The records, the rankings, even the date of the game are almost exactly the same as they were last year. Virginia hopes that at least the result will be different this time around.

The No. 3 Cavaliers take on No. 15 Penn State at 1 p.m. tomorrow afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. In the first meeting between the two squads since the Nittany Lions upset the Cavaliers 13-8 April 27, 2002, handing Virginia its largest defeat of the season.

This year’s Penn State team (6-5) will be the lowest–ranked squad to play the Cavaliers since unranked Drexel fell to Virginia 19-8 in the season opener, but the Cavaliers (9-2) want to make sure they don’t overlook the Nittany Lions again this season.

“Penn State rocked us last year and is one of the more talented teams around,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “I don’t want to put too much on all of our shoulders, but we got our work cut out for us this weekend. This is a dangerous game this weekend, and I don’t think I’m just making that up.”

Virginia won its first ACC tournament championship since 2000 last weekend at Klöckner and has won four straight games overall. As hot as the Cavaliers have been, however, Penn State is even hotter.

The Nittany Lions have taken five games in a row to climb out of an early–season 1-5 hole and back into the top 15. In that stretch, the Nittany Lions handed No. 4 Massachusetts its only defeat of the season and, most recently, defeated No. 8 Rutgers last weekend.

Penn State has been able to keep most of their games low scoring this year, which may pose a problem to the Cavaliers, who are 9-0 when scoring ten goals or more and 0-2 when failing to reach double digits on the scoreboard.

Even so, the Cavaliers still are the overwhelming favorite coming into this game. Virginia has maintained one of the top winning percentages in the country despite playing the nation’s toughest schedule, and after last year’s surprise loss, the Cavaliers are determined not to let Penn State beat them again.

“Maybe we overlooked Penn State last year,” junior defenseman Brett Hughes said. “But I am very confident this year because of our senior class. They’re not gonna let us overlook this team coming into our place this weekend.”

Senior midfielder Billy Glading comes into this weekend’s game as the reigning ACC tournament MVP and Inside Lacrosse national player of the week. In the tournament, Glading tied a tournament record with five goals in Sunday’s championship game against Duke. He also scored the winning overtime goal in the semifinal matchup against North Carolina.

In addition to Glading’s heroics, the Virginia starting midfield as a whole had an impressive performance in the championship game. Senior A. J. Shannon added three goals of his own against the Blue Devils and senior Chris Rotelli, recently named this season’s ACC Player of the Year, dished out three assists in the victory.

Despite the consistent performance of the midfield throughout the season, the Cavaliers as a whole have struggled to play on top of their game for all 60 minutes on the field.

In both of Virginia’s losses this season, the Cavaliers went over 30 minutes without scoring. Even in Virginia’s more recent wins, the squad has struggled early on before pulling away in the second half.

“We have been a second half team all year,” Starsia said. “I really like that characteristic about us, but I’d like us to figure out that whole first half thing. I think we’re still looking for a 60 minute game, and hopefully it’s still ahead for us.”

The Cavaliers return to Klöckner only two days after the Penn State game to take on unranked Denver in the season finale. The ACC tournament victory ensures Virginia will get a bid to the NCAA tournament, which begins May 10.

Well, it’s that time. With finals and term papers looming, and the cap and gown eyeing me ominously from the corner of my room, it’s time for me to hang up my pen as a Cavalier Daily writer. I’ve had the opportunity to do some pretty cool things in my time in the basement. I’ve covered a Final Four (men’s lacrosse, 2000), covered the dedication of the expansion of Scott Stadium and discussed the last days of George Welsh and the Pep Band. I’ve even had a certain well-established University coach that I’ve covered fairly extensively call me an idiot — but without knowing that I was a writer or associating me with anything I ever wrote about her team. (Not that reading anything I ever wrote would change her mind.)

Despite my track record covering interesting sports — and my equally impressive reputation for idiocy — there are some things I haven’t done at this University. I haven’t won an intramural championship since I got here. And I’ve also never even mentioned intramural sports in this space. But at least one of those is about to change, and maybe both.

