Despite giving up their first goal in over four games, the Virginia women’s soccer team rolled to a 2-1 victory at Richmond last night. It was the sixth consecutive win for the Cavaliers, who haven’t lost since their Sept. 5 upset on the road at Ohio State.

All of the pre-game discussions broached the subject of Virginia’s impressive shutout streak spanning four entire games. At 417:56 in length going into the match with the Spiders, the mark was securely set at fifth place all time for Virginia women’s soccer. But the Cavaliers’ shot at making history fell by the wayside early in the game, when Richmond senior Bethany Shewmaker netted the opening goal at the 15:56 mark.

Receiving the pass on the right side from Icelander Edda Gardarsdottir, Shewmaker juked Virginia defender Jessica Trainor hard left in the box. She quickly shifted back to the right, pushing the ball with her backfoot away to create space for a shot and let it rip toward the top left corner of the goal.

Cavalier goalkeeper Anne Abernethy misdirected the ball in a vain attempt to make a diving save, but it caromed off the palms of her outstretched arms and sent the net flickering.

The streak dead at 433:52 and trailing 1-0 on the road, Virginia (8-1-1, 1-0 ACC) proceeded to put on a free clinic in ball control and foot skills. They sliced up the Spider defense with a series of back passes and diagonal cuts along the sideline, throwing in the occasional cross pass for the home run shot.

Junior Lindsay Gusick broke out of a three-way tie into sole possession of 10th place on the Cavaliers’ career goals list with her score 28:01 into the game. Gusick’s fifth goal of the year came off an Ariel Thompson through-pass that left Gusick open to put a hesitation dribble on the keeper, and send one home on the roll. The play gave Thompson her first career assist.

After a breakout freshman season that was followed by a second year plagued by injury and unfulfilled expectations, Gusick seemingly has had a fire lit underneath her since Virginia’s surprise knockoff of then-No.2 Santa Clara Sept. 12. Notching her first points of the year with two assists in the win over the Broncos, Gusick has recorded at least one point in every match since, while scoring five goals over the same span.

“I talked to [coach Steve] Swanson, and he just said to concentrate on the little things — do whatever you can to help the team,” Gusick said. “If I get goals, that’s great. But I want to do other things as well, so there’s not really that much pressure” to score goals.

Virginia got the go-ahead goal 12 minutes later on team-scoring leader Kelly Hammond’s seventh score of the season. Guarding a one-goal lead was the theme of the game from then on, as the Cavalier defense clamped down on Richmond’s offensive attack. Virginia dominated the game, out-shooting the Spiders 7-3 in the first half and 9-4 in the second.

Swanson liked what he saw last night, stressing the team’s resilience as the salient factor in the win.

“I was more pleased with the way we responded — when we went down, came back and scored a goal pretty quickly and then we got the goal to go ahead at the end of the first half,” Swanson said. “I think that was the thing that impressed me the most.”

Richmond’s best opportunity to increase their point tally came when the game was knotted at 1-1. The second of the Spiders’ Icelandic tandem, Olina Vidarsdottir, blew past the Virginia back line in an apparent missed off-sides call. She had a one-on-one with Abernethy but failed to convert, sending the ball squirting wide left as the goalkeeper from Atlanta, Ga. came rushing out of the net.

Virginia’s season continues this Saturday when they host Florida State in Charlottesville.

Arizona University Athletic Director John Livenegood announced the release of football coach John Mackovic Sunday, after another run in with a group of his players.

Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz will step in as interim coach for the rest of the season.

Mackovic’s time as head coach has not been without controversy. Last November, a group of more than 40 players met with the university’s president Peter Likins to express their concerns over Mackovic’s coaching.

The players described verbal abuse and miserable conditions as a result of Mackovic’s coaching style. Mackovic publicly apologized and promised to work to overcome the problems he created.

New player unrest, however, seemed apparent when, on Friday, Sept. 26, Mackovic barred over 20 players from dining with the rest of their teammates.

Livenegood met with players Sunday morning before announcing his decision during a press conference. The buyout of Mackovic’s contract will cost the University $909,000.

Virginia’s Connor Hughes and Jamiane Winborne were both named ACC Football Players of the Week after Virginia defeated Wake Forest this past Saturday. Hughes, named ACC Specialist of the Week, won the game on a 38-yard field goal. The sophomore tied the score earlier in the fourth quarter with a 53-yard field goal, the second longest kick in Cavalier history. Hughes continued his perfect record, converting 4-for-4 on field goals and 1-for-1 on extra points.

