Cavaliers lose to end NCAA regional run
By Jay Jenkins
Published: June 2, 2008

FULLERTON, Calif. — In 1998, Rick Hartzell and his officiating crew botched a call late that cost Virginia an upset over Duke in men’s basketball at University Hall.

That play — and others that occurred from Texas to Boise and beyond — now has company in Cavalier lore.

Unfortunately, the call contributed to the end of Virginia’s baseball season.

Thanks to an odd interference call on a slide made by Greg Miclat into second base in the sixth inning by umpire Marc Lewis that eliminated a run and potential rally for the Cavaliers, Cal State Fullerton cruised to a 4-1 win at Goodwin Field.

The loss, the Cavaliers’ second in the Fullerton regional, eliminated them from the NCAA tournament in opening regional play for the fifth straight year and snapped Virginia’s string of 40-win seasons at four. The Titans advanced to play UCLA late Sunday night.

Despite the call, which television replays proved was unsubstantiated, Virginia coach Brian O’Connor

remained mum on the situation, taking the high road and avoiding a potential fine from his employer.

“We are obviously disappointed our season has ended. It is a tough way to lose,” O’Connor said. “To be honest with you, I am not going to say anything about it. We had bases loaded, no outs — [it was] the biggest play in the ballgame, quite frankly.

“Regarding the umpire, I nor these players will make any kind of comment about it. [Umpires] have a very, very difficult job. These guys are some of the best guys in the country. These players are not perfect and [umpires] are not either. Beyond that, I am not going to make any comment.”

When “the play” occurred, Virginia trailed 4-0 and appeared poised to strike against Fullerton starter Cory Arbiso for the first time.

In succession, John Barr, Tyler Cannon and Miclat singled to load the bases.

On the next pitch from Arbiso (12-3), rookie David Coleman bounced a grounder to Fullerton first baseman Jared Clark, who spun 90 degrees and fired to shortstop Christian Colon.

As the ball arrived, Miclat slid directly into the bag to break up the double play as Colon made no attempt to throw back to Clark.

Lewis promptly signified that Miclat was out and pointed to first while making the out signal again.

Miclat popped up, pleading his case with Lewis as O’Connor sprinted to the scene of the crime.

O’Connor said he was told that Miclat “rolled into the bag.”

When asked by a pool reporter about the play, crew chief Mitch Mele — a frequent umpire in ACC games, said — “[Shields] interpreted that to be an illegal slide, which constituted the interference call. It was ruled that the runner lashed out, kicked out at the fielder which by rule is an illegal slide.”

Due to the interference, the umpires returned Barr, who had scored, to third and Cannon back to second.

O’Connor had another issue with the play, but it did not pertain to the slide itself.

“I am more frustrated that we swung at a pitch that was down in the zone rather than trying to see a ball up in the zone and trying to drive a ball to the field, which is what you want to do in that situation,” the skipper said. “We needed to be a little bit more selective at the plate.

“It is not [Coleman’s] fault that we lost this game, but it is those little things that make a difference in whether you win championships or not at this time of the year.”

Virginia scratched for a run in the seventh off Arbiso on an RBI single by catcher Franco Valdes, but did not threaten again as Fullerton’s right-hander retired eight of the last nine Cavaliers he faced.

Virginia actually fell behind early in the contest when Pat McAnaney lost command of his pitches and walked two batters and hit the next two to allow a run. Colon followed with an RBI single.

McAnaney also allowed back-to-back doubles with one out in the third, which ended his day in favor of reliever Matt Packer.

“Nobody feels worse than Pat about what happened in the ballgame,” O’Connor said. “He tried to gut it out, but he just lost his command.”

Packer, who leads the nation in earned run average, allowed only two hits and one earned run in 6.2 innings.

“I think Matt Packer pitched his heart out and gave us a chance to win,” O’Connor said. “I thought we battled and we never gave in.

“We just couldn’t get one or two big hits when we needed them.”

For the game, Virginia managed eight hits and stranded six runners.

 

Cal State Fullerton Ends Virginia’s Season With 4-1 NCAA Win
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 06/01/2008

FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton’s Cory Arbiso limited Virginia to one run in a complete-game effort as the Titans, the No. 5 national seed in the NCAA tournament, eliminated Virginia from the NCAA Fullerton Regional with a 4-1 win Sunday at Goodwin Field in Fullerton, Calif.

Virginia ends its season with a 39-23 record. Cal State Fullerton (39-20) advances to the regional championship game against UCLA at 11 p.m. ET Sunday and needs to win two games against the Bruins in order to move to the NCAA Super Regionals.

Matt Packer (So., Germantown, Tenn.) pitched the final 6.2 innings of relief and allowed just one earned run and two hits while striking out two. He finishes the year with a 1.14 earned run average – fourth lowest in Virginia history. Pat McAnaney (Sr., Syracuse, N.Y.) lasted 2.1 innings and gave up three earned runs and three hits. He walked three and struck out one, as he took the loss and finished the season with a 4-6 record.

