President Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act into law yesterday at the Alexandria campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

The legislation will restructure the repayment schedules for student loans. Beginning in 2014, graduates will pay back their students loans based on 10 percent, rather than 15 percent, of their incomes. Then, after 20 years of repayment instead of 25, the remaining balance will be canceled, according to the act.

The law is intended to save the federal government $68 billion by “ending wasteful subsidies given to banks and middlemen who handle student loans” and will provide more funding for Pell Grants, minority institutions, community colleges and subsidies for students loans, said Tim Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former governor of Virginia.

The savings largely will come from no longer using financial institutions such as Sallie Mae to receive money for originating loans, though they will continue to serve them, Kaine said.

The savings from the policy will help to support alternatives to loans. The policy, for example, allocates an additional $40 billion to funding for the need-based Pell Grants, Obama said. In addition, $2 billion will go toward funding community colleges, he said.

Furthermore, the act extends “funding for programs … for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and minority-serving institutions through 2010,” including $100 million to Latino-serving institutions, according to the legislation text.

The bill, therefore, is the “single largest investment in higher education,” Kaine said.

Katie Naranjo, president of College Democrats of America, applauded Obama’s efforts to pass the legislation, but opponents are less enthused at the prospect of the federal government becoming the sole originator of student loans.

“There are simply fewer loans to go around,” said Garren Shipley, communications director for the Republican Party of Virginia. “Because all federally backed student loans will be controlled by the federal government, now, students are at the hands of the Treasury Department.”

Shipley said he distrusts a loan program fully backed by the government, adding that the bill “cheats students” because $10 billion of the savings from student aid reform will be used to pay for the new health care program.

Moreover, he said consolidating the originators of loans simply takes away the number of jobs needed in the business, which could have poor results on the economy.

“We are very concerned,” Shipley said. “It’s going to cost jobs in Virginia at companies like Sallie Mae, who have already said they’re going to be laying people off. That is certainly not what Virginia needs right now.”

Nevertheless, Kaine said the legislation will have positive effects overall for higher education.

The $68 billion saved because of the policy will “enable us to expand the Pell Grant Program and allow us to put $10 billion toward deficit reduction … and will help students realize their dreams of getting higher education by switching to a system of direct lending,” Kaine said.

Philadelphia resident Norman Leboon was arrested Saturday for threatening to kill Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va, in a YouTube video that since has been removed from the site.

“Over the weekend, Congressman Cantor was notified by law enforcement that a threat was made against his life,” Cantor’s Press Secretary Brad Dayspring said in a statement Monday.  “Law enforcement officials informed Congressman Cantor that the threat was determined as credible and they were responding accordingly. The Congressman was later notified that an arrest was made and a suspect was in custody.”

The arrest is one of many made in response to a string of violent threats against lawmakers that followed in the wake of the health care reform vote. Although the threat was made after Cantor’s announcement of support for Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Virginia Health Care Freedom Act, officials have not confirmed that Leboon’s threat is in response to Cantor’s rejection of the federal health care legislation.

The FBI is primarily responsible for handling the investigation, said Gene Lepley, public information manager for the Richmond Police Department. Leboon is scheduled to appear in federal district court in Philadelphia Monday and is being held without bail pending an evaluation of his psychiatric well-being.

Richmond police officials believe that an incident last Tuesday in which a stray bullet hit Cantor’s campaign office — which was unoccupied at the time — around 1 a.m. is unrelated to the threats, Lepley added.

“We believe this was a random act of gunfire and a stray bullet as result,” he said. “Someone fired into the air and when it came back down to Earth, it broke through a window of a conference room in a building that houses offices of the congressman.”

Lepley said that the Richmond Police are looking into all possibilities concerning the stray bullet. At this time, there are no suspects.

Leboon still has more than a dozen other videos of himself speaking posted on YouTube under the username “shiamuslimcantbestop.” He refers to himself in his videos as a messiah and prophet and often makes references to Islam.

The Minority Rights Coalition announced the newly appointed members of its 2010-11 executive committee Monday.

Third-year College student Heba Tellawi was chosen as the next chair of the MRC, which serves as an umbrella organization for the Black Student Alliance, the Asian Student Union, the Latino Student Alliance, the Middle Eastern Leadership Council, the Queer Student Union and Feminism is for Everyone.

