Intensity, hard work and desire are three qualities sophomore Rocco Caponi brings to the mat. However, leadership may be the most valuable asset he provides for the Virginia wrestling team.

“He’s been the only guy on the team that has been as vocal as we want them to be,” Virginia coach Steve Garland said. “He is the guy that after a tough loss will get on the kids. He will yell at them. He is also a leader in the way that he wrestles on the mat. He runs back to the center no matter what the situation is. That is stuff that hopefully young kids will see.”

It is hoped that the young wrestlers can also duplicate what Caponi has done in his short career. The redshirt sophomore out of Ohio finished second in the ACC tournament his true freshman year and also qualified for the NCAA tournament. Even though that is already impressive enough, Garland does not want Caponi to stop there.

“My goal for him is to be an All-American,” Garland said. “I know his goal is to be an All-American this year as well.”

Caponi has done a solid job this season, defeating highly regarded opponents from renowned programs such as Wisconsin and Lehigh. However, that does not mean this season has been picture-perfect for him.

“At Vegas he lost to a kid ranked 12th in the country right now,” Garland said.

“He was beating the kid 8-4 and then he got head-locked with 30 seconds left. He learned a tough lesson on how to finish a match correctly.”

Caponi has learned from that tough loss, and he also credits the coaching staff for getting him to where he is right now.

“The coaches have been great,” Caponi said. “Having Coach DeGain in the room has really helped me out with more than just the technical side of wrestling. He’s helped me with the mental side as well. Having Coach Garland here as well has helped me progress a lot as well. He brings a great attitude to the room and helps me keep my love for wrestling.”

Caponi, who was highly recruited out of high school by respected programs, chose Virginia for its academics and the good experience the school can provide. He is also trying to provide the same experience for the younger guys.

“I try to help take care of some of the younger guys,” Caponi said. “The season is very long; it’s a marathon instead of a sprint and one bad match doesn’t break a season. Its how you wrestle and stay mentally sharp over the whole season, and I try to lead by example the best that I can.”

Caponi’s intensity is characteristic of his family. He also shares the unique opportunity of having been coached by his father in high school.

“You try to keep the boundaries separated between father and coach,” Caponi said. “When I’m on the mat wrestling, he’s my coach, but once we leave the mat he’s my father. You take everything with a grain of salt because you know that he is in your corner. He cares about me more than just a wrestler; he cares for me as a father as well.”

Caponi has also been an important recruiting tool for the Cavaliers.

“He and Eric [Albright] are the two kids we talk about the most when talking to recruits,” Garland said. “You have to sell your best kids and tell a recruit ‘hey look, these guys are doing it, why can’t you?’”

Caponi has been a valuable asset to the Virginia wrestling program, and may be able to cash in with a national championship this year.

“I think he can legitimately go out and win nationals,” Garland said. “He is so good on top, he’s so athletic and he’s been wrestling since he came out of the womb. Also, at his weight class, he will throw his hat at the ring with anybody. The NCAA is living proof that anything can happen, and if you get the right style match-up and are feeling good on the right day you can beat anybody.”

Sophomore Lyndra Littles knew this off-season that Virginia’s success would depend on her ability to improve her game after a promising freshman season.

While most college students were enjoying summer break, Littles was in the gym working on conditioning and improving her shaky free throw numbers.

Her role on the team would become even bigger when Virginia’s top recruit, junior college transfer Aisha Mohammed, was declared out for the season after tearing her ACL weeks prior to the season opener against Rhode Island.

“We have to help each other out,” Littles said.

Littles had to rise to the challenge, and she did so in a big way.

The results are undeniable. Littles currently stands fifth in the ACC in points per game and fourth in the conference in rebounds per game, far from a sophomore slump.

“Lyndra, as you could see, has turned into a completely different player than she was last year,” Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. “This year she’s just turned into someone you can count on every minute of every game and she’s done a lot of things that, last year, she just wasn’t ready to do… every day.”

One of those things was battling pain and injury. Early this year against Marquette, Littles suffered a broken nose in the first half. Rather than sit down and cost Virginia a precious piece of its frontcourt, Littles battled through on her way to 16 points and 7 rebounds in Virginia’s biggest victory this season.

“She was hurting a lot tonight, because she had a broken nose,” junior guard Sharnee Zoll said. “I really admire her for sticking through it and not sulking on the fact that she broke her nose and that she was in pain. She was down there fighting for boards, going harder for the basket in than in the first half before she broke her nose. She had no fear and I admire her for that.”

Littles is a determined competitor who knows all the accolades she receives mean nothing compared to the win-loss total, which right now is a very disappointing 12-9.

After a heart-breaking loss to Virginia Tech last Monday, despite a solid 14 points, she still wanted to give her team more.

