“On that day [against West Virginia], we weren’t good enough to win. If we get another chance at them, hopefully it’ll be our day,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson speculated. After defeating Army Friday 2-0, Virginia faced West Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and put Swanson’s musing to the test.

The Cavaliers’ day dawned just as Swanson hoped in a 3-2 defeat of the Mountaineers. After this weekend’s two victories at Klöckner Stadium, the Cavaliers will advance to the Round of 16 to face Duke.

After being shut out 3-0 by West Virginia during the regular season — and taking just three shots on goal — Virginia avenged the defeat with efficiency, scoring three times off just nine shots.

“Obviously we made [our shots] count,” freshman forward Lauren Alwine said. “In a game like this … you’re not going to get that many shots. We put them on frame and took advantage of opportunities.”

The last time the Mountaineers gave up three goals in a half was against Virginia in 2007. Yesterday, Virginia scored all three of its goals before halftime and played to keep that lead for the rest of the game. West Virginia made that task difficult, however, as the Mountaineers came out in an aggressive formation that allowed them to score right out of the gates in the second half.

“We told the team not to give anything away in the first five minutes [of the second half],” Swanson said. “And we promptly did just that.”

After that goal, the Cavaliers dropped out of their normal 4-3-3 into a more conservative 4-4-2 in an attempt to hold the Mountaineers’ offensive pressure at bay. West Virginia, however, managed to continue to attack the goal and score once again before the end of regulation.

“One of the turning points of the game was their first goal,” Swanson said. “They got it so quickly, and it kind of gave them hope that they could get back in this.”

In the first round of the tournament Friday, Virginia managed to shut down Army’s offense, holding it to only one shot the entire game while the Cavaliers rattled off 22 of their own.

“They just had great ball skills,” Black Knight forward Dymon Washington said about Virginia’s backline. “Other teams, if we pressured them a lot, it would have frazzled them, but they kept their composure.”

The game not only spelled the end of Black Knights’ season but also the end of Army coach Gene Ventriglia’s long and successful career. Ventriglia earned his sixth Patriot League “Coach of the Year” award and led his team to a Patriot League Championship.

“What a ride, what a journey for me that I’ve gone through the past 24 years, and to be exposed to youngsters like Dymon here is just enriching to me,” Ventriglia said.

With the two victories on the weekend, Virginia will host Duke this weekend at Klöckner with a chance to determine a winner of the 0-0 tie the teams played to at the end of October.

“It’s going to take a good team to beat Virginia,” Ventriglia said following his bout with the Cavaliers. “They just have it. They have speed, they have size, they have tactical ability; they’re going to go far.”

Finish strong.

This is the Virginia volleyball team motto for the second half of the season, and it is something the team has put into practice the past two weekends.

Now on a three-match winning streak, the Cavaliers overcame a rocky first set against Maryland in Friday night’s match to win 3-1 (17-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-22) and followed that with a Saturday evening 3-0 sweep of Boston College (25-14, 25-19, 25-18).

Friday night against Maryland (6-23, 2-15 ACC), the Cavaliers (16-13, 8-9 ACC) took control of the game after the first set and refused to relent to the Terrapins’ pushes to regain control. In the victory against Boston College (7-22, 1-16 ACC), Virginia was even more dominant from beginning to end, only allowing three Eagles a positive hitting percentage.

“We had our moments when we let them back in the match with our unforced passing errors,” Virginia coach Lee Maes said of the Boston College match. “It came down to us really converting transition opportunities that they gave us, because they weren’t ball-handling as well as we were.”

Senior outside hitter Beth Shelton led the team in kills for both matches with 17 against the Terrapins and 12 against the Eagles. Her .444 hitting percentage and four service aces also led Virginia’s starters.

“We were able to distribute the ball really well [Saturday],” Shelton said. “We kept them guessing, which makes it easier for us to pass in the front row.”

Maes, who called Saturday’s match “one of those serve-and-pass battles,” said solid production from the team’s hitters comes from consistent passing and ball control. Shelton reiterated this, refusing to take too much credit for her numbers.

“I can’t do it without two other people touching the ball before me,” Shelton said. “I think the control, consistency, keeping them guessing, is what really helps us put up numbers like that.”

Shelton was not the only player who served well; the team hit 10 aces to the Eagles’ three in Saturday’s match.