A little background: I’m a member of an intramural softball team, made up of a bunch of my friends from first year, which goes by the impossibly mature name of “Good Wood, Solid Spank.” Maybe you’ve seen our shirts around grounds — oddly enough, they’re the one’s that say “Spank” on them. I’m the tall guy with the faded shirt and the sketchy beard.

I’ve played sports with these guys since we came to school, and until this semester we were legendarily bad at just about everything. Actually, that’s not true; some of the other guys did win several soccer championships, but I’m afraid I was (rightly) kept far away from that team. Our basketball teams tend to implode and let one guy do all of the scoring, and when we founded Spank last semester, we promptly went out and got slaughtered in every game. It was semi-pathetic, but we did look damn good while we were losing.

Then something happened this semester. Maybe it was the sense of impending unemployment, or possibly our ever-growing army of female fans at our games, which put us in a winning frame of mind. Either way, “Good Wood, Solid Spank” suddenly learned how to play softball. Six months after we were quite possibly the worst softball team ever to take the field, we found ourselves in the independent league semifinals. That’s right, folks, the little team that couldn’t suddenly saw the light and, you would think, is one of the top eight teams at this school.

By the time you read this column, Spank will have either advanced to the final four or tearfully ended its playoff run. I don’t really care that it’s not really news. I’ve been here for four years — indulge me. Me and my boys can actually play a little ball, and I want to talk about it.

It’s not like we’re taking ourselves too seriously doing it, either. We haven’t suddenly gained focus. Maybe hitting ability and a couple of key newcomers, but certainly not focus. We still pour out of the dugout and quote “Bad News Bears” every time our one power hitter, Rob, hits a home run. In fact, it was a little jarring after we won our second game of the day last week and my buddy Ryan turned around and said, “Hey, we can act like we’ve been here before.” It provides an interesting contrast to Pete yelling, “Check that ball for urine, ’cause it got pissed on!”

It’s still hard to act like we belong. After the miracle we pulled in our first-round game, scoring two runs on two plays at the plate when facing elimination, it’s difficult not to be a little giddy. The reminder of that game is still there, in the form of the scraped leg my roommate Dusty got when he slid in with the winning run. So now that we’re overcoming our losing history, we’re having a little fun with it.

Last night’s game is now in the books. Spank has either moved on to the next round of competition or moved on to the bars. Or possibly both. I hope that we still have some softball ahead of us as you all read this column. But no matter the result of our game against George Clinton’s P-Funk All Stars, I’ve had the privilege of playing some pretty good softball with some pretty good friends, and I’d say we’ve had some fun doing it. Thanks for the memories, guys. It’s been a great four years.

Virginia travels to Winston-Salem this weekend to clash with a disappointing Wake Forest squad. The first of three games is scheduled to begin today at 3 p.m. The Cavaliers (24-16, 7-7 ACC) are coming off a 10-7 win over Virginia Tech last Wednesday in which they avenged their earlier 5-3 loss at Blacksburg. Wake Forest (25-15, 7-10) lit up an under-gunned Wofford team 16-8 last Wednesday.

Wake Forest, predicted to finish in the top three, currently is residing in seventh place in the ACC, the spot in which Virginia was predicted to finish. The Cavaliers presently sit in fifth place and continue to exceed expectations. They have enjoyed surprising success against unranked teams, posting an overall record of 18-2.

Virginia Tech, which won 5-3 on April 16, and George Mason, which narrowly prevailed 4-3 this past Tuesday, are the only two unranked clubs to which Virginia has lost. That trend should give the Cavaliers confidence as they face an unranked Demon Deacon squad.

These two clubs most recently met last season in Charlottesville. No. 5 Wake Forest swept the three-game series, but Virginia gave the visitors all they could handle as the Demon Deacons narrowly escaped with one run victories in two of the three-game set.

Despite Wake not being ranked in the top-25 and not meeting expectations, Virginia still will have a challenge in the unfriendly confines of Winston-Salem.

“You can’t take anyone lightly in the ACC because it’s the best conference in the nation,” third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. “Anyone can beat anyone.”

The task won’t be easy for Virginia. The last time the Cavaliers swept an ACC series on the road was against Duke last year. Winning in Winston-Salem has been even more rare, considering that the last time Virginia swept Wake was April 29, 1972 in a double-header.