Senior cornerback Jamaine Winborne was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week, as a result of his contributions to the Cavalier win. He intercepted the ball with less than a minute left in play, and ran it back 20 yards to set up the game winning field goal by Hughes. He also had a career-high nine tackles.

As the coin flipped in the air Saturday afternoon, Virginia quarterback and captain Matt Schaub remembered what his coach had told him before the game — if the Cavaliers won the toss, they would elect to receive the ball to start the game.

“I wanted us to get the ball first, and have a first crack at it, develop a rhythm and set the tone for the game,” Schaub said.

In his first game back since being sidelined with a shoulder injury in the season opener, Schaub led an eager Virginia team onto the field and excited the Cavalier fans in his anxiously-awaited return.

“I wanted to get our offense on the field early, and I wanted to get Matt in the game right away,” coach Al Groh said.

In the first half, Schaub performed as if the injury had never occurred. Despite three interceptions in the second half, the reigning ACC Player of the Year finished the game with 326 yards and two touchdowns on 30 completions.

The return from a serious shoulder injury hid the fact that, aside from the first 11 plays of the Duke home opener, Schaub had not played in full-speed action since last December.

“I didn’t want to miss too many games,” Schaub said. “I probably accelerated my rehab.”

In the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Cavalier fans saw the quarterback at his finest when he scrambled head-first to complete a two-point conversion, tying the game 21-21. After the play, amid a roaring crowd, the senior pumped his hands in the air as he pumped life into his team.

“I really didn’t think about it,” Schaub said. “I just wanted to get across the goal line, and get two points.”

With the return of its star this weekend, Virginia accelerates toward the remainder of their schedule. The stretch run of the season rests on the strengthened right shoulder of one of the most successful quarterbacks in Cavalier football history.

Hughes comes through in the clutch

Entering Scott Stadium on Saturday morning for a significant ACC matchup against Wake Forest, Virginia kicker Connor Hughes could never have predicted how the game would end.

With five minutes remaining and the Demon Deacons still holding the lead, 24-21, Wake opened an opportunity for Virginia after an unsuccessful fourth-down conversion. Starting under the shadow of their own goalposts, the Cavaliers never looked back, storming up the field 57 yards to the Wake Forest 35-yard line. In a fourth-down situation with less than two minutes remaining, Virginia looked to its kicker to tie the game.

As more than 60,000 fans held their breath, Hughes kicked the football 53 yards through the yellow uprights to bring the game even, 24-24.

“I had confidence in myself,” Hughes said. “And I knew that the coach wouldn’t put me in unless he knew that I was going to make it.”

After an interception from Virginia cornerback Jamaine Winborne in the closing minute of play, Hughes came out to make the game-winning field goal — his fourth of the afternoon.

“It just felt like it was supposed to happen,” Hughes said.

This season Hughes has made seven field goals in an equal number of chances to lead the ACC in field goal percentage. With Hughes, Virginia has found a successful kicker to rely on in the close games that will surely follow in the remainder of the season.

“It could definitely happen again,” Hughes said of his game-winning kick. “I am looking forward to the opportunity. I love it when my team gives me a chance to really help them out.”

As the Cavaliers begin the crucial ACC portion of their schedule, these close games and the towering kicks of their sophomore kicker could certainly determine the success of Virginia football in 2003.

The Virginia women’s volleyball team (17-1, 1-1 ACC) were handed a mixed bag of emotions this weekend, suffering their first loss of the season against Wake Forest (11-3, 1-1 ACC) Friday night, then rebounding over Duke (4-10, 0-2 ACC) the next day.

The Demon Deacons snapped the Cavaliers’ record, setting a 16-game win streak.

Friday night, the voices of 678 Cavalier fans resonated in the close confines of Memorial Gym. Wake Forest, on the other hand, let their talent speak volumes.

Though Virginia got out front early, winning the first game 26-30, the Demon Deacons managed to pound out 12 aces and maintain a strong .298 kill percentage to take the match 3-1.

Senior middle Shannon Boyle and freshmen outside hitter Lindsay Osco were among the standouts for Virginia, despite the loss. Osco set a career mark with 20 digs, while Boyle managed 10 kills and a team-high six blocks.

Saturday, Virginia looked to come out strong against the Blue Devils and avoid dropping to 0-2 in the ACC. The Cavaliers’ came away with a hard fought five-game victory.

