After three dual meets this past weekend, the Virginia men’s wrestling team has only one more open tournament before a four-week break in December. Heading into the Nittany Lion Open this weekend the Cavaliers are 7-1 in dual meets and dominated their only open individual tournament. The individual and team aspects of coach Steve Garland’s system seem to be falling into place.

“This year we’re coming together, I feel, as brothers,” freshman Michael Chaires said. “It’s really good to see everybody supporting you, even guys competing for your spot are out there supporting you.”

This development gave the team the confidence going into the Northeast Duals that it could win two, if not all three meets.

“Especially with Lehigh, [we were] really confident that we could go in there and win,” Chaires said. “At every point we just wanted to prove to everybody that we’re a top program and that we can compete.”

The victories Virginia earned in two of its duals reflected the strides the team has taken this season. The Cavaliers took seven of 10 matches against Clarion University, including three falls. Two of those falls came back-to-back from junior Rocco Caponi and redshirt sophomore Brent Jones when Virginia led 15-10, and pushed the Cavaliers to their 30-10 victory.

“I was very proud of the big boys on the team,” Caponi said. “We got back-to-back pins … and Jones literally ripped the guy’s head off with a headlock that was just amazing. And Calvin [Cardillo] really stepped it up and pounded the guy at the end.”

The highlight of the day for Virginia was the 23-12 victory against traditional powerhouse Lehigh University. The Cavaliers took six of 10 matches, including the first of two pins for Jones and the first of junior Eric Albright’s three victories on the day. The two teams matched up well, and seven matches were decided by two points or less.

“Lehigh was definitely the highlight of the weekend,” Garland said. “When we think of wrestling and all the history behind it, Lehigh is one of the first names that comes up, so beating them was a huge milestone not just for the program because it’s the first time we’ve ever beaten them, but also for myself and for my staff.”

Virginia’s dual-meet loss came at the hands of then-No. 5 University of Michigan, and the 25-10 result could have been a lot closer even though eight of Virginia’s 10 wrestlers were freshmen or sophomores.

“This is the thing, and you always hear stuff like this on ESPN with football coaches and you feel like they’re making excuses … because at the end of the day we lost,” Garland said. “But you’ve got to understand, I’ve got eight out of 10 guys in the lineup that are either sophomores or freshmen. Nobody would expect us to even be on the mat with those guys at the beginning of the year.”

There were several very close matches between the Cavaliers and the Wolverines. Freshman Nick Nelson lost in overtime, Chaires lost 4-0 to the current-No. 1 165-pound wrestler in the country and Jones lost via fall well into the second period of a match he was winning. The Cavaliers could have had significantly more success if a few moves had gone their way.

“They’re the No. 5 team in the country and if [Nelson] — who got the only takedown of the match and still lost in overtime — if he wins that match and [Jones], who was winning at the time he got caught with a spladle, wins that match like he’s supposed to, the match comes down to heavyweight,” Garland said. “We probably still would have lost the dual, but still, if you can wrestle the No. 5 team in the country and it comes down to the last bout, that’s as good as you can ever hope to expect with the team we have.”

The high-profile individual match of the weekend was the contest between No. 9 Caponi and Lehigh sophomore then-No. 12 David Craig. Caponi won the match 2-1 in its closing seconds and went on to win all three of his matches. Garland said Caponi has beaten Craig, the top overall recruit at any weight class coming out of high school before, but it was the way in which Caponi won that was significant.

“I mean, we expected Rocco to win; to be honest with you, we always expect Rocco to win when he goes out there, but he gritted it out,” Garland said. “He was losing and he won with, I want to say, 10 seconds left. It was awesome. He just gutted it out and made it happen and got it.”

Caponi’s performance this weekend exemplifies the style of Virginia wrestling at this point in the season, a combination of talent with sound technique and the will to win. Caponi said his match with Craig was very tactical, and he had to make sure he stepped in the right place and did not get caught out of position. Garland stressed that in dual meets, emotion and intensity are everything.

Regardless of the measure of either, what matters is that the Cavaliers are winning (and losing) well, and setting themselves up for a successful rest of the season.

