Announcements this week that all University athletic events through this weekend would be canceled or postponed were met with approval from members of the athletic department and the University community.
The University announced that all athletic events through this weekend would be postponed following Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The Virginia football team had a scheduled home game last night against Penn State.
Virginia men's and women's cross country, field hockey, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball teams were scheduled to compete this weekend. The football game will be played on December 1, and the men's home soccer game against Wake Forest, originally scheduled for Saturday, will be played Monday at 7 p.m. No other games have been rescheduled.
"I think [athletes] are in support of the ACC's and the institution's decision to postpone games," Virginia field hockey coach Jessica Wilk said. "In the grand scheme of things, there's a much larger concern for things outside the realm of sport right now."
Students also voiced their support of the postponement of this weekend's games.
"I think it's the prudent thing to do," second-year College student Matt Eagan said. "Even though some people think we should not let the terrorists think they've disrupted our lives, to pretend they haven't would be a blatant lie."
Although athletes and coaches agreed with the sentiment behind the decision, some members of the athletic department worried that the schedule changes would hurt their teams' chances for postseason play.
"We understand the need to pay respects, but it's pretty easy to be at a competitive disadvantage," Cavalier volleyball coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "It will be interesting to see how this affects the possibilities of an at-large [NCAA] bid, and our preparedness for conference play starting next Thursday."
Presumably, Virginia athletic teams will return to competition on Monday, as that's the time that many professional sports have indicated they will begin events again.
"I think next week would be okay," sophomore volleyball player Whitney Ashcraft said when asked when teams should resume competition. "Just start the week off like we would normally - competing. I do think that it was a good idea to cancel this weekend's matches, out of respect for everyone. There are lots of people that it really affected - everyone's concentration levels. Also, there is the safety of everyone traveling, and we really don't need to be out on the roads with people still trying to get home."
Most Virginia athletic teams have been holding practice since Wednesday, which has helped athletes to deal with their grief.
"We felt it was important to be together as a group," Wilk said. "I think it's been a good escape for [athletes] for a couple of hours each day, to be together and take their minds off what was going on."
Members of the University community agreed that competition should resume after this weekend, and that they would feel comfortable attending games.
"I've been thinking about expressing emotion, joking, things like that," fourth-year College student Chris Gatz said. "It's hard to do that right now. But you have to go on with your life, and that includes cheering at an athletic event."
"I think at some point football will mean something, but not right now," Eagan said. "It's too early to care about anything but the tragedy"
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