After his expulsion from the University for gambling debts 181 years ago, Edgar Allan Poe finally makes his return.

One might argue, however, that he never left, for Poe remains a central figure in the University’s academic and cultural life. The Raven Society, a prestigious honor society, is named for him, and his character makes numerous appearances throughout the year at literary readings and occasionally graduations. His room on the West Range — room 13 — also is immortalized and permanently preserved.

“No other famous alum has that presence here,” University Exhibits Coordinator Mercedes Procaccini said.

In celebration of Poe’s 200th birthday this year, the Harrison Institute and Special Collections Library collaborated with the Harry Ransom Center from the University of Texas at Austin to sponsor the exhibition “From Out That Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Edgar Allan Poe.” The opportunity arose after discussions between the University and the Harry Ransom Center, as both have significant collections of Poe-related artifacts, Procaccini said.

“We wanted to bring everything together and showcase it in a way that had never been done before,” she said, adding that the bicentennial was too perfect a date to pass up.

For 10 months in 1827, Poe was a French and Latin student at the University and lived on the West Range. Contrary to what his literary executor Rufus Griswold stated in Poe’s obituary, Poe was not “expelled for his dissolute ways,” but rather for debts.

Professors at the time described Poe as a quiet and somber student. Somewhat surprisingly, given other accounts of early University students, he was never seen “under the influence of intoxicating liquors,” then-librarian William Wertenbaker said.

Procaccini said one of the exhibitions’ aims was to portray Poe more personally, rather than simply as a famous literary figure.

“We wanted a bigger picture to represent the whole person,” she said, “not just the iconic figure that comes to mind.”

This impression is often “based on a handful of lurid details” Procaccini said, adding the exhibitors hoped to give the public a richer understanding of Poe’s complex personality.

The exhibition contains a multitude of artifacts, including early manuscripts, photographs, letters, Poe’s writing desk and a brooch that contains a lock of his hair. Items came from the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, the Valentine Richmond History Center and private collections.

“Because of these artifacts, the exhibition captures [Poe’s] presence in a way you can’t just write out in a label,” Procaccini said. “We wanted artifacts that are engaging in other ways, not simply in a literary sense.”

Throughout his life, Poe dabbled in a range of areas, including the military. Soon after he was expelled from the University, Poe enlisted at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He lasted longer than 10 months, but “purposeful misconduct” in 1830 earned Poe a dishonorable discharge. An official copy of his trial, which took place, Jan. 1, 1831, is featured in the exhibit as well.

One cannot forget Poe’s literary impact, however. The exhibition contains some of his poems and non-fiction works from his days as an amateur scientist, as well as articles he wrote as a journalist and his literary criticisms. Poe also is credited as the inventor of the detective story, and several of his short stories and poems are on display. Newspaper articles about him and his influence even at that time can be seen as part of the exhibit.

There is a large area devoted to arguably his best-known poem, “The Raven.” In addition to the only complete autographed manuscript in existence today, the exhibition boasts a copy of its original printing in the “American Review.” Visitors also can see modern pop culture representations of the poem, like in the first “Simpsons” Halloween episode, “Tree-House of Horror.”

Poe’s legacy is clear in many aspects of the arts today, and Procaccini said she feels it is important to think about where many things have their roots.

“Poe is so iconic,” she said, “but this means many people do not think about him critically, nor do they understand how influential he has been.”

The exhibition has received positive responses from the University community and the public. The guest book is filled with comments like, “I really enjoyed the science theories and literary influences sections,” and, “He was a deep, dark human being, and I learned a lot I didn’t know before.”

The Special Collections Library has noticed an increase in traffic, much of which likely is a direct result of the exhibition. What several visitors may not know, though, is that the library has a lesser-known display below the ground level that contains more of Poe’s possessions from his time at the University, more original manuscripts and a letter the University recently acquired.

The letter is of particular interest. Dated 1842, it is an apology from Poe to his publishers. While apologizing for drunkenness, Poe describes himself as “pushed for money” — a condition he found himself in frequently throughout his life.

