Because the remarks that I provided to The Cavalier Daily were truncated and separated (“Officials discuss Asian faculty diversity concerns,” 4/3/2009), readers will likely receive the opposite impression of what I was attempting to convey. I mentioned to the reporter a comment that was shared with me by a University president who is an Asian American. He said that while many people believe that Asian American faculty have a strong sense of security in their academic appointments and so do not seek positions of administrative leadership, what’s missing is opportunity. The first part of the statement was included in the story, but not the concluding phrase.

The subheading in the story reflected my hope that additional faculty hires in the sciences will include Asian Americans since they are well represented in those areas, but prior to making that point, I said that we need Asian American faculty in all segments of the institution.

The concluding statement attributed to me was correct — I am optimistic about the University’s future faculty diversity and the Office for Diversity and Equity will be vigilant in its efforts to help achieve this goal. To that end, last summer we asked Prof. Connie Lee to join the staff of the Office for Diversity and Equity. Though her contributions will certainly not be limited to a particular group, her insights and perspectives will be particularly valuable as we assist the University in developing more successful methods of recruiting and retaining Asian American faculty and administrators.

Because of the recession, University Career Services and the Alumni Association’s Career Services are attempting to reach out more to University students and alumni through new programs and strategies.

Alumni Career Services, which serves clients who graduated from the University more than six months ago, reported that the number of clients seeking help with resumes and interviews increased by 20 percent since last year, said Tom Folders, a representative of Alumni Career Services and president of the University’s Alumni Association, who presented at Friday’s Board of Visitors meeting. The number of advising appointments at UCS, however, has remained around 7,000 for each of the past eight years, UCS Executive Director Jim McBride said during the BOV presentation.

Although the University is still hosting employers through the end of the semester, the number of employers recruiting students has decreased by 26 percent, McBride said. That being said, he also noted that the total number of student interviews has increased by 28 percent.

“It would be misleading not to tell you that students graduating in May 2009 are facing one of the most challenging employment markets any of us has ever seen,” he said.

McBride also noted that a recent study showed that 77 percent of employers said internships were their primary means of recruiting entry-level employees, although more students and fewer organizations attended UCS-sponsored career fairs this year. This disparity was even more pronounced in the spring, McBride said.

To adapt to the economic downturn and the reduction in jobs for students, UCS has implemented some new strategies to help students deal with the current economic climate, he said. McBride said one of these strategies was to change the “business model” of UCS’s career counseling.

“We made a decision in mid-to-late fall to suggest to students … [for our career counseling staff] to be their personal career coach throughout the year,” McBride said.

This strategy contrasts with the earlier model, in which UCS attempted to serve students as quickly as possible, he said, noting that now, students can visit UCS for 45-minute appointments throughout the year.

Another new focus for UCS has been an emphasis on networking to find jobs. In the past, students may have found the concept of networking to be very abstract, as most would not have had experience in the field, McBride said. Now, however, McBride said social networking Web sites can be used to introduce students to the concept of professional networking. He said the same networking skills students learn from using Facebook can be applied to professional networking Web sites such as Linkedin, which is used by about 7,000 University alumni.

Similarly, Alumni Career Services has seen about a 13 percent increase in online participation, Folders said. About 14,000 alumni now use Hoos Online, through which alumni can also offer to act as mentors to students and other alumni, Folders said. In addition, Folders said Alumni Career Services is on Facebook and Twitter.

With such social networking tools, “you reach people where they are,” Folders said.

In addition to networking, UCS is instructing students to “follow the jobs,” McBride said.

“Geographically, we are somewhat fortunate,” McBride said during the BOV presentation. “Among the 49 major metropolitan areas with populations of 1 million or more, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that four areas — Washington, Virgina Beach, Baltimore and Richmond — are among those with unemployment rates below the national average [of 8.5%].”

Despite the decline in employment opportunities for graduates, UCS has not found that students have lost all faith in the current job market, McBride said during his presentation.

“Even with all the dismal economic news, our career counselors would tell you the students we are advising have not displayed panic or fear with respect to the employment market,” McBride said. “True, [students] are concerned, as they should be. But, they are also resilient and pragmatic — both important qualities in these tough times for developing job search strategies.”

As Student Council continues recruiting members for each of its many committees, Council President John Nelson cited cutting costs and increasing publicity and transparency as some of Council’s goals for its 2009-10 term.

Nelson said cutting internal costs has been an ongoing goal and will remain a focus.

“We’re very careful in having Amanda [Jenkins], our Chief Financial Officer, and Ben [Chrisinger], our Chief of Staff, look at committee funds … before they spend so that there aren’t any outrageous expenditures,” Nelson said.

