5/22/09 - The Last Word

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Cavaliers rally past Tigers
By Jay Jenkins
Published: May 22, 2009

DURHAM, N.C. - Andrew Carraway had been nearly inconsolable for two-plus weeks.

Having struggled in his final two outings of the regular season, Virginia’s No. 2 starter was pulled from the rotation as postseason play arrived.

Using that as motivation, the senior dominated in 4.1 innings of relief work Thursday night as sixth-seeded Virginia mounted a late-game rally to upset third-seeded Clemson, 6-5, in the team’s opening game in the ACC baseball tournament at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

With the victory, Virginia won its 40th game of the season and potentially moved within a win of assuring its second straight trip to the tournament’s title game. The Cavaliers now stand 40-12-1 overall entering tonight’s game with second-seeded North Carolina, which start at 8 p.m.

“I actually didn’t even know it until I looked at the stat sheet afterwards that we had won 40 games,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “That’s a great mark. That’s a great sign of a good year. When you get a chance to do it every year it is the sign of a good program.”

Earning the fifth 40th-win season in six years took some heroics for the Cavaliers. In fact, Virginia fell behind quickly, as starter Matt Packer allowed six hits and five earned runs before being pulled with two outs in the fourth inning.

When Packer, who also walked three batters, was pulled, Virginia trailed 5-2. The Cavaliers’ lone runs during Packer’s time on the mound came off a monstrous two-run blast from first baseman John Hicks that soared over the stadium’s “Blue Monster” in left field and off a massive Durham Bulls logo perched above the wall.

The fourth-inning bomb was Hicks’ seventh homer of the season and came off Clemson starter Trey Delk.

“He got it pretty good,” O’Connor said. “Obviously, it looked like he was sitting on a breaking ball there. In some innings, our hitters go up there with a plan of sitting on one pitch.

“It obviously looked like that’s what he did on that occasion.”

After Packer allowed a run in the bottom half of the fourth and Carraway emerged from the bullpen to end the frame, Virginia mounted its sixth rally in a contest in which it trailed by three runs or more during a lengthy fifth inning.

It started with a solo homer from center fielder Jarrett Parker that also cleared the 32-foot wall in left field, trimming Clemson’s lead to 5-3.

Prior to the homer, Parker had been fanned twice by Delk, who allowed six hits and four earned runs in 4.1 innings.

“[Parker’s] first couple of at-bats were tough,” O’Connor said. “He got into a 3-2 count … and he got a 3-2 fastball and put a good swing on the ball. I would say out of his 16 home runs that he has hit, seven or eight of them the other way.

“The kid is a powerful hitter. He has a chance every time that he steps up there to drive the ball out of the ballpark.”

Suddenly, Virginia had some newfound momentum.

After a one-out single by designated hitter Danny Hultzen, the rookie stole second base and advanced to third after the throw down scooted into center field.

Sophomore right fielder Dan Grovatt promptly plated Hultzen for the Cavaliers with a single into right.

With Virginia trailing 5-4, the contest enjoyed a bizarre moment. Facing Clemson reliever Scott Weismann, Cavalier third baseman Steven Proscia lifted a 2-1 pitch to the base of the wall in left-center field.

After taking an odd bounce of the wall, Proscia, almost catching Grovatt on the basepaths, elected to try and get a triple out of the hit.

It worked in more ways than one.

The relay throw from Clemson shortstop Brad Miller towards third base sailed towards the Tigers’ dugout, allowing Proscia to sprint home for an error-aided pseudo inside-the-park homer.

“I got a pitch inside and I hit it pretty good,” said Proscia, who finished with two hits and scored two runs. “Once I saw it drop, I kind of turned on the jets a little bit. I just sprinted around.

“I was digging three out of the box, and once I got there I saw the ball go past the third baseman and I just broke for home. Luckily, there was no play, so I was safe no matter what.”

With the 6-5 lead in hand, Carraway sizzled inning after inning, fanning seven batters and allowing just a double in the eighth inning to Miller.

In Carraway’s two previous starts, which came against Duke and Virginia Tech, he had allowed 12 earned runs in 6.2 combined innings.

“The last couple of weekends I have struggled a little bit,” Carraway said. “I had my fastball but I didn’t really have any other pitches. The guys were on me.

“I did a lot of work with my pitching coach because I had fallen back a little bit. I worked a lot of my slider and fine-tuning my mechanics. I was able to come back.”

Sophomore Kevin Arico pitched a perfect ninth inning to register his ninth save of the season.

With a win tonight against North Carolina and a Clemson win over Duke in a contest slated to start at 4 p.m., Virginia can punch its ticket for Sunday’s title game.

In odd fashion, Florida State, the top team in Pool A, had clinched its spot in the final prior to the Clemson-Virginia showdown.

No. 14 Baseball Wins Tournament Opener vs. Clemson, 6-5
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 05/22/2009

DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 14 Virginia baseball team rallied from four runs down, then used near-flawless relief pitching from Andrew Carraway (Sr., Marietta, Ga.) and Kevin Arico (So., Flemington, N.J.) to pull out a 6-5 win over No. 13 Clemson at the ACC Baseball Championship Thursday evening at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C. UVa is seeded No. 6 in the tournament, while Clemson is the No. 3 seed.

“That is a great win for this team,” Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor said. “Clemson has a very good ball club this year and they are looking for their 40th win this year too. Our kids just continued to fight and battle even when we fell down early in the game. Our hitters continued to compete and Andrew Carraway came in and did a great job out of the bullpen for us to give us a chance to win the game.”

The victory is the Cavaliers’ 40th this season, as UVa reached the 40-win plateau for the fifth time in the last six seasons. Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.) and John Hicks (Fr., Sandy Hook, Va.) each homered, while Parker, Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.), Dan Grovatt (So., Tabernacle, N.J.) and Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) each went recorded a pair of hits.

Carraway (6-1) was brilliant while making his first appearance out of the bullpen this season. He pitched 4.1 innings, giving up just one hit while striking out seven. Carraway retired the first 12 batters he faced before giving up a two-out double to Brad Miller in the eighth inning. Arico set the side down in order in the ninth to earn his ninth save – fifth-most in a single season in UVa history.

Clemson reliever Scott Weismann (2-1) took the loss after allowing two runs (one earned), two hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. Clemson starter Trey Delk worked 4.1 innings, giving up four earned runs, six hits and two walks while fanning six.

Virginia starting pitcher Matt Packer (Jr., Germantown, Tenn.) tossed 3.2 innings, giving up five earned runs, six hits and three walks while striking out five.

UVa trailed 4-0 in the fourth inning before scoring a pair of runs in the fourth and four in the fifth to take the lead.

