The Bull would like to take the time to wish all subscribers, paid-up or otherwise, and their families a very Merry Christmas.  And that VPI gets its ass kicked by Tennessee.

Cavaliers handle zone, Pirates
Sylven Landesberg records his first collegiate double-double in Virginia's win.
By Doug Doughty
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UVa's Sylven Landesberg (left) goes for a rebound against Hampton on Wednesday.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett rarely talks about sophomore Sylven Landesberg without emphasizing a need for Landesberg to make his teammates better.

If his teammates had kept up their part of the bargain, Landesberg could have had a triple-double Wednesday night.

As it was, Landesberg finished with his first collegiate double-double, notching 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in an 80-54 victory over Hampton University.

Landesberg had seven points, eight rebounds and five assists by halftime, but teammates were unable to convert several of his best second-half passes.

"For good players, the challenge is to be complete," Bennett said. "I think he's getting 'tagged' a little harder. People know his game a little more, so I think he's drawing a lot of attention.

"When he draws that attention and drops those passes off, I think it makes his game step up to another level. I think that is such an attractive feature. I love it when he's on the glass [and] when he's drawing and kicking and then getting to the line. And his shot has improved."

Landesberg, the ACC rookie of the year in 2008-2009, was one of seven UVa players who made at least one 3-pointer on a night when the Cavaliers were 11-for-23 from behind the arc.

The Cavaliers (6-4) also had a season-high 22 assists, including 14 on 19 first-half field goals.

"Early on, I thought that was the most unselfish our team has been," Bennett said.

The Cavaliers led 60-30 before undergoing a dry spell midway through the second half, when they failed to score on 10 straight offensive possessions and were outscored 11-0 by the Pirates (2-10).

Bennett substituted an entire five-man unit with 9:28 remaining and the Cavaliers increased their lead to 31 points on two occasions before Bennett pulled the last of his starters.

The Cavaliers again were without the services of second-leading scorer Mike Scott, a junior forward who has a high-ankle sprain and has not played since Nov. 30.

"He did more today [in an early practice] than he has and we'll see how he responds," Bennett said. "I asked [trainer] Ethan [Saliba], 'If this were Game 7 of the world championship, could he play?' He's getting closer."

Bennett hopes to have Scott available when the Cavaliers return to action next Wednesday against visiting Alabama-Birmingham (11-1).

At one time, Bennett had hoped that 6-9 senior Jamil Tucker would become eligible after first-semester exams but Virginia announced Tuesday that Tucker is academically ineligible and will miss the remainder of the season.

"It's unfortunate; I wish we had him because I know he's been a contributor," said Bennett, whose staff had put Tucker through a tough workout prior to UVa's game Monday night against New Jersey Institute of Technology. "You could see [he had] the ability to shoot and a good feel for the game."

Tucker's unavailability could mean increased playing time for 6-8 freshman Tristan Spurlock, who played the last 9:28 and finished with five points Wednesday. Counting Virginia's 68-37 victory over NJIT, Spurlock has had 11 points in 14 minutes this week, including two 3-pointers and a pair of dunks.

Six Virginia players had eight points or more Wednesday, with only three in double figures, led by Landesberg's 14.

"For us, he's a match-up nightmare," Hampton coach Ed Joyner Jr. said of Landesberg.

Hampton was the first team that had played a lot of zone defense against the Cavaliers, who were able to make the Pirates pay by going 7-for-12 on 3-pointers in the first half and grabbing nine offensive rebounds in that half.

"If we can get the ball inside as easily as we did [against the zone], it definitely helps us locate people on the wings for open shots," said UVa sophomore Sammy Zeglinski, who had a team-high three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points.

Many of the Cavaliers left for their homes after Wednesday night's game. Practice resumes Sunday.

"I think this is a dangerous team," Zeglinski said. "If the ball takes some different bounces, we might be 7-3 or maybe 8-2. It's a hungry team, too. We know the ACC [schedule] is right around the corner."

