Extensive previews for Virginia’s men’s basketball and cross country events this weekend ran in Thursday’s edition of The Cavalier Daily and remain available online.
Football
What: Virginia (2-8, 0-6 ACC) at Miami (7-3, 3-3 ACC)
Where: Coral Gables, Fla.
When: Saturday at 12 p.m.
TV: ESPNU
The Skinny: The Virginia football team has not lost to Miami in three matchups under coach Mike London. Last year at Scott Stadium, then-junior quarterback Michael Rocco led a late comeback drive, culminating in then-sophomore tight end Jake McGee’s now iconic leaping touchdown grab that gave the Cavaliers a memorable 41-40 win.
Miami coach Al Golden — Virginia’s defensive coordinator from 2001-2005 under Al Groh and a graduate assistant from 1994-1996 under George Welsh — has yet to win against the Cavaliers. Golden’s team started the season with seven straight wins, climbing to No. 7 nationally before falling to then-No. 3 Florida State, 41-14. Miami star sophomore running back Duke Johnson broke his leg against the Seminoles and was ruled out for the season.
Since then, Virginia Tech and Duke have defeated the Hurricanes by 18-point margins and the team has fallen out of the rankings. Miami is led by senior quarterback Stephen Morris, who has completed 59.3 percent of his passes for 2,358 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Former Cavalier defensive tackle Justin Renfrow will also suit up Saturday after graduating from the University in May, playing out his final year of eligibility at Miami.
—compiled by Zack Bartee
Women’s Soccer
What: NCAA 2nd Round: Virginia (21-1-0, 13-0 ACC) vs. Georgetown (16-2-2, 7-1-1 Big East)
Where: Klöckner Stadium
When: Friday at 7 p.m.
The Skinny: The No. 1 seeded Virginia women’s soccer team returns to NCAA Tournament action Friday against Georgetown. Both squads are coming off shutout victories in their first-round matches against Saint Francis and La Salle, respectively.
Last week, the Cavaliers rebounded strongly from their first loss of the season, which came against Virginia Tech in the semifinals of the ACC tournament, cruising past the Red Flash by a score of 5-0. The vaunted Virginia defense allowed just three shots, an astonishing feat in itself against a team featuring senior forward Tesa McKibben, the NCAA active career scoring leader.
The Hoyas faced similar circumstances entering the NCAA Tournament, getting ousted in a heartbreaking loss in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. DePaul defeated Georgetown 1-0 in the match despite being outshot 26-2.
Georgetown used its loss as motivation in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, evidenced by a 2-0 drubbing of La Salle in which the Hoyas limited the Explorers to just eight shots.
Both teams, however, are in the midst of unprecedentedly stellar seasons. Virginia has set numerous school records, including its first-ever 20-0 start and first-ever ACC Regular Season Championship. The Hoyas tied their school record for most wins in a single season with their first-round victory against La Salle.
—compiled by Ryan Taylor
Men’s Soccer
What: No. 9 Virginia (10-5-5, 4-3-4 ACC) vs. Delaware (14-4-1, 4-3-1 CAA) or St. John’s (10-6-2, 3-4-2 Big East)
Where: Klöckner Stadium
When: Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Skinny: The Virginia men’s soccer team, competing in the NCAA Tournament for a Division I-best 33rd consecutive year, will play a second-round game against the winner of a Thursday matchup between St. John’s and Delaware.
Delaware, the host for Thursday’s contest, dismissed Virginia from the Tournament in 2011 in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
The Blue Hens are led by freshman midfielder Guillermo Delgado and junior goalkeeper Borja Barbero, both All-CAA First Team honorees. Delgado, the CAA Rookie of the Year, racked up 33 points on 14 goals and five assists while starting all 19 of Delaware’s matches.
St. John’s has been tormented by inconsistency in 2013. After Virginia earned its first victory of the season Sept. 2 against the Red Storm, St. John’s reeled off four straight wins, but then faltered, losing three of its next four games. The Red Storm ended the regular season on a hot streak, however, winning three straight matches without yielding a goal.
Delaware averages 2.32 goals per game while the St. Johns averages 1.42.
Regardless of Thursday’s outcome, the Cavaliers will hope for a strong showing from junior goalkeeper Calle Brown in his NCAA Tournament debut. The 6-foot-5 Brown started for the first time of his career in Virginia’s regular season finale against Boston College and has posted a 0.84 goals against average in five appearances.
—compiled by Matthew Morris
Women’s Basketball
What: Virginia (3-1) at West Virginia (3-1)
Where: Morgantown, W.V.
When: Sunday at 4 p.m.
The Skinny: After a last second victory against Liberty Tuesday, the Virginia women’s basketball team continues its road stretch by traveling to Morgantown to face West Virginia.
When the two teams met last year, the Cavaliers led then-No. 25 West Virginia by three points at the break. In the second half, however, the Mountaineers came back to defeat Virginia, 54-47.