Playing UVa for the first time since the 2007 season, Clemson (39-18) grabbed the early lead with a run in the second inning. Kyle Parker and Wilson Boyd led off with consecutive singles and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by John Nester. Brad Miller then reached on an error by Hicks at first, while Parker scored on the play.

In the third inning, Clemson tacked on three runs. The Tigers loaded the bases with none out and after Packer struck out Parker, Boyd singled to right to score a pair of runs. Nester followed with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 4-0.

Virginia (40-12-1) sliced the lead in half in the fourth inning. Proscia led off with an infield single and scored when Hicks homered off the bull sign high atop the Blue Monster in left field. The blast was Hicks’ seventh of the season and UVa’s first in an ACC Baseball Championship game since May 25, 2006, when Brandon Marsh hit a solo home run against NC State in Jacksonville.

Clemson added a run in its half of the fourth, as Chris Epps doubled to lead off, then stole third and scored on a Mike Freeman sacrifice fly.

The Cavaliers took the lead with a four-run fifth inning. Parker led off with a solo home run over the Blue Monster. It was Parker’s 16th home run of the season, tying him with Joe Koshansky (2004) for third in a single season at Virginia.

One out later, Hultzen singled. He stole second and advanced to third on the play on a throwing error by Nester. Grovatt singled to center to score Hultzen and cut the lead to one. Proscia then drove a ball to the wall in left-center and legged out a triple to score Grovatt. On the relay to third base, Miller threw the ball away, allowing Proscia to come home with the go-ahead run.

Virginia next plays at 8 p.m. Friday against second-seeded North Carolina.

Barrow never far from Cavs’ minds
By Whitey Reid
Published: May 22, 2009

Every Thursday, for the past several years, one Virginia senior has had the chance to get up in front of the entire team and give a brief talk.

Players can discuss anything they want. They can provide feedback on how practice is going, talk about an upcoming opponent, or just reminisce about their experiences at UVa.

The sessions are known as “The Last Word.”

This season, Virginia has 13 seniors on its roster, and, inevitably, each of the speakers has touched on the same subject matter — former teammate Will Barrow.

It was this past November, just a few days before Thanksgiving, when Barrow was found dead after an apparent suicide.

The death of Barrow — who had completed his lacrosse eligibility, but was in Charlottesville finishing his degree in sociology — hit Virginia players like a Mack truck. Barrow had been a team captain in 2008 and was extremely popular.

“He was an outgoing, fun-loving guy,” said Virginia junior Brian Carroll. “Everyone loved to be around him. He could always put a smile on people’s faces.”

On Saturday, when Virginia takes on Cornell in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament, Barrow, like he has all season, will be on everyone’s mind.

Throughout the year, players have displayed Barrow’s jersey No. 23 during games, painting the number on their arms and etching it into their eye black. In pregame warm-ups, players wear a special T-shirt that has “Will” embroidered onto a sleeve.

“Will is someone who we think about every day and night,” said Virginia junior Max Pomper, one of Barrow’s closest friends. “Before the game, we talk about Will. We talk about how we want to play like he did — play hard, play fast, play strong. He was an incredible leader and we’ll never forget him. We want to honor him by playing well and playing hard.”

Pomper and Barrow both grew up on Long Island, N.Y., about 20 minutes apart. Their families remain good friends.

Pomper says it’s impossible to keep Barrow out of his mind — not that he’d want to. All of his best college memories involve his buddy, on the field and off. He remembers all the tailgating they did — the time Virginia upset Florida State in football and they stormed the field together.

“We tried to tackle Ernie Sims,” said a smiling Pomper, referring to the former Seminoles linebacker who now plays for the Detroit Lions.

After Barrow’s death, Virginia players met on countless occasions to try and talk things through.

“This is one of your best friends — he lives next door to you,” said Virginia coach Dom Starsia. “For kids this age, this was a traumatic thing to have happen.”

Virginia fifth-year senior Mike Timms, normally very introverted, spoke up at the meetings. Timms, who lost both of his parents at a young age, did his best to try and help his teammates cope with the tragedy that nobody had answers for.

“My feeling was that everyone handles situations like that differently,” Timms said. “Moving forward, you have to find whatever way works for you the best to move on and to realize that things aren’t going to be the way they were before.”

Playing with an open wound, everyone has tried their best.

It hasn’t been easy. There are constant reminders. In viewing video of upcoming opponents, players often see Barrow in action from years past.

Last Thursday, Barrow would have celebrated his 23rd birthday.

“It’s just always right there,” Starsia said.

On the field, Virginia stormed out of the gates, winning its first 11 games. Then came two losses to rival Duke within a two-week span. After the second, a demoralizing 16-5 setback, Starsia figured his team had run out of gas mentally. A lackluster win over Dartmouth only lent more credence to the theory.

“If the season had ended the way the regular season did, it still would have been an unbelievable year with everything that we’d been through,” Starsia said. “After the second Duke game, I said, ‘This team just may be spent.’”

But the Cavaliers got off the mat, crushing Villanova and Johns Hopkins in their first two NCAA Tournament games. In the win over Hopkins last Sunday, UVa seemed to be playing with a bounce to its step that had been missing.

“I wasn’t sure we had another gear that we’ve demonstrated these last couple of weeks,” Starsia said. “That’s been especially gratifying, and I give the seniors a lot of credit for helping pull this thing together.”

Carroll — who, like many Virginia players, was at home on Thanksgiving break when he received word of Barrow’s death — says the team has persevered.

“I think as terrible as it was, it’s made our team stronger,” he said. “We had to go through that and it kind of unified us.”

After the win over Hopkins, Pomper, who remains close with the Barrow family, received a congratulatory e-mail from George Barrow, Will’s father.

“He basically said, ‘Way to kick [butt],’” Pomper said.

Pomper said that the Barrow family will be on hand in Foxborough, Mass., this weekend, cheering on the Cavaliers. In April, they attended the Big City Classic at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

“It was awesome to look up and see the Barrows,” said Pomper, whose younger brother, Brian, is wearing No. 23 this season. “Mrs. Barrow was wearing Will’s jersey. If you needed any more motivation than that, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.”

If things go as planned this weekend, perhaps it will be the entire Virginia team that will have “The Last Word.”

Van Arsdale: Vital cog in U.Va.‘s lacrosse machine
Tomorrow:Duke vs. Syracuse, noon; Virginia vs. Cornell, 2:30
TV:ESPN2
By Jeff White
Published: May 22, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- When Division I jobs come open, Krissy Lasagna frets. She understands Marc Van Arsdale's value to her husband's lacrosse program at the University of Virginia. She also relishes the friendship that's developed between two families over the ages.

"I don't think that this could be working out any better than it has," U.Va. coach Dom Starsia said. "My wife is always deathly afraid when she hears about these other jobs opening up."