Second-year College student Revat Anandsongkit, meanwhile, was appointed vice chair for internal affairs, while first-year Engineering student Eric Morris was selected to serve as vice chair for external affairs. First-year College student Katie Mayfield and second-year College student Karmen Story were appointed MRC support officers.

The executive committee — whose members were chosen from 11 applicants for the five available positions — is one component of the MRC, which also includes the presidents of the six constituent organizations. This year, the organization took advantage of its flexible constitution to expand the committee’s membership from three to five members.

“The way the Constitution was set up allows us to build the MRC Executive Committee based on interest each year,” outgoing Chair Neal Fox said.

Tellawi was chosen for one of the positions in part because her past experience should help her lead the coalition effectively, he said, noting that she was the former president of the Middle Eastern Leadership Council. Moreover, he said, Tellawi brings a positive perspective on how to help minority groups collaborate to build a strong community together.

Tellawi also emphasized this goal, adding that the new executive committee will focus on building “a stronger, more unified, minority community, as well as to strengthen and solidify relationships between the MRC and administrators.”

During the past year, the MRC worked to establish itself as a resource for its constituent organizations, especially when they need an advocate, a goal that Fox hopes it will continue to work toward.
The organization also focused on the recruitment of minority students to prominent student organizations on Grounds, such as the Honor Committee, University Judiciary Committee and Student Council.

“There was a huge increase in minority representation in the UJC,” Fox said, adding that the composition of UJC now is very close to an accurate representation of all the minority groups.

Despite these strides made in minority representation, Tellawi emphasized that at the end of the day, the organization’s most important function is to provide a forum for sharing ideas, working together and creating a sense of community between the coalition and its constituent groups.

“I’ve spent the majority of my time at U.Va in positions of advocacy on behalf of minority communities,” she said. “[I] cannot wait to use that drive in this position.”

Student Council members took a break in their debate last night to recognize one member’s birthday. The meeting, during which the Council debated and killed a resolution, marked the last of John Nelson’s administration. Photo by Scott Miles.

During the last formal meeting of the administration of Student Council President John Nelson, the representative body debated and ultimately failed to pass a resolution that would have encouraged leaders of the various school and class councils across Grounds to attend Student Council meetings.

The proposed resolution — which was proposed by first-year representative Charlie Miller, who also serves as president of First Year Council — stated that those leaders should be encouraged to attend Student Council meetings at least twice a semester to discuss ideas and projects that could better cultivate relationships between Student Council and other councils on Grounds.

“Not everybody on [Student] Council knows how everyone else works and what everyone else does,” Miller said. “I thought that was something that was really important … It’s just bridging the gap.”
Second-year Engineering student Seth Kaye, however, questioned how the requirement could be enforced.

“This is pretty much just to start the discussion and have people understand to get it out there that there is a disconnect … and we need to at least address it,” Miller said. “This can somewhat solve it if they abide by it automatically, but it’s not a mandate.”

Nelson noted, however, that other councils might prefer to have a Student Council representative approach them rather than vice versa. More than a resolution, however, might be necessary for such an endeavor, he added. Miller responded that this proposal was considered during the drafting of the resolution; nevertheless, he felt that Student Council members would be less willing to do so because of the level of commitment it would add to their existing responsibilities.

“This is just one step in addressing this problem … that I do believe we at least need to discuss,” Miller said. “This is something just to start the ball rolling for the next administration to better the relationship … so there’s a better connection.”

Law School representative Corey Clay pointed out that programs to encourage council members to connect with Student Council already exist at some schools within the University.

“We already have that in place in the Law School,” Clay said. “I’m on the Student Bar Association and I’m a Student Council representative, so that’s already in place for that reason so we do have someone at the meeting all the time.”

Miller, however, said the resolution would encourage similar programs at schools that do not already have such a connection with Student Council.

“I’m the president of First Year Council, and there have been multiple times when I’ve tried to do some things and it’s been a disconnect … even though I’m on Student Council as representative here … and I’ve had go out on my own to take care of,” Miller said. “I just feel that it’d probably be a lot better if we were all on board and just understood what everybody else was doing.”