Sylven Landesberg's first double-double leads Virginia past Hampton, 80-54
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By Zach Berman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 24, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Throughout his decorated freshman season, Sylven Landesberg needed to carry Virginia because the Cavaliers lacked other options. He often topped the team in scoring, was the player opponents devised game plans to stop and remained the lone bright spot on a losing squad.

Landesberg returned for his sophomore year with a pledge: He sought to make his teammates better this season, to help the team with more than simply scoring. His performance in Wednesday's 80-54 win over Hampton was the type of game Landesberg needs if he fulfils his promise.

Landesberg finished with 14 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and 6 assists in his first career double-double. He could have threatened a triple-double if he played more than 28 minutes in the blowout.

"I think that is such an attractive feature about Sylven, when he brings that completeness," Coach Tony Bennett said. "I love it, when he's on the glass, when he's drawing and kicking and getting to the line and getting to the rim."

Hampton Coach Ed Joyner Jr. called Landesberg a "matchup nightmare" against a team like the Pirates because of his size and versatility from the wing. Hampton played a zone against Virginia (6-4) for much of the game, allowing Landesberg lanes to pass through and areas to sneak in for rebounds. . Seven of Landesberg's rebounds came on offense.

Landesberg's numbers have dropped this season while the Cavaliers adjust to a new system and defenses focus on him. Landesberg's teammates have benefited. In Monday's win over the New Jersey Institute of Technology, five players scored at least eight points. Six scored at least eight points on Wednesday, including three players in with double figures.

"This year is definitely a lot harder to get open looks," Landesberg said. "When I penetrate and get into the lane, teams are flooding. So, just being able to find guys and having them knock shots down is a big relief."

Guards Jeff Jones and Sammy Zeglinski are in that category. They have made the most three-pointers on Virginia's roster and connected on five of the Cavaliers' 11 made three-pointers against Hampton (2-10).

"Sylven did a great job of getting into the lane and finding open guys," Zeglinski said, adding that the team's passing was evident with 22 assists. "Whenever you can get that many assists, get people involved, get the ball moving, it's going to be hard for defenses to stop."
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Landesberg said he sees the court better this season. He has learned the tendencies of his teammates, identifying where and how his teammates like the ball passed to them.

"Good players, the challenge is to be complete," Bennett said. "When he's drawing attention and drops those passes off, it makes his game step up to another level."

Bennett prefers when a few players handle the scoring and keep Landesberg fresh for the defensive end, although he admitted "you don't always have that luxury." He made the statement aware that the competition will soon improve from this week's games against NJIT and Hampton.

The easy wins were important, considering Virginia entered the week .500 and continue to play without injured forward Mike Scott. But the soft schedule quickly intensifies.

Bennett is giving his players the next three days off before practice resumes on Sunday. The Cavaliers next play on Dec. 30 against Alabama-Birmingham, which upset No. 20 Butler on Tuesday. Scott might be healthy, but Virginia already showed it becomes rusty after prolonged breaks -- motivation for a post-game warning before Bennett sent his team home.

"We told them not to just lay on the couch and eat potato chips like a lot of us probably will," Bennett said. "We say try to get at least one workout, stay active, because that's a break. Good for their bodies, good for their minds. It's a grind with finals and all that, but come back and we have to prepare, because that'll be a high-level deal."