Whether you think of Poe as a debauched and destitute writer or a misunderstood and deeply troubled genius, there is no denying his influence on the literary and broader arts worlds. His legacy lives on in literature, artwork, music, even modern crime-investigation television shows — and at the Special Collections Library.

One thing I’ve noticed about the University is the great respect it gives to its mentally deranged student demographic, the one driven by severe sleep deprivation, manic depression and a proclivity for being named John Nelson. Totally kidding on that last one, of course. But not really. I don’t know the guy, but I hear he’s in charge of some self-righteous political organization, thus automatically making him kind of a tool and worthy of some serious, ungrounded heat from the belligerent media.

But I’m a nice guy, so I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’d like to look back on the legacy of the University’s first mentally unstable student, the great Edgar Allan Poe, whose 200th birthday the University library is honoring this year with a special exhibition portraying the author’s enduring influence. To conclude the exhibition’s opening ceremony, one University official eloquently put forth the significance of the bicentennial, noting, “If Poe were alive today, he would be one decrepit-looking old dude.”

The University’s perennial respect and appreciation for the famous poet is quite understandable, as Poe spent almost an entire eight months on Grounds building upon his gambling debt, drinking heavily and doing next to nothing productive.

Records indicate that besides attending the occasional class, he rarely ever emerged from his room on the West Range, only doing so for the purpose of frightening his colleagues with his distorted facial features. His massive forehead, which had roughly the same surface area as Rosie O’Donnell, led his classmates to affectionately call him “Ed the Forehead.” A few of his teachers caught on to the hilarity of the nickname, calling him “Mr. Forehead” in class. Poe’s response to the humiliation consisted of not only the creation of several disturbing short stories about murder and talking birds, but also the writing of a letter to the University’s founder, Mr. Thomas Jefferson himself. The letter complained that he should not be ridiculed for his “birth defect,” going so far as suggesting the abusive teachers should be punished with “mass executions on the Lawn at the hands of those exceedingly rabid squirrels and perhaps some man-eating crows.” To his dismay, Mr. Jefferson’s reply was addressed “Dear Mr. Forehead, I dare say you need to chill the eff out, you diminutive ogre.” Poe left the University six days later, citing “gambling debts” and “a weak football conference” as his main reasons for leaving.

Despite the setback, Poe would go on to do great things, starting with his happy marriage in 1829 to his 13-year-old first cousin, Virginia Clemm. Friends and family members reacted appropriately to the 27-year-old’s questionable decision, saying things like “Really, Ed? Really?” and “Why, Edward, she has scarcely hit puberty!” Resisting his family’s concerns and ignoring his seventh-grade wife’s steadfast penchant for Chuck E. Cheese, Poe valiantly went forth and became the first man to try to earn a living through writing alone, a brave attempt that many years later would delude English majors everywhere into thinking they could come out of college and obtain successful jobs despite not having any useful skills. Needless to say, his sole dependence on writing gave way to a financially troubling life and career, eventually climaxing with his apparent suicide. His path from writing to depression to suicide proved inspirational to many, as countless writers down the road would go on to do the same.

Poe is also credited with starting the trend of delayed literary appreciation, in which people don’t give a rip about a person’s writing until many years after they are dead. Like so many writers after him, Poe was way more successful as a dead guy than he ever was a living guy. Largely ignored during his lifetime, Poe was rapidly elevated from creepy, disturbing drunkard to larger-than-life literary sensation some 50 years after his death when some dude read one of his stories and claimed that it was, in fact, pretty good, and that the story’s author should probably be pretty famous. Shortly thereafter, Edgar Allan Poe became a household name, as millions of copies of his works were sold, making Poe one of the wealthiest poverty-stricken dead people of all time. It also made him one of the most pissed off dead guys ever.

Such a reflection on this infamous old man makes me wonder how he would have fared as a student at the present-day University. For starters, he would certainly not have the kind of flawless credentials possessed by today’s Lawnies, so he definitely would not even live near the Lawn. Rather, he would undoubtedly live just about as far away as humanly possible from that sublime location, instead residing in a place where all the other crazies of this school spend their days under attack by crazed turkeys — Gooch/Dillard. Maybe one night, he would tire of the building’s war against the turkeys and venture out to a frat party, where he could indulge in his love of booze.