“It was frustrating because it [the shot] didn’t fall when I needed it to fall,” Littles said. “I missed key points. I know I missed two free throws, and I missed a lay-up in certain times during the game when you can’t afford to miss chippies like that. It was very frustrating.”

Littles has improved dramatically on the offensive and defensive ends, but if there is one last aspect she must improve for Virginia to climb back in to the ACC race, it will be her leadership.

For three straight games, Virginia has blown a halftime lead. With a torturous ACC schedule still to come it is becoming clear that someone, like Littles, must be that voice of reason on the court.

“That’s what we need on this team; someone who will just get in peoples’ faces,” Zoll said.

The women of the Virginia swim and dive team will take on Richmond tonight in a mid-week dual meet at the Aquatic & Fitness Center.

Tonight’s competition will be the Spiders’ last regular-season meet before heading to Buffalo, N.Y. for the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships. Scheduling difficulties prompted Richmond to suggest this mid-week match-up and the Cavaliers, seeing the opportunity to gain additional racing experience before their own conference championships, agreed.

“Wednesday night will be a good time to get in some races,” junior Stephanie Glover said. “We are two weeks out from ACCs so it will be a good chance to see how we are improving and to get into that mentality of working hard and striving towards our goal of winning.”

Following last weekend’s non-conference victory over Pittsburgh, the Cavalier women enter tonight’s competition 5-3 on the year.

“We saw probably the best Pitt team, from both their men and women’s programs, that I have seen in five years,” Virginia coach Mark Bernardino said. “We were still a little bit fatigued from a pretty heavy training week but I felt like we did everything we needed to be successful. It was a good team effort and a good solid win over a good team.”

Overall, Virginia is feeling confident about the team’s position going into tonight’s meet. The coaching staff views the meet as a positive addition to the training program, and Bernardino thinks it is an excellent opportunity for the women to race an in-state opponent.

“We are going to use this meet as a lactate tolerance day in training,” Bernardino said. “It should be a good fun meet and I’ll get a chance to see some of the kids in their secondary events once more prior to going up against Maryland on Saturday.”

With the ACC Championships beginning exactly two weeks from today, the meet will also provide a chance for the Virginia women to demonstrate the progress they have made over the course of this season. Bernardino described the women as having tremendous chemistry and cohesion all year and as being a pleasure to coach. Nevertheless, he said he feels they have recently really come together.

“They are confident, they are having fun with practice, they are having fun in their meets and hopefully that will be reflected in great performances in the end,” Bernardino said.

The women themselves feel much the same way. Despite losing to North Carolina two weeks ago, the team members recognize that they swam well and had the emotion and mentality needed to win. With the upcoming championships providing a chance to avenge that loss, the women say they will be in a position to win.

“I think we are feeling really positive about the direction we are going in,” senior Jenny Steiner said. “Each meet we get a little better and a little bit sharper and feel a little bit more prepared for the end of the season. Everyone is training well and staying positive and getting really excited for ACCs.”

The caption for the photo accompanying the Jan. 30 article “Yahner adjusting to new team” said the photo depicted women’s tennis player Maggie Yahner. It actually depicted Douglas Wink. The caption for the photo accompanying the Jan. 30 article “Virginia achieves success early in the season” said the photo depicted women’s track and field senior Erin Crawford. It actually depicted Briana Smith.

The Cavalier Daily regrets these errors.

Location: ACC Operation Basketball event in Greensboro, N.C.

Date: October 31, 2004.

Specific location: the men’s bathroom.

Several years ago, in the middle of a wandering day of interviews with ACC players and coaches at ACC Operation Basketball, I took a little break. We had just finished sitting down with each conference coach at tables in the hotel ballroom and were awaiting the arrival of player representatives from every team.

I decided it was time for a pit stop and headed into the men’s bathroom.

Upon my arrival, I recognized a well-known figure standing at the urinal with his back turned. It was Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Briefly, I had a conversation with myself about several generally understood “Man Laws”. There were four urinals, each separated by a barrier. The bowls were close to the wall, not awkwardly protruding outward. Coach K was using the second from the left. Another guy was at the urinal farthest to the right.

So, the layout was (from left-to-right): open urinal, famous coach, open urinal, and random guy.

My options, generally accepted by men around the world, were as follows: 1) go use a stall; 2) sidle up to the far-left urinal, sacrificing awkwardness to pee next to a future Hall of Famer; or 3) pretend like I was going to wash my hands and speak with Coach K in that setting, rather than at the urinal.

I decided to go for the gold. For the sake of a good story, I edged up to the urinal to his left, grunted (as appropriate), and started to talk as if I didn’t know who was going No. 1 at my right.

