There were no happy endings or glorious predictions for the Virginia women's basketball team as they hung up their uniforms this season - only a plane to catch and a bit of soul-searching to do. The Cavaliers, who finished 18-14 after losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, believe one thing is certain, however.
These people must be stopped. Once again, corruption, large egos and rising salaries threaten to destroy a sport that we all know and love. The images are all ingrained into our memories: the crack of the bat, the expansive green outfield, the perfect spin of an expertly thrown flipper or googly.
This was not the way anyone on the Virginia men's basketball team wanted it to end. A shocking 86-85 loss to Gonzaga on Friday scarcely seems a fitting way to close the chapter on another Cavalier season.
Junior first baseman/pitcher Kristen Dennis garnered ACC Player of the Week honors after leading the Virginia softball team to the Winthrop Invitational Tournament title on Sunday in Rock Hill, S.C. The Cavaliers (22-8) advanced to the championship game of the tournament after dispatching East Carolina, 10-5, in the semifinals.
While countless hordes of MTV Spring Breakers were gyrating for the cameras on the beaches of southern Florida in skimpy clothing, Virginia wrestlers Jimi Massey, Joe Alexander and Greg Francesca also were dressed in close-fitting spandex, though obviously for different reasons.
Six Virginia women swimmers combined their efforts to lead the Cavaliers to a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships last weekend at the Nassua County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, N.Y. Freshmen Amy Baly and Carlie Dykehouse, sophomores Cara Lane and Mirjana Bosevska, junior Megan Roesch and senior Megan Iffland all qualified to represent the Cavaliers at the NCAAs and took home 10 top 16 event awards and 92 points. Lane put in the most spectacular and prosperous performances for the Cavaliers.
You weren't the only one praying in front of the television five days ago. At approximately 2:30 Friday afternoon, I slid off the couch and onto my knees, palms pressed together in what turned out to be a vain attempt to will the Virginia men's basketball team past 12th-seeded Gonzaga and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Dan Dickau and the Zags sent the Cavaliers to a season-ending third consecutive loss, but the lasting image of Virginia's 2000-01 season need not be its 0-for-March finish.
On a day when it barely overcame the bitter cold at U.Va. Baseball Field, Virginia didn't have enough gas to get by Marc Fisher.
It won't be in Scott Stadium or University Hall, and it won't be in Lane Stadium or Cassell Coliseum either.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.-In the NCAA tournament's South Region Friday afternoon, opportunity knocked three times for the Virginia men's basketball team.
Eighth-seeded Michigan overcame a 17-point deficit Saturday to score an overtime win over ninth-seeded Virginia, 81-71, in the first round of the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament in South Bend, Ind.
The national anthem wasn't the only thing filled with rockets and bombs yesterday at Virginia Baseball Field.
Students of the staggered screen, pupils of the pick-and-roll: Gather'round. Last week I presented you with an assignment: Camp out in front of the big screen, fight your way through 48 games worth of utter NCAA madness and report back with your findings. In the time-honored tradition of sending the 16 sweetest clubs onward in search of the college hardwood holy grail, I've condensed our laundry list of observations down to not 16 (that wouldn't fit) but eight noteworthy memories and moments.
Tennis is often considered a warm weather sport. But despite chilly winds and 40-degree weather, the Virginia men's and women's tennis teams have been playing since early February. The men's team kicked off its 2001 spring season Feb.
This weekend, I realized that I really, really don't like women's basketball. Now before the National Organization for Women starts to deluge me with letters proclaiming me a misogynist, let me explain.
The Virginia women's lacrosse team spoiled Old Dominion's home opener with a 14-9 win last night. After the Lady Monarchs (0-1) grabbed an early 2-0 lead, the Cavaliers (3-0) responded with seven unanswered goals to take a 7-2 lead early in the second half.
Spring Break is just around the corner, but for the men's basketball teams in the ACC, the next four days are anything but a vacation. The 48th annual ACC Tournament kicks off tonight at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, when Florida State and Clemson, the eighth and ninth seeds, respectively, meet in the first round.
The No. 12 Virginia men's basketball team begins postseason play Firday in the ACC Tournament. For the first time since the 1996-97 season - after which the Cavaliers struggled for even the easiest ACC win - the team is likely to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The turnaround is remarkable, but it is no match for Virginia's rise to national dominance just two decades ago.
This week, in the interest of progressing through my final collegiate semester, I will take tests on Geoffrey Chaucer and American government.
After a 12-10 victory at No. 9 Syracuse, the Virginia women's lacrosse team returns for an in-state contest against Old Dominion today at 5 p.m.