Both teams enter the matchup at 3-1. After dropping their season openers, Virginia and West Virginia each bounced back to win three games in a row.
The Mountaineers come off a 58-56 victory against Hawaii in the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic. Sophomore guard Bria Holmes scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting for West Virginia, while senior center Asya Bussie also contributed 16 points, 10 of which came from the charity stripe.
Bussie leads the Mountaineers by averaging 16.8 points per game while making 27-of-37 attempts at the free throw line. Senior guard Christal Caldwell follows closely behind Bussie, scoring 14.8 points per game.
—compiled by Kristen Cauley
Volleyball
What: Virginia (15-13, 8-8 ACC) at Notre Dame (12-16, 6-11 ACC); vs. Virginia Tech (21-10, 9-8 ACC)
Where: Notre Dame, Ind. (Friday); Memorial Gymnasium (Sunday)
When: Friday at 4:30 p.m. (Fighting Irish); Sunday at 3 p.m. (Hokies)
The Skinny: Nearing the end of the regular season, the Virginia volleyball team faces two ACC rivals — one new and one old — this weekend. The Cavaliers play their final road match of the year at Notre Dame Friday evening and then come home to host Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon.
Virginia has the chance to make it 2-for-2 against both opponents on the season. The Cavaliers beat the Hokies 3-1 in October for their first win in the series since 2009. They followed that up with a 3-1 win against the Fighting Irish in the first match between the two teams as conference foes.
Last weekend saw the Cavaliers fall twice on the road against NC State, 3-2, and against North Carolina, 3-1. Virginia was 5-1 in the previous six matches, and the team hopes to get back in the win column this weekend.
Virginia Tech and Notre Dame battled Wednesday night in South Bend, Ind., with the Fighting Irish winning, 3-1. The Cavaliers will look to star freshmen Haley Kole and Jasmine Burton, both of whom were named ACC Freshman of the Week during the season, to put up strong performances at the net.
—compiled by Peter Nance
Wrestling
What: Virginia (5-1) vs. Virginia Tech (7-0)
Where: John Paul Jones Arena
When: Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Skinny: The No. 15 Virginia wrestling team hosts No. 8 Virginia Tech Sunday looking for a measure of revenge against its ACC rival. Last year at Cassell Coliseum, the Cavaliers lost to the Hokies 25-6 after being unable to pull out close matches.
Virginia will look to continue the strong play it has exhibited in the early season and also improve on its ability to finish matches. The Cavaliers held a sizeable lead against No. 20 Wisconsin Nov. 10 with three matches to go, but lost all three to give the Badgers the lead.
Sunday will feature many of the nation’s best individual wrestlers. For the Hokies, freshman Joey Dance, junior Devin Carter, senior Zach Neibert, junior Chris Moon and freshman Ty Walz are all ranked inside the top 20 of Intermat’s most recent rankings.
The Cavaliers feature six ranked wrestlers in sophomore George DiCamillo, juniors Joe Spisak, Nick Sulzer and Gus Sako and seniors Stephen Doty and Jon Fausey, although DiCamillo has not competed this year.
Two of the day’s matches stand out immediately and feature ranked competition. Spisak will face a tough scrap with Carter at 141 pounds and Sulzer and Moon will meet at 165 pounds.
—compiled by Matthew Wurzburger
Swim and Dive
What: Ohio State Invite: Virginia vs. Ohio State, Florida, Kentucky and Purdue
Where: Columbus, Ohio
When: Friday at 11 a.m., Saturday at 10 a.m., and Sunday at 9 a.m.
The Skinny: Two weeks after competing in a quad meet against some of the nation’s best programs including Texas, Penn State and West Virginia, Virginia will travel to Columbus, Ohio as the lone ACC representative in the Ohio State Invite.
The No. 9 Virginia men (3-2) will face No. 5 Florida (4-0), No. 13 Ohio State (8-0), Kentucky (1-5) and Purdue (3-1), while the No. 11 Virginia women (3-1) will compete against No. 5 Florida (2-2), No. 20 Ohio State (7-1), Kentucky (2-4) and Purdue (3-0). Like Texas, whom Virginia dueled in Charlottesville two weeks ago, Florida and Ohio State are part of the top echelon of collegiate swimming and diving programs.
At the quad meet, the Cavalier divers had several notable performances. All-American junior diver J.B. Kolod broke his previous school record on the 3-meter springboard with a score of 425.78. Meanwhile, sophomore diver Katie Warburg was named ACC Female Diver of the Week after finishing second in the 3-meter springboard.
The Virginia women swimmers continue to be led by sophomore Courtney Bartholomew, whose times of 52.68 in the 100 backstroke and 1:55.30 in the 200 backstroke rank among the nation’s best. In addition, freshman Leah Smith has taken the pool by storm, winning five freestyle events in the past two meets. The Cavalier men will look to use their depth to achieve more consistent results and rebound after winning only one of the 17 events at the quad meet.
—compiled by Rob Elder
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