Additionally, Nelson plans to cut costs by downsizing the annual Council retreat and holding it in Charlottesville. The retreat traditionally has taken place outside the City.

“We’re just going to do a day in Charlottesville and possibly pay for lunch and … that’s taken that cost from several thousand to much, much less,” he said.

Because contracted independent organizations are using more of the funds Council appropriates, Nelson said he expects to see decreased rollover funds next year.

“We’ve benefited … each year by having that extra money from rollover, [but] we’re expecting less of that next year,” Nelson said. “Our sources for non-[Student Activity Fund] funds have really dried up.”

Aside from cutting Council expenses, Nelson plans to increase the transparency of appointments to the Presidential Committees, which recently have been the source of some criticism, especially after the announcement of this year’s commencement speaker.

Nelson noted that he plans to increase the transparency of opportunities to take part in the Presidential Committees that report directly to University President John T. Casteen, III and that deal with specific issues like financial aid, University libraries and graduation.

Nelson noted that his predecessor, third-year College student Matt Schrimper, had only a few weeks notice to make those appointments when he served as Council president. Nelson said Council could benefit from having advance notice about these upcoming appointments and plans to release information about the application process next week.

In addition to increasing transparency, Nelson hopes to instill in committee members a responsibility to publicize their projects. He added that he also plans to survey students through listservs to see what students expect from Council.

More specific Council goals originate in the committees, the members for which are still being chosen. Council Civic Engagement Committee Chair Laura Nelson, though, said her committee already has several ongoing projects and recently presented a report to the University’s Public Service Advisory Board.

“Different subcommittees have been working on smaller projects this semester, but also thinking long-term about the vision of where the students would like to see civic engagement at U.Va,” she said.

She also added that the committee has plans to consolidate all civic engagement opportunities in a single resource to enable students to better navigate the abundance of information available at the University. She added that many of the committee’s proposals will be presented to the BOV at its next meeting through the University’s Public Service Advisory Board.

Charlottesville City Council reviewed the City’s 2010 fiscal year budget Monday night, approving a series of amendments discussed at last Council’s meeting added to the budget proposal.

The amendments include a tax cut for energy efficient buildings. City Manager Gary O’Connell said the tax on energy efficient buildings will be $0.475 on every $100 of assessed property — half the tax for non-energy efficient buildings. Council moved to carry the ordinance to its April 14 meeting, though Charlottesville “is one of the few budgets in the country that does not have a tax rate increase” depending on the type of building, O’Connell said.

In addition to the proposed tax cut for energy efficient buildings, Council members approved other budgetary proposed changes to the $142,556,639 budget including $50,000 for urban tree planning, $100,000 for park acquisition and maintenance and $25,000 for bike infrastructure repair around the city. Council also proposed to include funds for the maintenance of the wading pool in McIntire Park, which is in need of drain repairs according to federal regulations.

Council discussed and approved budget changes for some of the city’s private agencies, including $39,250 to be reserved for Charlottesville’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which also acts as the City’s pound. That budgeted amount is nearly twice the amount the City currently provides.

O’Connell said Council also decided to allot $22,000 to the Real Dads Program, which is aimed to help educate fathers on being positively involved in their children’s lives.

Aside from budget changes, Council members discussed the status of the performance analyst position, which was in charge of the efficiency study presented to Council earlier in the year. The study was meant to evaluate the city’s operations and make recommendations about how the city could use its budget more efficiently. Members had conflicting opinions about whether to continue the study.

Vice Mayor Julian Taliaferro said he did not support keeping the performance analyst position, nor did Council member David Brown. Brown however, asked whether “It [would] be okay to hire someone for a year or two years” instead of contracting the position as a permanent full-time employee.

Council member Holly Edwards, meanwhile, said she believed the efficiency study along with the analyst position “may be an opportunity for how we can be better stewards with our money,” noting that analysis of the City’s budget during the current economic downtown may provide a learning experience.

Council will meet again April 14 to further discuss the City’s budget.

The admissions office continues to work alongside the Virginia Community College System to welcome transfer students, expecting a possible rise in the number of transfer applications because of the recent economic downturn.

“We have seen a slight but steady increase in applications the last few years,” Admissions Dean Greg Roberts said.

Roberts attributed the increase during the past few years to the establishment of the University’s Guaranteed Admission Agreement.

According to the undergraduate office of admission Web site, under the GAA system the University guarantees College admission to any VCCS student who completes an associate degree, earns a minimum of 54 transferable credit hours, satisfies all area requirements and obtains an overall GPA of 3.4 or higher, among other criteria.