Virginia coach Al Groh was named ACC Coach of the Year yesterday after taking the Cavaliers to a 9-3 record (6-2 ACC) this season. Groh previously received the award in 2002.
“When a team is fortunate enough to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, they get a trophy symbolic of that achievement,” Groh said. “We’re not going to get that trophy this year, but when a coach is cited in this way, it’s always when his team has had an outstanding season. This is our team trophy this year.”
Picked to finish fourth in the Coastal Division, Virginia finished second. The Cavaliers won seven in a row after losing to Wyoming 23-3 to start the season. It was Virginia’s longest winning streak in 17 years.
Groh was also honored yesterday when Athletic Director Craig Littlepage announced Groh’s contract will be extended one season. Groh’s contract now will continue through 2011. Groh’s contract allows Littlepage to extend it by one year each season. In 2005, Groh’s contract was set at $1.7 million through the 2010 season, though as a result of a cost-of-living clause, he is now paid just under $2.0 million a year .
“This is an indication of the confidence on my part and the University’s part of the work that Al and his staff have done,” Littlepage said. “I think it’s also a good indication of the confidence we have in the future direction of the football program both in the short term — that is in the upcoming bowl game — as well as in the long-term future.”
Groh aknowledged that a contract extension was not a goal or priority for him this season. Rather, his focus was on the progress of the team.
“I don’t coach for contracts,” Groh said. “I coach for the players and the sense of accomplishment from our achieving together.”
Despite last week’s loss to Virginia Tech, Groh is proud of the accomplishment his team made this year. Throughout the season, he has credited his team for rebounding from the 2006 season when the team finished 5-7. The building effort, Groh says, has been a continuous process that started a year ago.
“I think it was on Nov. 26 of ’06,” Groh said. “The building and the creation of this team was a long time in the making and involved significant effort and energy on the part of many people. Within that effort we all thought that we had the chance to have a good team.”
After the opening loss to Wyoming, Virginia fans were quick to turn on Groh. Beta Bridge read “Groh must go,” and many expected the team to continue to sink in 2007.
“It’s rare that a team goes through a season that there’s not some bumps that they have to deal with,” Groh said. “Ours just happened to materialize a little early and caused quite a few people to fall into their ‘Chicken-Little’ mode.”
The Cavaliers did not panic after their early loss to Wyoming, so there is no reason why the team should fold after falling to Virginia Tech to finish the regular season. Virginia intends to bring its best game to whichever bowl assignment it receives. Though most predictions have the Cavaliers headed to the Champ Sports Bowl in Orlando Dec. 28, the Gator Bowl (Jan. 1 in Jacksonville) and the Chick-fil-A Bowl (Dec. 31 in Atlanta) also remain possibilities.
“All three are great destinations,” Littlepage said. “All three have excellent traditions in terms of the games and the competition that we would potentially play.”
Should Virginia win its bowl game, 2007 will be Virginia’s second 10-win season in program history.
After the bowl game, the Cavaliers figure to have a strong team in 2008. Though they lose senior captains Chris Long and Tom Santi, Groh is not too worried about a lack of talent — backups have been stepping up all season. Groh is more concerned about the mentality of the team in 2007 and the off-the-field impact Long and Santi brought to the team.
“The challenge to the 2008 team is how are we going to have a more intense focus on the season and a greater level of leadership than this year’s team had,” Groh said.
The Cavaliers will also look for tailback Cedric Peerman and wide receiver Kevin Ogletree to regain their old form in their senior year. Peerman missed half of the 2007 season and Ogletree missed the entire year, both because of injury. The two were integral parts of the offense at the time of their injuries and their presence should positively impact the offense in 2008.

During the past two seasons, John Paul Jones Arena has all but guaranteed victory for the Virginia men’s basketball team. That trend continued last night.

After a tough loss to Seton Hall Saturday, the Cavaliers began the night on fire and never let up offensively or defensively as they cruised to an easy 94-52 victory against Northwestern. Virginia did its best impression of the Harlem Globetrotters as it hit basket after basket against the Wildcats’ pressure defense. The Cavaliers shot 51.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line for the game. The win improves Virginia’s record to 6-1.

Senior guard Sean Singletary led the Cavaliers with 14 points and 10 assists. Junior forward Mamadi Diane had a stellar night and contributed 22 points on 6-11 shooting. Sophomore guard Calvin Baker added 16 points on 6-6 shooting from the field.

“I don’t think anybody was happy with what happened Saturday,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. “I want to have the guys understand that our ability to bounce back depends on our ability to shoot. We’re a good shooting team and I’m not afraid to take [32] threes because we can make them.”

The Cavaliers came out of the gates quickly and never let up. After looking a bit confused in the opening minutes against Northwestern’s zone pressure defense, Virginia settled down and began to heat up, especially from behind the 3-point line. Virginia’s first 15 points all came on 3-pointers, and the Cavaliers never lost their touch from behind the arc. Singletary, Diane, Baker, senior forward Adrian Joseph and sophomore forward Jamil Tucker all made at least one 3-pointer in the period.