I can see it now. A few hours into the party, a frat brother approaches Poe and says, “Yo, wut up, Eddie Money?”

“Nevermore, you murderous swine!” Poe stutters.

“Say what, brah?”

“Do you not hear it, you imbecile?! ‘Tis the beating of his cursed heart! I can take it no more!”

Annoyed, the fratstar turns to some of his brothers and says, “Damn it, broskis! What did I say about letting The Forehead near the punch? You just don’t do it!”

By his life’s end, the remarkable achievements of Poe were so numerous that many of them continue to go unnoticed to this day. For instance, did you know that he correctly predicted the Baltimore Ravens to win Super Bowl XXXV? Ironically, he was chastised by his friends for the bold prediction, mostly because football had not yet been invented so no one knew what he was talking about. His accomplishments, however, are not just constrained to his living years. Just last year, for example, Poe was ranked No. 3 in Us Weekly’s list of the 50 Biggest Creepers of All Time, ranking behind Carrot Top and John Wilkes Booth.

So, Edward, if you can hear me from the grave, I’d just like to say that my classmates and I continue to look upon you with awe — mostly because you married your 13-year-old cousin, to be honest. I mean, come on man, that’s pretty messed up. But besides that, you were an amazing man, and as an English major, I will strive to match your success through writing. At least after I’m dead, that is.

Nick’s column normally runs biweekly Mondays. He can be reached at n.eilerson@cavalierdaily.com.

Today marks my final column of the year. It will be a whole season and a half before I can once again pen pointless details of my life and brighten the Thursday mornings of my readers. If I even have readers. Are there U.Va. readers who wait in breathless anticipation for my article to make its biweekly debut, who chuckle fondly at my clever jokes and appreciate my cynical prose? Though the prospect of a “Livin’ la Vida Lauren” Fan Club sounds promising, I’m fairly sure current readers of my article are either 1) skimming quickly on their way to the Sudoku or 2) my mother.

Anyway, today is my last column of the year, and I wanted to close with something a little bit more meaningful than my typical article. (Unfortunately this means you will have to wait until fall to find out which Crayola crayon color best describes my personality.) So I’m going to tell you a story about how I almost died.

During Easter weekend, my roommates and I decided to go camping down in South Carolina. We packed up our things and drove eight hours through to the Tyger River in the deep South. The campsite was only accessible by water, so we set two to a canoe and began drifting downstream. For a while, the river was calm and beautiful. I passed the time by singing Pocahontas’ “Just Around the River Bend” far too many times and watching for crocodiles.

We were a couple hours in when I noticed that we were drifting faster down the river, and that the current was getting choppy. When I looked ahead, I could see why: Two large trees had fallen into the river and lay suspended over the water’s surface by large boulders in the river. Hastily, my roommate and I grabbed our paddles and tried to row around the wreckage, but we weren’t quick enough. A branch caught the canoe by its edge and wedged the boat between the rocks. On my other side, water was spilling swiftly into the canoe. Before I knew it, we lost our balance and the boat tipped over.

I could take this time to tell you all about the remaining bit of my adventure, about how the current was so strong that it forced me downward under the canoe, about how my ankle became ensnared around a stick, about how my canoe-mate, who hadn’t gotten tossed into the rapids, screamed my name several times and got no response. I could tell you how, just before I somehow swam to the surface, my vision became clouded with black spots (apparently not a good sign), about how my last thought before I somehow got out of there was “I’m 19 and I’m going to die.”

But somehow I didn’t. And I shudder when I realize how close I came to the eternal alternative. Stop me if I’m being melodramatic — and there is a pretty high chance that I am, for this is my only near-death experience­ — but I resurfaced from that river realizing that life is short. No. Stop. Read it again: Life. Is. Short. You need to hear this. Today could be the last day of your life. But it could also be the first — the first day you actually start living. Use it wisely.

