Welcome back, everyone, to the second, biannual meeting here at the Wahoo Auction House! Back by popular demand, we at the Wahoo Auction House are proud to return to Grounds with the goal of helping you get your hands on priceless Virginia sports memorabilia from the first few months of 2011. Before we start, we'd like to remind everyone that all proceeds from today's auction will go toward funding our investigation into why so few fans attend the No. 1 men's tennis team's matches located at the heart of Grounds but walk 15 minutes to John Paul Jones Arena to watch Virginia basketball. So, without further ado, let's start the bidding!
Up for the first bid today, we have the rights to the ball Ben Kohles will use on the 18th green next Sunday en route to winning the ACC Championships in New London, N.C. Kohles, the Cavaliers' leader in round average, is poised to propel Virginia to the top of the leader board at the conference event. After sitting out during last weekend's River Landing Intercollegiate with a bad back, Kohles should be well-rested and ready to get back on the course. Last fall, Kohles ranked No. 57 in the final Golfweek standings and is currently tied with Will Collins for best individual round on the team. With perfect scoring conditions in the forecast for next weekend, Wahoo Auctions is confident Kohles will lead the team to victory - making this little ball a "hole-in-one." Suggested opening bid: $150.
Next on the block, we have a step-by-step guide for defeating the Duke men's lacrosse team. This nifty little book, which is written by Penn, Syracuse and Denver - the only teams to down the Blue Devils during the 2011 regular season - details the keys to upsetting the No. 1-ranked team in the ACC. Highlights include "how to force the Blue Devils into man-down situations" - where they rank No. 3 in the ACC in penalty killing percentage and dead last in man-down goals - and "capitalizing on turnovers" as Duke ranks last in the conference in both turnovers and caused turnovers per game. This book is a must-own for all ACC head coaches, especially heading into this weekend's conference tournament. Suggested opening bid: $200 (with a half-off discount if the buyer is Virginia coach Dom Starsia).
The third item we will be auctioning off is the jersey Danny Hultzen will wear during his last Virginia baseball game. For those of you unfamiliar with the Cavaliers' ace, allow us to enlighten you as to the significance of this piece of polyester. Danny Hultzen is good. Really good. After earning ACC Pitcher of the Year and Collegiate Baseball All-American honors in 2010, Hultzen has picked up right where he left off in 2011. Hultzen ranks No. 3 in the conference among pitchers with at least 50 innings of work with a 1.17 ERA, trailing only teammate Will Roberts and Georgia Tech hurler Mark Pope. Hultzen also leads the ACC with 99 strikeouts and has put together a perfect 8-0 record thus far on the season with wins against ranked opponents such as Clemson and Georgia Tech. At the dish, Hultzen is hitting better than .317 and ranks near the top of the team in terms of on-base percentage. The winning bidder surely will be able to wear this jersey with pride as he watches Hultzen - and his mid-90s fastball and knee-buckling slider - in the Major Leagues someday in the not-too-distant future. Suggested opening bid: $350.
But we at Wahoo Auctions would be remiss if we failed to grant our loyal customers one last opportunity to bid on authentic former Virginia women's basketball coach Debbie Ryan gear. So, for the final time, we are proud to put up for auction a Debbie Ryan game-worn sweater. One of the greatest coaches in NCAA women's basketball history, Ryan manned the helm at Virginia for an astonishing 34 years. This particular sweater comes from Ryan's last coaching win - a March 24 victory in the third round of the WNIT Tournament against Boston College. The half-zip blue sweater is a must-own for fans of women's basketball and coaches of all youth sports alike. I believe that if the wearer becomes even half the coach Ryan was for our youth, the next generation of athletes will surely be in good hands. Suggested opening bid: $500.
Well, that's it for another session of Wahoo Auctions. Have a great summer, and we'll see you next year. Until then, happy bidding!
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