The Wildcats attempted to trap the Cavaliers in an effort to slow down Virginia’s dangerous guards. The plan, however, failed. Singletary realized the need to move the ball quickly to beat Northwestern’s pressure. In one instance the senior beat a Northwestern trap by firing a cross-court pass to wide-open sophomore Jamil Tucker. Tucker took the ball and calmly drilled an open 3-pointer.

Singletary delivered another highlight-reel play toward the end of the first period. With a little more than three minutes left to play in the half, Singletary leaped up and snagged a one-handed rebound. He then raced down the court and pulled up short for a 3-pointer. Singletary effortlessly drained the shot and gave Virginia a 45-22 lead. Singletary’s play, along with the great shooting of Diane, Baker and others allowed Virginia to coast to a 54-29 first-half advantage. Virginia made 12-20 3-pointers in the period and 19-31 field goals overall.

Virginia started the second half in much the same fashion. This time, however, the Cavaliers knocked down three 2-point jump shots to start the period. The Cavaliers’ momentum carried over and allowed the team to extend its lead to 32 points, 63-31, in the first five minutes of the half.

Diane and Joseph continued their strong play as both players made big baskets to open up the period. Junior forward Laurynas Mikalauskas got in on the party minutes later when he took a pass from Singletary and easily put it in the hoop. Less than a minute after Lars’ heroics, Diane called his number again and drilled an open 3-pointer. Diane’s bucket extended Virginia’s lead to 70-37 with 13 minutes to play and forced Northwestern’s coach to call a much needed timeout.

The rest of the half played out in a fast-paced but unexciting nature. Virginia maintained a 30-point lead for much of the period as fans began filing out of John Paul Jones Arena with eight minutes remaining in the game.

“We’re pretty good at shooting, we practice a lot and the results show,” Singletary said. “When you have your mojo going and everything is flowing you’re going to have a good night.”

Student Council approved the creation of three new Contracted Independent Organizations last night: Business World, Hoos For Beta and The Celtic Dance Society. These CIOs will join the other 587 CIOs currently in operation. The new organizations were first formed under new procedures allowing Catherine Tobin, Student Council vice president for organizations, to determine the result of applications before they were approved by the assembled Council.

– compiled by Franny Corneliussen

The Information Technology and Communication Office is working to address complications with the University’s Central Mail Service, which began Monday evening and continued yesterday.

Some students tried to log into their WebMail accounts and were told their passwords were incorrect, even though the passwords were correct. Students also reported losing all messages from their inboxes, according to Information Technology and Communication help desk employee Alexa Miller.

Miller noted that no messages were actually deleted from WebMail accounts; instead, they simply were not being displayed in some inboxes.

Miller said the problem stemmed from a CMS overload that is “just clogging up the server.”

Difficulties with Internet Message Access Protocol, a method of communication that directly syncs CMS to electronic-mail clients such as Thunderbird and Mulberry, are another cause of the problem, Miller said.

ITC began working yesterday to repair the system and correct any problems encountered by students, Miller said, noting that CMS will be “up and running” sometime today.

“It’s a funny situation, really,” Miller said. “You want to tell everyone what’s going on, and e-mail is our main form of communication between people at the University. It really makes you realize how much we rely on it when we have problems.”

– compiled by Stephanie Kassab Students experience complications with

Central Mail Service

The Information Technology and Communication Office is working to address complications with the University’s Central Mail Service, which began Monday evening and continued yesterday.

Some students tried to log into their WebMail accounts and were told their passwords were incorrect, even though the passwords were correct. Students also reported losing all messages from their inboxes, according to Information Technology and Communication help desk employee Alexa Miller.

Miller noted that no messages were actually deleted from WebMail accounts; instead, they simply were not being displayed in some inboxes.

Miller said the problem stemmed from a CMS overload that is “just clogging up the server.”

Difficulties with Internet Message Access Protocol, a method of communication that directly syncs CMS to electronic-mail clients such as Thunderbird and Mulberry, are another cause of the problem, Miller said.

ITC began working yesterday to repair the system and correct any problems encountered by students, Miller said, noting that CMS will be “up and running” sometime today.

“It’s a funny situation, really,” Miller said. “You want to tell everyone what’s going on, and e-mail is our main form of communication between people at the University. It really makes you realize how much we rely on it when we have problems.”

– compiled by Stephanie Kassab

Rain showers are predicted for Sunday and Monday, but this rainfall will not quench the parched City of Charlottesville, according to Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority.

The Albemarle County drought warning issued Aug. 15 remains in effect, and Thomas L. Frederick, Jr., executive director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, said he is not sure if conditions will improve soon, as the region has been very dry since July.

“If we have a dry winter followed by a dry summer, it could be very serious,” Frederick said. “If we have a wet summer, it may not be so serious.”