“We have this saying at practice: pace and location. It’s putting the ball with some pace at a location,” Shelton said about the team’s serving. “I don’t know how many ball-handling errors they had [Saturday], but we give it to the same person and force her to pass. It keeps them out of their system and helps our system.”

Shelton appears to be making the most of her final matches at home; only a Nov. 28 match against Virginia Tech remains for her and two fellow seniors. Shelton refuses to let her final season as a Cavalier end with a whimper.

“Beth does a really nice job of understanding that we just need her to be efficient,” Maes said. “If she’s efficient, that will allow her to continue doing a lot of positive things.”

Shelton knows the Cavaliers’ only chance to play for a championship relies on convincing the NCAA selection committee to give the team an at-large bid.

This situation brings Shelton back to the team’s motto.

“I think this is really good, ending on a high note for us,” Shelton said. “It’s been kind of a struggle for us during the season, maybe been up and down. But finishing strong — the NCAA [selection committee] always takes a look at that if we have a chance.”

The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams found their stroke this weekend in victories against ACC rival Florida State and nationally ranked Penn State in a two-day double dual meet.

The No. 13 Virginia men (6-1, 3-0 ACC) defeated No. 19 Florida State (6-1, 1-1 ACC) 197-154 and crushed No. 15 Penn State (2-3, 0-0 Big Ten) 228-120. The No. 13 Virginia women (6-0, 3-0 ACC) dominated both opponents, claiming victory against Florida State (7-3, 2-1 ACC) 216-129 and No. 18 Penn State (3-2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) 201-148.

“It was great to compete with two such outstanding teams,” Virginia coach Mark Bernardino said. “Being the road team in this series is tough, but we had the advantage to be at home as it gave us a bit of an edge.”

The Cavaliers were able to take a commanding lead against both Penn State and Florida State with their strong performances in the relay races to start the meet. Friday, the women’s 200 freestyle relay consisting of freshman Lauren Smart, senior Kristen Wallace, junior Mei Christensen and sophomore Hannah Davis took first with a time of 1:32.74.

The men’s 200 freestyle relay team of senior Lee Robertson, sophomore Scot Robison, freshman Peter Geissinger and senior Tony Colella won a tight race touching at 1:22.17.

“Beginning each meet with wins in the relays really set us off,” Bernardino said.

Christensen stood out not only in the relay races but also in her individual event, the 200 backstroke, in which she set a pool record with a time of 1:56.42. This was her first collegiate record.

“It felt really good,” Christensen said. “I’ve been working towards [a record] for a while, and I’m just really excited to be able to do it so early in the year.”

Robison stood out in the meet for the men’s squad meet, claiming first in all six of his events: the 200 freestyle relay, 100 freestyle, 400 medley relay, 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 400 freestyle relay.

“I take pride in all of the events,” Robison said. “I swim a lot of events because they’re the shortest ones to do, but I love swimming the 50 and 100 free. I hadn’t gotten to swim the 100 fly all year, so it was nice to do something new and something fresh.”

Other event winners included junior Jen Narum taking first (4:47.40) with junior Jenna Harris following second (4:49.84) in the 500 freestyle. In the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Ellie Freeman touched first (1:02.61) with junior Katherine McDonnell following at a close second (1:02.95). Senior Megan Evo captured first in the 100 freestyle (50.74). Narum also went the distance in the 1,000 freestyle, swimming to victory with a time of 9:52.28. In the 100 fly, Virginia took the two top spots with freshman Lauren Smart taking the win (55.08) and sophomore Liz Shaw following in second (55.33).

On the men’s side, Virginia went 1-2-3 in the 200 individual medley. Junior John Azar touched first at 1:51.14, with seniors Pat Mellors (1:51.97) and Pat Reams (1:52.13) following closely in second and third. Senior Ryan Hurley took a commanding lead on his way to a victory in the 200 breaststroke (2:00.24). Sophomore Tim Hayes followed for a second-place finish (2:02.97). Mellors rounded out the individual events with a win in the 400 IM (3:57.81).

Virginia does not swim again until Dec. 4 through 6, when it hosts the U.Va. Invitational.

“We plan on these next 10 days to even increase our level of training, and we’re probably going to put our swimmers in a world of hurt,” Bernardino said. “It is going to be highly intense, very focused and very specific training to get our swimmers to a higher level.”

