I?m sure most college sports fans can tell you what George Mason did in 2006: It made an unlikely run to the Final Four.
Senior Yannick Reyering has made many big kicks in his athletic career.Saturday, however, the ball was not quite as round, and he had nearly 65,000 eyes on him.In Virginia?s football home opener against USC Saturday, Reyering, a former Cavalier men?s soccer star, made his debut for the football team as the starting placekicker.
The Virginia women?s soccer team finished its opening three-game home stand by defeating Liberty 5-0 and Virginia Commonwealth 5-0 Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Goalkeeper ? it?s the last line of defense and, in many cases, the most important. The Virginia men?s soccer team has two capable and experienced goalkeepers.
So, maybe Saturday?s 52-7 drubbing wasn?t the most fun football game you ever watched. But things could have been worse.
The Lee Maes era began with a bang this past weekend as Virginia?s volleyball team swept the James Madison University Days Inn Invitational to begin its season at 3-0 (0-0 ACC). Maes joined the Cavaliers in February after a search for a coach began in December when Melissa Aldrich Shelton stepped down from the position.The 3-0 start, the first for Virginia since the 2003-4 season, follows a preseason that players and coaches alike described as physically intense.Sophomore right side hitter Kendahl Voelker, who recorded 10 kills in the tournament championship match against James Madison, said the team has been training at a high level under Maes and new assistant coaches Ted Wade and Jill Kramer.?We?re getting it done in the gym,? Voelker said.
Virginia athletics has reported senior linebacker Aaron Clark will be out for the rest of the season because of a knee sprain suffered during Saturday?s game against USC.
In football, a common saying is that ?It?s not about the Xs and the Os, it?s about the Jimmys and the Joes.? The Jimmys and Joes on California?s team proved far superior to Virginia?s when the Cavaliers lost their season opener 7-52 Saturday.?USC was a big, powerful fast team with superior quarterback play today,? Virginia coach Al Groh said.
The lively Lithuanian is moving on.At a press conference at Blue Ridge School Thursday, former Virginia basketball player Laurynas Mikalauskas, who was kicked off the men?s basketball team last week, took full responsibility for the academic ineligibility that resulted in his dismissal and announced his intention to turn pro overseas.?I could not see myself transferring to another school or playing for another college basketball team,? Mikalauskas said.
After Saturday?s deflating blowout football loss to Southern Cal, Virginia?s sports weekend only got worse Sunday.
Defense was the name of the game at Turf Field this weekend. The Virginia women?s field hockey team put on a suffocating defensive performance, beating William & Mary 5-0 Friday and following that up with a 4-1 victory against Providence Sunday.
There are many strategies that are preached to David when playing Goliath on the gridiron.?Just keep hanging around for three quarters ? at the end anything can happen.? ?Slow the tempo of the game down and keep the offense off the field.? ?Don?t give up the big play on defense.? ?Take advantage of the opportunities given to you.? ?Lace the other team?s pregame meal with arsenic.? We?ve heard them all.Saturday at Scott Stadium, none of those things happened.
The Virginia women?s volleyball team started its season off on the right foot this past weekend, winning all three matches on the way to claiming the crown at the JMU Days Inn Invitational in Harrisonburg.
Here is a secret most University students don?t know: The most riveting sports game this weekend may not take place at Scott Stadium.
I?m a fan ? but I?m very much a realist. I know Southern California is ranked third in the Associated Press poll and second in the USA Today/Coaches poll.
If Virginia fans don?t have an exact grasp of how good the USC team that Virginia will face Saturday is, let Virginia coach Al Groh put it in simple words.?They have clearly been in a league of their own during the decade of 2000 on,? he said.Over the last six seasons, USC has won two national championships, three Rose Bowls, two Orange Bowls, six straight Pac-10 titles and 70 of 78 games, including a 44-6 record in Pac-10 play.?This is the most talented college football team since when I had to do pre-draft work on the Florida State teams in the middle 90s ? Warrick Dunn, Peter Warrick, Marvin Jones, [Andre] Wadsworth, Reinard Wilson, Samari [Rolle] ? those guys,? Groh said.
The Virginia field hockey team opens the 2008 campaign with things old and new.Home games against long-time, in-state rival William & Mary at 2 p.m Friday and against Providence, an opponent the Cavaliers have not faced seen 1992, at 3:30 p.m Sunday at the Turf Field open another season in the young Virginia career of coach Michele Madison.Though the NCAA Tournament sits on the far side of a demanding schedule, the No.
While most University students have been slowly easing themselves into the routine of classes and extracurricular activities, the women?s soccer team has already played two exhibition games and one regular-season game.
The Virginia men?s basketball team travels to Montreal this weekend for a set of three exhibition games against opponents from the area.