The hitting tandem of Jamie D’Antona, a projected early-round draft pick, and Ryan Johnson, who entered Wake’s last game with a team-high .406 batting average, will be a difficult challenge for Virginia pitchers. D’Antona, junior third–baseman from Trumbull, Conn. became one of only nine players in ACC history to reach 55 career home runs. After hitting a pair of home runs against Wofford, he now has 18 home runs this season and his 55 career home runs tie the Demon Deacons’ all-time mark. He also has 74 RBI this season, including six in his last outing.

Against Wofford, Johnson went 4-for-5 with three RBI. Also of note, Steve Casey extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a pair of singles. Casey now is batting .367 during the streak.

“They’re really good hitters, so our pitchers will have to neutralize them,” Zimmerman said. “If we can stop them we’ll have a good chance of winning. I think on Friday they’ll probably throw [Kyle] Sleeth, who is their No. 1. We’ll have a pretty tough time hitting him, but we’ve been hitting the ball pretty well lately so we shouldn’t have a problem.”

The Cavaliers face Virginia Commonwealth, in addition to Georgia Tech and North Carolina after their series with Wake Forest before the start of the ACC tournament.

“It’s pretty important to win those games against top ACC teams,” Freshman pitcher Daniel Tanner said. “They are always at the top of the league, winning those games will not only help get us a high seed in the tournament, but will also increase our chances of getting a regional bid.”

Virginia will return to Winston-Salem to compete in ACC championships beginning on May 20. Regional NCAA play begins 10 days later at various college campuses around the nation.

The Albemarle County Service Authority’s Board of Directors proposed Wednesday to significantly raise water and sewer rates effective July 1, pending its completion of a rate study scheduled to begin later this year.

The rate increase will cover higher operation costs of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, which operates reservoirs and water treatment plants to provide water for the County and the City of Charlottesville, said J. Randolph Parker, County Service Authority board chair.

“All we’re doing is passing on a rate increase from Rivanna,” Parker said. “We’re not passing a whole rate increase, we’re just subsidizing the difference from what we are getting from customers and what Rivanna is charging us.”

The current water rate for the summer, considered June through October, is $3.20 per 1000 gallons of water. The proposal would increase the rate to $3.45 per 1000 gallons, said Bill Brent, County service authority executive director.

For the winter months, November to May, the current water rate is $2.67 per 1000 gallons and the proposed increase would raise it to $2.85 per 1000 gallons. The proposal would raise sewage charges by about 28 percent, from $2.91 per 1000 gallons to $3.74 per 1000 gallons, Brent said.

County water consumers will have an opportunity to voice their concerns on the proposal at a public hearing scheduled to take place June 26 at the Albemarle County Office Building.

The meeting “is open to all of our customers to make their sentiments about the increase known,” Brent said.

County businesses that heavily use County water will be forced to pay more if the Board passes the rate increase.

“Obviously it impacts their building, operations and costs of their service or product, but it’s applied equally so no one operation is at a disadvantage to the other,” Brent said.

Hotels and restaurants may be among those hit the hardest.

“During the summer we can use one to two million gallons per month,” said Michael Walton, director of facilities at the Boar’s Head Inn. “It’s definitely going to have a negative impact.”

Especially in the summer months, the Boar’s Head Inn uses large quantities of water for its pools, evaporation from heating and cooling systems and turf chemical treatments for its Birdwood Golf Course, Walton said.

He also addressed possible actions to alleviate water costs, should the rate increase.

“Last year during the [drought] we created a group of local hotel people who got together to discuss water conservation throughout hotels and what we could do as a group to improve our water situation,” he added. “I assume we will do something similar this year.”

The City will also indefinitely increase its water rates pending a rate study, Director of Public Works Judith Mueller said.

“We will be changing the rates — we do it every year,” Mueller said. “It’s fair to say that they will be going up.”

Coinciding with the announcement of a $1.5 million donation for the creation of a concert and marching band, University officials informed the Pep Band yesterday it will no longer perform at University athletic events.

Amy Cronin, chief of staff in University President John T. Casteen, III’s office, said because of other athletic department budgetary concerns and limited funding available in the athletic budget for a band, the school cannot afford to maintain two bands.

