School that has resulted in the arrest of five juveniles and two 18-year-olds, including the Group AA state football player of the year, Peter Rose.

Rose, a quarterback who led Amherst to the Group AA Division 4 championship, signed a letter-of-intent with Virginia Tech. None of the Tech sources with whom I’ve made quick contact would venture a guess on how this will impact his future.