He added, though, that despite unpredictable weather, RWSA is “proactive and prepared.” The main focus as of now, Frederick said, is to fill the area’s water reservoirs.

“We have determined that it is critical that all of our reservoirs be full by 2008 so that we are prepared for next summer,” Frederick said.

The reservoir currently in the most danger, according to Frederick, is the Sugar Hollow Reservoir. Located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the water level of the reservoir is currently 12 feet below the full level, Frederick said.

Predicted small showers, though, will not provide sufficient relief.

“If we get a major rain event then we will reevaluate the situation at that time,” Frederick said, adding however that he does not think the area will move into a drought emergency phase before next summer.

Frederick noted that he does not expect more water restrictions to be implemented, unless the unlikely drought emergency is declared.

University Utilities Director Cheryl Gomez said University water usage has decreased since last year. Comparing this year’s months of July, August, September and October to last year’s, Gomez said water usage has decreased by more than 11, 7, 11 and 8 percent respectively.

Gomez said the University’s main focus has been raising community awareness of the drought. The University also is working closely with on-site contractors to find ways to reduce water usage, Gomez said, and is only using non-potable water instead of water from the Charlottesville community’s supply for its watering needs.

Gomez added that she expects the University’s water usage to decrease in the coming months because of the upcoming Winter Break and because the University has switched from air-conditioning to heating.

When a drought emergency was declared in 2002, Gomez said, the University also made many changes in its water usage. The University, she said, switched to paper plates in the dining halls; water was only served upon request; shower tags were placed in all dormitories; and hand sanitizer was placed in University bathrooms.

Gomez said the University will make those changes again if a drought emergency is declared in the near future.

“We’re prepared to go there again if we need to,” Gomez said.

Future soldiers could one day drive humvee-like vehicles featuring ballistic armor manufactured from an advanced material created in the University materials science and engineering department.

The Charlottesville-based company Cellular Materials International, Inc., whose clients include the Defense Advanced Research Program Agency, Army research laboratories, defense contracting company Lockheed Martin and Boeing, purchased the rights to a University-owned patent for the invention developed by Prof. Haydn Wadley of the materials science and engineering department. CMI, according to the company’s Web site, was established specifically to make use of such University research.

According to Matthew Terry, CMI manager of programs and administration, Wadley and his student advisees developed a “lightweight sandwich structure material,” which consists of “two solid sheets separated by some kind of space structure like a honeycomb.”

Wadley’s research began about 10 years ago with the help of various grants and assistants, Terry said.

“It’s the grad students in the group that really do the work,” Wadley said. “They’re absolutely essential to what we do here.”

The material Wadley and his students created is very durable, lending itself to numerous design possibilities. Potential uses for the material include blast-resistant armor, as well as “a number of applications where you’re looking to minimize the weight of your structure without compromising its mechanical integrity,” as in aerospace engineering, Terry said. The material could also be used as a jet blast deflector, a piece of equipment on aircraft carriers that protects the ship’s crew from hot gases during takeoff, he added.

Currently, though, CMI is working with the U.S. Army to develop a new armor concept using the University-developed material for a next-generation, humvee-like vehicle known as the Mine Resistant Armor Protected vehicle. Terry added that “these vehicles are designed to essentially replace the humvee as troop carriers for next-generation vehicles.”

CMI will have to pay royalties to the University for use of the patent, according to Chris Harris, University Patent Foundation senior licensing manager.

Though University students are used to Orange Fever, they may soon see the spread of a new color: green.

Last week, the Student Council Environmental Sustainability Committee released its response to the University’s environmental goals, which were laid out in the previously released Commission on the Future of the University’s report.

“The motive for the response was to present the administration with our thoughts on the plan for U.Va.” said Ben Chrisinger, chair of the Student Council Environmental Sustainability Committee. “We wanted to make sure they had sustainability in mind.”

The Commission on the Future of the University released its initial report in June and plans to present its final report to the Board of Visitors in February.

Though the Commission’s current report discusses plans for increased environmental sustainability, it is not as comprehensive as some would like, according to committee members.

“It didn’t do a good enough job highlighting what is being done right now and what can be done in the future” said Cal Trepagnier, co-author and editor of the Council report, adding that he believes a greater University focus on the environment will help sustainability issues gain recognition on a wider scale.

“It’s a great opportunity for universities to become leaders and provide the knowledge on how to tackle a complicated and global issue,” he said.

The report was compiled during the past two months by Chrisinger and other members of the committee.

University Commission officials plan to meet with the authors of the Council report Monday before releasing a revised report in coming weeks.