Good news for the Cavaliers: Van Arsdale, the team's associate head coach and offensive coordinator, isn't looking to leave. And that's one reason U.Va. isn't likely to fall from the ranks of the sport's elite anytime soon.

Van Arsdale, 45, has been a head coach -- he went 27-39 in five seasons at the University of Pennsylvania -- and realizes that not all situations are equally conducive to success. Moreover, he and his wife, Karen, love Charlottesville, as do their two children. Their son, Owen, is a star attackman at nearby St. Anne's-Belfield School and has committed to play for his father and Starsia. He plans to enroll at U.Va. in 2010.

"With them in 11th and ninth grade, it would take something really, really special to pop up, I think, to even consider it at this stage," said Van Arsdale, who interviewed at Duke in 2006 after Mike Pressler was forced to resign as coach.

Few teams have been as potent offensively as Virginia this decade, and that's Van Arsdale's area of expertise. He was an All-American attackman at Hobart, after all. Starsia was an All-American defenseman at Brown.

"I think they work very well together," said Ben Rubeor, a former U.Va. great who's now a graduate assistant at his alma mater. "Dom is very good at managing a group of people, and Marc is very good with the X's and O's, the technicalities of the game."

This is Van Arsdale's second stint at Virginia. The first began in 1991, when he arrived at U.Va. to work for Jim Adams. That arrangement didn't last long. Adams retired after the 1992 season, leaving Van Arsdale in what he terms "a precarious position" when Starsia was hired as head coach.

"I knew who Dom was, and I think he probably knew who I was, but we'd never really had a conversation," Van Arsdale recalled. "I'd just bought a house that spring, and Karen was pregnant with Owen. I'm thinking, 'I may be looking for a job here,' but fortunately things worked out.' It was a pretty good working relationship almost from the start."

After the 1996 season, Van Arsdale left for Penn. Five years later, an opportunity arose for him to return to U.Va. His job was safe at Penn, but the family lived about 50 minutes from campus. His commute in Charlottesville is non-existent, and he's able to spend much more time with his wife and children.

"I think he made a quality-of-life decision as much as anything else," Starsia said, "and we're glad he did."

Van Arsdale, a New Jersey native, has been part of 10 national-championship teams: four as a Hobart player, four as a Hobart assistant and two as a U.Va. assistant. He's seeking his 11th ring this weekend in Foxborough, Mass., where top-seeded Virginia (15-2) meets No. 5 seed Cornell (12-3) in an NCAA semifinal tomorrow.

Starsia's absolute confidence in his No. 2 man is reflected in the autonomy Van Arsdale receives.

"When you find somebody that's so completely trustworthy, I have no troubles handing things over," Starsia said. "People have asked me what we're doing on extra-man [offense] sometimes, or this or that, and to be honest with you, I don't always know. I just don't worry about it.

"I have suggestions at the offensive end, and Marc takes them all in and uses the ones that make sense for us."

May 21, 2009
Virginia finding its rhythm at the right time
Friday’s edition of The Baltimore Sun will include a feature on Cavaliers junior midfielder Brian Carroll, who is part of an offensive juggernaut that has helped Virginia outscore Johns Hopkins and Villanova by a combined 37-14 in the NCAA tournament.

The explosion has muted the whispers about the Cavaliers’ season-ending stretch of two losses in the final three games – both to Atlantic Coast Conference rival Duke – but coach Dom Starsia acknowledged that even he has been surprised by his team’s performance.

"There was a little different edge in practice, but you don’t always know how that’s going to play out," he said. "And I don’t think anybody saw this coming, particularly in the last game against Hopkins. ... I would say we were relentless in our approach to it. And even though Hopkins carried the play in the first couple of minutes by winning the first couple of faceoffs and getting some shots and keeping the heat on us a little bit, it seemed like we got every ground ball and just kept attacking the goal and did what we needed to do. If we continue to do this, we’ve picked a good time to play our best lacrosse."

Virginia gets a rematch with Cornell, which dropped a 14-10 decision to the Cavaliers on March 8. But Starsia said the team is not resting on that result.

"It’s do-or-die here," he said. "We have to be successful. We have to persevere here no matter what advantage Cornell may have or Hopkins may have had because we happened to beat them the first time around. At this time in the season, more often than not, we’re playing somebody that we played earlier. So whether we beat them or lost to them back in February, March or April, we need to figure out a way to beat them right now or we’re not going to be able to achieve that goals that we have in mind."

Posted by Edward Lee

ESPN's Mark Dixon evaluates the NCAA tournament
While offering his expertise for Saturday’s story on Duke’s lacrosse team, ESPN analyst and former Johns Hopkins midfielder Mark Dixon took a shot at summarizing the NCAA tournament quarterfinal action and taking a peek at championship weekend. Here are his thoughts:

Which team or individual had the most impressive performance in the quarterfinals?

Mark Dixon: For a team, I think you’re looking at Virginia, and I think everybody was really taken aback by [sophomore midfielder] Shamel Bratton. With his quickness and his shooting ability, you just can’t cover the guy. You’re going to need help, but the problem is, he’s so fast. He had that one move from goal-line extended against Hopkins where he faked outside and just face-dodged in, and his defender lunged two yards in the direction that Bratton had faked, and by the time he got to the front of the crease, there was no slide. I was also impressed with [sophomore goalkeeper Adam] Ghitelman making some saves, especially early when Hopkins was up 1-0 and controlling the faceoffs. They had an opportunity to score two or three more goals, but Ghitelman made some saves. But to me, Bratton was the one who stood out with his individual performance.

Which team or individual fell short of expectations?

MD: I think it’s really easy to say that [North Carolina sophomore attackman] Billy Bitter fell short of expectations, but how can you follow up an eight-goal game? That’s really difficult. So I don’t think he was as disappointing as some people might be led to believe. He still created a lot, drew a lot of attention, but [Duke sophomore defenseman] Mike Manley just did a great job against him. Maybe Princeton. A lot of people thought that Princeton was going to win against Cornell. They threw the ball away a lot, made a lot of turnovers, but you have to give a lot of credit to Cornell as well. They executed their game plan -- again -- almost to perfection. But a lot of people were saying that they couldn’t beat Princeton twice. So I think some folks were surprised -- not that Princeton lost but that Cornell was able to do the same thing they did to them back in April.

Of the four Tewaaraton Trophy finalists still playing in the tournament, which player among Syracuse senior midfielder Matt Abbott, Duke senior attackman Ned Crotty, Virginia senior attackman Danny Glading and Cornell senior midfielder Max Seibald has the edge to win the Player of the Year honor?