So that is the message I leave you with for the summer: Live your life. (Thank you Rihanna and T.I., for that song, which now never leaves my head — ever.) Be strong. Be happy. Get off FMyLife and Facebook and get into the world. Appreciate the fragrant, blooming flowers or the hot sun after days of rain. Reconsider your plan to quadruple-major; instead, take that Studio Art class you’ve been curious about. Remind your friends and family that you care and do this as often as possible.

Have a good summer, “Livin’ la Vida Lauren” fans. And thanks for reading. Now go crush that Sudoku. Maybe even conquer the word search.

If that’s what you want to do with your life, of course.

Lauren’s column runs biweekly Thursdays. She can be reached a l.kimmel@cavalierdaily.com.

Two men now in police custody assaulted and robbed a University student Tuesday morning. The incident is the latest in a string of robberies targeting University students this year.

A 22-year-old male graduate student was attacked while crossing a parking lot in the 2400 block of Arlington Blvd. around 1:00 a.m., Charlottesville Police Detective Jim Mooney said. The attackers struck his face and then drove off with his money.

“They beat him pretty badly,” Mooney said. “Then the suspects went off and committed a similar crime in [Albemarle] County.”
According to a press release, both crimes were similar in nature and had similar suspect descriptions.

After the second robbery Tuesday, Albemarle County Police Department officers chased down Christopher Daniel Williams, a 31-year-old Fluvanna County resident, and Jerome Antonio Johnson, a 28-year-old Albemarle County resident. Mooney said the suspects fled from police officers until their vehicle crashed near Fontaine Avenue, allowing officers to make arrests.

Because the assaulted student provided law enforcement officials with detailed descriptions of his attackers, Albemarle County Police Department officers were able to identify the two arrested men as potential suspects of the crime committed in Charlottesville. By yesterday afternoon, both City and County officials had charged the men with robbery and malicious wounding. They are currently being held without bond at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

Although there have been at least three other robberies against University students this year, University Police Department Capt. Donald McGee said because the latest incident occurred off Grounds, his office only can provide limited support in terms of preventing or addressing crimes of a similar nature. University students also are urged to remain aware of their surroundings and should report any suspicious circumstances.

“We have a cooperative parole with the city,” he said, “but anything off University Grounds is out of our jurisdiction.”

The Muslim Student Association appealed to Student Council Tuesday night at Council’s last meeting of the semester about its assigned office space but ultimately failed to obtain a new space.

The MSA originally was granted a space in the Lambeth Field area by a space allocation committee within Student Council, although it requested an office in Newcomb Hall.

When requesting office space, contracted independent organizations rank rooms in order of preference, and all those ranked by the MSA are currently occupied by the Inter-Fraternity Council, the Inter-Sorority Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Each of these organizations sent representatives to speak at the appeal.

The representatives all said the nature of Greek organizations necessitates spaces to hold last-minute meetings and places to store important and confidential documents that often date back several decades, making it difficult to even share the office space with the MSA.

“It’s not that we’re not willing to share,” NPHC President Isaac Bawuah said. “We just don’t want to run the risk of leaking those confidential files. It can’t just be stuck in a filing cabinet and locked.”

IFC President Charles Gamper also said it is important for these groups to retain their current offices, especially when the governing board conducts investigations or addresses other pressing issues.

“Our office in Newcomb is absolutely essential,” ISC President Kelly McLaughlin said, adding that changing their space allocation would impact the more than 2,000 members of the ISC.

MSA Secretary Sumaira Javed said the MSA had similar needs, noting that the organization wants a space closer to Central Grounds to allow members to conveniently confer with an MSA officer to discuss any personal concerns, like roommate issues. The location at Lambeth Field will inhibit its ability to thrive as an organization, she added.

“A lot of first-years don’t know where Lambeth is, so they wouldn’t come to us as readily,” she said. “We want a room in Newcomb for accessibility for students.”

Javed added the MSA needs a space for members to express their thoughts, adding that members currently must arrange private meetings with members in open spaces, which is not ideal when members need to discuss sensitive topics.

