Trying to pinpoint what has kept his team from winning as of late, Virginia coach Pete Gillen doesn't have to think for long to realize the two areas the Cavaliers most need to improve. "We have to defend better," Gillen said.
There comes a time in every sportswriter's life when you must tuck in your napkin, pick up your fork and eat crow.
Two games into the ACC schedule and two losses closer to missing the NCAA tournament for a third straight year, Virginia is not looking quite as good as people had hoped for before the season began.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A game widely expected to be an offensive shootout instead turned into a showcase for the Virginia defense that dominated down the stretch, allowing only three second half points and leading the Cavaliers to a 23-16 victory over Pittsburgh in the second Continental Tire Bowl.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Standing upright in a cramped interview room in the bowels of Ericsson Stadium, Pittsburgh's star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald respectfully fielded a barrage of badgering inquiries from a room full of pestering reporters.
Toward the end of the first half, it looked like the magic might have been there again. The Cavaliers had kept the game close against No.
The last time the University of Virginia men's swimming and diving team defeated Tennessee, the current seniors on the team were merely seniors in high school.
Every year at this time I run into the same dilemma: All year long I think of hundreds of things I want for Christmas.
The Virginia men's basketball team tallied the ACC's seventh win in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, knocking off Minnesota 86-78 last night at University Hall. The Cavaliers (4-0) were paced by junior Elton Brown and freshman Gary Forbes, with 26 and 22 points respectively.
Most of the Virginia fans must have been confused last night. Virginia's starting center wore the name Brown on the back of his jersey, but he neither looked nor played like the Elton Brown of last season.
When the former women's basketball star for Xavier University Kate Kreager transferred to Virginia, it was not to play for the Cavaliers.
"U.Va. women's club soccer: We do it in 11 different positions for 90 minutes."Certainly enough to grasp anyone's attention, but it seems that there is more to the women's club team than this enticing slogan from their cups at a recent Biltmore bar night.
I attended both preseason men's basketball games and the Mount St. Mary's and High Point games. No, I don't think I should be awarded a medal for this, but I know it is a rather unique claim.
The Virginia men's golf teamsigned a valuable recruit in Greg Carlin of Kensington, Md. Carlin was named to this year's AJGA HP Scholastic Junior All-American Team.
So much for the smurf turf. I was happy to see the 'Hoos nab a return trip to the Continental Tire Bowl, but do you think the committee would have extended the offer if our Pep Band was still around?
The trophy has sat in the ACC offices in Greensboro, N.C. for the past four years. The hardware and the bragging rights that go along with it have been defended by the ACC for each successive ACC-Big Ten Challenge -- even without much help from Virginia in the effort. The Cavaliers have been unable to match the success of their fellow conference members in the Challenge, compiling a 1-2 record in the event.
Three Virginia players received individual accolades for their performances in Saturday's victory over rival Virginia Tech.
The Virginia wrestling team placed eighth out of 11 teams in the 2003 Mat Town USA Tournament over Thanksgiving weekend.
A team known better for its sharp shooting and scoring potency than for its efforts protecting its own basket, Virginia was able to earn its third straight victory Sunday afternoon thanks largely to its stingy second half defensive performance. The Cavaliers (3-0) held High Point (1-3) to 21.6 percent shooting in the second half and kept the Panthers from scoring a field goal for a nine minute span midway through the second stanza, allowing Virginia to pull away for a 79-64 victory. "That speaks for itself," sophomore forward Derrick Byars said.
After the clock wound down to zero in Saturday's annual Virginia Tech-Virginia intrastate grudge match, the talk was not of Beamerball, but of Butterball.