“They’re going one way and we’re not that way,” former Pep Band Director Adam Lorentson said.

Cronin and University Athletic Director Craig Littlepage informed the outgoing and incoming managing boards of the Pep Band of the decision to discontinue their performances yesterday at a 9 a.m. meeting.

Littlepage said the decision to establish the marching band is part of a larger effort to make the University more arts-oriented.

Cronin also maintained the decision to create a marching band was in no way a punitive move against the Pep Band, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year and has been the source of recent controversy.

The band received criticism last December when it performed a skit at the Continental Tire Bowl that some people said they felt demeaned West Virginians. The skit prompted West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise to send a letter to Casteen requesting an apology from the University.

The jokes in the routine had been pre-approved and the incident was entirely blown out of proportion, Lorentson said.

The band continually has been treated in an unprofessional way by the athletic department and the most recent transgression goes above and beyond any previous reproach, he added.

Tuesday, Lorentson said he discovered the locks had been changed to the storage room where Pep Band-owned and individually-owned instruments are stored. At the time, he said, he believed facilities management had changed the locks. Lorentson said he subsequently received conflicting stories from facilities management, Littlepage and the sports promotion office about who ordered the change.

“I cannot express the depths of my disappointment,” Lorentson said. “They lied to us yesterday. They lied to us today, and they’ll probably lie to us tomorrow.”

Littlepage said yesterday he spoke with Lorentson about setting up times for band members to get their instruments, but did concede that possibly this message was not adequately conveyed. He added that the locks were indeed changed, but only to slow down in and out traffic and to ensure the safety of the equipment.

Lorentson said the band helps the University to remain unique and distinct from other big name public schools. Band members genuinely are enthusiastic about University athletics and will strive to find a way to support the school’s programs, including lower-revenue teams often overlooked by fans, he added.

“From day one, we’ve been here to support athletics,” Lorentson said. “We’ve always found a way to do that, even though the Athletic Department finds a way to frustrate that.”

Current Pep Band Director Scott Hayes agreed that, without a Pep Band, the divide between football and basketball and other sports will persist.

“We did our best to combat that by giving our attention to lesser known sports,” Hayes said.

Hayes said after meeting with members and getting a general feeling from the band, the managing board will formulate a response to the new changes.

The University received a substantial pledge yesterday, totaling $23.5 million, to bolster the University’s music program. The pledge from Carl and Hunter Smith will fund in part the construction of a 100,000 square foot performing arts center and endow a concert and marching band.

The Smiths, longtime donors to the University, pledged $22 million for the construction of a planned $47 million new arts building, the proposed cornerstone of what University administrators envision as an “Arts Grounds.”

The Smiths also pledged $1.5 million for the creation of a University marching and concert band.

Amy Cronin, chief of staff at the President’s office, said President John T. Casteen, III and Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, had been discussing the large donation with the Smiths for about a year. In a press release, Casteen enthusiastically welcomed the Smiths’ gift.

“Their extraordinary generosity will leave an indelible mark on University life for generations to come,” Casteen said.

The new arts facility will be built on the corner of Massie Road and Emmet Street and will feature a concert hall with at least 1,200 seats, classrooms, performance areas, music department offices and a storage area for the new concert and marching band. The center is scheduled for completion in 2006.

An architect has yet to be named to the project, but officials expect the design phase to be over and construction to commence by December 2004.

The creation of a concert and marching band has been deemed by University officials as essential to achieving the goals outlined in Virginia 2020, the University’s long term plan.

As part of the University’s stated drive to upgrade the arts programs on Grounds, music department faculty identified an additional performance offering as a key to attracting quality music students last fall, Cronin said.

The new marching band is scheduled to make its debut in fall 2004.

Presently, the University is the only school in the Atlantic Coast Conference that does not have a marching band.

“It’s going to add a great part of traditional football games we don’t have at U.Va.,” second-year College student Jonathan Young said.

The Smiths made the single largest monetary donation to the University in 1997 when they pledged $25 million to expand Scott Stadium and build a football stadium at the University’s College at Wise. The area surrounding Scott Stadium was renamed in honor of Smith, who was a scholarship football player at the University.