Vice President for Organizations Colin Hood noted that MSA’s case is not unique among CIOs because of the limited availability of office space on Grounds.

“There’s just not enough space for all organizations,” Hood said. “It’s just not feasible.”

Vice President of Administration Nikhil Panda added that he did not believe the MSA’s current office space would inhibit its ability to grow as an organization.

“I don’t see the office space in Lambeth as a direct hurdle to your expansion,” he said.

MSA’s office will remain in Lambeth Field, while the IFC, ISC and NPHC will retain their current offices on the third floor of Newcomb Hall.

—compiled by Jane Ma

A virtual reality simulation with broad implications for future environmental research at the University, the “U.Va. Bay Game,” debuted yesterday before a group of students and faculty in the Harrison Institute Auditorium.

The Bay Game simulates the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and allows for participants to make decisions as virtual farmers, fishermen, citizens or policymakers, Vice President for Research Tom Skalak said. Players of the University-developed computer game can monitor how their choices affect the ecosystem, as the software tabulates actions and determines how they affect critical environmental and economic indicators like dissolved oxygen and profits of farmers and fishermen, Skalak said.

Skalak initiated the effort to create the game, recruiting Systems Engineering Prof. Gerry Learmonth to head the game’s technical development. Learmonth and his team of five graduate students worked with professors and students from the College, as well as the Architecture, Commerce, Engineering, Law, Medical and Nursing Schools. These contributors will continue to play an active role in the game’s later use and evolution, Learmonth added.

Learmonth described the bay’s health as “the response to the collection of millions of people making personal decisions.” The creation of the game was therefore quite complex, involving a network of variables that needed to interlock into a complete picture.

Skalak emphasized that no other research institution has developed a tool of this breadth and scale. The project’s potential lies not only in the possibility of it being applied to other estuaries and environments around the world, but also to financial markets, where a web of interacting investors often mimics an actual ecosystem.

Learmonth said his team used a framework and software that a private consultant, who had done this modeling on the Everglades, already developed. The team then worked to integrate this model with the Chesapeake Bay, coordinating the thousands of economic and environmental factors that impact the system.

Jeffrey Plank, associate vice president for research, said the game is a “distinctive laboratory for testing policy.” Plank, who also helped coordinate the interdisciplinary effort to create the game, said he hopes it will one day benefit policymakers, allowing them to test environmental policies before they are put in place.

Michael Purvis, a systems engineering graduate student and member of Learmonth’s team, said the project’s appeal lies mainly in its future applications.

“This is something that is owed significant effort because of its potential contribution to environmental science and the fact that it could serve as a model in regions around the world,” Purvis said.

The software, though functional, is still in its initial stages of development, Skalak said. Students, both graduate and undergraduate, will work with faculty to continue to add additional layers of detail and accuracy, improving the game’s practicality and usefulness, Skalak said.

The game will be available online to classes next semester, Learmonth said.

“We hope that there will be a next version that may involve thousands of U.Va students, providing more reality and visibility that will drive public policy,” Skalak added.

Beginning next year, New York University will no longer require applicants to submit SAT Reasoning Test scores, according to NYU’s Web site for Undergraduate Admissions.

Students applying to NYU will have the option to submit the SAT Reasoning Test and two Subject Tests, the ACT with Writing Section, the SAT Reasoning Test and two Advanced Placement scores, three SAT Subject Tests in non-language areas or three AP scores in non-language areas. For the Subject Tests and AP scores, the applicants should submit scores in the humanities or literature, math or science and an area of choice.

The University, meanwhile, will not change its requirements for standardized tests, Dean of Admissions Greg Roberts said, noting that he believes the current University policy remains adequate.

According to NYU’s Web site, the school’s administration believes that a wider variety of test scores will benefit applicants. The change in policy was partially a result of NYU’s concern that talented students with lower test scores were discouraged from applying because of the increasing average SAT score of accepted students.

Additionally, tests other than the SAT Reasoning Test are linked to subject mastery, and NYU’s research has shown that SAT Subject Tests and high school transcripts are better indicators of how a student will perform academically than the SAT Reasoning Test alone, the Web site stated.

