Why Virginia football is so successful
By Eric Cooper | August 31, 2011Yes, you read that headline correctly. Earlier this week I had a conversation with a friend who was down on the Virginia football program.
Yes, you read that headline correctly. Earlier this week I had a conversation with a friend who was down on the Virginia football program.
[caption id="attachment_44561" align="alignleft" width="196" caption="After jockeying for the role of starting signal caller throughout training camp, sophomore Michael Rocco nabbed a vote of confidence from the Virginia coaching staff.
One of the few things I remember from the 1996 presidential election is the contentious issue of school uniforms.
[caption id="attachment_44557" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Just three games into the year, junior midfielder Erica Hollenberg has already matched her 2010 season total with three assists.
"Yeah, well, you're ugly." This is how most arguments end at my house. After going at it with my brother for a good 20 minutes about what constitutes a sport, he's clearly had enough.
[caption id="attachment_44490" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="After tying for the team lead with four assists last season, junior midfielder Ari Dimas almost created the equalizer against West Virginia when his corner kick found freshman midfielder Eric Bird, whose header bounced off the post.
[caption id="attachment_44488" align="alignleft" width="156" caption="Junior middle blocker Jessica O'Shoney picked up right where she left off last season - when she totaled 250 kills - as she finished the three-game weekend with 29 kills, good for second-most on the team.
[caption id="attachment_44486" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="With three more goals and one assist against Liberty, junior forward Caroline Miller already has equaled her 10 points from 2010 in three games this year.
The Virginia field hockey team opened its season at home with a bittersweet opening weekend. Friday evening, the Cavaliers defeated Virginia Commonwealth, 8-1, before falling to Penn State Sunday in a disappointing 3-0 loss. "They know how they can play when we run the system, and what happens if you don't run the system," coach Michele Madison said. The No.
[caption id="attachment_44453" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Junior forward Will Bates joins senior forward Brian Ownby and sophomore forward Brian Span to create a potentially lethal attack.
[caption id="attachment_44451" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Senior midfielder Rachel Jennings hopes to build on a successful 2010 season in which she contributed one goal and two assists in a defensive role.
[caption id="attachment_44449" align="alignleft" width="223" caption="Junior middle blocker Jessica O'Shoney made the all-tournament team at the 2010 Marriott Cavalier Classic.
Three Virginia lacrosse players outdueled 123 candidates for a spot on the U.S. Men's National Under-19 team.
When people ask Virginia coach Mike London who the ideal football player is, his answer is simple: Chase Minnifield. "On the field, off the field, in the classroom - you can point to Chase Minnifield being the model," London said. Minnifield's coach is not the only one, however, who is recognizing the All-ACC senior cornerback's exemplary efforts.
The Miami Hurricanes cheated! They provided their football players with strippers! And prostitutes! And shiny bling-bling!
[caption id="attachment_44334" align="alignleft" width="235" caption="Senior goalkeeper Chantel Jones currently sits one shutout shy of the ACC career record.
[caption id="attachment_44257" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Coach Mike London enters his second season at Virginia hopeful that his much-ballyhooed 2011 recruiting class can adjust quickly to college football and push established veterans for playing time during preseason practices.
As I sat on the doorstep of adulthood and the real world last Sunday - the last weekend before the start of my fourth year - not even the opportunity to spend my last, truly free night out on the town could drag me away from watching a bunch of random guys wearing the helmet of my beloved Dallas Cowboys get torn to shreds by another set of random, oversized men masquerading as the San Diego Chargers.
[caption id="attachment_44253" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Former Virginia catcher John Hicks, who started all 68 games for the Cavaliers last season, has batted .274 with one home run and 18 RBIs in 29 games for the Class A Clinton LumberKings of the Midwest League.
The year is 1932. It has been nearly three long years since the Great Depression began. It is the fifth inning of game three of the World Series, and Babe Ruth is at the plate.