Thanks to a $150,000 donation from the alumni association’s Jefferson Circle, as well as donated labor from the Garden Club of Virginia, the garden behind Pavilion III will be renovated this summer.

Though originally restored in the 1950s by Alden Hopkins, the famed Colonial Williamsburg landscape architect, the gardens behind the West Lawn pavilions have not received any major restoration since they opened to the public in 1952.

“They have suffered a lot of wear and tear since then,” University Landscape Architect Mary V. Hughes said.

Major repairs now required include reorienting garden paths, fixing drainage problems, repairing brick walls and making the garden handicapped accessible.

New plantings will be more faithful to Hopkins’ original design, and additional shrubs will be placed in the garden, Hughes said.

The Jefferson Circle’s donation will fund the construction aspect of the restoration, while the Garden Club of Virginia will aid the effort with new plantings and by funding a landscape consultant for the project.

“The hardscape and the drainage work will take through July, and then that’s not a good time to plant in Virginia,” Hughes said. “We hope to do the plantings in the fall.”

According to Hughes, the gardens also have suffered from the budgetary neglect plaguing the rest of the University in recent years.

“If we had the funds, we’d be constantly painting and repairing [benches and gates] and replacing plants that are lost and keeping them always in top condition,” she said. “Those things don’t get done on a regular basis the way you’d hope for our most sacred historical district.”

Currently, Hughes and fundraisers are attempting to raise a $5 million endowment for the gardens to be maintained in perpetuity. They already have raised $1.5 million dollars for the endowment.

Benjamin Ford, an archaeologist and 1998 Graduate School of Arts and Sciences graduate, will take advantage of construction excavation as an opportunity to perform important archaeological research in the Academical Village.

Ford said one of his most significant findings so far is a piece of what appears to be a 19th century brick wall. This piece could reveal the West pavilion gardens originally extended farther back toward the West Range than they now do.

“The University needs to emphasize archaeological research more than they have in the past,” Ford said. The project “is one good example of how archaeology can be useful to the University.”

If the weather cooperates over the summer for construction, the garden should be in usable form by October, Hughes said.

It’s that time again. As always, the girls will wear their summer dresses and entire fraternities will crowd onto buses to attend the event. Tomorrow, 23,000 people will flock to the traditional spring running of the Foxfield races.

This year, however, may be different from previous years.

“There are a lot differences this year,” Race Director W. Patrick Butterfield said. “There will be a stepped up presence of police officers.”

Albemarle County Police will handle parking and traffic outside the event, while Virginia ABC officials and Foxfield’s private security force will patrol inside the venue.

“We are going to be there to ID, to monitor and to take action as needed,” said Becky Gettings, director of public affairs at ABC.

Albemarle County Spokesperson Lee Catlin said she expects students to notice the heightened security at this year’s races.

“All of the messages we are getting is that there is going to be a very close look at underage drinking and dangerous and abusive drinking inside the event,” she said. “I think people can expect to see some real scrutiny.”

There will be a “big crackdown” on underage drinking this Saturday, Butterfield said. Security will be checking the contents of student’s containers and coolers.

“There will be 50 ABC agents on the grounds and they are primarily interested in preventing underage drinking,” he said. “They will be stopping people asking them to open their cooler, carding them, if they are underage, they will confiscate the liquor and if people arrive here and are drunk they will be taken to jail.”

If conduct at the races is not improved this year, Foxfield may not be able to afford to continue its events in the years to come, Butterfield said. This year, Foxfield has had to pay an increased sum of money for additional security as well as $8,000 to pay for the investigation into last year’s underage drinking.

“We may not be able to survive all of these burdens,” he said. “It is not chic to puke at Foxfields. It is incredibly offensive and people are tired of it.”

Beginning with a report filed by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control on May 31, 2002, Virginia ABC and Foxfield have spent the past year resolving a dispute over Foxfield’s Equine Sporting Event license. Eventually, Virginia ABC upheld a decision to formally suspend the license for 15 months in response to underage drinking and rowdy behavior at last year’s races.

The final order of a court hearing held April 15 in Richmond stated that, although their license technically was suspended, the suspension period would not have to be served if Foxfield agreed to increase security at the event, Gettings said.

She flashes a brilliant smile and humbly shrugs her shoulders: “I’m really not that exciting of a person.”