“Overall we played well,” senior libero Whitney Ashcraft said. “Duke is a great team and they always give us a great match.”

Unlike the previous night, Virginia fell behind early, dropping the first game, 30-26. But the Cavaliers recovered, evening the match at one game apiece. The third game saw numerous opportunities for Virginia to pull away and go up by one, but the Cavaliers, who were at one moment leading by six points, failed to stifle a blistering Duke run, losing the game 30-28.

“We started out slow,” Ashcraft said. “We were a little tired and tentative, but once we got in a groove, we were the same team we’ve been all season.”

The Cavalier’s, unfazed by the third game let down, dominated the final two games, winning the fifth by a score of 7-15.

“We were up and down through the first four games,” Ashcraft said. “We just wanted to get out to a quick start [in the fifth set], and answer back to every Duke point.”

Five Virginia players recorded double figures in kills. Leading the way was senior outside hitter Paige Davis with 16 kills and Boyle with 14 kills.Ashcraft struggled early but still turned in a strong effort with 26 digs.

The Cavaliers did come away with the win on Saturday, but the squad failed to play up to their full capability.

“We struggled on our side of the net,” coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. “We were tentative and our hitters lacked the confidence to put it down. We can’t let one loss take away our confidence.”

Though Virginia stayed strong and was able to fight from behind, it was evident that Friday’s loss still weighed heavy on many players’ minds.

“We let the loss affect us,” Aldrich Shelton said. “It put doubt in our mind about our ability to play at the ACC level. We have to believe in ourselves, and we’re too good not to believe.”

The Cavaliers now will look to build a new winning streak, as they hit the road to face Clemson and Georgia Tech this weekend.

While many college football fans — including yours truly — continue to clamor for a post-season playoff, proponents of the current system like to point out that such a playoff would render regular season games meaningless since one loss would not mean as much as it does now. For them, the college football season is more like a four-month single elimination playoff.

Although I do not believe this point is enough to substantiate their view as the best, I must admit there is something special to the uniqueness of the college football season. One mental lapse leads to a loss and you find yourself out of the running. With the increasing amount of parity (see the MAC), teams are having fewer and fewer games where all that’s needed to secure victory is showing up. Now, if you aren’t prepared you could find yourself the victim of an embarrassing upset. Just ask Southern California, who lost to California in double overtime Saturday.

Even though the season is only five-weeks young, this lack of mental preparation has taken reoccurring shape in one prominent form: The trap of the hangover loss. This occurs when a team is still “hungover” from a big win the week before and fails to dedicate the appropriate preparation for the next week’s game. Whether it is too much celebrating or overconfidence, teams have been Jekyl one week and Hyde the next.

The number of teams afflicted with this phenomenon litters the college football-upset landscape. This past Saturday, Iowa followed its big victory over Arizona State, and breakthrough into the top-10, with an uninspired 20-10 loss to Michigan State who lost to Louisiana Tech earlier this month.

Oregon also was suffering from a big-win hangover when it faced Washington State last weekend. Coming off one of the biggest wins in the school’s history — a 31-27 upset of then No. 3 Michigan — the un-mighty Ducks found themselves trailing 38-2 at halftime. The final score was 55-16 as Oregon committed nine turnovers, none of which were directly caused by their highlighter yellow uniforms, but lack of preparation might have had something to do with it.

Of course the Duck’s big win over Michigan came while the Wolverines were suffering a hangover from their 38-0 drumming of Notre Dame (who, not completely coincidentally, was coming off its big win over Washington State a week earlier — see the cycle?).

This same dilemma for coaches occurs at all levels. After its big win at Kansas State, Marshall followed its upset victory with a loss to Troy State Saturday. Fellow MAC-upstart Toledo was blown out by Syracuse only a week after defeating Big East titan Pittsburgh. And after the aforementioned upset of Michigan State, can you guess what Louisiana Tech did? Yep, they lost the next week to Fresno State.

A little closer to home, some ACC members have fallen prey to the hangover virus. After dominating Maryland in an early ACC showdown, Florida State played sloppy and lackadaisically against Georgia Tech and barely eked out a 14-13 win thanks to a last minute touchdown. And how did Georgia Tech respond from its impressive performance against the Seminoles: They were blown out by 30 points the next week against lowly Clemson. Wake Forest made a splash early this season with a dominant upset victory over NC State. How did they respond the next week? With a loss to Purdue.

