Full previews for football and men's soccer can be found online and in Thursday's Cavalier Daily.
Men’s Golf
What: CSU Kiawah Classic
Where: Kiawah Island, South Carolina
When: Sunday - Tuesday
The Skinny: The Virginia men’s golf team looks to get back into top form when they travel to South Carolina for the CSU Kiawah Classic starting this Sunday.
The Cavaliers are coming off a disappointing 10th place finish at the U.S. Collegiate, even though they were in sole possession of second place after the first day. However, the team hopes junior Derek Bard will continue to keep up his excellent level of play, as he finished in first place for the second consecutive year at the U.S. Collegiate.
In addition to Bard, Virginia will be led by sophomore Danny Walker. Both players are on pace to have career years. Through only four events this year, Bard has two Top 10 finishes and Walker has three. One of the two have been the low player for Virginia at every event thus far.
The CSU Kiawah Classic — a tournament the Cavaliers have never played in before — is taking place at Turtle Point Golf Course. The field includes ACC opponents Duke and Georgia Tech.
—compiled by Nicky Wildish
Field Hockey
What: No. 7 Virginia (12-4, 3-3 ACC) vs. No. 17 James Madison (12-4, 5-0 ACC)
Where: JMU Field Hockey Complex, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
When: Friday, 6 p.m.
The Skinny: After suffering a 5-4 overtime loss to ACC rival No. 12 Boston College, Virginia is looking to rebound and finish the regular season strong against a formidable in-state foe in No. 17 James Madison. With this being a matchup of two of the top 15 offenses in college field hockey, it will be a shootout in Harrisonburg from start to finish.
Although they have the No. 12 offense in the nation — scoring an average of 3.30 goals per game — the Cavaliers will have to step up the effort against a stout James Madison defense that has only allowed an average of 1.79 goals per game this season. The Dukes have shut out three of their opponents already this season.
On the other side, the Cavaliers must keep up the defensive pressure. Led by redshirt senior forward Taylor West’s 13 goals, the James Madison offense has scored 3.56 goals per game this year. Last Friday, it put up six goals against the William & Mary Tribe.
With their next matchup being in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament against No. 4 Duke, Virginia needs a win here to ensure it does not go into the tournament with a two-game losing streak. In this intrastate duel, Virginia needs to heighten its effort in Harrisonburg if it wants to pick up the victory.
—compiled by Ben Tobin
Volleyball
What: Virginia (14-7, 6-4 ACC) vs. Wake Forest (10-13, 2-9 ACC), Duke (11-10, 6-5 ACC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m. and Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Memorial Gymnasium
The Skinny: The women’s volleyball team has been in the thicket of conference play since the end of September, putting together a solid 6-4 record against its ACC rivals. The team is ranked No. 41 in the country. After a tough loss to No. 18 Louisville team last weekend, the Cavaliers will look to rebound and hopefully end the month on a high note with two victories.
Friday’s showdown with Wake Forest is a rematch from September, when the Demon Deacons edged the Cavaliers 3-2. Virginia will have to neutralize the duo of Matalee Reed and Kylie Long — who each scored twenty points in the first matchup — if it hopes to earn the win.
Duke Blue Devils will roll into Charlottesville Saturday, having won their last three matches. Although the Cavaliers cruised to a 3-1 victory against the Blue Devils earlier in the season in Durham, Duke has clearly stepped up its and is eager to get revenge on its multi-sport rival. Strong performances from junior Jordan Tucker have highlighted Duke’s last few wins, so the Cavaliers will be on the lookout for her as a key finisher on the Blue Devils’ well-balanced team.
—compiled by Alec Dougherty
Rowing
What: The Princeton Chase
Where: Lake Carnegie, Princeton, New Jersey
When: Sunday, all day
The Skinny: The Virginia women’s rowing team competes this Sunday at the Princeton Chase, a 2¾-mile regatta held on Princeton, N.J.’s Lake Carnegie and the Cavaliers’ second competition of the fall season.
Virginia opened its fall campaign Oct. 18 at the Head of the Charles in Boston, picking up top-five finishes in both the Championship Fours and the Championship Eights. Now, the Cavaliers — who closed out last spring ranked No. 4 nationally — will look for another positive result.
Last year, Virginia sent five boats to the Chase, with its Varsity Eight taking second place in 14.26.47 — a time that left the Cavaliers just over a second behind race-champion Brown. Virginia’s Second and Third Varsity Eight came in sixth and seventh, respectively, while its fourth and fifth boats crossed in 14th and 24th place.
The Chase takes place Sunday, two weeks before the Cavaliers’ season-ending Rivanna Romp.
—compiled by Matthew Morris
Swimming and diving
What: Virginia vs. Michigan and Penn State
Where: Canham Natatorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
When: Saturday, 3 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m.
The Skinny: The Virginia swimming and diving teams take to Michigan’s Canham Natatorium Saturday and Sunday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, matching up with the Wolverines and fellow visitor Penn State in a tri-meet. The Cavaliers kicked off the fall season against Tennessee Oct. 16 at the Aquatic and Fitness Center, with the women scoring a convincing win and the men falling hard.
Virginia, Michigan and Penn State also combined for an early-season tri-meet last year, when the Nittany Lions hosted competition Nov. 7-8 at the McCoy Natatorium in University Park, Penn. The Cavalier women defeated Michigan by 16 points before falling to Penn State, 183-170, while the Virginia men suffered two lopsided losses.
Among the top performers for Virginia at last year’s meet were senior Courtney Bartholomew — who won three individual races — and breaststrokers senior Yannick Kaeser and junior Laura Simon, who captured both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke for the men and women, respectively.
—compiled by Matthew Morris
Cross Country
What: 2015 ACC Cross Country Championships
Where: Apalachee Regional Park, in Tallahassee, Florida.
When: Friday, 9 a.m and 9:45 a.m
The Skinny: The 2015 ACC Cross Country championships will be held in Tallahassee Friday, with both the men and women’s team looking to capture the ACC Title.
The men come into the race ranked No. 7 nationally, and will attempt to capture the title over No. 2 Syracuse, No. 12 NC State and No. 18 Virginia Tech.
The women face equally stiff competition, but they come into the race as the ACC favorites, and are ranked No. 7 nationally.
Virginia hopes to get solid performances from junior Henry Wynne — Virginia’s the top finisher at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational — and junior Cleo Boyd, who paced the Cavalier women in Wisconsin.
—compiled by Hunter Ostad
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