Many would find it hard to believe that Student Council President-elect Daisy Lundy honestly leads a less than exhilarating life.

Born in Korea, the child of an army officer, Lundy lived across the United States before settling in South Carolina with her family when she was in seventh grade. In high school, Lundy was active in student government, drama, community service and a variety of other activities, which satisfied her habitually busy self.

Since coming to the University, the second-year College student has been involved with numerous organizations, including the Black Student Alliance and the resident staff program, serving as a Resident Advisor in Courtenay. She also is a member of the Virginia Dance Company, though she claims she has “no rhythm.”

Lundy may claim not to have smooth moves, but no one would contest her smooth talking abilities after singled-handedly raising over $180,000 at her part-time job at the U.Va. Phonathon, which solicits donations from University alumni.

Lundy’s characteristic optimism was tested earlier this spring after she became the victim of alleged racially-motivated assault Feb. 26.

After turning down interviews from large media outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post and MTV, Lundy said she still would rather not discuss the specifics of the attack.

“I want something positive to come from everything that I’ve experienced,” she said. “I think that we all learned a lot about where we are now in terms of diversity and where we need to be.”

Lundy will continue to work through the transition period with current Council President Micah Schwartz until she officially takes office next Tuesday.

“Daisy is intelligent, savvy and a quick learner,” Schwartz said. “I’m confident that she’ll do great things for the University community next year.”

Lundy’s priorities for next year include trying to start a new course evaluation system, pushing back lease signing dates, helping CIOs with fundraising and technology efforts and starting diversity initiatives.

“My goals for next year have certainly changed [since the elections] in that multiculturalism wasn’t one of the focal points of my campaign, but it definitely is now,” Lundy said.

After her term, Lundy said she plans to continue working with Council as a fourth year to facilitate efforts begun during her term.

“There is so much more that the Council president does that you can’t even imagine,” Lundy said.

The president-elect said she expects her office to become her “home away from home” and will bring personal items to foster a more comfortable environment, including her mini-fridge, microwave, futon and a stock of peanut butter.

“I’ll eat peanut butter with anything,” Lundy joked.

Beyond her fourth year, Lundy said she would like to pursue JD and MBA degrees simultaneously — preferably somewhere in California — though she would consider returning to the University.

“But being a Triple ‘Hoo is a little hard core,” Lundy added.

Charlottesville City Council unanimously passed a resolution last Monday declaring Adelphia Communications in violation of its franchise agreement with the city.

Despite the decision, negotiations are underway to renew Adelphia’s franchise agreement, which expires in June.

“This doesn’t start us off on a promising note,” Vice Mayor Meredith Richards said.

Under the current agreement, in place since 1992, Adelphia pays the city a franchise fee equal to 5 percent of its gross revenues in exchange for the right to run cables on public land.

Adelphia has not reported its advertising revenue from 1999 to 2001, according to an independent auditor hired by the city. Using national averages for advertising revenues in a comparable market, the auditor determined Adelphia owed the city over $80,000 in fees, fines and interest.

An Adelphia representative present at the meeting made reassurances that the company was willing to cooperate with the city, even if it was found in violation of its franchise agreement.

Both parties are currently in the process of drafting a new agreement, the first revision of which will be made public at Council’s May 5 meeting.

Council is requesting that Adelphia carry one less shopping channel and make available additional educational and foreign language programming.

Because the local market is relatively small, with approximately 40,000 city and county subscribers, it would take a long time for a potential competitor to recover startup costs.

“Any new provider will have to string new cable or buy it from Adelphia,” Caravati said.

Albemarle County also is negotiating a franchise agreement with Adelphia. City Council offered to join with the County in a joint cable agreement, but the County Board of Supervisors declined. A cooperative arrangement could have increased the localities’ bargaining power with Adelphia, Richards said.

Adelphia filed for bankruptcy protection last June, three months after disclosing over $3 billion in off-the-books lending to founder John Rigas and his sons. The Rigases resigned from their executive positions at the company in May and were federally indicted for fraud in July.

“I’m highly suspicious of the way the Rigases ran the company,” Caravati said. Adelphia “will have to prove to me that their new management will be a whole lot better.”