Why so many upsets of the hangover variety? Well, any answer would be mostly speculation, but it is fair to assume that for mere kids (especially those 18 and 19-year-olds) the ecstasy of a big victory clouds the preparation for the following week. As one Oregon player admitted after its devastating loss to Washington State, the players were still engrossed with their win over Michigan and failed to adequately prepare for the Cougars.

So what does this all mean? That our Cavaliers should leave the hangovers for the fans and not overlook an under-matched North Carolina team on the road this Saturday or they could find themselves with nothing to celebrate next weekend.

This past summer, a selected group of incoming first years tried out a new program to help them successfully move from high school into the University.

“Students are invited to attend the second summer session,” said Asst. College Dean Rachel Most, who described the experience as a “transition program” for students needing academic assistance.

The Provost’s office created the academic program as an opportunity for students with fewer chances in high school to prepare for their upcoming years in college.

“The admissions office identifies the students that are invited to participate based on the opportunities students had to take college prep courses in high school,” College Dean of Academic Support Carol Gutman said. This program gives those students without such opportunities the chance to be prepared before entering the University in the fall.

“A lot of universities offer this type of program,” said Gutman, who compared the program to the engineering school’s BRIDGE program and the medical school’s Post-Bac program, which provide incoming students with a chance to receive instruction in difficult courses. Students also experience college life and develop study habits and social skills while attending classes here.

About eight years ago, the University offered a similar summer program sponsored by the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, but lost funding after extra programs were added without the Council’s consent.

The new program is not identical but still provides incoming students with a summer to gain experience.

During the session, students attend two classes and weekly discussion meetings to get a feel for the classes they will attend and the assignments they will complete over their next four years.

Because this was the first year for the program, only a small “pilot” group of students attended the first session. This summer there were about 60 students, about 50 percent of whom were student-athletes, according to Most.

The effect of this program on students’ performance during the school year is so far inconclusive because there have been very few grades received at this point in the year. Yet, officials are optimistic about the outcome.

“We anticipate a good response,” Gutman said.

The program currently is without a name because it is still in development, but it is now under the office of student academic support. Gutman said participating students “have responded very favorably.”

The administration looks forward to seeing the results and conducting the program again next summer.

“It is always exciting to work with new students coming in,” Gutman said.

After two years of discussion and debate, the University Judiciary Committee is set to vote on extending the statute of limitations for physical assault cases at its Oct. 5 meeting.

The proposal, subject to change, would extend the current 45-day filing deadline to six months.

The suggested change was promoted by Josh Sear and Jeff Tebbs, co-chairs of the issues subcommittee created this year from the constitution and bylaws subcommittee and the statute of limitations ad-hoc committee.

The statute of limitations subcommittee was created two years ago to explore extending the deadline following a letter from an assault victim who was unable to file a complaint because she missed the 45-day deadline, said Committee Chair Alexis Gregorian.

“We really only have one documented case, but that’s not to say there aren’t cases out there where people found out too late,” she said.

With all the other concerns an assault victim has to deal with, Gregorian said filing a formal complaint with the University may not be a top priority.

“The first thing that comes to your mind isn’t going to be bringing the case to the UJC,” she said.

Altering the statute of limitations would require an amendment to the UJC constitution, which would have to be approved by students in a referendum.

Citing a general aversion to change, Gregorian said it would be an uphill battle to garner student support of any such measure.

“The general consensus is that it will be difficult to have it passed,” she said.

Despite continued discussion of the proposal, the committee has long been unable to agree on a resolution, she added.

“It’s been an issue for the past two years and nothing ever came of it,” Gregorian said.

Although the committee has explored creating a blanket extension for all violations, Gregorian said physical assault is a serious charge that should be treated differently than other, more trivial offenses, such as drinking in first-year dorms.

Several changes to the written proposal have been considered, such as the inclusion of three month, six month and one year timelines. The addition of a good cause mechanism, which would allow students to appeal the deadline on a case-by case basis, also has been suggested, though it is unlikely to be adopted in the interest of maintaining consistency between cases.

For the time being, Sear said a six month limit is the best solution.

“Granted it’s a somewhat arbitrary number,” he said. “But three months isn’t significantly longer than 45 days.”

Sear said a six-month deadline would have the added benefit of preventing cases from dragging on for three academic years, which would be possible in some circumstances involving a longer limit.

After two years of consideration, Tebbs said he is hopeful the committee will make a decision this weekend.

“Hopefully we’ll finally put this issue to rest,” he said.

Beginning this year, University pre-law students will be able to access a new source of information about law school.