MD: I think when you look at it, it’s probably between Glading and Crotty. I think those are the two that probably have the inside track. But don’t count out Seibald because what he does and him being the sole captain for Cornell can’t be quantified on a stat sheet. Just the way he hustles and his leadership and other things like that. With that being said, I think right now, it’s between Crotty and Glading, and quite frankly, whoever has the better weekend between those two is probably going to walk away with it.

Which team will win the crown?

MD: I’m going with Virginia. I just think that way because of how they’re playing offensively right now. The defense has been good against Hopkins and Villanova, but they’re going to really be tested in the national championship game should they advance -- which I think they will. I just think they’ve got too much firepower for Cornell. I think Syracuse wins the other game. What’s amazing is that Syracuse is doing it again, and not a lot of people are talking about them. They’re quietly winning games and putting it together. But I’m looking at a Virginia-Syracuse final, and I just think Virginia is going to win.

Posted by Edward Lee

Virginia's Carroll not ready to celebrate yet
Gilman graduate wants national championship
By Edward Lee | edward.lee@baltsun.com
May 22, 2009

Virginia's Brian Carroll doesn't call himself traditional or old school. He just doesn't feel like celebrating after he scores a goal.

"That's just how I am," the Gilman graduate said. "I am really happy, and sometimes I'll give a little when I'm really excited. But when I score during a game, I don't make too much of it because I'm still in the middle of a game and we haven't won yet. So I save the celebrating for after the game."

Besides, it would be somewhat of a weary exercise for the junior midfielder, who has 29 goals and 39 points for top-seeded Virginia (15-2), which meets No. 5 seed Cornell (12-3) in an NCAA tournament semifinal Saturday.

Carroll has surpassed his previous career highs in goals, assists and points, and he needs just one more goal to join sophomore Shamel Bratton as the first midfielders to reach 30 goals since Matt Poskay scored 41 in 2006.

On an offense with a plethora of weapons, Carroll isn't as smooth as Danny Glading, as accurate a shot as Garrett Billings or as fast as Bratton. But there's no understating his value to the Cavaliers, according to CBS college sports analyst Paul Carcaterra.

"I think he's huge," the former Syracuse All-America midfielder said. "I think when you put a player like him around great dodgers, that's invaluable. He complements those guys so well because you can have a guy like Shamel Bratton who shakes and creates and forces a slide, and to have a guy like Carroll on the wing or up top, it's pick your poison."

Carroll's success shouldn't be surprising, considering he was a two-time Baltimore City Player of the Year at Gilman. And as a freshman, he was immediately inserted into the first midfield line.

But Carroll acknowledged feeling a little out of place among his more experienced teammates.

"I think at times I felt like I didn't deserve to be starting, that maybe some of the older guys should have been playing where I was," he said. "Coming in and starting as a freshman, I was maybe a little timid and definitely not trying to step on people's toes."

Perhaps as a corollary, Carroll was content at times to watch the offense and be the beneficiary of his teammates' work. That has changed this season as he has become more aggressive in taking the ball and creating space and time to take shots.

"Early in his career, I felt like you could cover him and he would allow you to do that," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "As his confidence has grown, he just refuses to be shut off right now. He'll go and get the ball himself, and make things happen for us. That's made a huge difference in us becoming a more dangerous offensive lacrosse team."

Carroll's signature game this season was March 28, when he ended the longest game in Division I history with a goal 60 seconds into the seventh overtime period of the Cavaliers' 10-9 win against Maryland. By doing so, he became the only player in school history to score three overtime winners.

Carroll is referred to by his teammates as "Neck" for the thick neck atop his burly 6-foot-1, 210-pound frame, but true to his nature, Carroll declined the "Big Shot Brian" nickname given him by InsideLacrosse.com as an homage to his overtime heroics.

"I think it goes back to his personality," said junior defenseman Ken Clausen, one of Carroll's close friends. "I don't think he wants to be the guy with all of the hype around him. He'd rather not have the spotlight on him all the time. But I'm sure everyone on the team would feel comfortable with the ball in his hand if the national championship was on the line."

CBS College Sports' Paul Carcaterra weighs in
While helping me with some stories this week, CBS College Sports analyst and former Syracuse All-American midfielder Paul Carcaterra weighed in on NCAA tournament quarterfinal action and offered his opinion on which team will take home the national championship on Memorial Day. Here are his thoughts:

Which team or individual had the most impressive performance in the quarterfinals?

Paul Carcaterra: Shamel Bratton and Ned Crotty. I think Shamel Bratton [who scored five goals in Sunday’s 19-8 demolition of Johns Hopkins] created so much for his team because of his ability to separate himself from the defense. Johns Hopkins’ defense couldn’t guard him, and that opened up everything for his teammates. He really opened up the field for Virginia and just showed that when you have a guy up top from the midfield and he can dodge like that, that changes the complexion of the opposition’s defense. And Ned Crotty [who posted two goals and six assists in Sunday’s 12-11 win against North Carolina], I’d be shocked if he didn’t win the Tewaaraton based on what he’s been able to do in leading the country in assists. He’s just the ultimate team player, and he’s created an offensive situation for Duke where everyone gets involved.

Which team or individual fell short of expectations?

PC: I think coming off of an eight-goal performance against UMBC, the pressure was on Billy Bitter, and I think Duke defended him so aggressively that he really struggled. The chips were stacked against Bitter walking into that game against a physical Duke defense and with him being the only big-time dodging threat on UNC. He played with a tremendous X on his back. So I’m not sure if he fell short of expectations or if the chips were stacked up highly against him. I think Duke sort of threw the kitchen sink at him, and they physically went after him.

Since you mentioned Ned Crotty, can he still win the Tewaaraton if Duke does not win the national title?

PC: I think Ned Crotty wins the Tewaaraton unless Danny Glading plays incredibly this weekend and Virginia wins. Those two things have to happen for Ned Crotty not to win the Tewaaraton. I think he’s meant more to Duke than probably any other player to his team. I don’t ever like to say it’s about one guy, but he’s a huge reason why Duke is playing in this game. You had the loss of Matt Danowski and Zack Greer, the two most prolific scorers in NCAA history, and here comes Ned Crotty who switches from midfield to attack, leads the country in assists, and gives Duke an identity offensively. What else could you ask for? It’s truly remarkable what he has done. So I think it’s his to lose and the only other person that I could see winning it is Danny Glading with a monster performance and Virginia winning the national championship. I think Kenny Nims should have been on that list. I think he kind of got snubbed. Abbott probably deserves to be on that list, too, but I think Kenny Nims should have been on that list.

Which team will win the crown?

PC: I think it will be Syracuse. And I’m not saying this because I’m from Syracuse. I don’t pick Syracuse every year. I’m not ignorant. I just think they have six offensive midfielders and three exceptionally athletic defensive midfielders who can start offense from the other end, and I don’t see any other team with that combination. So I’m going with Syracuse.

