The Virginia women's basketball team (12-5, 4-1) will host a tough conference matchup with No. 5 Duke tonight at University Hall at 7:30. The Cavalier women are coming off a sloppy victory over Richmond on Thursday, and still are looking to find a rhythm on defense and a reliable field captain at point guard.
Duke (17-1, 5-1) has an eight-game winning streak, thanks in part to freshman star Alana Beard, who averages 28.4 points. However, Beard suffered a dislocated right thumb in the Blue Devils' victory over N.C. State and is expected to miss the next three to four weeks.
Last year, Virginia fell to Duke early in the season on Dec. 5, 1999, but bounced back with a solid 61-49 win Jan. 30 over the No. 9 Blue Devils to clinch an unlikely first-place finish in the ACC. The Cavaliers' defense was instrumental in that game and forced 15 first-half turnovers. Strong play from former Virginia point guard Renee Robinson, who led the team with 15 points, sparked the win.
This year, Virginia coach Debbie Ryan and her team have pointed to defense as one of their weak links and the lack of a commanding defensive point guard such as Robinson as another. But the Cavaliers will have to face their demons against Duke, the ACC's first place team.
Wrestling places first in Virginia
Virginia (3-4) won 6 of 10 weight classes to claim first place in the Virginia Intercollegiate State Wrestling Championships Saturday.
Virginia wrestlers Toby MacDonald, P.J. Bory, Tim Foley, Greg Francesca, Zach Freday and Ryan Painter won their weight classes to help the Cavaliers post 112.50 points, putting them more than 17 points ahead of second-place host George Mason.
Mitchell, Quinn head for NCAA indoors
Sophomore weight thrower Eliese Mitchell qualified for the NCAA Indoor Meet by placing second at the Winter Invitational at Virginia Tech on Saturday. Mitchell broke the school record she set last season by more than two feet by throwing 58 feet, four inches.
She will be joined at the NCAA meet by junior teammate Naccole Guinn. Guinn placed third in the triple jump and beat her distance last week by three inches with a jump of 41 feet, 6 inches.
Senior Jeff Binggeli placed second in the 5000-meter run with a time of 15:09.15. Senior Marion Mason was fourth in the 60 hurdles at 8.12.
Men's tennis halted at ACC tournament
Virginia sophomore Michael Duguette lost to Duke's Alex Bose 6-3, 4-1 Saturday to eliminate the Cavaliers from the ACC Indoor Championship.
Duquette was the only Cavalier to advance to the third round of the tournament, held in Winson-Salem, N.C. He beat Wake Forest's Rick Phillip, 6-4, 7-5 and Georgia Tech's Amit Taggaer 7-5, 6-3 Friday before falling to Bose in the semifinals.
Baseball placed seventh in ACC poll
The ACC Coaches Preseason Poll picked Virginia baseball to finish seventh in the ACC on Wednesday. The Cavaliers received 26 points from the nine ACC coaches.
Georgia Tech was a unanimous pick to win the ACC championship with 81 points. The Yellow Jackets were followed by Clemson (69), Florida State (64), Wake Forest (55), North Carolina and N.C. State (40), Virginia (26), Duke (18) and Maryland (12).
Last season, Virginia finished 26-31-1 overall and 10-14 in the conference. The Cavaliers advanced to the semifinals of the ACC tournament before losing to Clemson. Georgia Tech won the tournament.
Lacrosse assistant earns national award
Chris Colbeck, Virginia assistant lacrosse coach, was named the nation's outstanding assistant lacrosse coach by the National Lacrosse Coaches' Convention in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Colbeck is Virginia's offensive coordinator. The Cavaliers have led the NCAA in scoring in two of his five years on the Virginia staff. Last season, the Cavaliers scored 121 goals.
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