Arbiso (12-3) retired 15 in a row after allowing a double to Greg Miclat (Jr., Concord, N.C.) to start the game. In his complete-game effort, he allowed one run and eight hits while striking out seven.

Miclat led the Cavaliers with two hits. Virginia had eight hits in the game but left six runners on base.

Cal State Fullerton (39-20) took advantage of some wildness from McAnaney to score twice in the second inning. After getting the first out, McAnaney walked the next two batters and then hit two, with the second coming to Joe Scott and forcing in a run. Christian Colon followed with a single to left to score another run and give the Titans a 2-0 lead.

The Titans added a run in the third inning on back-to-back doubles by Brian Wilson and Gary Brown which forced McAnaney from the game. They posted another run in the fifth against Packer on an Erik Komatsu solo home run.

Virginia broke through with a run in the seventh inning. With one out, Valdes ripped a single to right-center field to score Dan Grovatt (Fr., Tabernacle, N.J.).

Game Notes – NCAA Fullerton Regional Game 5

- Virginia, making its fifth-consecutive appearance and eighth overall in the NCAA regional, is now 12-16 all-time in the tournament.

- Virginia and Cal State Fullerton played today for the first time ever.

- Greg Miclat competed in his 62nd game of the season, tied for third-most in a single season at Virginia. David Adams, Jeremy Farrell and Tyler Cannon participated in their 61st games of the year, which is tied for seventh most.

- Pat McAnaney had one strikeout and tied Kevin Shrout (1998) for ninth on the UVa single-season list with 93 punchouts.

- Virginia had four seniors play their final game – McAnaney, Robert Poutier, Michael Schwimer and Patrick Wingfield

- Greg Miclat finished the season with 241 at bats. It is the second-most at bats in a single season at UVa, behind only Ryan Zimmerman’s 249 in 2004.

- Matt Packer finished with an ERA of 1.14, fourth lowest in a single season at Virginia

 

Cavs end up in fifth
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By Whitey Reid

Published: June 2, 2008

On Sunday in Sacramento, Calif., the Virginia women’s rowing team took fifth place in the NCAA Championships.

While it was UVa’s eighth top-five finish in the last 11 years, it clearly wasn’t what coach Kevin Sauer was shooting for.

“It was disappointing,” said Sauer, whose squad finished with 47 points, 20 behind Brown, the champion “What I told the kids and parents is it shows the standards that we have when fifth place in the country is really disappointing.

“We came in wanting to do better than that and we didn’t get there, but I told the kids that fifth in the country is still pretty damn good.”

Virginia, which took second in 1999, 2005 and then last year, finished behind Brown, Washington (59), California (53) and Yale (51).

UVa’s Varsity Four finished second, its Second Varsity Eight finished fourth and its Varsity Eight finished eighth.

“It was an unbelievably competitive regatta,” Sauer said.

In the Grand Final of the Varsity Four, Washington and UVa (coxswain Christine Candland, Diane Leigh, Allison Brennan, Nora Phillips and Schafer Bomstein) battled the entire 2,000 meters of the race, with the Huskies holding a slim advantage at the halfway mark. Virginia battled back to lead with 500 meters to go, but Washington finished strong to come away with the victory. UVa’s second-place time was 7:26.09, compared to UW’s 7:24.75.

Also competing in the Grand Final, UVa’s Second Varsity Eight (coxswain Mary Eddy, Amanda Chase, Lauren Shook, Helen Tompkins, Marie Long, Claudia Blandford, Annie Bohlen, Adrienne Egge and Victoria Burke) finished fourth with a time of 6:49.88. Brown was victorious in that race with a time of 6:42.42.

In the Varsity Eight, Virginia (coxswain Caitlin Mixter, Jennifer Cromwell, Rebecca Ryall, Lauren Hutchins, Kelsie Chaudoin, Desiree Burns, Augusta Stratos, Bridget Wandelt, Katrin Sydlik) was competing in the Petite Final (places 7-12) and had a strong showing with an eighth-place finish (6:38.52). Harvard was seventh with a time of 6:35.30.

Overall, Sauer said the experience, while disappointing, could prove beneficial down the road for his underclassmen.

“They look at it and say, ‘Hey, next year we’re going to be on that podium,’” Sauer said.

 

Women’s Rowing Finishes Fifth At NCAAs
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 06/01/2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – After the final day of competition at the 2008 NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif., Virginia earned a fifth-place finish in the team standings, while its Varsity Four finished second, its Second Varsity Eight finished fourth and its Varsity Eight finished eighth.

Virginia finished with 47 points, good for a top five finish for the eighth time in its 11-year history at the NCAA Championships. Brown was the team champion with 67 points, followed by Washington (59), California (53) and Yale (51).