Andrew Erwin, Piedmont Virginia Community College’s college transfer guide, said the GAA requirements give “a clear cut path for students to successfully transfer over to school,” though he said only about one-fourth of community college transfer students meet these requirements.

Roberts added that the University expects an increase in the number of applications because of the recession.

“Because of the economic situation since many students choose to attend a VCCS school because of the inexpensive cost of tuition,” Roberts said

Community colleges are significantly less expensive not only because of their lower tuition, but also because of their lack of room and board and dining fees, Director of Financial Services Yvonne Hubbard said.

“You have to weigh the costs and benefits,” she added.

To help ease the financial burden of a four-year institution, Hubbard said Student Financial Services is well prepared to make financial aid available to an influx in VCCS transfer students through AccessUVA, especially during these economic times. She added that the commonwealth will provide a transfer grant to students to help offset the cost differences between University and VCCS college tuition, but noted that the state budget has not been finalized.

While the percentage of PVCC students looking to transfer to the University is about the same this year, the two-year institution’s population has increased, Erwin said. He noted that PVCC sends slightly fewer than 200 students to the College each year.

Northern Virginia Community College has experienced similar trends and expects its enrollment numbers to continue growing in light of the downturn.

In the [past two semesters our enrollment has been up 6 percent and expect that to continue in the fall,” said Julia Brown, special assistant for transfer services at NOVA.

“There are so many more [students] in the population now that want to go to college that the four-year schools don’t have room for everyone,” Brown said about the competitive spirit that she believes is forcing more people to come through community college before studying at a four-year institution.

As more students opt to pursue community college degrees — either because of financial concerns or increasingly competitive college admissions — the University is preparing to see more applications from these students.

“We believe VCCS students add to our community. They have different life experiences, many coming from lower income households, and a higher percentage are first-generation college [students],” Roberts said. ““There is a strong relationship between the two- and four-year institutions in the state and we work closely with the VCCS schools to attract and enroll students who would be interested in transferring to U.Va.”

Virginia freshman attackman Steele Stanwick joined the starting lineup of the Virginia men’s lacrosse team this year with big shoes to fill — those of former attackman Ben Rubeor.

Rubeor, a 2008 Virginia graduate, accrued 136 goals and 76 assists during his four-year collegiate career. As a senior, Rubeor was the go-to player on offense. In critical moments, Virginia coach Dom Starsia wanted Rubeor to be the man with the ball and to dictate how the game would proceed.

When Rubeor left the team last season, seniors Danny Glading and Garrett Billings remained as starting attackmen and Stanwick joined the three-man squad from Rubeor’s own high school, Loyola.

“I kind of looked up to Ben coming from Loyola,” Stanwick said. “He was always talked about [at our high school].”

Though they never played for Loyola at the same time, the two athletes were familiar with each other through reputation. Each gave accolades to the other’s lacrosse accomplishments before college, disputing who had a more successful high school career.

“More points — the kid was definitely better than I was,” Rubeor said.

“No,” Stanwick tried to correct. “I didn’t get the Kelly Award; he got the Kelly Award, which is the best high school player in the country.”

“That was out of mercy,” Rubeor said. “I hurt my arm senior year so they were like, ‘Oh wow, comeback kid — let’s give him an award.’”

The comparison between the two continued to the collegiate level, when Stanwick replaced Rubeor as the third wheel on attack and also inherited Rubeor’s No. 6 jersey.

“The number thing was kind of a coincidence,” Stanwick said. “I was actually 28 my freshman year at Loyola and then 6 was the only single left.”

Though Stanwick is surrounded by two of the best attackmen in the game right now, as a freshman he already has surpassed the 18 goals Rubeor scored his freshman year, notching 25 scores this season.

“When you have guys like Danny and Garrett on attack, teams are going to key to them more, so my hands are more open to shoot and feed,” Stanwick said.

Rubeor showed Stanwick around the University during his unofficial visit Stanwick’s junior year of high school, Stanwick said. Still today, Rubeor is able to offer advice to the younger athlete when he attends the games of his alma mater.

“He grabs me — tells me little things here and there that he sees,” Stanwick said.

As an attack unit, Billings, Glading and Stanwick have seemingly meshed together this season, with the three combining for 71 goals total.

“There are certain kids that when they come here they have an uncommon poise,” Starsia said. “From the first day that they are here they have a presence about them that tells you they are not going to be intimidated — they are going to be a little bit unflappable. Steele certainly has those qualities.”

As Stanwick comes into his own next to Billings and Glading, though, he will need to prepare for their departure next year where he will be the only returning starter on attack.