Though the Virginia wrestling team won just one of three dual matches Saturday to open the dual-match season, the team had a strong performance at the ACC/Big Ten Clash. The Cavaliers (1-2) beat Michigan State 23-15 after falling to No. 12 Wisconsin 25-15 and No. 9 Illinois 37-9. Virginia was the only ACC team to defeat a Big Ten school this weekend.

No. 15 sophomore Chris Henrich continued his dominating performance this season, winning all three of his matches, improving to 7-0 on the season. Both junior Brent Jones and senior Rocco Caponi won two matches, with Jones moving into a fifth-place tie on Virginia’s career falls list with 23 after recording a pin in the Michigan State match.

—compiled by Ben Gomez

Though the Virginia field hockey team avenged an early season loss Saturday when it beat James Madison 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers fell to Wake Forest 4-3 in round two to end their season yesterday.

The Cavaliers got off to a quick start against JMU when Virginia freshman back Floor Vogels scored off a penalty corner in the ninth minute. Junior forward Traci Ragukas was able to squeeze her 16th goal of the season past JMU’s junior goalkeeper Kelsey Cutchins late in the first half to seal the victory for the Cavaliers. The hard-fought game featured three green cards and three yellow cards, which were given to players from both teams.

Against Wake Forest, Virginia improved upon its previous performance against the Demon Deacons when the Cavaliers lost in decisive fashion 6-2 Oct. 25 at home. Virginia again had a quick start but could not hold Wake Forest off. Freshman forward Paige Selenski scored in the 14th minute and then added her second goal of the game 15 minutes later, putting Virginia up 2-0. Wake Forest rallied back to tie the game by the 58th minute, however, and scored the game-winning goal with less than five minutes left in the game. For the second time in three years, the Demon Deacons knocked the Cavaliers out of the NCAA Tournament.

—compiled by Ben Gomez

The Virginia men’s soccer team lost 1-0 yesterday to No. 4 Maryland in the ACC championship game in Cary, N.C.

The single goal came in the third minute from junior midfielder Jeremy Hall.

Though Virginia (11-8-1, 4-4 ACC) lost to the Terrapins, the Cavaliers picked up a huge, 3-2 double overtime win against No. 1 Wake Forest Friday in the semifinals of the tournament. Wake Forest scored first during the 53rd minute on a goal by senior forward Marcus Tracy, but Virginia surged ahead with two straight goals, one by junior midfielder Jonathan Villanueva during the 69th minute, and one by sophomore forward Chase Neiken during the 82nd minute. The Demon Deacons refused to go down without a fight, knotting the score at 2-2 during the 89th minute when freshman defender Danny Wenzel scored his first goal of the season. The two teams battled through a scoreless first overtime before Virginia senior midfielder Matt Poole netted a penalty kick during the 106th minute to clinch the win for Virginia and hand the Demon Deacons their first defeat of the season.

Virginia now awaits a possible invitation to the NCAA Tournament, which begins this weekend.

— compiled by Aaron Perryman

The Thursday, Nov. 13 Sports page incorrectly identified the dates of the most recent men’s and women’s basketball games in headlines. The men’s basketball team played yesterday, while the women’s team played Friday. The Cavalier Daily regrets the errors.

Domenic
First-year College student

What extracurriculars do you participate in?
Nothing at the moment really. I signed up for a bunch of things early in the year, but then the college workload got the best of me and I had to set those aside. I’m looking forward to joining fencing, martial arts clubs and taking a more active role in the ACM [Association for Computing Machinery].

What do you like to do in your free time?
When I’m hanging out in the dorm, you can usually find me playing video games (I’m currently addicted to Team Fortress 2), trying to install Linux or practicing bass guitar. I also play a lot of Settlers Of Catan (think Risk meets Monopoly) with the rest of my hall.

What are the physical and personality attributes you are looking for in a date?
Physical appearance is not that important to me, but it is important for me to be able to tell someone does care about themselves and their body. It’s a side effect of my mom being a personal trainer. I’d like to be with someone who is a bit of a nerd, and I like strong, outgoing personalities.

What are your religious affiliations?
None. I wish I could be religious, but I simply don’t have any faith to believe in anything. I believe in the power of religion, and I don’t want to muck that up by having my lack of faith tarnish its name.

What are your favorite TV shows?
Essentially the entire Adult Swim lineup. “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” is another favorite of mine, partly because I grew up near Philly.

