Replacing influential players after a successful season can be a difficult trick to pull off. Just ask Al Groh and his new linebacking corps. The Virginia men's soccer team, like its gridiron counterparts, also has had to deal with the loss of key players on defense.
If there is any question about which conference is the best in college field hockey, look no further than the Junior World Cup roster for the answer. Of the 18 players selected to represent the United States, 13 hail from the ACC. Two of these girls are Virginia's own: junior Mia Link and senior Katherine Blair. The Junior World Cup is a 16-team international tournament which pits the best players 21 years old and under against each other. The tournament is set to run from Sept.
For a kid who's just a hair over 5-feet-9-inches tall and was once described by a basketball coach as looking like "a stiff wind could knock him over," I woke up this morning decidedly fat and happy. This is the point in the column when, if I were Conan O'Brien, I would make a joke comparing myself to Star Jones or Rueben Studdard.
Entering the 2005 season, the Virginia football team wondered how it would respond without Heath Miller.
Friday night, the University of Virginia men's soccer team began its season with a 2-0 victory over UC-Riverside in the first game of the UCSB Adidas Classic at Hardner Stadium in Santa Barbara, Calif. No.6 Virginia had multiple chances to score, yet was shut out until the 55th minute, when junior Adam Cristman headed home a cross by sophomore Jeremy Barlow to score the first Cavalier goal.
If one of your buddies got called up to the majors four months after finishing his third year at the University, you would figure this column should be devoted to his story.
Even to diehard Virginia fans, the Cavalier linebacking corps may have been hard to recognize Saturday against Western Michigan. Three of the four Cavalier linebackers started their first games over the weekend.
When she was nine, Shannon Foley's family moved to California. There, Foley began playing soccer, a game she would play through many schools, club teams and national team pools (U-16 and U-19). "It's actually a really funny story," Foley said.
For all the parents who tell their children that they can't go anywhere in life without a college degree, I present to you Ryan Zimmerman.
Normally when a team completes a tournament with a 1-2 record, it's members might feel disappointed.
The Virginia volleyball team placed third yesterday in its season-opening tournament, the Texas A&M/McDonald's Invitational.
Even though he left college one year shy of graduating, The Education of Ryan Zimmerman is only beginning. The first chapter was written last Thursday in Atlanta when the former Virginia baseball star went down looking in his first Major League game. But when Zimmerman suited up for his first home game in Washington Friday night, he banged out the first hit of his Major League career in a 7-1 loss to Wild Card-leading Philadelphia. Replacing starting third baseman Vinny Castilla in top of the 4th inning, Zimmerman jogged onto the field amidst a chorus of cheers from the 28,939-person crowd.
Like most freshmen athletes, cross country runners' first year at the University requires effort in all areas of life, from school to schedules to athletics.
While I'm waiting for this eBay auction to close, I've got some thoughts on Saturday's 31-19 win over Western Michigan.
Virginia football coach Al Groh promised he would get more aggressive with the play-calling this season.
"It's stupid to nit-pick wins," defensive end Brennan Schmidt said after yesterday's game. Not so fast, my friend. If the Virginia Cavaliers are to be anything better than a 7-5 team this year, Al Groh and Co. better pick nits about Saturday night's game for the next two weeks.
Walk through the locker rooms in between matches at this weekend's Texas A&M volleyball tournament and you'll notice some familiar sights.
It's been an eventful start to the season for the Virginia women's soccer team. The Cavaliers have recorded three wins in three games, thanks to an offense that has hit the net eight times and a defense that has refused to return the favor to other teams.
Having new faces in the huddle at the start of the season is a part of college football. With players only allowed four years of eligibility, new personnel is a part of the game.
When it comes to field hockey, the Monarchs of Old Dominion have lived up to their name, reigning over Virginia. Since 1997, ODU is 8-0 against the Cavaliers.