Medical School representative Erik Criman suggested that Student Council could try through other means to reach out to the other councils, such as by forwarding Student Council meeting minutes.
College representative Ben Wallace, meanwhile, proposed that Student Council should attempt something similar to the CIO consultant program.

“We can potentially do something very similar with class councils,” Wallace said. “That’s kind of a nice opportunity because the CIOs have the opportunity to contact us if they feel they need us and we have opportunity to divulge information to them if they feel it’s pertinent to them and maybe that would maybe cut down a lot of the communication they don’t need and maximize the communication they might want.”

Chief of Cabinet Ben Chrisinger said the best route to initiate such a conversation is to have a formal meeting with other councils.

“I see this an effort at getting more collaboration and I think that’s absolutely worthwhile,” Chrisinger said. “But I think if you want it to be truly a collaboration, then before you pass a resolution that’s asking others to do something for us or with us, it should be in a meeting sitting down and asking them what they want and how we’re not currently meeting their needs because I don’t think we can exactly articulate that right now.”

But Vice President for Organizations Colin Hood said the representative body is in place partly to act as a liaison between Student Council and other schools within the University. To specify this further, Graduate Arts & Sciences representative David Hondula suggested that certain Student Council representatives should establish personal relationships with other councils and report back to Student Council in their weekly meetings, much as Student Council’s committee chairs currently do.

“It might be a good way to institutionalize this collaboration that I think we all agree is worthwhile,” Hondula said.

Miller noted that he wanted to initiate the discussion before the upcoming Student Council transition so the effort could benefit from the depth of understanding of current Student Council members.
Jen Wilson, president of the Engineering Student Council, said she does not believe the resolution would have enough clout to fix any perceived disconnect among councils.

“There are currently representatives from both the Engineering School and from Student Council that are expected to act as liaisons between the two organizations, yet there is still a deficiency in communication,” Wilson said.

In fact, the Engineering Student Council does not currently interact with Student Council to any extent, Wilson said.

“I find out more about StudCo through the Cavalier Daily reports than through a direct communication with StudCo representatives,” Wilson said. “There are Engineering representatives to Student Council … And we have traditionally had trouble maintaining communication with those individuals.”

Wilson also had concerns about the responsibilities involved in acting as a liaison between different Councils as suggested by the resolution.

“Individuals in these organizations would be required to add additional responsibilities to an individual student’s already busy schedule,” Wilson said. “I think we might want to improve the role of the current representatives before creating new representative positions.”

Chrisinger added, however, that the discussion does not end with the demise of the resolution.

“As someone who’s new to the organization,” Chrisinger said, referring to Miller, “it’d be best [left] to someone like you. You have the time to build the relationships and make it happen.”

From left, Sen. Henry Marsh, Sen. James Massie and Sen. Mark Herring, take turns to speak. Photo by Scott Miles.

Several state legislators visited Grounds yesterday night for a panel hosted by Student Council’s Legislative Affairs Committee, opening themselves up for discussion with University students about key topics.

The Alumni and Local Legislators Panel included Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, Sen. Henry Marsh, D-Richmond, Sen. Mark Herring, D-Fairfax County, Sen. Mary M. Whipple, D-Arlington County, Del. David Toscano, D-Charlottesville, Del. T. Scott Garrett, D-Lynchburg, and Del. James Massie, R-Henrico County.

Although the Legislative Affairs Committee sought a balanced group of panelists, Massie was the only Republican present. To compensate for this imbalance, he was allowed to make twice as many responses as the other panelists.

The panel began with a series of questions posed by the Legislative Affairs Committee co-chairs, followed by a question and answer session during which students addressed the legislators directly.
Conversation largely centered on the impact of state budget cuts to higher education. Virginia’s budget is in better shape than that of most other states, Massie said, but panelists agreed that the current state budget shortfall still has required legislators to make difficult choices that would, in turn, require public universities to raise tuition prices.

“Cutting education is like eating your seed corn,” Deeds said. “It’s an expression that you have no confidence in the future and it’s something you should avoid at all costs.”

This year’s education cuts, however, were mild compared to cuts to those for other state services, Deeds said.