“At heart, [the change] is about giving students more choice in how they present themselves and about acknowledging the importance of subject mastery,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman stated in an e-mail.

NYU’s change in policy is part of an overall trend in admissions, said David Hawkins, director of public policy and research for the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Colleges are showing increasing interest in reassessing the role of standardized testing in admissions, he said.

Robert Schaeffer, the public education director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, said he sees any movement away from required standardized tests as positive.

“In many cases, admission officers use [the SAT Reasoning Test] as a cheap — since they don’t pay for it, test takers do — and easy way to eliminate applicants,” Schaeffer said. “Of course, it’s a biased screen and one that ends up eliminating many applicants who could otherwise succeed in college.”

He characterized NYU’s policy change as a step toward a test-optional admissions policy. “Some people want to take a giant step and some people want to take a smaller step, and we applaud them both,” Schaeffer said.

The policy also can benefit students by allowing them to take one less test, Hawkins said.

“I think that this would relieve some of the testing burden on students as they go through the application process,” he said. Another advantage of the change is reflected in a report commissioned by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which “found that tests that are more linked to the curriculum, like AP exams or subject tests, are generally speaking more predictive of the freshman grade point average for students,” he said.

The College Board’s 2008 SAT Validity Studies of 150,000 students nationwide, though, found that the SAT continues to be an excellent predictor of how students will perform during their first year of college, and that the SAT is a better predictor than high school grades for all minority groups, among other findings.

Hawkins also identified a potential disadvantage because of the change, in that students could become confused with a wider range of different tests and requirements.

“[This downside] doesn’t necessarily pertain to NYU because what they’ve done is they’ve given students options,” Hawkins said. “When it’s approached that way, it really does minimize the confusion because it’s not a requirement, it’s just an option.”

Although NYU made the changes to its admissions policies, the University is not considering similar changes to its requirements for standardized tests, Roberts said.

“Our process is holistic,” he said. “We look at everything the students submit and there is no formula.”

Roberts noted that the SAT is evaluated in the context of the rest of the prospective student’s application.

“We’re happy with the results we get currently,” Roberts said, adding that he supports NYU’s efforts to provide flexibility for students and to encourage lower-scoring students to apply. Apart from requiring the SAT Reasoning Test, Roberts said that most of the University’s admissions policies are very similar to NYU’s.

“I found that in admissions, most schools are constantly evaluating their admission process and trying to determine which policies and programs are the fairest and most equitable for the students who are applying, and we do that as well,” Roberts said, “but to make a dramatic change like this would not be something that we would do overnight.”

The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission announced the selection of Stephen Williams as executive director Tuesday. TJPDC works with local government officials and community groups to find solutions to environmental, housing, transportation, economic and social issues.

TJPDC Chairman Connie Brennan said Williams has a “wealth of experience,” particularly about transportation issues.
“He’s just an incredibly well-rounded person,” Brennan said. “We thought he could jump right in.”

Williams said his more than 25 years of experience in California, Iowa and most recently New Hampshire provided him with a broad perspective about planning issues.

“I’ve been in several different areas of the country and seen different ways of dealing with same issues,” Williams said.

Williams said he has not set particular goals but wants to help elected and appointed community leaders, as well as citizens, fulfill their goals and ensure that TJPDC does its best.

“He’s already expressed interest in getting to know communities” that make up the TJPDC district, Brennan said, noting that this includes urban, suburban and rural areas. Planning District 10 includes the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Fluvanna County, Greene County, Louisa County and Nelson County.

“TJPDC has been doing some interesting things that mesh well with my experience,” Williams said, mentioning the regional transit authority project and recent Route 29 corridor study as projects that have “great potential.”

TJPDC could also work further with the University in the future, Williams said, noting his prior work with universities. In the past, Williams has worked on water quality projects with University of California, Santa Cruz and helped open the Monterey Bay campus of California State University.

“I’m hoping to get to know the University better and find out what the strong curriculum areas are and see if there are ways we can begin involving University students,” Williams said.