Posted by Edward Lee

College lacrosse: Star watch
May 22, 2009 All four NCAA semifinalists this weekend have one critical component in common - each boasts a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist, lacrosse's version of college football's Heisman Trophy.

The Tewaaraton Award Foundation begins the year with about 50 candidates, then trims them to approximately 20 three-quarters of the way into the season. In early May, it was reduced to five. On May 28 in Washington D.C., the winner will be announced at the Foundation's annual banquet.
The postseason typically plays a large role in deciding the winner. Here's a breakdown of the four candidates (Bryant's Zack Bryant is the fifth) playing this weekend:

Matt Abbott, Syracuse
Year: Senior
Position/No.: M/3
Goals-assists-points: 12-8-20
Miscellaneous statistic: 72 ground balls (leads team).
Reason for nomination: Abbott is the heart and soul of the Orange. A 6-foot-2 speedster, he gives coach John Desko the equivalent of a one-man clear, and he plays with reckless abandon off the faceoff wing - but always under graceful control. He gobbles up ground balls like his pocket's two feet deep, and has a knack for making game-changing plays between the 30-yard lines. Even better for SU, he can defend when asked.

Ned Crotty, Duke
Year: Senior
Position/No.: A/22
Goals-assists-points: 23-53-76
Miscellaneous statistic: Totaled 16 points, split evenly, in two Blue Devil wins against Virginia.
Reason for nomination: Made the move this year from midfielder to attack - and got better. Crotty is exceptional at setting up his teammates, and has saved some of his best outings for Duke's top competition. In Sunday's 12-11 quarterfinal victory over rival North Carolina, he finished with two goals and six assists. Arguably the top reason Crotty is considered the slight leader for this year's award is the fact that Duke, despite losing stars Matt Danowski and Zack Greer to graduation, still returned to the Final Four.

Danny Glading, Virginia
Year: Senior
Position/No.: A/9
Goals-assists-points: 30-30-60
Miscellaneous statistic: Only the second Virginia player, and fourth ACC player, to crack 100 points in both goals and assists for a career.
(2 of 2)
Reason for nomination: Quite simply, he's the most consistent, most dependable producer of points for the nation's best offense and top-ranked team. Glading may be hurt in this year's voting because of the depth of talent surrounding him, but a national championship might change the minds of the voters. He's the ultimate weapon at attack - quick enough to beat his man one-on-one, savvy enough to dump the ball off when the slide comes, and tremendous on the ride.

Max Seibald, Cornell
Year: Senior
Position/No.: M/42
Goals-assists-points: 27-7-34
Miscellaneous statistic: Seibald is the only player in Ivy League history to be named first-team all-league four straight years.
Reason for nomination: His importance to Cornell runs so much deeper than the box score. Despite the attention he draws offensively - teams still slide almost immediately to him on dodges - he's an old-fashioned two-way midfielder at heart. He wins faceoffs, he rides ferociously, and he's near impossible to check. On top of that, he's the sole captain of a team that would run through a brick wall for him. Lastly, he's arguably the most clutch performer of the candidates.
- Brian Delaney

UVa Moves up to Sixth Entering Final Round of NCAAs
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 05/21/2009

Owings Mills, Md. – The third-ranked Virginia women’s golf team moved up three spots to sixth place at the NCAA Championships thanks to a pair of outstanding third-round performances from Calle Nielson and Lene Krog. The Cavaliers enter Friday’s final day of play at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. with a 54-hole total of 908. Virginia shot 13-over 301 Thursday, the third best team score of the day.

Reigning NCAA Champion USC shot 6-over 294 for a 54-hole total of 890 to charge up the leaderboard and grab a one-shot lead over Arizona State. UCLA will make it an all-Pac-10 pairing in the final group of the day. The Bruins slid back to third place, but are just three strokes off the lead at 893. North Carolina is in fourth place at 906 and Denver is fifth, one shot ahead of UVa, at 907.

USC’s Jennifer Song holds a two-shot advantage over Purdue’s Maria Hernandez and UCLA’s Maria Jose Uribe in stroke play. Song shot 71 Thursday and enters the final round at even-par 216.

“Today was moving day and we felt we had only been playing average golf so far and we were still in the middle of the pack,” said Virginia coach Kim Lewellen. “We felt if we could have someone go out there today and throw out some low scores, then we could move up. We were waiting on those ‘A’ games to happen and we got a couple today."

Nielson paced the Cavaliers by shooting 1-under 71 to climb into a tie for eighth place among the individual competitors. After finishing her first nine holes at 2-over she picked up three birdies on her back nine. Nielson’s 54-hole total stands at 6-over 222 after shooting 75 and 76 in the first two rounds.

“That was a huge day for Calle,” Lewellen said. “She’s only a second year, so for her to perform well at this tournament is a real boost for her so early in her college career."

Krog experienced a rollercoaster round, carding six birdies, five bogeys and one double bogey. Over her final six holes, she birdied the even-numbered holes and carded a bogey on the odd-numbered ones. Her 71 moved her up to 24th place at 10-over 226. Her 13 birdies after three rounds are the most by any player.

Kristen Simpson and Joy Kim recorded UVa’s other two counting scores during the round. Simpson shot 78 to finish in 54th place at 231. Kim shot 79 and is 80th at 235. Whitney Neuhauser posted an 81 and dropped back to 81st at 232.

“It was exciting. I saw a lot of birdies today,” Lewellen said. “Calle and Lene gave us some great scores today and the other girls stuck in there and really grinded it out and gave us some good scores. We played very, very well as a team today.”

Friday the Cavaliers will attempt to register their first-ever top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships. The team was 12th last season and placed 13th in 205.

The Cavaliers will start their final round at 12:10 p.m. from the first tee and will be paired with North Carolina and Denver.

The NCAA will webcast the 16th, 17th and 18th holes of the final round. The webcasts are scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the morning wave and 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (or until completion of play) for the afternoon wave. Visit the women’s golf page on NCAASports.com for the link to the webcast.

Live scoring of the NCAA Championships is online at Golfstat.com.