What are your favorite movies and actors?
“The Dark Knight,” “Shoot ‘Em Up,” “Spaceballs,” “Manos: The Hands of Fate,” “Kung Fu Hustle,” “Kung Pow: [Enter the Fist],” “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” and “Shaun of the Dead.”

What music do you like?
Metal, progressive rock and techno are my bread and butter. Favorite bands include Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Trivium, Coheed and Cambria, Basshunter, Rush and Iron Maiden. Absolute favorite band of all time for me is The Mars Volta.

What’s your favorite food?
Thai and Chinese food. I love spicy food with a passion, and all the bland stuff O-Hill and Newcomb serve drives me nuts. Nothing can beat a nice, juicy filet mignon though.

What are your favorite books and authors?
My two favorite books are “Nuklear Age” by Brian Clevinger and “House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski. Some favorite authors are Max Brooks, Alan Moore and Douglas Adams.

Describe your ideal date.
We go out to a nice meal at Lemongrass, where we both poke fun at our waiter and I order something too spicy and have a burnt mouth the rest of the night. Then we go to the Downtown Mall to see a movie, but get caught in the rain and end up soaked by the time we sit down. Afterward, we discuss the movie as we walk back to the Lawn, and watch the storm clouds disappear over our heads as intoxicated first-years streak by on our way home. The best dates are never perfect, but that’s what makes them great.

What are your deal breakers?
An unhealthy obsession with Johnny Depp or Korean pop singers. I’ve had bad experiences with those before. No smokers either, I can’t stand the smell.

Are you outgoing or shy?
A bit of both. I’m initially shy, but very outgoing once I get to know people.

What do you want to do when you graduate?
Graduate school at MIT, then after that I would love to get a job with Marshall or Ampeg and design the electronics for amplifiers.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I would love to move out of the East Coast; I’ve spent my whole life here. Probably somewhere in California, that’s where the good tech jobs are anyway. That or a foreign country like China or Japan.

If you were a member of the circus, who would you be and why?
World’s Strongest Man. I’d get a sweet mustache, leopard-skin loincloth and all the ridiculously oversized dumbbells I could need!

Describe yourself in one sentence.
I’m verbose.

Sydney
Third-year College student

What extracurriculars do you participate in?
Undergraduate Research, Brown College Governance Board.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Read, listen to music, hang out with friends.

What are the physical and personality attributes you are looking for in a date?
I prefer slender guys. I like clever guys with a great sense of humor. Being brunette and tolerating my bad jokes are pluses. Sarcasm is also good.

What are your religious affiliations?
Agnostic/Nonreligious.

What are your favorite TV shows?
“Good Eats” and “Project Runway.”

What are your favorite movies and actors?
Favorite Movies: “Brazil,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Closer,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “The Lives of Others.”
Favorite Actors: Morgan Freeman, because I like his soothing voice. On the same note, Michael Caine.

What music do you like?
I mostly listen to rock and some rap and electronic music. Some of my favorite bands/artists are Girl Talk, Hot Chip, King Crimson, Kanye West, the Pixies, the Police, Rickie Lee Jones, Voxtrot and Wilco.

What’s your favorite food?
Pho, which is a Vietnamese beef-noodle soup.

What are your favorite books/authors?
Some of my favorite books are “The Sun Also Rises,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Crime and Punishment,” “Ender’s Game.” In general, I tend to like post-WWI American and 19th-century Russian literature.

Describe your ideal date.
It doesn’t really matter as long as the conversation is good. Since I’m an astronomy major, though, I’m going to go ahead and say stargazing would be awesome.

What are your deal breakers?
Fat. Or dumb.

Are you outgoing or shy?
Outgoing.

What do you want to do when you graduate?
Go to grad school.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully not still in grad school.

If you were a member of the circus, who would you be and why?
The elephant because that would be awesome and I have no redeemable circus talents.

Describe yourself in one sentence.
I’ve been described as both endearingly awkward and a vicious ho.

Date: Friday, October 31
Time:  5:30 p.m.
Location: Lemongrass

Domenic: We went to Lemongrass to eat. I guess it’s kind of like the cliché spot to go to because it’s in every article.

Sydney: He was there first, and I noticed him standing outside Lemongrass, and I figured it was him, and I was right.

Domenic: I have no estimation of time. For some reason, I thought it would take like 40 minutes to get from McCormick to Lemongrass. Not really.

Sydney: We both took the menu, even though I usually just get the same thing. I got curry and got the 10-spicy [level], but he was kind of a wuss. So we talked about that for a while.