Toscano added, however, that cuts to higher education may jeopardize the primacy of Virginia’s higher education institution, which panelists described as the finest public education system in the country — one that exists in a state considered to be one of the best places to raise a child.

This nurturing community, however, only exists because of legislators’ investments in public education, Marsh said, adding that he believes cuts will damage that system.

“We wont be able to turn out the highly trained professionals to compete with foreigners, unless we turn [things] around,” Toscano said. “Our kids are not going to have the standard of living that we enjoy today.”

Panelists also discussed the recently passed federal health care legislation intended to improve the standard of living across the board by ensuring that all individuals have health insurance.

The Democratic legislators agreed that the nation’s current health care system will soon come face-to-face with rising premiums and that action must be taken to curb such costs.

Massie, however, said Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s response to the legislation — a lawsuit — had its merits, noting that the bill represents an unjustified extension of government power because it mandates that all Virginians purchase health insurance.

“I don’t know whether it’s constitutional or not,” he said, “but I do feel the overreach of being told I have to make a private market transaction.”

But Deeds disagreed, in accordance with his fellow Democratic panelists, who collectively called the reform a purposeless attempt to “grab headlines” and “further his personal agenda.”

Deeds compared the requirement to purchase health insurance to the state’s requirement for residents to purchase car insurance.

“This bill is not overreaching. Ninety-five percent of people will have health insurance,” Deeds said. “This is a radical bill but [that’s not] to say it’s a government overreach … States require automobile insurance. This is a very similar act.”

During the student question and answer session, panelists strongly encouraged students to become politically active and involved in their communities.

“Don’t be a free-rider,” Massie said, “For a free political system to work well, the free citizens have to participate in the process.”

Fourth-year College student Katharine Meyer said she thought the panel allowed students to hear legislators’ inside perspectives in an informal setting, although she had hoped for more equal party representation.

Legislative Affairs Committee co-chair Vish Apte said he believed the discussion was an important look into local politics.

“A lot of the issues around the budget cuts and tax related issues are often neglected,” he said. “This is a forum for both students and legislators to voice and flesh out their concerns about issues like the budget cut, the Attorney General’s comments … all of those issues that are talked about more broadly and never focused on in a more micro setting.

Sophomore attack Josie Owen has recorded 15 goals and is currently second on the team with 13 assists. Owen and freshman Caroline McTiernan will need to step up after sophomore attack Ainsley Baker tore her ACL. Photo by Robert Parrish.

Fresh off a narrow road victory against ACC rival No. 3 Duke this past Saturday, the No. 5 Virginia women’s lacrosse team returns home tonight, hoping take down Old Dominion in the first of a three-game home stand for the Cavaliers.

Historically, the Cavaliers have dominated the in-state rivalry, as they have edged out the Lady Monarchs in 32-of-33 contests between the two teams since 1980. Old Dominion’s sole win against Virginia, however, is still fresh on the Cavaliers’ minds, as it occurred last April when the Lady Monarchs defeated then-No. 9 Virginia by a 13-10 margin.

With last year’s defeat coupled with memories of the Cavaliers’ most recent setback against James Madison last Wednesday, Virginia (7-3, 2-1 ACC) realizes that it will need to bring its A-game Wednesday night if it hopes to continue its state-wide dominance.

“[With] in-state [games], you obviously want to have the bragging rights for Virginia,” sophomore midfielder Julie Gardnersaid. “I think after losing to ODU last year, we know that we can’t take anyone for granted. We’re definitely not going to do that this year. We just know that on any given day, anyone can win, so we need to come ready for every single game.”

And Old Dominion (2-3) has certainly proven that it can win games, as the Lady Monarchs will arrive in Charlottesville having won two out of their last three contests, recovering from their 0-2 start to the season.

“Old Dominion actually beat us last year, [and] our team is pretty excited to get another crack at them,” coach Julie Myers said. “But our hands are going to be full. Old Dominion is pretty talented, and they stretch you out a bit differently.”