Second-year Law student Davene Swinson unveiled a new mentoring program Sept. 3 that pairs University law students with pre-law undergraduates in an attempt to provide undergraduate students with information about preparing for, applying to and attending law school.

“I want students to benefit from the same enriching experience as I did as an undergraduate,” Swinson said. “It was instrumental in my participation in law school.”

When Swinson attended the University of North Carolina as an undergraduate, she participated in a pre-law mentoring program designed to help students who were uninformed about law school.

Upon arriving at the University of Virginia School of Law, she asked if a similar program existed, according to Catherine Gillespie, the pre-law advisor for University Career Services.

“The first thing she did at U.Va. Law was to see if they had that program,” Gillespie said. “It didn’t happen last year, but she approached us again.”

The program, which will likely be named Legal Advisory Workshop for Undergraduate Students, or ‘LAW for US,’ was first announced via the pre-law e-mail list at the beginning of the month, and Swinson discussed the program at a Sept. 17 UCS general pre-law meeting.

Organizers held their first session last night, providing LSAT tips to students taking the test this week.

Because the program will begin with a limited number of mentors, it initially will be available only to fourth-year racial minorities and first-generation law students. Additionally, interested students were required to go through a short application process.

The program, part of the Law school’s Committee for Progress on Race, was founded to promote minority awareness and preparedness for law school.

Gillespie said eventually the program aims to be open to all pre-law students.

UCS already offers advising and print resources for interested pre-law students.

The mentoring program is intended to provide undergraduates with information that comes from law students who have gone through the process themselves.

“It’s nice knowing that there’s another resource out there for students,” Gillespie said.

Swinson said Law students have showed great enthusiasm for the program.

“Most had help when they applied to law school,” she said. “They are excited about giving help back.”

Phi Alpha Delta, the University pre-law fraternity, also may work with the mentoring program. According to President Christina Parrish, the fraternity and the program both will strive to inform students about law school.

Parrish and several other Phi Alpha Delta members have applied to the program. Parrish said she applied because she wanted to learn more about law school.

“There’s a lack of information that’s available for pre-law students at the University, especially minority students, and this is a great way to get lawyers into the system,” Parrish said.

After two attempts in the past week by students to catch suspicious persons without immediate police assistance, University and Charlottesville police are admonishing students not to attempt to catch suspects in the serial rapist case on their own.

“We don’t know if it was the serial rapist,” Charlottesville Police Captain Chip Harding said. “In the last week we’ve had students who have tried to catch peeping toms — one of them may have been the serial rapist.”

Police said they would prefer students not personally attempt to catch the serial rapist.

“Please stop trying to catch the serial rapist,” University Police Sgt. Melissa Fielding said. “We always strongly urge members of the community to just act as eyes and ears and never physically intervene because of potential dangers to their safety.”

Police officials said personally trying to apprehend possible suspects is not a wise decision.

“There is less likelihood someone would get hurt if they would just get back,” Harding said. “And you don’t know when someone like this would have a knife or a gun or some form of a weapon.”

Charlottesville police said there were two accounts in which students attempted to catch possible suspects without police aid in the past week.

“Wednesday morning at 3 a.m. on Virginia Avenue, a male student saw a black man staring into a window and then move to another window,” Harding said. “The man chased him but was unable to catch him.”

The second attempt followed two days later.

“Friday at 3 a.m., a female student was walking with her boyfriend and saw a black male behind a bush who was trying to look into a window,” Harding said. “The female said she was screaming for help as her boyfriend chased the guy. There ended up being a small crowd chasing the suspect — the suspect knocked the cell phone out of his hand and ran off.”

University police officials say there are alternatives to personally apprehending possible suspects.

“People have cell phones all the time; if you see someone acting suspicious it’s always better to call the police immediately,” Fielding said.

She said the police find calls more helpful than apprehension attempts.

“The thing that is more handy to us in the law enforcement field is getting additional information from people in the community,” Fielding said.

Police assure residents they will still receive the $20,000 award for calling in the serial rapist.

“If you are worried about the award, you can call it in and you will still get the award because officers are not eligible for it,” Harding said.

Charlottesville police say advances have been made in the serial rapist case. Over 200 people were eliminated as suspects, Charlottesville Police Lt. J. W. Gibson said.

Police also stressed the importance of personal safety as preventative actions against the serial rapist.

“You have to remember to keep your doors and windows locked — you would be surprised how many doors we find unlocked and standing open at 3 or 4 a.m.,” Harding said.