“It’s definitely going to be a reality shock losing those guys,” Stanwick said. “It’s going to be a different game without those two.”
Starsia, however, has confidence in Stanwick’s prospects.

“With Danny and Garrett getting ready to graduate this spring, it gives you some comfort as a coach to know that we’ll be able to turn things over to someone like Steele Stanwick,” Starsia said. “You can certainly see him in that mold of a U.Va attackman as a sort of quarterback of the offense.”

As a freshman, Stanwick benefits from being surrounded by Glading and Billings, Starsia said. But being surrounded by more experienced players gives Stanwick time enough to learn from miscues.

“Now he’s still a freshman, he still makes freshman mistakes,” Starsia said. “For him, a lot of these things are happening for the first time … So this is a time of a lot of growth for him.”

One thing that Stanwick has yet to experience is a team loss, as Virginia is still undefeated this season. As the Cavaliers draw nearer to the playoffs and Stanwick toward his first NCAA Tournament, it might be that Stanwick is benefitting the team in more ways than just his scoring prowess; in the last three National Championships Starsia has won at Virginia, he had a freshman starter at attack.

“Maybe it’s a good luck charm,” Starsia said.

Although Rubeor may not share Starsia’s outlook about the role of chance or good luck in the tournament, he looks forward to Virginia’s chances.

“He’s as superstitious as they come,” Rubeor said about Starsia. “We’ll see if that one works out.”