The Cavalier squad will have to be on the lookout for midfielder Lisa Bernardini, who is formidable both on the defensive and offensive sides of the field. The sophomore, who netted four goals in last season’s upset by JMU, could pose a threat to Virginia’s defense, even though the Cavaliers have performed well by surrendering just 10 or less goals during each of their last four contests. Thus fair, Bernardini has registered a team-high 27 points — of which 16 were goals and 11 were assists — in addition to leading in both groundball pick-ups and draw controls.

The team could have an easier time if it manages to score more than 10 goals against its opponent, something which it failed to do in its last two matches. The Cavaliers this season hold a 1-2 record for games during which they score less than 10 goals, and even the one victory occurred only by a margin of one point.

“We didn’t score that many against JMU because we just didn’t play well,” Myers said. “Against Duke, [which plays] a different defense, we had to change our offense to be able to accommodate and combat what Duke liked to play offensively. I think there are other teams that we will play coming up on our schedule that play that similar defense, and I think we will only get better at that attack.”

To produce a more impressive offensive output, the Cavaliers hope to see the newest member of the squad’s starting line-up, freshman midfielder Caroline McTiernan, step up. McTiernan made her first career start against the Blue Devils this past Saturday and likely will see a significant increase in playing time because of a recent injury sustained by redshirt sophomore attack Ainsley Baker. The injured sophomore had tallied 15 goals for the Virginia attack and had nabbed ACC and WomensLax.com Player of the Week honors merely two weeks ago before recently tearing her ACL and will not see action for the rest of the year, Myers said.

Following tonight’s contest, the Cavaliers will resume conference play this Saturday when they welcome Boston College to town. The opening draw is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Senior guard Monica Wright averaged 23.7 points per game this season en route to becoming Virginia’s all-time leading scorer and the third highest all-time scorer in ACC history. Photo by Albin Oh.

Senior guard Monica Wright received high accolades this week, as she was not only named the WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year but also became the first Cavalier to attain First Team All-American status.

Wright finished her career as Virginia’s all-time leading scorer and ranks third on the ACC’s all-time scoring list. This past season, she averaged 23.7 goals per game, which ranked seventh in the nation and first in the ACC.

The guard started and played every game of her college career, and just this past season, averaged 6.5 rebounds and racked up 3.7 steals per game. With such statistics, Wright finished among the national leaders in this category, ensuring her place in Virginia program history.

—compiled by Ben Gomez

The wonderful madness of March has culminated, bestowing upon us that wonderful gift of the first weekend of April: the Final Four.

To be sure, no one probably picked this Final Four. I, for one, did include West Virginia in my final four, but that was all.

Duke has been synonymous in recent years with the words “early exit.” I had them losing in the Sweet 16. Sure, the Blue Devils may have had an easy region, but they did not have an easy path. According to cbssports.com’s Gary Parrish, after all, Duke is the only Final Four team that has played three teams seeded eighth or higher.

Michigan State did not even seem like the best team in its conference and when its leading scorer Kalin Lucas went down against Maryland in the second round, people were sticking a fork in Sparty.
And then there’s Butler. Sure, they were ranked in the top 10 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ preseason poll, but who honestly had them penciled in — other than the residents of Indianapolis?

What follows is a breakdown of each matchup. Afterward, I’ll pick the winners, and though I’ll inevitably fail in the same way I did with my bracket, the point is I’m trying. I’ll also include a totally subjective section where I’ll pick winners based on mascot.

Game one: No. 5-seed Butler Bulldogs (32-4) versus No. 5-seed Michigan State Spartans (28-8), 6:07 p.m., ET.

Butler defeated No. 12 seed UTEP, No. 13-seed Murray State, No. 1-seed Syracuse and No. 2-seed Kansas State in the West region final to make it to Indy. The Bulldogs enter Indianapolis as the home favorite — the Butler campus, after all, is mere minutes from Lucas Oil Stadium — and on a mammoth 24-game win streak, as they last lost to UAB Dec. 22. They are led by Gordon Hayward, who is averaging 15.2 points per game this season and had his best game of the tournament in the Elite Eight against Kansas State when he scored 22 points. Shelvin Mack leads the Bulldogs in tournament scoring, tallying 16.5 points per game. Butler has surrendered only 56.5 points per game in the tournament. Third-year coach Brad Stevens has made the tournament every year at Butler and boasts an 88-14 overall record. No other coach in NCAA history has won more than 88 games during his first three years.