NCAA Championships
Caves Valley Golf Club
Owings Mills, Md.
Par-72, 6,443 yards
Third Round Results

Team Results
1. USC (4) 301-295-294-890
2. Arizona State (1) 302-298-291-891
3. UCLA (2) 296-293-304-893
4. North Carolina (10) 299-301-306-906
5. Denver (14) 294-304-309-907
6. Virginia (3) 305-302-301-908
7. Oklahoma State (5) 303-297-309-909
8. Duke (11) 308-301-302-911
9. Pepperdine (13) 312-298-302-912
10. LSU (7) 302-304-309-915
11. Alabama (6) 305-302-311-918
11. Purdue (9) 306-301-311-918
13. Wake Forest (12) 303-300-318-921
14. Georgia (15) 316-307-301-924
15. Michigan State (17) 307-303-315-925
16. Tennessee (24) 307-313-306-926
17. UT Chattanooga (44) 316-307-305-928
18. Arizona (20) 310-305-314-929
19. TCU (27) 314-316-301-931
20. New Mexico (22) 311-314-307-932
21. Tulane (29) 312-305-317-934
22. Texas (38) 314-311-313-938
23. Ohio State (26) 323-311-314-948
24. UC Irvine (18) 320-316-312-948
Number in parenthesis is Golfstat ranking

Individual Leaders
5. Jennifer Song, USC 72-73-71-216
6. Maria Hernandez, Purdue 74-72-72-218
1. Maria Jose Uribe, UCLA 75-66-77-218
5. Alice Kim, UC Davis 74-75-70-219
6. Stephanie Connelly, UCF* 72-74-75-221
2. Lisa McCloskey, Pepperdine 74-69-78-221
7. Azahara Munoz, Arizona State 78-71-72-221
6. Amanda Blumenherst, Duke 75-73-74-222
9. Sydney Crane, North Carolina 75-72-75-222
2. Nannette Hill, Wake Forest 72-71-79-222
6. Pernilla Lindberg, Oklahoma State 74-72-76-222
8. Calle Nielson, Virginia 75-76-71-222
8. Jaclyn Sweeney, Arizona State 76-77-69-222
2. Stephanie Sherlock, Denver 70-73-79-222
*Individual competitor

Virginia
8. Calle Nielson 75-76-71-222
24. Lene Krog 78-74-73-225
54. Kristen Simpson 77-76-78-231
57. Whitney Neuhauser 75-76-81-232
80. Joy Kim 79-77-79-235

Inglot and Shabaz Upset No. 1 Seed in NCAA First Round
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 05/21/2009

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Virginia men’s tennis team had one singles player and one doubles team advance to the round of 16 of the NCAA Individual Championships on the second day of play at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The Cavalier duo of Dominic Inglot (London, England) and Michael Shabaz (Fairfax, Va.) scored a first round upset of the No. 1 seed Jonas Berg and Bram ten Berge of Ole Miss in doubles, while Sanam Singh (Chandigarh, India) advanced to the round of 16 in singles play.

Inglot and Shabaz, ranked No. 12, played a close first set with the top-ranked Rebel duo. Both teams served well as no game even went to deuce and the opening set went to a tiebreaker. The Virginia team took a 5-3 lead in the breaker only to see the Ole Miss team win four straight points to win the tiebreaker 7-5.

In the second set, Inglot and Shabaz took an early lead, breaking Berg at love in the second game to take a 2-0. That one break was all the Cavalier team needed, holding serve in the set to take it 6-3.

The final set was tight like the first two, as it remained on serve to 4-4. In the fifth game, Inglot and Shabaz broke Berg’s serve for the second time in the match to take a 5-4 lead. In the ensuing game, Shabaz held his serve to deliver the upset of the No. 1 seed.

“Obviously they are a great team, you don’t get to be the No. 1 seed without having a great year,” said Shabaz. “It was just a real battle and it could have gone either way. We had a chance to win the first set tiebreaker and they were able to squeeze it out. We served well and weren’t broken the entire match and were able to get a break early in the second and late in the third to get the win.”

It was the second consecutive top-five team the duo has beaten. They topped fourth-ranked Robert Farah and Steve Johnson in the quarterfinals of the team tournament.

“That match gave us a lot of confidence because Farah and Johnson are a real strong team,” said Shabaz. “I also think the two-out-of-three set format of the NCAA Championships also helps us. Sometimes we can have a slow start and this format gives us some extra time. That paid off for us today.”

Inglot and Shabaz will meet Christian Rojmar and Raony Carvalho of Texas Tech in the second round on Friday. The Red Raider team defeated Diego Cubas and Ivan Machado of South Carolina 6-4, 7-5 in their first round match.

Singh advanced to the singles round of 16 with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Dimitar Kutrovsky of Texas. He needed just over an hour to defeat the 2008 All-American in straight sets.

In the first set, Singh fought off a pair of break points in the first game to hold. The match remained on serve until Singh broke Kutrovsky in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. He held that one break advantage at 5-2 when he broke Kutrovsky again in the eighth game to take the opening set 6-2.

“I struggled to hold in the first game, but after that I played really well,” said Singh. “I served well the rest of the match and that helped keep me going.”

Singh breezed through the second set 6-0 to secure the victory. For the match, Singh was 5-for-5 on break point opportunities, while fighting off all three break point opportunities he faced on his serve.

“I knew I was going to be in a lot of his service games,” said Singh. “Today I was able to have a good balance of being aggressive and being defensive to be able to take advantage of the break point opportunities I had.”

By reaching the round of 16, Singh secured All-American status in singles. He is the third Cavalier in history to reach the NCAA Singles Round of 16, joining Somdev Devvarman (three times) and Brian Vahaly (twice).

“I wanted to be an All-American and it is nice to have achieved that,” said Singh. “But I am not satisfied with that. I want to go farther in this tournament.”

Singh will meet No. 6 seed John-Patrick Smith of Tennessee in the round of 16 on Friday. Smith, the 2008 NCAA Singles runner-up to Devvarman, topped North Carolina’s Clay Donato 6-3, 7-6 in his second round match.

Inglot suffered a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 loss to Devin Britton of Ole Miss in the second round. Both players served well throughout the match and there was just one break of serve in each of the three sets. Inglot will also be a singles All-American this year by being seeded for the NCAA Tournament. With that honor, Inglot joins Devvarman, Vahaly and Doug Stewart as the only multiple-time singles All-Americans in school history.

In doubles, Singh and Houston Barrick (Brentwood, Tenn.) almost delivered a first round upset of their own, as they were edged by No. 4 seeded Jamie Hunt and Nate Schnugg of Georgia. The Cavalier team took the first set when they broke Hunt’s serve in the third game and held the rest of the way to 6-4. The Bulldog team answered by taking the second set 6-3. In the final set, the Cavalier team was up a break at 5-2, but the Georgia team rallied to tie the match. The third set went to a breaker, where Hunt and Schnugg won 7-4 to win the match.

‘James O’ left his mark on Virginia
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Published: May 22, 2009

Everybody called him “James O.”

The man was simple, but his deeds were so complicated that when James O. “Jim” West retired from Virginia’s athletic department after lifelong service, it took more than four people to do his job.