Bummed out by the collapse of the men’s basketball team this year? Still crying about Debbie Ryan and the women’s basketball team’s early exit from the NCAA Tournament? Are the ACC Championship-winning swim teams just too darn successful and consistent to be interesting?
Do I have the team for you! Virginia’s wrestling squad is more exciting and fun than the three other winter sports teams combined, and it all starts with Steve Garland, the team’s coach. At only 32 years of age, he’s the youngest varsity coach at the University, and I would argue he could pass for 21. The first time I met him, I thought he was one of the athletes.
Garland currently is my favorite person in all of Virginia athletics. He’s funny, inspiring, dedicated and compassionate. His wrestlers look up to him, and he just finished his third thrilling year as Virginia coach. I sat down with him last week to talk about this past season and his outlook for Virginia wrestling. I wish I could publish the transcript of the entire 30-minute interview; his words had me laughing one minute and choking up the next. Instead, I’ll give you some of the highlights.
Virginia’s season began with high expectations and a wrestling team firing on all cylinders. Perhaps the players fired on too many cylinders too early, or perhaps the team was just unlucky: through portions of the season’s early weeks, several wrestlers suffered injuries.
“We had a ton of injuries, more injuries than I’ve ever dealt with,” Garland said. “If you name the injury, we had it.”
Spinal damage? Check. Ruptured discs? Affirmative. The team lost seven athletes to concussions alone, Garland said.
And yet, the team battled through one of the toughest schedules in the nation. In dual meets alone, Virginia competed against seven ranked teams.
Strictly from a standings perspective, the tough schedule appears to have hurt the team. Virginia ended third to last in the ACC in conference standings and second to last in the ACC in overall record.
But, the thing is, a standings perspective is the wrong perspective to take in college wresting. More than anything else, the wrestling postseason is what’s remembered. The regular season is just a buildup. Garland and his coaching staff spend each season emphasizing the importance of NCAA championship bouts along with ACC team championship meets.
This is where Garland’s decision to put together a brutal schedule really paid off. The Cavaliers, though still ravaged by injuries, managed to clean up during the postseason. With a little bit of a chip on its shoulder and conditioned against elite teams, Virginia ended the ACC title meet with 68 points, good for a second place finish and a mere two points short of champion Maryland.
The regular season ACC champion Hokies? Runner-up Tar Heels? Both finished more than 10 points behind the Cavaliers. Though the other programs inflated their records all year long, they couldn’t put it together when it counted.
Perhaps the most amazing part of the Cavaliers’ clutch effort in the conference championship meet was that they did it without a wrestler at 125 pounds. Considering the team’s roster includes junior Ross Gitomer, the 2008 ACC champion at 125 who had to miss the meet because of an injury and easily could have racked up a few points if he had been healthy, it becomes clear just how close the Cavaliers were to walking away with the conference trophy.
“We were so excited for guys like [junior] Brent Jones, who goes out there and pins the returning third-place finisher,” Garland said.
Beyond Jones’s incredible pin, highlights of the tournament were senior Rocco Caponi — who will graduate as one of the most decorated Virginia wrestlers of the decade — securing his third ACC title and sophomore Chris Henrich winning “his first of hopefully many” ACC titles, as Garland put it.
Nonetheless, it was a bit frustrating for the team to come so excruciatingly close to a title.
“It was bittersweet,” Garland said, adding that it’s easy to “do the shoulda-woulda game” and second-guess moments leading up to the narrow loss to the Terps.
The story didn’t end for Virginia there, though. In fact, as important as the ACC Championships were to the team, the ultimate barometer for its success was how well it performed at nationals.
Virginia sent seven wrestlers to the NCAA title meet, the most in program history. Of the wrestlers who competed, the best finisher was Henrich, who ended in eighth place, high enough to earn All-American status. Placing so well nationally is in itself impressive, but for a sophomore to pull it off is almost unheard of, Garland said.
“I don’t think that this school realizes how big this is,” Garland said. How common is it for a sophomore to be selected as an All-American? “Since wrestling’s been in existence, the number is very small.”
Henrich’s phenomenal season — he set the Virginia record for wins as a sophomore — and his consistency through the tough schedule were the exception to Virginia’s up-and-down “roller-coaster” season. It was no fluke or freak occurrence, Garland said.
Henrich works out three times a day, every day, with no exception. He never uses exams or schoolwork as an excuse, yet still manages a respectable GPA with a sizable course load, Garland said.
Next year, there’s a good chance Henrich could be in the mix to win it all. He could become Virginia’s first National Champion — and as a junior, no less.
Though Henrich’s performance was the best moment at nationals for the Cavaliers, the exploits of the other six wrestlers were nothing to sneeze at. Unseeded sophomore Nick Nelson beat the No. 2 wrestler in the country in what was possibly the upset of the tournament.
After all was said and done, Virginia wrestlers at the tournament tallied enough points to give the Cavaliers the 34th overall team finish — not too shabby for a team that finished the regular season in the bottom half of the ACC, which is far from the nation’s best wrestling conference.
Perhaps an even greater testament to Garland’s ability to inspire the team was not the results at ACCs and nationals, but what happened right after the championship meets. The season finally complete, you’d expect Virginia’s tired and battered grapplers to take a well-deserved break, right? Wrong.
After six months of build-up to “the one thing people care about” in college wrestling — nationals — the team didn’t miss a beat, didn’t lose an ounce of drive. A couple days later, every single wrestler attended the first offseason practice as eager to fight as ever.
The coaching staff “really [has] a way of connecting with wrestlers on an interpersonal level in a way most coaches [do not],” Garland said.
And now the cycle starts again for the Cavaliers. First, they bring in the new recruiting class. Then, they start practicing and preparing for another painfully difficult wrestling schedule. Then, they get beat up all year long but pull things together just in time for the postseason. In his three years coaching in Charlottesville, Garland has it down to a habit.
Mark my words, though, 2009-10 is going to be different and better than the past three seasons. There’s no way Virginia will suffer from injuries the way it did in 2008-09, and the Cavaliers breakthrough as a national wrestling contender will occur this upcoming year. If the Cavaliers don’t win the ACC, I’ll eat my shoe. I’m serious, folks; as strange as it may be to watch a sport that even the coach calls “a glorified fist-fight,” I implore you to take the time to come out to a meet or two at Memorial Gym next year. Garland is on the verge of putting together something special.
The pieces are all in place. Look at the recruiting numbers: Virginia has put together a top-25 class each year since the coach was hired. So far this year, Garland said he and his recruiters have cobbled together the third-ranked class, and there is still a chance that Virginia could end up with the nation’s top class.
More than just putting together the right personnel, Garland’s program thrives because he and his coaching staff have a keen understanding of what makes a wrestling team tick. It requires coaches who do more than just “draw numbers on a board and write Xs and Os,” Garland said.
All three of Virginia’s coaches wrestle with the athletes in practice. And this isn’t just drills. It’s not some sort of dress-rehearsal for real wrestling. This is all-out brawling.
“It’s disgusting, man,” Garland joked. “I touch these guys more than I touch my own wife.”
In one of my favorite moments of the interview, Garland hopped up and started reenacting some of the wrestling moves he and his coaches recently survived and then, hilariously, pantomimed what it would look like if coaches in other sports participated in practice.
Do you see Coach K playing point in an offense and taking free throws with the Blue Devils? Do you see Virginia swimming coach Mark Bernardino hop into the pool and challenge someone to a 100-yard butterfly? Not usually. Garland’s coaching is more than just tactics. Through bruises, blood, sweat and tears, he earns his team’s success — or, rather, pushes his team to earn its success itself, blow by blow.
The result is something rare and spectacular: a sports team that never has more than one athlete playing at the same time, but really operates like a team. Virginia wrestling is not just a series of individuals. There’s real team chemistry.
“It’s twisted, man! That’s why we’re so tight,” Garland said. “Maybe even to a fault.”
I see no fault in it. By forging such a tightly knit core of wrestlers and staff, he’s developed a healthy and synergistic environment. You can see it at the meets, you hear it in the athletes’ voices and Garland acknowledges it: Each student-athlete feeds off of the success of the others.
“When a guy makes a huge win, there’s momentum,” Garland said. “Even though there’s only one guy on the mat at a time.”
As for the sport of wrestling itself, and the University community’s interest in it, Garland is optimistic that it’s on the upswing.
“Maybe I’m being too positive, but I sure hope it’s grown,” Garland said.
I’d say so. From finishing as a national runner-up while attending the University — and becoming the first member of his family to go to college in the process — a decade ago, to scheduling as a coach home meets against powerhouse programs like then-No. 2 Iowa State in 2007, to filling up the stands thanks to marketing to students, to organizing youth wrestling camps and programs, Garland has done and continues to do his part to raise the credibility of Virginia as a wrestling school. It’s paying off.
Garland ended the interview with some remarks about the growth of the sport’s popularity, but he may as well have been discussing the team’s success or his coaching philosophy.
“If you’re doing nothing, nothing happens,” he said. “But if you’re working at it, and things are happening, then obviously there’s gotta be a positive movement. Maybe it’s an inch, but at least it’s moving forward.”