We talked about the upcoming presidential election (he wouldn’t tell me Bush or Kerry, but noted that he is from Chicago, where dead people vote twice). We talked about SportsCenter and his real viewing preference (6 a.m.). We talked about how bad the lunch was at the hotel.

It was an extended pee for both of us. We never turned to look at each other, keeping within the bounds of Man Law by staring at the concrete in front of us.

Then, we washed our hands together. After another minute or so, we walked out of the bathroom, he to his world of prominence and I to the free pretzels.

While we were washing our hands, Coach K mentioned how tough an environment U-Hall was in Charlottesville and how Duke would “miss” coming to play there during the 2004-05 campaign. That year, Virginia and Duke just played in Durham because of ACC expansion.

I’m not sure if “miss” was exactly what Krzyzewski meant.

In 2001 and 2002, Virginia beat Duke twice at home during what is considered by many to be the height of the University Hall home court advantage for the Cavaliers. There were other instances of unexpected victories at U-Hall, but perhaps none as impressive as those against consecutive ACC champion Duke teams that ended both years ranked atop the AP national poll. In 2001, the Blue Devils went on to win the national championship, featuring Battier, Boozer, Williams, Duhon and Dunleavy.

But earlier that year and again in 2002, U-Hall proved it could be as tough as any environment in the conference, helping the Cavaliers defeat the heavily-favored Blue Devils.

Before and during the construction of the John Paul Jones Arena and since its opening, fans and the media debated how well the U-Hall home court advantage could be translated to a much larger arena.

Would the JPJ be “too much” and forfeit the collegiate feel of U-Hall?

Would it feel more like an NBA contest than a college game?

Could the fans ever fill it?

Even former coach Pete Gillen had his concerns, preferring a capacity closer to 12,000 than 15,000.

When the schedule was released this year, I circled one game on Virginia’s home slate that would give us some answers about these concerns — tomorrow’s contest with Duke.

We always knew Virginia would put on a show to ensure home court advantage for the JPJ opener against Arizona.

Since Arizona, however, Virginia has not faced a team at home against which a win would constitute a significant upset. Though Duke is not nearly as talented as it was in 2001 and 2002, Thursday’s game is Virginia’s next opportunity to do so, this time without the hoopla of the season opener.

Tomorrow, we will begin to learn whether the home environment of the John Paul Jones Arena can match U-Hall’s environment of several years ago. Although it remains to be seen whether the JPJ has too much of an “NBA feel,” we will learn Thursday night whether the arena can be transformed at the will of its fan base into an intense home court environment.

So keep an eye on the environment tomorrow night, if you got a ticket. If you ever enjoyed an upset at U-Hall, compare it to the JPJ experience. And as we head into the second half of ACC play, judge for yourself whether the new arena can be a place, outside of the opener, that thrusts its teams to a victory over a more talented visiting opponent.

And if you ever see a famous person in the bathroom, don’t be afraid to throw out all your manly inhibitions and sidle right up to them. Just do your best not to sneak a peak.

I promise that I didn’t. Seriously.

Gov. Tim Kaine, in conjunction with the Science Museum of Virginia, announced University Environmental Science Prof. George Milton Hornberger as one of three of Virginia’s Outstanding Scientists of 2007.

The other two honorees are Steven Grant, associate director for translational research and co-leader of the cancer cell biology program at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center, and M. Patrick McCormick, a physics professor at Hampton University and co-director of the Center for Atmospheric Sciences, according to Nancy Tait, public relations manager for the Science Museum of Virginia.

Hornberger was recognized for his research, which “studies how water moves underground and how hydrological and geochemical processes combine to produce stream dynamics,” according to a press release from Kaine’s office.

The honorees were nominated months in advance, Tait said, but the criteria for nominees are not disclosed to the public.

A committee carefully reviewed the nominees, all of whom have backgrounds in the field of science, Tait said, noting that Hornberger is “an international leader in environmental science and hydrology.”

Hornberger said he was notified about the decision right before Winter Break.

“It made for a nice holiday season,” he said. “I was surprised and delighted.”

Hornberger said much of his research examines the effects of acid rain on bodies of fresh water. Such research helps to shed light on how agricultural chemicals were transported to streams, then to larger bodies of water.

Hornberger said he is currently working on a hydrology project based on meadows in Shenandoah Park.

All honorees will be introduced to the General Assembly later in the current session, and a banquet will be held April 19, where they will receive their awards.

NASA recently recognized Engineering Prof. Robert E. Johnson when his team was selected as a finalist in a competition to fully develop a mission to orbit Mars. If successful, his team’s plan, the Great Escape mission, will be implemented by 2011.

The NASA assignment is primarily focused on studying the upper atmosphere of Mars, Johnson said. Project participants aim to examine the content of the martian atmosphere and the evidence of water discovered by past missions.