“One person just simply couldn’t do it,” said current UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage of West’s workload when the department restructured in 1992. “There’s probably nobody that’s had as great an impact on the UVa athletic program as James O.”

Jack of all trades

West did it all. His job description wouldn’t fit in one sentence. Let’s see — he oversaw the operation of athletic facilities, was in charge of game event management, compliance to rules, supervision of coaches. The list goes on.

Not to mention he was the Cavaliers baseball coach for a couple of decades and won the school’s first ACC championship in that sport in 1972 — without scholarships.

“He was the go-to guy,” said Dennis Womack, who succeeded West as UVa’s baseball coach and held down a few of his mentor’s duties after West retired. “He was a nuts and bolts guy who took care of everything day in and day out. Every AD needs that guy.”

Gene Corrigan sure did, and isn’t afraid to admit it.

Once-in-a-lifetime hire

“I never, ever in my life made a better hire than Jim West,” Corrigan said.

That statement speaks volumes because Corrigan worked with some of the best in college athletics during a career that included serving as athletic director at UVa and Notre Dame along with commissioner of the ACC.

“Ever since I left Virginia in 1981 [to take the Notre Dame job], I’ve always had a picture on my desk of Jim West, Joe Gieck and Doc [Dr. Frank McCue] — the Three Musketeers,” Corrigan said. “I never had anybody better than Jim.”

West schooled many an AD and potential AD on how to get the job done — but, as Corrigan said, he wasn’t a grandstander. He preferred staying in the background.

West, Gieck and McCue were indeed the Musketeers. In fact, they were closer than brothers for 50 years.

“Everybody will remember Jim for his character, his integrity, his honesty and his honor,” Gieck said. “You could always count on Jim West.”

In his latter years, West had plenty, more than his share of things that he could have complained about. Never did. He was a strong man who let the bad stuff roll off his back.

When West, the late Ted Davenport, and Joe Mark resigned as scapegoats of the VSAF loan scandal back in the early ’90s, it would have easy for West to have become bitter. He was unjustly victimized.

Those who knew him loved him, knew the truth about the whole situation and always rushed to his defense.

West appreciated it but felt it unnecessary.

“He would never say a bad thing about the University,” Gieck said. “He would just say, ‘Well, that’s just the way it is.’”

As James O’s health deteriorated from a series of back operations, knee problems and other issues, he remained the same guy.

“He never complained,” McCue said. “He had to be feeling miserable at times but he never complained one time that I know.”

That was just the way West was put together.

Mike Sheffield, who is UVa’s retired chief of police, was extremely close to West and reiterated the comments about West never stopping to complain about the negative things in his life.

“Not only did he never say anything negative about the University — a place he truly loved with all his heart — but he never said anything negative about anybody at UVa,” Sheffield said.

“The most important impact he made on my life was helping me understand the value of family,” Sheffield said. “When I lost my first wife, Jim and [wife] Ann kind of adopted me and showed me how important family and friends are.

“They included me in everything from beach trips to fishing, cookouts, you name it and gave me a different perspective on life,” Sheffield said. “He touched all facets of our life and we will really miss him. He has left a huge void for a lot of people.”

James O used to joke about growing up in Boaz, a tiny place somewhere around Suffolk, that boasted a sign reading “Welcome to Boaz” — then, as you passed, the other side of the sign read “Leaving Boaz.”

West brought that down-home, simplistic style of living to UVa’s athletic department and made it a family atmosphere for as long as he was there.

“He was one of the special guys in the history of UVa athletics,” Womack said.

West was truly one of a kind.

This column was about West, the man. On Sunday, we will review West’s life through stories from some of those people who were closest to the legendary figure.

Jerome Meyinsse To Represent UVa At NCAA Conference
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 05/21/2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE—Jerome Meyinsse, a member of the Virginia men’s basketball team, is scheduled to represent UVa at the 2009 NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference in Orlando, Fla., May 24-27.

The conference is open to student-athletes at NCAA member institutions. Each division has the opportunity to send 233 student-athletes to the national conference.

Meyinsse, who is from Baton Rouge, La., just finished his junior year at Virginia and has lettered three times for the Cavaliers. He has been named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Men’s Basketball Team each of the last two years.

Meyinsse was also one of six recipients of Virginia’s ACC Top VI Award this spring. The awards are presented to student-athletes who have given the most in terms of service to the University and Charlottesville communities.

The NCAA National Student-Athlete Development Conference will be held at the Walt Disney World Coronado Spring Resort.

2009.05.21
UVa Insider, The Column - Doug Doughty

The decision by Virginia football player Andrew Devlin to transfer to Pittsburgh caused me to wonder about the frequency of such a move.

I couldn’t remember the last time that the Cavaliers lost a player who was projected to receive playing time, was in good shape academically and did not have any known legal problems.
The closest parallel I can draw is to the 2004 departure of basketball player Derrick Byars for Vanderbilt, where he became an All-Southeastern Conference performer, or the 2005 transfer of lacrosse attackman Joe Yevoli from UVa to Syracuse.

Yevoli, redshirted earlier in his career, actually graduated from UVa before deciding to play a fifth season with the Orangemen..

College wrestling afficionado Jeff White reminds me that 141-pounder Eric Albright transferred from Virginia to Pittsburgh after making the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and suggested that “maybe it’s a Pittsburgh thing.”

Albright is from York, Pa., however, and that’s in the eastern half of the state. It would appear that Albright’s transfer had more to do with the fact that his younger brother Chris, began his college career at Pitt this past season.

Devlin played at Mount Lebanon High School and having had a couple of college fraternity brothers from Mount Lebanon, I would say that’s as Pittsburgh as it gets.

Devlin must have wanted to get back to Pittsburgh pretty badly because it’s going to cost him a year’s eligibility. Devlin was a redshirt freshman at UVa this past season, when he played in all 12 games and earned a letter.

By the time he makes his projected University of Pittsburgh debut in 2010, Devlin will be a redshirt junior.

CLEARLY, DEVLIN WANTED to play tight end, which coach Al Groh acknowledged in a phone conversation Thursday.

Groh had moved Devlin to the defensive line in the spring, explaining to reporters that Devlin, listed at 6 foot 6 and 258 pounds last season but now closer to 275, had grown out of the position.

Devlin’s comments to Pantherlair.com indicated that the tight end position will be de-emphasized in the spread offense installed by new offensive coordinator Greg Brandon.

“Most people don’t know what it means,” said Groh of the spread. “There’s spreads that run it, there’s spreads that pass it, there’s spreads that use the tight end, there’s spreads that have no tight ends in the system.

“The [Chase] Coffman kid at Missouri was one of the leading receivers in the country last year and he played tight end. It’s a position that I think is valuable. I always want to have good ones here. They’re also players who have size and skill versatility and can play other positions.”