Barely beyond the halfway point of the 2009 season, the Virginia baseball team has already hit 30 home runs.

With sophomore centerfielder Jarrett Parker’s ninth bomb of the year last night, the Cavaliers reached the 30-home run mark for the fourth time in coach Brian O’Connor’s six-year tenure as Virginia cruised past Stony Brook in an 8-0 win.

The most home runs O’Connor has ever seen in his time at Virginia came in 2005, when the Cavaliers belted 35.

Senior pitcher Robert Poutier earned his third win in just his fourth start of the season, allowing five hits and two walks in five innings while striking out eight. Sophomore pitcher Robert Morey entered to start the sixth and delivered four shutout innings while allowing two hits. Junior designated hitter Michael Stephan was the only Seawolf to reach base more than once last night, as he knocked a single and a double.

The win yesterday proved far easier than the last time around against Stony Brook. Last season, the Cavaliers won two games of a doubleheader 6-4 and 3-0, needing a five-run eighth inning in game one to emerge with a victory. Junior right fielder Jeremy Nowak torched Virginia for four hits in eight at-bats in the two-game set last season; last night, Nowak went 0-4 with two strikeouts.

Virginia (27-5, 8-5 ACC) pelted Stony Brook starting pitcher senior Jonathan Kalkau early, as he allowed three runs on three hits and five walks in the first two innings. Jonathan rebounded to pitch a scoreless third but was replaced by sophomore pitcher Joe Goglia in the fourth, who allowed three runs on four hits in his first inning of work.

The Cavaliers tacked on their final two runs on Parker’s two-run shot in the eighth off junior pitcher Matt Harloff.

Each of the three hitters at the top of Virginia’s lineup had multi-hit performances — Parker, sophomore left fielder John Barr and sophomore second baseman Phil Gosselin. Sophomore first baseman Tyler Biddix also had a multi-hit night in his first start of the season, coming up with two hits and a walk.

The Cavaliers return for the second part of their two-game tilt against Stony Brook tonight at Davenport Field.

—compiled by Paul Montana

My name is Eppa Rixey, and I am writing today at the behest of one of your newsmen about compiling a list of the top 25 athletes in the history of our fine University. Of course, when Mr. Wakeman asked me to assist him with such an endeavor, I inquired as to his motivations:

“Son, don’t you think this is a bit of an oyster carnival?,” says I. “Well, Jeptha — can I call you Jeptha?” he asked. “Of course, son.”

“Well, you studied classics before you graduated back in 1912, so I’ll use an analogy.

“It’s like this poem where a woman rides a bus from the coast inland, narrating what she sees, how the other passengers get on and speak with one another. And everything seems exactly how it should until the bus stops for this moose just standing smack dab in the middle of the road. And the relief these people find in finally catching up on the events of their lives while riding together on the bus is nothing compared to the joy that arises when they see this moose.

“And you, good sir, are that moose. You are something sublime and impossibly stable; someone who steps out of the fabric of imagination, full of life.”

