The Virginia defense had all kinds of problems going into the Georgia Tech game last Saturday, as it faced suspensions and injuries.
I must say, I have been looking forward to this Saturday's Virginia-Virginia Tech game more than anything else this season.
A team with only one senior and two junior starters is not supposed to exude confidence and strong leadership, but such is the case for the Virginia women's basketball team.
In the modern world of hyper-specialized athletes, many forget that some teams train together as one -- boys and girls. However, Virginia swimming and diving head coach Mark Bernardino correctly identifies the swimmers as "men and women, now that they are out of high school." The swimmers are at a sufficient age that they can deal with the presence of the other gender in the pool.
Most college basketball analysts and prognosticators hold low expectations for Virginia this season.
Last year, when many assumed that Pete Gillen's tenure as Virginia basketball's head coach was coming to a close, rumors flew that the new Virginia coach would be a big name.
On the eve of the heated rivalry against an insignificant school in Southwest Virginia, I will bury the hatchet this week and give credit where credit is due.
In the beginning of the season, Virginia coach Al Groh probably never expected to see the Virginia starting secondary he saw Saturday. But after a horrific injury to starting safety Nate Lyles in the second quarter, the unexpected became reality.
It may be hard to imagine, but Virginia women's basketball begins Friday. Sunday the team played its first competition, an exhibition win over EA Sports, but it awaits its first regular season game this week. Over the weekend Virginia fans were given the opportunity to see what style of play Virginia will adopt this year, with its relatively young, small but athletic roster. When asked to describe her role on the team, sophomore Denesha Kenion cited her role "as an energizer, to get steals and finish on layups." Sophomore guard Takisha Granberry added a list of her own responsibilities that includes, "pressuring the ball, getting rebounds, penetrating the lanes and getting my shots." Both players stressed speed, yet failed to mention the team's frontcourt and inside game for one reason: size. "We have to [stress our speed]," captain sophomore guard Sharneé Zoll said.
The NCAA released the brackets Monday for the 2005 men's soccer tournament, and Virginia (12-4-2) was awarded the No.
In what Virginia coach Al Groh said was his team's "most complete game of the year," the Cavaliers downed No.
Sometimes making history can look pretty routine. For the Virginia volleyball team, it all began Saturday night against Miami when junior setter Emily Kirkwood handled a pass from her back row, setting up her younger sister Sarah for a kill along the right side -- a move the two have pulled off dozens of times this season and thousands of times in practice.
Here's a great stat that was announced by a member of the media peanut gallery before Al Groh's post-game press conference Saturday night: Virginia is 2-0 this year at home against top-25 opponents ... when the Cavaliers have had a player -- or four -- suspended. That record says a lot about this team's determination to stick together in the face of adversity.
There is a whole bulletin board of motivational quotes on the pool deck of the Aquatic & Fitness Center.
The women's basketball team began the season with a bang yesterday, romping EA Sports 85-55. The game was the Cavaliers' lone official exhibition game of the year and will not count towards the overall standings. Senior forward Tiffany Sardin led all scorers with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Junior guard Brenna McGuire got the scoring started for Virginia, tallying five points in the first 70 seconds, including one three-pointer.
Heading into Friday's exhibition game against Concordia, there was much apprehension surrounding the Virginia men's basketball team.
At least the Virginia women's soccer team has one load off its back. Just a week after losing to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, the Cavaliers blew past Tennessee in a 3-0 win yesterday to advance to the third round of the NCAA playoffs for the first time in two years. "I haven't been past the second round yet," junior Shannon Foley said.
In the first three swim meets of the season, Virginia freshman diver Jackie Apple has only lost one of the six events in which she has competed. Apple's one loss occurred fairly early in last week's meet against Virginia Tech when Hokie Laura Lunn won the women's three-meter board competition.
Four Virginia football players will not participate in tomorrow's game against No. 24 Georgia Tech due to a violation of team policy, the University announced in a press release yesterday morning. The four suspended players are senior wide receiver Ottowa Anderson, junior safety Tony Franklin, sophomore defensive end Vince Redd and senior nose tackle Kwakou Robinson. "There are some internal issues that we're doing a little investigation on, and when we've culminated that process and finalized what that means, we'll make a determination on some people's status," Virginia coach Al Groh said during the ACC's weekly teleconference Wednesday. The verdict of that investigation was handed down yesterday and resulted in the loss of three established starters in Anderson, Franklin and Robinson.
Former Vice President Dan Quayle once said, "The future will be better tomorrow." For the Cavaliers, that means winning today. Starting with this weekend's double-header against Florida State and Miami, the message coming from the team has been crystal clear: In order to have a realistic shot at second place in the ACC, every one of the season's final six matches must be victories. Although this may sound overly optimistic, the Cavaliers are not kidding themselves.
