Rebuilding volleyball squad gauges progress at VCU Invitational
By Peter Nance | September 7, 2012The Virginia volleyball team journeys down to Richmond this weekend to take part in the two-day VCU Invitational.
The Virginia volleyball team journeys down to Richmond this weekend to take part in the two-day VCU Invitational.
The Virginia men’s and women’s golf teams will make their season debuts this weekend, as they look to validate their lofty preseason rankings. The No. 12 women open the 2012-13 campaign at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C., while the No. 22 men begin with the Northern Open in Chicago, Ill.
Riding two weeks of strong play, the No. 7 Virginia women’s soccer team comes home this weekend for a duo of home matches against in-state rivals George Mason and James Madison at the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic.
Win now. That’s the mantra the Virginia men’s soccer team is embracing as it opens its conference schedule against longtime rival Duke this Friday evening under the lights at Klöckner Stadium.
After securing a comfortable 43-19 victory against Richmond, Virginia head coach Mike London and his players are ready for the team’s matchup Saturday with traditional Big Ten powerhouse Penn State at Scott Stadium. Although riddled with minor miscues, the performance of the Cavaliers (1-0, 0-0 ACC) highlighted to the rest of the ACC that London’s physically imposing squad could be priming for more success after an 8-5 campaign in 2011. “Coach London has done an excellent job of putting together his style of team,” Penn State coach Bill O’Brien said.
Last Saturday, two unranked teams squared off to begin their 2012 campaigns. In a sport that values high stakes and compelling action, the game offered only lukewarm excitement and held virtually no national championship significance, with the visitor rallying for a 24-14 win. Because it was Penn State’s first game, however, this otherwise unremarkable tilt garnered extensive national media attention.
The NFL season kicks off again Tuesday as the Dallas Cowboys head to East Rutherford, N.J. to take on the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. It’s been seven months to the day, and let me tell you — pro football hasn’t come back a day too soon.
Sometimes Teddy trips, sometimes he gets disqualified and other times he just gets flat-out beat. But make no mistake about it — Teddy never wins. 515 Presidents’ Races have been run at Washington Nationals home games since the tradition began in 2006.
The Virginia volleyball team hosted the Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup last weekend, losing 3-1 to Western Kentucky before notching a pair of 3-0 wins against Lehigh and Delaware. The Cavaliers (3-3, 0-0 ACC) opened the tournament against the Hilltoppers (5-2, Sun Belt 0-0), who suffered only two losses during last year’s regular season.
In Saturday’s primetime clash between the ACC and SEC, No. 14 Clemson gave its conference a much-needed boost and downed Auburn, 26-19.
The No. 8 Virginia field hockey team (4-1) broke the single-game record for goals scored Friday, beating Towson 14-0. They followed with a 5-4 upset against No. 3 Old Dominion Sunday to conclude a three-game homestand in which they outscored their opponents 25-5.
The Virginia men’s and women’s cross country teams opened their seasons Friday at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational with an opportunity to preview the course that will be used for the ACC Championships Oct.
The No. 10 Virginia women’s soccer team will return to Charlottesville this week after a very successful trip to Texas.
The Virginia men’s soccer team’s first homestand should be seen as nothing less than promising, despite ending on a down note. The young squad, which was picked to finish fifth in the ACC, is already on its way to proving prognosticators wrong by splitting two games against ranked opponents in gut-wrenching fashion.
Though the vast majority of the 50,081 fans who flocked to Scott Stadium donned orange for Virginia’s first home football game of the season, the color gray most defined the Cavaliers’ 43-19 win against Richmond Saturday.
London and junior quarterback Michael Rocco engineered a near-flawless first half to earn a second season-opening win in three years against a first-year Richmond head coach, 43-19. This time, Rocco led the way with 311 yards and a touchdown against his uncle, Richmond coach Danny Rocco, to help London become the first Virginia coach since Rice Warren in 1913 to win his first three season-openers at the University.
The No. 10 Virginia women’s soccer team hits the road today for the first time this season to compete at the Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Tex.
It might be early, but there is reason for optimism about the Virginia cross country program’s chances this year as the Cavalier men and women both open their seasons Friday at Virginia Tech.
The No. 8 Virginia field hockey team opened its season last Friday with great expectations. Last year the Cavaliers (2-1) finished last place in the ACC and failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in six years. But with the return of redshirt seniors Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese, who both took last season off to compete with the U.S. National Team, the still-maturing squad is revamped and ready to rebound.
In its first home game of the season, the No. 8 Virginia field hockey team proved why it deserves to be ranked among the nation’s elite despite finishing last season with a losing record.