Virginia cruises past Hampton
By Whitey Reid
Published: December 24, 2009
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Lay off the potato chips.
That was the message Virginia coach Tony Bennett had for his team after an easy 80-54 win over Hampton on Wednesday night.
After a 14-day layoff before its last game against the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Monday, Bennett believed his team had spent a little too much time relaxing on the couch. As a result, they came out rusty.
There was no such issue against Hampton.
Sophomore Sylven Landesberg scored 14 points, grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and dished out six assists to lead Virginia.
Sammy Zeglinksi added 13 points for the Cavaliers, who won their second straight.
Hampton (2-10) was led by Kwame Morgan’s 18 points.
“I liked the way they came out energy-wise, much better than the NJIT game in terms of their mindset and their focus,” Bennett said.
“We had a pretty spirited practice the day before, and hopefully that helped.”
Bennett was most encouraged with his team’s unselfishness. Virginia had a season-high 22 assists on the night, which contributed to a season-high 11 3-pointers. Bennett said it was nice to see his team shoot so well.
“That’s like, ‘Why can’t I hit the ball in the middle of the fairway every time or make the 5-foot putt?’” Bennett joked. “Shooting, you try and get good shots and get good looks…for the most part the ball swung and it touched the paint. Those were green-light shots. We work on that in practice. You have to be able to stretch the defense.”
Pirates coach Ed Joyner, in his first year at the helm, said Virginia was a much different squad than his team faced last year when he was an assistant on former coach Kevin Nickelberry’s staff.
“They took care of the ball real well,” Joyner said. “They really took their time and really knew what they were looking for and how to execute it.”
Virginia (6-4) took control of the game early, jumping out to a quick 12-0 lead.
The visiting Pirates committed six turnovers within the game’s first six minutes.
Hampton momentarily shot itself back into the game on the strength of two 3-pointers by Morgan to pull to 15-8.
But Virginia answered with a 3-point barrage. Zeglinski, Jeff Jones, Will Sherrill and Mustapha Farrakhan all knocked down triples during a 25-10 onslaught to build a 40-18 lead.
The Cavaliers, who shot a blistering 56 percent in the stanza, led 48-28 at the break.
Landesberg, who has tried to become more of a complete player this season, was happy to notch his first career double-double. He was four assists shy of a triple-double.
“I had no idea,” he said. “I mean everyone kept saying I was diming, but I wasn’t sure how many I had.”
Virginia played its third game in a row without starting power forward Mike Scott, who is still nursing a right ankle sprain.
“He is progressing — he really is,” Bennett said. “It’s just slow.
“What I think will be tell-tale with Mike is practice and how he responds when we get into some live stuff.”
Despite the quality of the competition the last two games — the Great West Conference and the MEAC will never be confused with the ACC or even mid-majors — Zeglinski believes the team has made strides.
“This team is hungry and we know ACC is right around the corner. We’re really excited for that.
“I think we’re a dangerous team. I mean, a couple different bounces and we might be 7-3 or 8-2. I think we’re a very dangerous team and looking forward to the ACC.”
Virginia has a week before its next game — a home contest against UAB. In the meantime, Bennett hopes his team can keep away from those chips.
Dunks
Virginia sophomore Assane Sene had a career-high five blocks. ... Bennett commented further on Tuesday’s announcement that senior Jamil Tucker had been dismissed from the team for academic reasons. “It’s unfortunate, that’s the hard thing,” he said. I wish we had him because I know he’s been a contributor for the three previous seasons…it just wasn’t meant to be.”
 

Postgame Quotes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 12/23/2009

Virginia head coach Tony Bennett

On team’s overall performance
“Early on I thought that was the most unselfish our team had been. The ball was touching the paint – guys were making the extra pass and getting rhythm shots. Then we got on the offensive glass and fell into some easy rebounds. We had one of the best halves of sharing the basketball and I think our assist-to-turnover ratio showed that in the first half when it was 14-to-2 – I don’t know how we finished, but that was nice to see.”

On mixing up the lineup during Hampton’s second half run
“We had a cold stretch where we didn’t score for awhile, but we were up and I wanted to give guys chances and reward them for hard work in practice. I just wanted to see guys on the defensive end making it hard to score. There were good moments and some shaky moments for everybody in that stretch in the second half, but I like how they came out energy wise – much better than the NJIT game in terms of their mindset and focus. We had a pretty spirited practice the day before and I hope that helped.”

On distributing minutes
“These last two games were a little different than it will be, but you get to distribute the minutes. But I think that is positive when you can distribute the minutes and have balanced scoring – all the good teams we have been a part of, except the ones I played for, have been balanced scoring teams. I think when you can get 3-4 guys scoring in double figures and can keep guys a little fresh for hard defense that's good. You don’t always have that luxury.”