Domenic: I was really happy when we ordered food because she got the 10-spicy. I didn’t want to order something spicy and break some sort of date convention. She and her dad have jalapeno eating competitions though, so I couldn’t really stand up to that.

Sydney: We had a lot in common. He’s an engineer and I’m an astronomy and physics major, so I guess a lot of the physics classes we take are the same. And we’re actually in the same computer science class, as it turns out. It was kind of funny, and we just never noticed one another because it’s a fairly big class.

Domenic: We got over the initial awkwardness of a blind date pretty quickly, which was good. There were never any awkward pauses or anything.

Sydney: He was a first-year, which was kind of weird, and a little bit shorter than me, so that was interesting, I guess. It was kind of a turn-off. I generally prefer people taller than me, and I don’t know, the first-year thing was a little weird.

Domenic: I thought she was really nice and someone I’d like to get to know.

Sydney: We were there for about an hour. I had been spending the whole day working on Hauntings, so I was kind of pressed for time and tired after barking orders all day. So when I got there, I did things like order dessert for two before I was like, oh wait, I’m not supposed to do that.

Domenic: We got mango sticky rice for dessert. It wasn’t very good. It was strange — kind of good, kind of bad, kind of made you want to throw up after.

Sydney: I was kind of a glutton with dessert, but I thought it was good.

Domenic: I had been looking at the fried ice cream and told her after, and she was like, “Why didn’t you say anything?” I think I was a bit too quiet. She was talking a whole lot, and I didn’t want to screw anything up because I say a lot of outrageous things.

Sydney: He seemed like he might have been a little on edge. I think he was a lot more nervous than I was. I was more in it for the fun factor instead of the connection factor.

Domenic: I actually went to Hauntings later that night. 

Sydney: He walked me to the door after dinner. Aside from “bye,” I don’t think he said anything particularly interesting. But I think he recognized me when he stopped by Hauntings later that night, even though I was covered in makeup and, OK, I was dressed as a fairy.

Domenic: She was a reason I went. I told her I’d go see her. She was covered in makeup and goo though, and was holding some sort of stuffed cat in her hands.

Sydney: I think he’d be a good friend. I think it’s mainly the height and age difference. He didn’t seem to have a bad time though. I hope I didn’t unnerve him too much.

Domenic: I didn’t ask her enough questions all night. That’s my biggest regret. On Monday, I’m actually going to ask her out again. Plus, that follows the three-day rule.

Sydney: He seems like a really nice kid.

Where they are now: Domenic and Sydney sit next to each other in class now and once watched a live webcam of puppies together. Still, he ended up not asking her out. “When we met up in class on Monday, I dunno, the feeling just wasn’t there,” Domenic wrote in an e-mail. They’re not Facebook friends yet, but Sydney anticipates this happening sometime in the future.

Every other Monday when the love and dating theme fills the Life section, I always snatch up the paper and flip right to that section. No, I don’t get a secret thrill from reading my own articles. Actually, I often worry that someone will see me reading this section and recognize me, thinking I’m just reading my own article. So every other week I read The Cavalier Daily with my thumb covering up my little picture. But now I’m getting off topic. The real reason I like to flip to this section is to read is “Love Connection,” the big segment on that week’s blind date.

I love that these students are so willing to put themselves out there just to find love — or at least to get a free meal and make a new Facebook friend. My favorite part is reading their responses to the questionnaire, trying to speculate as to how and why they were matched up together. To me, the most interesting question is “What are your dating deal breakers?” The answers are frequently things like “smokers,” “narcissism,” “guys that are shorter than me” or “girls that are taller than me.”

If someone asked me the same question, I don’t think I’d have an answer. I don’t think I have any dating deal breakers that go into effect right off the bat. I would, and have, given all smokers, egomaniacs and shorter guys a chance at a date before immediately writing them off. Does this mean I’m desperate? You might think so. But I think it just means that I try not to judge a book by its cover, so to speak. My dating deal breakers occur later on in a relationship, after he’s had more of a chance.

Last semester, for example, I dated a guy who was a few inches shorter than me. At 5-foot-5, I’m not exactly Adriana Lima (well, I kind of am, but just not in the height department). And at 5-foot-3, he liked to remind me that Tom Cruise and James Madison are also short but accomplished men. The height issue was never really a problem, except when I would get a little bit drunk at parties and insist that whoever was taking a picture of us take it from the waist up, so that beneath the frame I could bend my knees a little and squat down. Voila, instant height change in a photo, sans Photoshop.