In the Grand Final of the Varsity Four, Washington and UVa (coxswain Christine Candland, Diane Leigh, Allison Brennan, Nora Phillips and Schafer Bomstein) battled the entire 2,000 meters of the race, with the Huskies holding a slim advantage at the halfway mark. Virginia battled back to lead with 500 meters to go, but Washington finished strong to come away with the victory. UVa’s second-place time was 7:26.09, compared to UW’s 7:24.75.

Also competing in the Grand Final, UVa’s Second Varsity Eight (coxswain Mary Eddy, Amanda Chase, Lauren Shook, Helen Tompkins, Marie Long, Claudia Blandford, Annie Bohlen, Adrienne Egge and Victoria Burke) finished fourth with a time of 6:49.88. Brown was victorious in that race with a time of 6:42.42.

In the Varsity Eight, Virginia (coxswain Caitlin Mixter, Jennifer Cromwell, Rebecca Ryall, Lauren Hutchins, Kelsie Chaudoin, Desiree Burns, Augusta Stratos, Bridget Wandelt, Katrin Sydlik) was competing in the Petite Final (places 7-12) and had a strong showing with an eighth-place finish (6:38.52). Harvard was seventh with a time of 6:35.30.

“Everybody raced so hard today,” head coach Kevin Sauer said. “Finishing fifth, we’ll obviously leave here with our heads held high with the understanding that we’re only disappointed because of the high standards we set for ourselves.”

In the unofficial pairs race, Susie Chalker and Shalane Carlson won the flight for Virginia.

2008 NCAA Championships
Sunday, June 1
Lake Natoma | Sacramento, Calif.

Varsity Eight (Petite Final): 1. Harvard (6:35.30); 2. Virginia (6:38.52); 3. Washington State (6:42.40); 4. Southern California (6:43.32); 5. Michigan (6:43.91); 6. Princeton (6:45.04)

Second Varsity Eight (Grand Final): 1. Brown (6:42.42); 2. Ohio State (6:44.87); 3. Washington (6:48.41); 4. Virginia (6:49.88); 5. Tennessee (6:51.60); 6. California (6:52.15)

Varsity Four (Grand Final): 1. Washington (7:24.75); 2. Virginia (7:26.09); 3. Brown (7:29.77); 4. California (7:33.10); 5. Michigan State (7:33.99); 6. Yale (7:41.82)

 

Singletary is a year wiser
He's back at the NBA's predraft camp. And he feels better prepared this time around.
By Tania Ganguli
For The Inquirer

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Sean Singletary got a standing ovation before and after his final game at Virginia in March.
The grateful fans thanked him for the extra year he didn't have to give them.

This time last year, Singletary pondered a jump to the NBA.

The star point guard, who had gone to Penn Charter, tested his draft stock in the NBA's predraft camp near Orlando. He withdrew from the draft just hours before the deadline and went back to being the heart of his college team.

This week, Singletary was back at Disney World's Milk House, having graduated from Virginia with a degree in anthropology. After four days of camp, he feels better prepared, knowing what to expect, and more ready for the NBA.

"Just being able to run my team, I learned that, being able to defend," Singletary said. "The overall goal is to get a better evaluation than last year, and I feel like I did."

After withdrawing last year, Singletary returned to a young team that needed him to lead it. Despite lacking support from his teammates, he stood out in a loaded conference.

He became the only player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to have 2,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals.

"Everybody wants to feel like they're a part of something," Singletary said. "I think I was an integral part in the creation of, not a powerhouse, but the emergence of the basketball program. I feel like I was a big part of that."

Opponents felt his impact.

"Sean meant a lot," North Carolina's Wayne Ellington said. "He did so much for that team that guys couldn't really tell what kind of point guard he was. They said he was a score-first point guard, but he wasn't. He had to score in order to help his team win games."

Ellington played against Singletary in high school at Episcopal Academy. Then the two faced each other in college.

Yesterday morning, Ellington picked up 10 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds against Singletary's camp team.

Ellington is in the same situation Singletary was in last year. He hasn't hired an agent, and could go back to school. The guard, who would be a junior next year, has several workouts scheduled, including one with the Sixers after the draft deadline, in case he stays in.

"Sean told me it's like a high school all-American camp all over again," Ellington said. "Guys are out there just trying to get their own. You don't know what it's like until you experience it."

Singletary has workouts planned with Charlotte, Toronto, Washington, San Antonio, Portland, Seattle, Detroit and Cleveland.

With the help of an agent, and his experience from last season, he feels more prepared this year.

In yesterday's early game, he scored seven points, dished out two assists, and grabbed four rebounds.

"I think he can do it," said Kenny Anderson, a former New Jersey Nets point guard who is also 6 feet tall and coached Singletary's camp team. "It's kind of a deep draft for guards, but with his determination, discipline - he's a guy that works hard. It might not happen for him right away, but he'll get there."