Williams will begin his new position May 11.

It’s hard to pick a column topic — especially when it is your last. Instead of a rant or a player profile, I decided to do something different. Considering so many people around Grounds have shaped my experience here, I thought it appropriate to have members of the community help write this piece.

The question is simple: What is your most memorable sports moment from this past school year?

I asked faculty, students, student-athletes and administrators. Here are their answers:

Dean of Students Allen Groves: “That’s easy: the seven-overtime, 10-9 men’s lacrosse victory over Maryland. The athletics department had given me a field pass, so I was on the sideline for what would end up as the longest game in Division I lacrosse history, culminating in a come-from-behind U.Va. victory.”

Third-year Engineering Student Brendan Hesselbein: “For me, it has to be the UNC-U.Va. football game this past fall. U.Va. looked like a high school football team for the first 58 minutes of the game and somehow Verica got in the zone. He drove them right down the field for the tying touchdown and luckily the extra point got through the uprights. But the best image of that game was Cedric Peerman willing his way into the end zone and reaching the ball across the goal line.”

Fourth-year College student Chad O’Hara: “Our team won the co-rec Inner-tube Water Polo championship this past year. We competed as Webb [dormitory’s] first-year team and we played together all four years. For our first three years, each time we were bounced in the semifinals by a grad school team and each time we told ourselves that next season would be our year. Each time, it wasn’t. When our fourth year rolled around, we were all busy and stressed from school, one of our core players took the semester off due to Lyme disease and another player had to miss the entire regular season. Nonetheless we used our veteran composure to survive the first couple rounds and by the championship game we had rounded into form, winning in our fourth and final effort as a team.  This was my most memorable sports memory.”

Athletics Director Craig Littlepage: “I have a tie for the most memorable sporting event. The two events that are most memorable for me are the football team’s 31-0 win against Maryland and the ACC co-championship in men’s track and field this past weekend.”

Dead of Admission Greg Roberts: “My favorite moment was taking my 5-year-old son, Luke, to a baseball game against Miami on a beautiful spring Saturday. My second favorite was going 1-for-20 against Zach Rowen in a pick-up basketball game at the AFC.” (Dean Roberts rarely shoots below the University’s acceptance rate. It was an off-day).

Women’s lacrosse defender Katie Shannon: “Virginia women’s lacrosse team beating Duke in the NCAA semifinal back in 2007 [was the most memorable of my career]. We came back from being down 13-4 with 17 minutes left on the clock — greatest comeback in NCAA playoff history I believe. From this year, rushing the field after our football team beat UNC … and after beating Florida State first year!”

Third-year Commerce student Kevin Dowlen, President of Hoo Crew: “My most memorable moment of the U.Va. sports year was the seven-overtime lacrosse game. The real thing that stuck out to me was how the goalies on both teams were making saves in the fifth and sixth overtimes. As a former goalie, I know how nerve-wracking that situation is, and it takes some guts for [Brian] Phipps from Maryland and [Adam] Ghitelman from U.Va. to keep making those saves that late in a sudden-death game. [Brian] Carroll’s lefty rip shot in the top corner will stick with me forever.”

Politics Prof. Larry Sabato: “Politics and sports have a lot in common, and never more so than when there has to be a coaching change. A large electorate ordered a coaching change in Washington last November, while a small electorate — John Casteen and Craig Littlepage — engineered the switch of U.Va. basketball coaches recently, but both transitions were handled skillfully and had popular support. Barack Obama and Tony Bennett have qualities in common: youth, energy, poise under pressure and great expectations. Let’s hope for the country and the University that both work out well. Personally, I won’t be satisfied until our Bennett belts out a rendition of, ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco,’ but most people will be happy with a winning season.”

Fourth-year College student Leah Bernick: “1) The Bob Chapel Pick-Up Soccer League: A group of crazy drama major kids get together on Nameless [Field] on Friday afternoons all year for pick-up soccer. Crazy fun. 2) This past Saturday’s Lacrosse game — very fun! Especially the fourth quarter. Lacrosse games in general usually rank on my favorites of the year, and Saturday’s game was fun and fast-paced, very celebratory and [played] in beautiful weather — a great last home game for me!”