One objective behind this mission is to understand and predict Earth’s atmospheric changes.

“Without the ability to predict, by the time anything occurs, it will be too late to adjust,”Johnson said.

Another ambition is to discover additional evidence that might indicate how life formed on Earth, Johnson said.

According to Johnson, Venus, Mars and Earth had similar atmospheric origins but now have evolved into environments with extremely different conditions.

“If we find any remnants on Mars that would suggest life started … it helps to better understand the origins and conditions that we had on Earth to let life start,” Johnson said.

Finalist teams for the Scout mission have been granted $2 million to further develop their mission concepts, Johnson said. Following the initial studies, one team’s proposal will be chosen and implemented with additional funding of approximately $500 million.

According to S. Alan Stern, Great Escape mission team member and executive director of the Space, Science and Engineering Division in the Southwest Research Institute, his group’s proposal promises “the most science for the least amount of technical risk.”

The Great Escape mission plan differs from other proposals in that the space craft’s path will dip along different layers of the martian atmosphere for two and a half earth years. This will allow NASA to measure the effect of the sun and other elements on the upper atmosphere, Johnson said.

Johnson is also involved with several other NASA grants, including the current Cassini-Huygens mission, which focuses on Saturn and its moons.

According to Johnson, his involvement in such NASA studies helps him to “bring students into the latest topical subjects, instead of only learning out of old books, with related problems and excitement.”

– Matt Dickey contributed to this story

Four members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at Florida State University were arrested Saturday at 1:30 a.m. in relation to a hazing incident.

Sigma Phi Epsilon was immediately suspended from the university, according to Major Jim Russell of the FSU police department.

After receiving a hazing complaint, patrol officers of the FSU police department took an unmarked car and went to the fraternity house, Russell said. Upon arriving, they heard yelling and screaming coming from the rear of the house. FSU police and Tallahassee police then found 31 pledges in a crawlspace underneath the house.

According to Russell, the pledges were covered in catfish stink bait, flour, raw eggs and vinegar. Profanity and vulgar language had been written on their shirts.

Tallahassee Community College students Eric Fernandez and Nicholas Finazzo, as well as FSU students Drew Johnson and Joshua Vincent, were arrested and taken to Leon County Jail, where they were booked under the Florida misdemeanor statute of hazing, Russell said.

Russell added that bond was posted and the four men were bailed out.

FSU Dean of Students Jeanine Ward-Roof said the university is concerned about the safety of its students.

“We are working cooperatively with the Florida State police department,” Ward-Roof said. “Once we receive the report, we will review the report and determine what immediate action needs to be taken based on the student code of violation.”

According to the University of Virginia’s Undergraduate Record, hazing is defined as “any action taken or situation … that is designed to or produces mental or physical harassment, discomfort or ridicule. Such activities and situations include, but are not limited to, creation of excessive physical or psychological shock, fatigue, stress, injury or harm.”

Aaron Laushway, University director of fraternity and sorority life, said hazing is taken seriously by the University.

“Upon completion of [an] investigation, a report and its recommendations are discussed with the vice president for student affairs and a determination is made as to which avenue one should pursue,” Laushway said. “In the past, charges have also been brought before the University Judiciary Committee.”

The Faculty Senate addressed replacing Edward Ayers, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and Provost Gene Block as well as creating a committee on the future of the University and other goals for the upcoming year at its first meeting of the semester yesterday.

University President John T. Casteen, III discussed plans to find replacements for both Block and Ayers, with particular emphasis on the need to clearly define the functions of the provost by talking with former vice presidents of the University.

“The position itself is crucial to our success as an institution,” Casteen said.

According to Casteen, a search committee is looking for a new provost both within and outside of the University. The committee hopes to complete the search by the end of March.

Casteen also spoke about plans to create a committee on the future of the University, which will address problems raised by the University’s ten-year academic plan. The committee will be used to “connect the dots between the concern and the willingness to work,” Faculty Senate Chair Kenneth Schwartz said.

One issue the committee will address is how to bring student interest in the sciences to the same level as that of other top universities, according to Schwartz.

Along with Casteen’s report, the Senate voted on the Master of Science in Commerce proposed by the Commerce School. The proposal, which would allow recent humanities, social sciences, sciences and engineering graduates from the University and other top schools to earn a graduate degree in commerce, earned full approval at the meeting.

It will now be submitted to the Board of Visitors and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for approval, Schwartz said.

Faculty Senate Chair-elect Ricardo Padron also addressed the need for intellectual collaboration among the University’s different departments. He stressed the importance of interdisciplinary communication, adding that “when it happens it works, but on the other hand when it happens it often happens on accident.”

Padron said it is the Faculty Senate’s job to work toward improving this communication.

The Faculty Senate will meet again March 27 for a work session.