University Provost Arthur Garson, co-author of the Commission’s report, described Council’s report as “an outstanding piece of work that will work beautifully with some of the proposals that we are considering for the overall University.”

Former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R) announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Republican Sen. John Warner via Internet video Monday.

“He feels that he has a lot to offer Virginians,” Gilmore campaign consultant Boyd Marcus said, citing Gilmore’s experience in foreign policy, national defense and terrorism.

University Politics Prof. Larry Sabato said Gilmore’s decision is a natural progression if he still desires an extended political career after becoming the first Republican to pull out of the presidential race in July.

“It makes sense for him because the other pathways to office are blocked,” Sabato said, noting the numerous Republican candidates for governor in the next election as well as the length of time before Webb’s current term ends. “He was last on a ballot in ’97 … eventually these things have an expiration date,” Sabato said.

Marcus said the Internet video announcement of Gilmore’s candidacy was an attempt to reach out to younger voters who may not yet be familiar with the candidate.

“It was a way to get out a message to reintroduce him to people who don’t know him — he’s been out of office for a few years now,” Marcus said. “It was a way to talk to people more directly without as much filtering.”

Mark Warner, also a former governor of Virginia, is the Democratic candidate for the same U.S. Senate seat.

“We welcome Jim Gilmore to the campaign and we look forward to a spirited discussion,” Mark Warner’s communications director Kevin Hall stated in a press release.

Gilmore’s only potential competition within his party, U.S. Rep. Thomas Davis, chose not to run after the Commonwealth’s Republican Party opted to select its nominee through a convention next summer. Sabato said Davis, a moderate, would not have a strong chance of nomination at the convention, which is dominated by conservatives, and thus made the decision to not compete.

Sabato predicted the campaign strategy to be utizilized by both candidates: “Warner will tout his popular gubernatorial record, while Gilmore will make a run at Warner in two ways: Hillary Clinton and taxes.”

According to Sabato, if Clinton becomes the Democratic candidate and if the majority of Virginians vote in favor of the Republican presidential candidate, Warner might then have to deal with a negative association with Clinton. Sabato noted, however, that President George H. W. Bush, a Republican, won Virginia with a 60-40 split in 1988, while Senator Chuck Robb, a Democrat, won with an overwhelming 73 percent.

Currently, however, Gilmore has his work cut out for him, Sabato said.

“Every national ratings service … has Warner as a substantial to heavy favorite,” Sabato said. “It doesn’t mean that he can’t be upset, but upsets like this are rare.”

Two second-year Engineering School students were arrested and charged with abduction with intent to extort money last Wednesday after they allegedly bound and gagged a man and held him for ransom.

The University students are now being held without bail at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, according to Officer Don Gotthardt of the Public Information Office of the Fairfax County Police Department.

Guanyu Lu, 19, of 1709 Jefferson Park Ave., and Baichuan Shu, 19, of 583 Brandon Ave., abducted an unidentified 20-year-old Chinese man the night of Nov. 20, according to Gotthardt.

That evening, the suspects allowed the victim to place a phone call to his host family advising of the abduction and the $500,000 ransom demand, Gotthardt said.

According to the police report, the host family then contacted the authorities, and the following evening Fairfax County Police, with the assistance of the FBI, apprehended the two suspects and found their victim “bound, gagged and held in the bathroom” of a motel in Falls Church, Va.

Once freed, the victim was taken to the Inova Fairfax Hospital where he was treated for mild dehydration, the report stated.

Gotthardt said he believes this was an isolated incident in which the victim was targeted for an undetermined reason.

While Fairfax County Police investigate possible motives, students who know Shu said they do not know why the pair of Chinese nationals would have committed the crime.

Second-year Engineering student Adam Scates, who shares an apartment with Shu this year and roomed with him during his first year, said he could not explain his friend’s behavior.

Scates described Shu as a likable, well-adjusted international student with a great sense of humor and a love for sports, particularly basketball.

“I never really expected anything like this,” Scates said. “From what I have gathered he is well-off in China. Both his parents are electrical engineers; he had his own place in Shanghai … I don’t think money would be a motive.”

Second-year College student Aaron Bloch, who also shared a suite with Shu during his first year, agreed that Shu seemed like a “normal” University student.

“He didn’t seem distant, outside of the loop or anything; he was always very engaged,” Bloch said. “I can’t even imagine what happened. I mean, he was a Rodman [Scholar].”

University officials, meanwhile, are approaching this case as they do any case under investigation, according to University spokesperson Carol Wood.

“The University takes these charges very seriously,” Wood said. “We are not reluctant to take action in such cases and have already taken the appropriate internal steps to address this current situation.”