Women’s basketball guard Monica Wright: “I would have to say that the most memorable sports moment for me was when the women’s basketball team beat Tennessee at Tennessee after they won the national championship. Also, when the baseball team went on a 19-game winning streak was very memorable.”

No doubt, all of these moments will be remembered for a while. Hopefully for the 2008-09 school year, though, the best is yet to come.
Thank you to those who contributed to this column. Thank you to those who have contributed to my experience here at U.Va. And thank you, the reader. The past four years have been a pleasure.

With the regular season complete, the Virginia women’s lacrosse team will begin its quest for its fourth consecutive ACC crown and its fifth in six years. The Cavaliers are coming off a heartbreaking 11-10 loss to top-ranked Northwestern in the tightest game the Wildcats saw all season. Despite the loss, the game gave the Cavaliers some momentum heading into the postseason.

“These one-goal losses are hurting,” Virginia coach Julie Myers said. “We have to make sure that we are the happy team in the end. Coming close is great, but it is not good enough right now.”

Though they are highly-ranked, the No. 10 Cavaliers (10-6, 2-3 ACC) have, by many standards, struggled this season compared to recent years. Their six losses are the most the squad has suffered during the regular season since 1995. The postseason gives the Cavaliers a chance to bounce back.

The past three years, the Cavaliers have absolutely dominated the ACC Tournament, defeating their opponents by a combined score of 82-56 during their marches to conference championships.

This year, the Cavaliers already have three losses against ACC teams, however, a number that translated to a disappointing fourth-place finish in the six-team conference. They have shown, though, that they can come back and defeat a team in the postseason that had beaten them in the regular season. In 2006 and 2007, the Cavaliers lost to North Carolina during the regular season but defeated the Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament. Virginia will look to exact a similar revenge against opponents this weekend.

Virginia’s first game in the ACC Tournament will come against Virginia Tech (7-9, 1-4 ACC), which the Cavaliers soundly defeated 19-3 earlier this year. Today is the first time these in-state rivals will face one another in the ACC Tournament. The Cavaliers have a perfect 13-0 all-time, regular-season record against the Hokies and are favored to extend their winning streak against Virginia Tech.

The Cavaliers dominated the earlier matchup between the two teams. Senior midfielder Ashley McCulloch recorded a career-high eight points and senior midfielder Blair Weymouth contributed five points on three goals and two assists. Nine Cavaliers found the back of the net en route to their second highest-scoring game of the season.

Coming into today’s outing against the Cavaliers, the Hokies have lost two straight games. They also have, however, made great strides all season.

“They are a much-improved team,” Myers said. “A lot of younger kids are getting a lot better and not making as many mistakes and doing a better job going to goal. We will have our hands full.”

Senior attack Rachel Culp, who is among the nation’s top offensive players, leads the Hokies with 53 goals and 15 assists. Sophomore attack Allie Emala is another key contributor, totaling 34 goals and matching Cavalier junior midfielder Brittany Kalkstein’s impressive number of 58 draw controls this season. This total puts the pair in a tie for eighth in the country. Senior goalkeeper Kari Morrison anchors the Hokie defense between the pipes; Morrison had 13 saves against the Cavaliers in their first meeting and is currently fourth in the country in saves per game.

If the Cavaliers can get by the Hokie squad today, they will take on No. 1-seeded Maryland (16-0, 5-0 ACC) in the semifinals Friday. Should the Cavaliers upset the Terrapins, they will play in the finals Sunday.

“I want to come up with four [ACC titles] in a row,” Weymouth said. “We have Virginia Tech first, and they are out to get us, so we need to focus our attention on them. All of the ACC teams are huge competitors, so I think we should be all set and good to go.”

Other matchups in the ACC Tournament include Duke (11-4, 3-2 ACC) against Boston College (9-7, 0-5 ACC); the winner of that game will take on No. 2-seed North Carolina (13-3, 4-1 ACC) to fill the other spot in the tournament finals.