Franklin, Virginia’s leading scorer and a senior captain, hails from Bowie, Md., plays most of her ball in college gyms before college crowds, and has yet to reach the NCAA Tournament in three tries. The Cavaliers’ gritty, smooth-shooting guard, however, has more in common with the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant than one might initially think.
The old adage goes: you learn more from failure than success. Personally, I would prefer winning every time, and I would bet the Virginia men’s basketball team would agree. Yet in spite of a heartbreaking sequence of events in the final 30 seconds of a 69-65 road loss to Duke, the saying held true and we learned just how gritty the Cavaliers are. Virginia spent much of the first half trying to claw its way back into the game.
The 2013 season was a breakout season for senior Akil Mitchell. He emerged as one of the most well-rounded big men in the ACC and was third in the conference with 12 double-doubles.
The No. 13 Virginia women’s tennis team kicks off the spring season Wednesday with a showdown against in-state foe No.
Shooting just 38 percent from the field, Virginia really had no business being in their game Monday night against Duke. But after a stunning second half run, Virginia took a 65-64 lead with 38 seconds left. Duke would take the lead back, and on the ensuing possession, a missed deflected pass would give the Blue Devils the ball and the dramatic 69-65 win.
From the beginning of the Sunday afternoon matchup, the Fighting Irish played with the calm confidence characteristic of Division I’s second-ranked team. Virginia, however, stuck with them to the end, closing to within two points on junior forward Sarah Imovbioh’s free throw with 3:49 to play before losing ground in the final minutes. The Cavaliers (8-8, 1-2 ACC) fell, 79-72, but their effort prompted an ovation from the appreciative home crowd.
Confirming reports that first emerged Sunday, football coach Mike London announced Monday that the team will add Jerome “Jappy” Oliver as their defensive line coach. Oliver served in the same stead and as assistant coach at Buffalo for the last four seasons.
The ACC proved to be just as top-heavy in football as pundits predicted — the conference went 5-6 overall in bowls, but captured a pair of BCS wins, including the National Championship.
If the Virginia men’s basketball team resolved to go undefeated in the New Year, the Cavaliers have kept their resolution much longer than I have.
Last week, a little place called Cooperstown experienced a not-so-little amount of drama — maybe you heard about it?
The Virginia football team announced Jan. 6 that safeties coach Anthony Poindexter and defensive line coach Vincent Brown would be leaving the team. Both will be taking positions at Connecticut under newly hired coach Bob Diaco — himself a former Virginia assistant coach between 2006 and 2008.
The No. 13 Virginia wrestling team captured the Virginia Duals crown over the weekend for the first time in program history, winning all three of its bouts during the two-day tournament. The top-seeded Cavaliers earned victories against Chattanooga, fifth-seeded Kent State, and second-seeded No. 14 Edinboro on their way to the title.
The Virginia men’s basketball team won its third consecutive conference game by double figures Saturday, handily dispatching N.C. State in Raleigh, 76-45. The Cavaliers are 3-0 in the ACC for the first time in four seasons and are one of just three remaining undefeated teams in the conference, along with No. 2 Syracuse and Pittsburgh.
The Virginia men’s basketball won its sixth consecutive ACC season opener Saturday against Florida State, defeating the Seminoles 62-50 in Tallahassee and rebounding from its second-most lopsided defeat ever under coach Tony Bennett. The Cavaliers ended a 17-game losing streak in the state of Florida, notching their first victory in the state since a 69-66 win against the Seminoles Feb. 17, 2001.
When Tennessee senior guard Antonio Barton hit a half-court 3-pointer as time expired in the first half, it epitomized the Virginia men’s basketball team’s night. The Volunteers shot the lights out Monday in Knoxville, trouncing the Cavaliers 87-52 and dealing the team its worst defeat since falling to No. 11 Washington 106-63 Nov. 22, 2010.
The Vriginia women’s basketball team won their third straight game Sunday, topping Princeton 69-57 to win the Cavalier Classic for the tenth straight year.
One week ago, the Virginia women’s basketball team won just their second game in seven tries. Saturday, the Cavaliers won their second straight game, topping Coppin State 70-45 in the first round of the Cavalier Classic in Charlottesville. Virginia (6-6) started quickly, jumping out to an early 7-2 lead, but the Eagles fought back to tie the game at 9-9.
For the second time in as many games, sophomore guard Justin Anderson led the Virginia men’s basketball team to victory, recording a game-high 14 points and eight rebounds against Norfolk State. The Cavaliers never trailed in their 66-56 win against the Spartans, and enter their short holiday break on a two-game winning streak.
The Virginia men’s basketball team snapped a two-game skid Saturday afternoon, overcoming a sluggish first half at John Paul Jones Arena to defeat Northern Iowa, 57-43.
Reeling from a three-game losing streak and season-long shooting woes, the Virginia women’s basketball team took the floor against Michigan on Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena looking to change its tune. By the time the final horn had sounded on a 73-53 loss, however, the repetitive clangs of a ball striking iron remained the definitive sound of the Cavaliers’ 2013-14 campaign. Though Virginia (3-5) put up 57 shots against the Wolverines (6-3), only 19 fell through the net.
