For my first column back from break, I thought about turning in one I wrote last semester analyzing U.Va. athletics' road futility and just substituting the subjects with winter sports teams. Alas, I decided that wouldn't fly with the editors, so let's instead discuss an up-and-down stretch in Virginia athletics since the last issue of The Cavalier Daily before break.
On Dec. 2, 2006 the men's soccer team was housed four-nil by UCLA in the College Cup (read: Final Four) of the NCAA tournament. The result was a sour conclusion to a great season that saw the Hoos go 17-4-1. They were able to achieve their goal of returning to the national semis, but it was surprising and unfortunate the way it ended.
The bad news kept coming after the tournament exit when redshirt freshman Bakary Soumare and junior Nico Colaluca decided to forego their remaining eligibility to enter the MLS SuperDraft (which I'm sure everyone watched on ESPN2 last week). Soumare was taken second overall by Chicago and Colaluca was drafted sixth by Colorado.
Virginia will definitely take a hit losing its All-American, third-leading scorer in Colaluca (especially with second-leading scorer Adam Cristman's departure) and an All-Region, physical defender in Soumare (especially with senior goalie Ryan Burke graduating). Those four players logged over 1700 minutes each during the season, so it will be vital for new players to step up next year. Hopefully, easing the transition will be these returns: defensive leader Matt Poole, leading-scorer Yannick Reyering and exciting Jonathan Villanueva, who should take on a bigger role in the midfield.
Another team that experienced ups and downs this break was the women's basketball team, which won six of seven home contests, including two against ACC foes. The one blemish was a blowout against top-five Connecticut, which couples with a lopsided road loss to undefeated, then-No. 2 North Carolina. All of this was accomplished despite losing JUCO All-American transfer Aisha Mohammed to a torn ACL in September.
What has made the season a bit puzzling has been trying to make sense of a convincing win at Marshall (10-7 overall) in early December in light of a tough loss to a weaker Richmond (6-9) team a month later on the road. Further confusing the situation (and refuting the transitive property of mathematics) is the fact that Marshall beat the Lady Spiders in Richmond (albeit by one point in overtime).
In the grand scheme of the whole season, a solid 9-2 home record is brought down by a 2-3 road mark. The team has been a bit erratic, defeating nationally-ranked Marquette then falling to Liberty three days later. The ACC is without a doubt the nation's toughest conference as North Carolina, Duke and Maryland are 1-2-3 in the national rankings. With that in mind, the Hoos must level the ups and downs and take care of the weaker teams in the conference if they are to make a run at returning to the NCAA Tournament.
The men's basketball team has gone 6-5 since the beginning of December, rewriting the definition of an up-and-down stretch. The Hoos won their ACC opener (for the first time since 1995) and two other games at home, but these victories were overshadowed by a less-than-stellar San Juan Shootout. Virginia took seventh place in Puerto Rico, losing to Appalachian State and Utah before finally defeating the Division II host team that may or may not be called the Tarzans.
The new year began with energy and excitement in JPJ from both the fans and the players in a beatdown of Gonzaga. The Cavaliers came out with an intensity that screamed, "We will not lose at home (except for a defensive letdown against Stanford)." You can see the potential from that Gonzaga game and from big wins over Arizona and Maryland. There is just a feeling before these games that the Hoos can't lose, that guys like Sean Singletary will not be denied a victory.
Let me clarify: Virginia is surely capable of winning the big one, but not away from JPJ. As good and borderline dominant as the Hoos look at home, on the road U.Va. is a dismal 1-5. Evidently the home routine in the immaculate John Paul Jones Arena and the passion of the fans (everyone give yourself a pat on the back) give Virginia a lift that it cannot find away from C-Ville.
The Cavaliers' ability to win the big game gets me excited about the possibilities in the postseason when obviously all games will be crucial. Without breaking the poor streak on the road, however, there may not be any games in the Big Dance if all Virginia can boast is a win against Puerto Rico- Mayaguez.
In the end, the ups and downs of each season are to be expected by sports fans. It just turns out that Wahoo followers have gotten a bit more than they may have bargained for.
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