On Hampton switching to zone defense in the second half
“We haven’t played against a ton of zone. We shared the ball and shot well – grabbed some offensive rebounds and that always devastates zones. There were some soft spots in that zone that we exploited in the middle and short baseline – and got some offensive rebounds. When you start hitting shots that really helps – that’s when the guys started sharing the ball and got some assists. In the second half they went to a 3-2 or a 1-2-2 and that is where we labored a little bit. We were standing and weren’t attacking - we weren’t moving the ball - I don’t know if they were too comfortable or unsure, but I think you have to be aggressive against zones with ball movement and player movement – try touching the paint in the high post and low post, off the dribble and we didn’t do it in that stretch at all.”
________________________________________

Hampton head coach Edward Joyner, Jr.

On switching to a zone in the second half
“We generally mix it up a bit, depending on who we play. We do try to play 50 percent zone – 50 percent man, somewhere around there – depending on how the night goes. This is something we normally do, but we did understand we were coming in here against a considerable size advantage for them inside. We wanted to see if they could hit the three with a little more consistency and they did.”

On the difference between this year’s UVa team versus last year
“They took care of the ball real well. When you zone bigger teams, you try and force them into difficult shots. They really took their time, they knew what they were looking for and they were able to execute it and get it. That was the biggest difference and they still didn’t have Mike Scott tonight.”

On Jontel Evans’ (Hampton native) transition from high school to college
“He is playing more of the point guard position at UVa. When he was at Bethel he had to play more of a scoring guard – he was pretty much the primary ball handler during crunch time, but he was looking to score. Knowing that he wasn’t the best three-point shooter, but he can hit clutch shots. He is playing more of the point at UVa and you can see the understanding of another position in his game. I was impressed with him from that standpoint.
 

Postgame Notes
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com Release: 12/23/2009

VIRGINIA BASKETBALL
Postgame Notes
Virginia 80, Hampton 54
Team Notes
• Virginia improved to 14-0 vs. the MEAC
• The Cavaliers had a season-high 22 assists
• Virginia had 22 assists on 30 made FGs
• The Cavaliers had a season-high 11 3-pointers
• Virginia had a season-high seven blocks
• The Cavaliers had 10 players score at least four points

Individual Notes
• Sylven Landesberg (14 points, 12 rebounds) had his first career double-double
• Sylven Landesberg scored in double figures for the 10th time this season (every game) and the 33rd time in his career
• Sylven Landesberg had a season-high six assists
• Sammy Zeglinski (13 points) scored in double figures for the seventh time this season and the 17th time in his career
• Mustapha Farrakhan (10 points) scored in double figures for the fourth time this season and the eighth time in his career

Player Career Highs
• Sylven Landesberg had a career-high 12 rebounds
• Assane Sene tied a career high with eight points
• Assane Sene had a career-high five blocks
 

A national title, 2 new coaches mark U.Va.‘s year in sports
By Michael Phillips
Published: December 24, 2009
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It was a year of transition at the University of Virginia, as two new coaches were installed in high-profile sports. Those teams -- football and men's basketball -- didn't have many highlights on the playing field, but other sports did. A look at the top five moments of 2009 for the Cavaliers: 1A national championship:

U.Va. claimed its 19th team championship in school history, this one on the soccer field Dec. 13. Goalkeeper Diego Restrepo led a team that peaked at the right time, as a stingy defense helped the Cavs win both the ACC title and, in Cary, N.C., the College Cup.

The season started poorly, with losses in all three exhibition games. Things didn't improve as the Cavs lost their first two home ACC games, to Duke and Clemson.

But coach George Gelnovatch credited the team with sticking together, and after allowing a goal to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, the offense rallied to win the game, and the defense started a goalless streak that would last for 1,176 minutes, 51 seconds, all the way to the national semifinal game.

"And that was an own goal, so I don't count it," Gelnovatch added.