Groh often takes figures off the top of his head but he couldn’t have pegged Coffman more correctly. Coffman, a 6-6, 255-pounder, had 90 receptions for 987 yards and 10 touchdowns and is described in Missouri literature as the “most prolific pass-catching tight end in NCAA history.”

Coffman, winner of the 2008 Mackey Award as college football’s top tight end, had 247 receptions for his career.

“I have no intentions for [tight end] to become an obsolete position,” Groh said.

UVa tight ends Joe Torchia and Colt Phillips lined up in the slot during certain spread formations in the Cavaliers’ spring game, just as Tom Santi did on occasion in 2007.

“Colt Phillips is a player who does have very, very good upside,” Groh said. “ Clearly, for the next four years, if he develops the way we think he can, we’re going to have enthusiasm for getting him in the game.”

GROH SAID DURING the spring that he would not have moved Devlin to defense if he had not expected him to play there.

“Could he be a successful tight end the way a lot of teams use their tight ends, you know, 12 catches a year?” Groh asked. “He probably could. Was he going to be a first-team tight end the way we’ve historically used our tight ends?”

Devlin was like Patrick Estes, a tight end from Richmond’s Benedictine High School who actually was rated ahead of Heath Miller when they both came out of high school. Miller, a converted quarterback, became an All-American. Estes was a valued blocker but became an offensive tackle in the NFL.

Devlin and Estes “are not dissimilar,” said Groh, who would have moved Estes to the interior line if he had not completed his eligibility in four years.

“I told Andrew, ‘Look, you’ve done everything we’ve asked you to do around here,’ “ Groh said. “He’s enthusiastic, he’s intense, he works hard. My feeling was, ‘Let’s give him the best chance to earn as much playing time as possible.’

“I said, ‘If I really thought you would be a big-time tight end, Andrew, I’d leave you there.’ He was a good defensive end in high school and he played at a high school that seldom threw the ball. It was when I watched him play basketball that I could really see his ball skills.

“When he got here, all the players were kidding him and telling him, ‘Say, Devlin, you might as well get your 70 number right now.’ He came in to see me and I told him, ‘I’m going to give you every opportunity to do this.’

“I was the one who was leaving him there when everybody said he was going to change.”

WHEN I WROTE in a recent column that Virginia hadn’t had an impact player from Alabama since walk-on fullback Steve Morse in the mid-1980s, I was quickly corrected.

How soon I had forgotten walk-on linebacker Mark Miller, a four-year letterman from 2002-2005 !

I’ll go out on a limb, though, and say that the most prominent Virginia football player to transfer to another program currently in Division I-A was Bill Troup.

Troup passed for a team-leading 1,289 yards and 15 touchdowns for Virginia in 1970, then transferred to South Carolina and led the Gamecocks to a 26-14 victory over the Cavaliers in the first game of the 1972 season.

Troup later played seven seasons in the NFL and where was he from?

You got it. Pittsburgh.

Marty Miller is leaving Las Vegas... to others. The Norfolk State athletic director is skipping the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference meetings being held there this week.

At Virginia Tech, the football team will bus, rather than fly, to Maryland this season.

And, instead of holding its 2010 baseball tournament at Fenway Park, hallowed home of the Boston Red Sox, the ACC will play at NewBridge Bank Park, home of the Greensboro (N.C.) Grasshoppers.

Across the region, college athletic departments and conferences are tightening their belts in the down economy. A sector that once seemed to be in a continual state of expansion is feeling the pinch of decreased revenue and rising costs.

Even the University of Virginia, home to some of the deepest pockets in the NCAA, is projecting a five percent reduction in its athletic department budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

"The economy is clearly affecting us," said Jon Oliver, Virginia's executive associate athletics director. "We started a lot of our cost-cutting measures last fall."

They include: restrictions on staff travel for conferences and professional development training; cutbacks in advertising, marketing and promotions; booking tickets for recruiting trips further in advance to save money; and delaying non-critical maintenance on buildings and facilities, Oliver said. Teams will also bus to some away games rather than fly.

Other schools are taking similar measures. Miller said it was an easy call to skip the MEAC's annual meeting. Usually, the school would send three representatives. This year, it will have none.

"We have other dire needs," he said.

Miller expects the athletic department's roughly $8.9 million budget to remain flat next year. To reduce costs, NSU is looking at reducing travel squad sizes for all sports, and scheduling non-conference games closer to home. He's also asking coaches to recruit in-state as much as possible, saving on travel and scholarship costs.

The Spartans' main source of athletic department revenue is student fees, a steady stream of income that is less subject to economic ups and downs. They also rely on ticket sales, game guarantees from opponents, contributions and conference distributions.

Larger schools, such as Virginia, rely less on student fees. For the 2008 fiscal year, the last for which figures are available, just $11.1 million of U.Va.'s $64.4 million in revenue, or about 17 percent, came from student fees.

Ticket sales accounted for $14.9 million in 2008, and that's where Virginia took a hit in fiscal 2009, Oliver said. The combination of a slow economy and under-performing teams led to a drop in football attendance of about 6,000 per game and a reduction in men's basketball of about 1,500 per contest.

The result was a $1.2 million shortfall in budgeted ticket revenue, Oliver said.

It's possible 2009 might not be much better.

"If you check around the region, and you check around big schools, some schools are down around 20 percent in football tickets sales," Oliver said.

At the ACC meetings this month, cost containment was a major topic of discussion. The meetings were held, ironically, at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton resort in Amelia Island, Fla.

Commissioner John Swofford acknowledged the awkwardness of that location, but said the site is booked years in advance. At the meetings, the conference announced several cost-cutting measures, including conducting all standing committee meetings by teleconference rather than in person; eliminating printed media guides; freezing salaries and hires; and moving the annual football media days from Tampa to Greensboro. The bottom line is a six percent budget reduction.

Amid all the cutting, one local school stands alone in bucking the trend. Old Dominion's budget will jump to about $25 million next year from roughly $21 million in fiscal 2008.

Most of the increase is due to the addition of football, which kicks off in September.

"Our situation is in fact somewhat unique," said Mark Brown, associate athletic director for finance.

That doesn't mean ODU has not felt a pinch. But the school began planning for football years ago by implementing some cost-saving measures that are paying off now. ODU centralized its procurements and travel, hiring a coordinator for both areas. The Monarchs also outsourced their marketing rights and hired additional fundraising staff.

Football revenue won't come on line until next fiscal year. Some of the expenses were incurred this year, so Brown said ODU might run a slight deficit for 2009. Still, he says the blow from the economic downturn has been softened.

"We've been planning very diligently," Brown said. "From that perspective, we've been very fortunate."