“Well, you put things pretty sideways son,” I say. “But I’ll give you what I can reckon. And you know it will still be your name atop this thing?”

“Yes, sir, but the fact that we know nothing about your athletic career at the University in any of the three sports you played attaches you, in our minds, to possibility. What are we to make of your 210-pound, 6-foot-5 frame, whose 266 career MLB wins still rank seventh among left-handed pitchers? And that you’re the only ACC player to make Cooperstown?”

“Well, son, that’s thoughtful of you to mention, but you can’t rightly expect me to speak about myself, now can you?”

“No sir, but we can still wonder.”

Now, having talked with your newsman about these lists you seem so keen to throw together, I throw my hat into the ring.

I will say first that this whole endeavor seems to rely on numbers that measure Lord knows what and agreements that seem more like how the guys thought my wife Dorothy was the sweetest lady in the stands because she sat right behind the dugout, than taking account of all the bosoms in the crowd. And because I would send ’em down the Ohio to Cairo if they disagreed.

And some such committees reminded me of how some young’uns could not hinge their jaws back together when they laid eyes on their first big city belle down the bar, batting her eyelashes their way.

There seem to be three ways to go about this business. First, you can seek the impossible: finding some benchmark that cuts across all these sports like a big ol’ scythe, such as how many mammas bring their cubs down to the park; by counting all the dollar bills in the tills, or all those millions thrown at stadiums and fancy powder rooms I wouldn’t mind living in; or even by what this fella’ right here is having me do — how much ink gets wasted on these games.

The second involves finding a mark — like the cut we knived into the pew telling how far Lil’ Sam Lee rolled his marble without it falling to the ground — within a position and sport. And then trying to compare that against other sports — like putting my marble spin against the spitting contests Sunday evenin’ across the back porch, sunset spread out before us like heaven’s peach cobbler. Here, still, there needs to be some way of making sense of the difference between the lone wolf and the hound dog, between the cougar in the zoo and the cougar in the hills.

The last option throws the linens to the wind and gives you fine readers a chance to vote for their list, but your newsman seems hesitant toward that suggestion because there is no way to control how they will choose. Although, such a method gains legitimacy because they choose, not because they choose well.

Choosing will not be easy, particularly if you insist on comparing Achilles to Beowulf; remember, the rules of the game change, as does the competition, even if it seems like all everyone does is win or lose.

Son, don’t go and get all antsy on me, I’m getting to the point. Now, though I’m a decided man, being dead and all, I’m just going to give my top five athletes because I’ve already said enough, and this is really for you all to argue.

Number Six: I know this is just a bit outside, but hold on to your teeth. There will be six in my top five because I see some of myself in Tom Scott. Back in my twilight years, the 1950s, Tom was an All-American in two sports, football and lacrosse. Granted, it seems increased competition limits a young man’s chance to switch sports, let alone play both ways as an end for the football team; and more of that choice seems complicated these days by making a career out of one sport. On the other hand, I played three sports at the University and still played professional baseball for 20 years. As a lineman and defenseman he may not have put points on the board, but the team compiled a three-year 24-5 record while he pushed his way to All-American status, and he was nominated to the College Football Hall of Fame. Judging also by the lack of any other All-Americans from those years, he must’ve been one tough bulldog.

Number Five: For my fifth spot, I decided to go with another relative unknown, Mortimer Caplin because he single-handedly led the University’s most popular sport in the 1930s — boxing — to an undefeated season and national championship. Now, I understand that boxing isn’t even a varsity sport at the University anymore, but my concern is not what you would like to see, but what I think would be just. Caplin went undefeated for three years while at the University, including his last two. The clincher for me shows his talent and grit: winning the NCAA middleweight title with a broken hand — and in a time when medicine was not as precise as today.

Number Four: I understand a desire to put high on such a list athletes hanging with accolades like blossoms weigh down bleeding heart shrubs, but it is rare to have an athlete hold a world record while still competing at the collegiate level. Paul Ereng won gold in the 800 meters for Kenya at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, and then he broke the world indoor record in the 800 meters the next year in Budapest. The three-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American still holds five school records.

Number Three: The lone woman on this list did much of the same work as my Number two. Dawn Staley, a renowned basketball player, won two ACC and national player of the year awards, three All-American awards, and the NCAA once named her the Female Athlete of the Year. For Virginia, Staley compiled all-time records in several scoring, defense and assist categories. But more importantly, Staley legitimized Virginia’s women’s basketball program on the national scene, leading the team to three Final Fours — including a championship game lost in overtime.