Thomas Dale graduate Will Bates led the team with 12 goals, playing most of the College Cup as the team's lone forward. But it was Deep Run's Brian Ownby who had the biggest goal of the season. Playing through a double sports hernia, he took a perfect pass from Jonathan Villanueva and lifted it over the Wake Forest goalkeeper to secure an overtime victory in the semifinals.

The final was won in penalty kicks, with U.Va. prevailing 3-2 after Akron missed the final kick. 2A College World Series victory

After starting the season unranked, Virginia's baseball team finished on the national landscape.

Coach Brian O'Connor and the Cavaliers secured the program's first appearance in the College World Series, then picked up a victory in their second game, downing Cal State Fullerton 7-5 on June 15.

The Cavs swept their way through the ACC tournament and the NCAA Irvine regional, including a victory against future No. 1 draft pick Stephen Strasburg at San Diego State. The NCAA didn't make things easier from there, sending the Cavs to Ole Miss for a super regional. After losing Game 1 in 12 innings, the team rallied to take the series with a Sunday afternoon victory.

In Omaha, Virginia was finally bounced by Arkansas in the 12th inning of an elimination game.

Future teams have the possibility of an easier road to Omaha -- construction is underway at Davenport Field to modernize the facility in time for the 2010 season. Among the additions are extra locker rooms, to give the team the capacity to host NCAA regional events. 3Two new hires

While new football coach Mike London was a familiar face around Charlottesville, men's basketball coach Tony Bennett came out of nowhere to be hired April 1.

In an age where coaches promise instant results, Bennett promised something entirely different -- a rough season while he taught his team to play defensive basketball.

"What I've always been taught, and the way I look at it, is you better play in a way that gives you a chance to compete with the best, and if that system or style can't do that, then you need to adjust," Bennett said at his introductory press conference.

The Cavs are being remolded into a defensive team, but early results from the recruiting trail are promising, and Bennett could have a McDonald's All-American on campus as soon as next year.

London, who was brought aboard Dec. 6, also spoke of the need for recruiting success, and he's familiar with the challenges. He previously spent time as an assistant at U.Va., as well as leading Richmond -- another academics-oriented institution -- to a national title in the FCS.

The two hirings also were a way for Director of Athletics Craig Littlepage to make his mark on the department. Having picked both coaches, his reputation is on the line as much as London and Bennett's as they begin to rebuild two of the school's premier sports. 4A record crowd:

Twenty-three years ago, the U.Va. promotions department tried a way to get people to the women's basketball game -- a free hot dog for everybody in attendance.

That stunt on Feb. 5, 1986, resulted in a record crowd of 11,174 being set at University Hall, a crowd that would not be beaten because fire marshals changed the building's capacity shortly thereafter.

On Nov. 22, the team repeated the promotion in the more-spacious John Paul Jones Arena. The result was a women's-basketball record crowd of 11,895 that saw No. 6 Tennessee avenge last season's loss to No. 12 Virginia 77-63.

The Cavs closed the lead to three in the second half, but that was as close as they would get. Senior Monica Wright led U.Va. with 21 points. She'll spend this season anchoring a mostly-young roster filled with potential.

Despite the loss, coach Debbie Ryan was pleased with the showing.

"If we continue to play like this, we're going to beat some people," she said. "Actually, we might beat a lot of people." 5A final four appearance:

Virginia's field hockey team made its third appearance in the NCAA semifinals, and its first since the late'90s, by defeating Michigan State 3-2 in overtime Nov. 15.

The victory, in front of a home crowd in Charlottesville, brought the program back to national prominence behind coach Michelle Madison, who had previously taken Michigan State to the semifinals.

Against North Carolina in the semis, U.Va. fell 3-2, tying the mark for the furthest the team has advanced in a season. Virginia (20-3) was ranked No. 2 nationally entering the NCAA tournament. The 20 wins were a program record.

The future is bright for the Cavs as sophomore Paige Selenski and junior goalkeeper Kim Kastuk, who anchored the team, return in 2010.