Michigan State toppled No. 12-seed New Mexico State, No. 4-seed Maryland, No. 9-seed Northern Iowa and No. 6-seed Tennessee in the Midwest region final. The Spartans are without Lucas, but Durrell Summers has stepped up big time, averaging 20 points per game during the tournament after averaging only 11.2 during the regular season. Raymar Morgan is the next biggest scoring threat at 11.5 points per game during the regular season. Draymond Green is the team’s leader in rebounds, but his production in that area has decreased each game of the tournament. The Final Four is old hat for both coach Tom Izzo and his players: Izzo has made it to the Final Four six of the last 12 years, and most of the current Spartans were a part of last year’s team that lost to North Carolina in the finals. Michigan State sports an enormous 8.7 rebounding margin.

My pick: You have to like Izzo’s success and experience, but it seems as if the Spartans are often on the losing end of big games. Butler coach Brad Stevens is a rising star and has the Bulldogs poised to make a statement. Butler is not afraid of the big stage or coaching legends, having downed Syracuse and coach Jim Boeheim in the Sweet 16. You would think that the absence of Lucas would eventually catch up to Michigan State. Plus, Delvon Roe and Chris Allen are hampered by lingering injuries. How long can the Spartans hold up? They have not won any tournament games by more than seven points — how long will luck be in their favor? I would like Butler to edge Michigan State 64-63, riding the wave of the pro-Bulldog crowd and a 24-game winning streak to victory.

Better mascot: I have to go with Sparty, the forever-bulky Michigan State mascot. I love the real-life bulldog for Butler and all the schools that use real-life bulldogs, but it isn’t very original.

Game two: No. 1-seed Duke Blue Devils (33-5) versus No. 2-seed West Virginia Mountaineers, 9 p.m.

Duke beat No. 16-seed Arkansas Pine-Bluff, No. 8-seed California, No. 4-seed Purdue and No. 3-seed Baylor in the South region final on the road to Indy. The Blue Devils have been led all year by the “big three”: Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, all who average more than 17 points per game. Scheyer appeared to be slumping following a seven-point effort against California but then put up 20 against Baylor. Singler went an uncharacteristic 0-for-10 from the field against the Bears and must shoot better against West Virginia. Smith totaled a career-best 29 points against Baylor. As a team, Duke shoots an impressive 38.2 percent from three-point range while holding opponents to only 27.8 percent from beyond the arc. Brian Zoubek grabbed 7.3 rebounds per game during the regular season, but has been even more of a force inside during the tournament, averaging 10 boards per game.

West Virginia downed No. 15-seed Morgan State, No. 10-seed Missouri, No. 11-seed Washington and No. 1-seed Kentucky in the East region final in its four tournament games. The Mountaineers have been very impressive in the tournament, beating every opponent by at least seven points. Da’Sean Butler has been solid throughout the season, averaging 17.4 points per game. Darryl Bryant — who has not played the last two games because of injury — is among the team leaders in assists, but coach Bob Huggins is unsure of his status Saturday. Joe Mazzulla filled in spectacularly for Bryant against Kentucky, scoring 17 points after only chipping in 2.1 points per game during the year. Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks have both increased their scoring during the tournament. The Mountaineers have been stingy on defense, only allowing Kentucky to score more than 60 points during the tournament.

My pick: These teams appear to be the best left in the tournament. The Mountaineers have won four tournament games by an average of 14 points per game, while Duke’s margin of victory is 16 on average. Before Duke’s contest with Baylor, I would’ve picked West Virginia by 8-10 points, but I thought the Blue Devils were very impressive against the Bears. Duke has three go-to guys and a supporting cast of players that know their roles. Though the Big East did not perform as expected in the Big Dance, it is hard to go against West Virginia, which won the conference’s tournament. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is coaching in his 11th Final Four, but his first since 2004. If he can’t win it all with this group, will he ever win it again? West Virginia coach Bob Huggins is in the Final Four for just the second time, the first being with Cincinnati in 1991-92. Despite the poor tournament showing, the Big East has still looked deeper than the ACC this year, and I just can’t trust Duke. Plus, I’m sticking with the only team left I had in my Final Four: West Virginia in a tight one, 69-66.