Another typical deal breaker has to do with age. Once in high school I took a small risk and dated a boy a couple of years younger than I was. Now, I’m no cougar, but Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore were big at the time so I gave it a shot. The age difference didn’t turn out to be too big of a problem at first. I always had to be the one to drive — he didn’t have his license yet — but he could always count on me to help him out with his homework. The deal breaker came after just a few dates and a first kiss, when he looked me in the eyes and said, “Jordan. I love you.” After three dates! Obviously the age difference came with an emotional difference as well. Definite deal breaker.

Conversely, a friend of mine dated a boy who was much older than her. I won’t say exactly how much older, but I will say that they were in different decades. This age difference didn’t turn out to be a huge deal at first either … until he took her home and she discovered he was still living with his parents.

Another friend swore she would never date redheads, but ended up giving one a chance. They dated successfully for a little while until she found out that he refused to pee unless he was sitting down. That same friend also promised herself she wouldn’t be with anyone in the military because it would just be too hard. But when the right guy came along, she broke that rule, too, and they are now hopelessly in love.

Having a “dating deal breaker” before you even get to know someone can screw you over in the long run. Maybe the guy that’s too short or girl that’s not blonde will turn out to be just what you were looking for. Don’t write someone off before even getting to know them. At least wait to call it off until you’re already in the relationship and find out that they secretly like to wear women’s underwear. Now that’s a definite deal breaker.

Jordan’s column runs biweekly Monday. She can be reached at j.hart@cavalierdaily.com.

In the world of dating, emotions run high with the promise of finding that someone special to waste your time with. These emotions can lead to all sorts of crazy shenanigans, such as prematurely saying the ‘L’ word. These, in turn, could destroy any chance of this budding relationship turning into full bloom. Now, to tackle all of the horrible ideas to avoid when embarking on your first few dates would take way too much effort on my part. Instead, I will give you a brief account of what not to do during one of the most pivotal events: the first kiss.

First off, never fist pump during the kiss. This might seem like a good idea at the time, but later you will realize that it had the stench of desperation written all over it, which is surely not your goal. Remember, you want passion, fire, magic … not desperation.

Secondly, don’t scream “BOOYAH” right after you stop kissing. This is often uncontrollable, so there may not be much that you can do about preventing such an outburst. To mitigate the effect, however, try spinning in a circle as you say it and cough a bit during the crucial part. How you might explain the spinning I’m not sure, but coughing is pretty normal so you should be good on that front. Whatever your excuse for the spin may be, I’m sure it will be better than giving your significant other a full-blown “BOOYAH” to the face.

Finally, try to keep your cool with regards to post-kiss facial expressions. Though it may be difficult to keep yourself from smiling, try to keep it to a toothy grin instead of the full-face beam. This will let the other person know that, though enjoyable, it was not the highlight of your life, thus making you seem much cooler.

Actually, I take all that back. The last three paragraphs were things you shouldn’t bother controlling during or after a first kiss. As a matter of fact, there should be nothing you bother controlling. We spend most of our time at this college wondering how to manage our time so as to do a lot of things we really don’t care about while we could be wasting it doing things with the people we hold dear. But when it comes to love, everyone seems to cramp up just when we should be ready to run the race of our lives.

There are a lot of things in this life that can be imagined so vividly that it would almost seem as if they had happened. I, for example, have dunked on every member of the Virginia Tech basketball team no less than two dozen times. Love, however, is not a feeling that can be imagined or dreamed. It’s one of those things that each person has to live to know what it feels like. This is precisely why you shouldn’t hold back when getting excited about a kiss or a look or a hug or a nudge, or even when someone leans their head on your shoulder in that kind of awkward situation where you don’t know how to feel, because the prospect of love is something that no one can put a value on. It is a hope that what we are doing here is so much better than dreaming that we don’t ever want to go to sleep.

So go ahead: fist pump, scream, yell, shout, smile, laugh, dance, hop, skip, run, jump, fly. Do whatever it is that makes you happy and don’t worry about the rest, because there are few moments out there where you really know what it means to be alive. So don’t waste them worrying about how to stay cool. Drink them in as if you’ll never taste living again, and hold on to them.

Andy’s column runs biweekly Monday. He can be reached at a.taylor@cavalierdaily.com.