Number Two: This decision is going to raise some fists and shake some heads, but Ralph Sampson does not deserve the top spot. Yes, he was one of the most heavily recruited basketball players of his generation, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated an unprecedented six times. Yes, he holds Virginia records for rebounds, field goals and blocks, and more importantly, he put Virginia basketball on the map. Yes, the two-time unanimous national player of the year earned three Naismith and ACC player of the year awards, four All-American selections and one National Invitational Tournament title. But what was this Sampson’s Delilah? An NCAA championship. All the pieces were there, but Sampson just could not keep the team from crumbling come Final Four time.

Number One: When it comes down to it, picking Somdev Devvarman for the top spot instead of Sampson is like choosing between scrapple and liver for breakfast: you win either way. Maybe by putting Somdev here I am casting the pall of Sampson’s short NBA career over his time at Virginia. Devvarman doesn’t suffer from such aftersight because he hasn’t yet established a professional legacy. I can list the accolades for one of the greatest college tennis players of all time: two-time national player of the year, two-time NCAA singles champion, NCAA record three-time singles finalist and the greatest individual season in college tennis history, his last in Charlottesville. Sampson doesn’t garner such superlative comments, but he also played a game with a much deeper and competitive history. We can argue that Devvarman didn’t face as stiff competition as Sampson, but then again, Devvarman dominated the court with a more complete game than could be said for Sampson. Devvarman wins out in the end, in part, because your newsman says some controversy will stir things up, but moreso because he gives the University firmer ground to stand on when appealing to the imaginations and pocketbooks of fans and community members: a champion, yes, and one still full of potential.

The Virginia softball team is hoping to recover after a series of disappointing losses against Maryland during the weekend as the Cavaliers take on traditionally competitive Longwood in a doubleheader today.

Virginia (23-12, 2-7 ACC) dropped the three games to the Terrapins with a combined score of 18-6. Leaving runners in scoring position contributed to Virginia’s loss and is a problem the Cavaliers need to work to remedy, Virginia coach Eileen Schmidt said, adding that her squad cannot be so selective at the plate.

“I think we have a tendency to look for the perfect pitch that we can drive, but you don’t always get those pitches,” Schmidt said. “We need to be able to capitalize, and raise the intensity bar when we get runners in scoring position.”

Longwood (15-14) always has been a tough competitor against Virginia. The Cavaliers have an all-time record of 9-8 against the Lancers, and the teams have split the annual two-game series during the last three seasons. The Lancers are also riding momentum from a five-game winning streak.

Though Longwood’s 4.24 runs per game ranks the team outside the top 100 nationally, the Lancers have shown the ability to heat up offensively, scoring seven or more runs on five occasions this year.

Containing offensive production could be one of the biggest challenges for Virginia pitchers in today’s series. The Lancers have demonstrated their ability to hit for power this season, smacking 21 home runs and eight triples this season. The team ranked 40th in the nation with 61 doubles last season.

“I think our pitchers need to work on keeping them off balance by mixing speeds and hitting their location,” senior shortstop Carly Winger said.

Despite the Lancers’ impressive hitting performance thus far this season, the Cavaliers expect both pitchers to perform well today.
“We have confidence in our pitchers,” freshman shortstop Clara Kendall said.

Senior righthander Karla Wilburn and freshman righthander Stephanie Coates boast impressive numbers on the mound. Wilburn has notched a 2.23 ERA with a 17-6 record, while Coates has tallied a 5-3 record and a 2.24 ERA.

Virginia’s line-up will have to battle strong pitching from the Lancers as well. Longwood sophomore lefthander Briana Wells boasts a 2.94 ERA. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Brittany Spencer’s 6.27 ERA is greater, but she has posted winning 3-2 record.

From the offensive side, the Cavaliers hit .277 as a team, and are led by senior outfielder Sarah Tacke, who has compiled 36 runs batted in and nine home runs. In addition to her power numbers, Tacke has a knack for finding her way on base — she has a .509 on-base percentage and has walked 18 times.

Junior pitcher and outfielder Nicole Koren also could pose an offensive threat against the Lancers. Koren has 10 homeruns and a .388 batting average.

The Lancers, meanwhile, have their own tough offensive producers to counter the Cavaliers’, as Longwood is hitting for an identical .277 average as a team. Junior outfielder Camille Ketsdever has driven in 13 runs and is hitting .375. Sophomore outfielder Nichole Simmons has ripped 10 extra-base hits and has batted in 16 runs.

Schidmt said the team needs to refocus today to get back on the right track. After losing to Maryland, the Cavaliers have now lost their first three conference series.

“It’s just remembering what we are about, making routine plays, and getting back to what we do,” Schmidt said.