Better mascot: Wouldn’t a Mountaineer just be able to shoot a Blue Devil? Or would the Blue Devil be able to apparate and avoid the bullets? Or maybe the bullets would just go through the Blue Devil all together? Well, either way, I’m going with the Mountaineers, because that’s the mascot of my high school.

Championship game pick: West Virginia has been solid all year. Butler will have the city of Indianapolis behind it and perhaps a lot of the nation. I think the Mountaineers have enough firepower to overcome the staunch defense of Butler. West Virginia wins 65-63.

Virginia freshman pitcher Melanie Mitchell started and won all three games against Virginia Tech last weekend and has compiled 171 strikeouts in 143.2 innings for 14 wins this season. Photo by Mallory Noe-Payne.

Perched atop the ACC standings, the Virginia softball team travels to Harrisonburg today to face off against James Madison (14-17, 2-1 CAA) in an in-state test to maintain its position while preparing for what lies ahead.

Virginia (18-13, 5-0 ACC) enters the match after last weekend’s sweep of conference rival Virginia Tech in a series for the first time since 1998. As the Cavaliers prepare to face the Dukes, they know that this game is a pivotal opportunity to steel themselves for this weekend’s upcoming home matchup with No. 19 North Carolina.

“[James Madison] is very similar hitting-wise and running-wise to North Carolina,” coach Eileen Schmidt said. “Obviously, we want to use a midweek game to keep us heading in the right direction and keep us sharp.”

Virginia’s success this season has gone hand-in-hand with the improvement shown by pitcher Melanie Mitchell. As the freshman has become more comfortable with collegiate pitching, she has lowered her ERA to 2.58, while compiling 171 strikeouts in 143.2 innings. Mitchell will face a Dukes lineup that features senior first baseman Shannon Moxey, whose 33 hits and .337 average place her at the forefront of James Madison’s hitters.

“[JMU] always swings the bat, and they always run well,” Schmidt said. “Moxey has been swinging well, and their 1 and 2 hitters are getting on for her. They’ve played a lot of people, so they have a lot of kids with a lot of experience.”

The Dukes’ own talented freshman pitcher, Cara Stecher, likely will take the circle with a 6-6 season record and a 3.34 ERA. Stecher also is carrying in CAA Co-Rookie of the Week honors after a series win against George Mason last weekend.

But Stecher will find a daunting opponent in Virginia’s senior right fielder Sarah Tacke, who is batting .413 on the season and does not seem to be showing any signs of cooling off. Tacke’s home run and five RBIs in the Virginia Tech series helped lead the Cavaliers to a sweep. And she is not the only Cavalier who has been bolstering the lineup, as freshman second basemen Alex Skinkis also is becoming increasingly threatening at the plate. She collected ACC Player of the Week honors after hitting .467 and helping the team to a 4-1 record during that stretch.

“[That award] is pretty exciting, but I honestly didn’t even know until the coaches told me,” Skinkis said. “You just have to do your thing, and help the team.”

Thus far, Virginia’s competitive showing in prestigious tournaments and 5-0 start to conference play have attracted national attention. Following the Virginia Tech series, the Cavaliers even received votes in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association top-25 ranking poll.

“It’s nice to be recognized, but we still have things to work on,” Schmidt said. “Our focus in the preseason was to prepare for the ACC and get better in the ACC, so I feel like we’re making headway there.”

Tonight’s game versus the Dukes will be the Cavaliers’ last chance for adjustments before returning to conference play against North Carolina’s star senior pitcher, Danielle Spaulding. The lefty’s résumé includes a two-time selection the NFAA All-American team, and she currently holds a 9-2 record.

“[Spalding is] one of the top pitchers in the country, but our preseason has done a good job of helping us get ready for the good ACC pitchers,” Schmidt said.

Although the Cavaliers know playing James Madison will give them added preparation for the faceoff against North Carolina, they realize also that the Dukes will not be pushovers.

“We’re going to use the game to help us go into the weekend,” Tacke said. “But JMU is a pretty good club, too, so we can’t take them lightly.”

Virginia will confront the Tar Heels at home this Friday and Saturday.