More extensive previews for men’s tennis , track & field and women’s golf ran in Thursday’s edition of the Cavalier Daily and remain available along with a preview for baseball online
Men’s Lacrosse
What: No. 9 Virginia (8-5, 1-4 ACC) vs. Bellarmine (6-4, 0-4 ECAC)
Where: Klöckner Stadium
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
The Skinny: The slumping Cavaliers have lost their past three games, causing them to fall out of the ACC tournament conversation, but remain in a strong position to make a run at the post-season. But before Virginia can consider its NCAA title hopes, it first must take care of business against the Bellarmine Knights in the regular season finale Saturday afternoon.
The contest marks the second season in a row in which the Knights travel to Charlottesville for the senior-day game. In last year’s edition, the Cavaliers easily dispatched of Bellarmine, 12-7. This year, Virginia will be honoring 13 seniors, including fifth-year midfielders Blake Riley and Chris LaPierre, who are the only remaining players on Virginia’s roster with a national championship ring.
The Knights will be forced to stop one of the nation’s most potent offensive attacks if they hope to add to the Cavaliers’ losing streak. Virginia boasts two of Division I’s top-10 goal scorers, with senior attackman Mark Cockerton at No. 5 with 37 tallies, while sophomore James Pannell is seventh with 34. Conversely, Bellarmine has just one player — freshman attackman Tucker Ciessau — with more than 20 goals.
Despite Virginia’s clear offensive advantage, the team must be wary of the Knights’ out-of-conference prowess — they enter Saturday’s game with a spotless 6-0 record against non-ECAC opponents. In addition, the Cavaliers offense will only find success if they find a way to solve senior goalkeeper Will Haas, who is allowing less than nine goals per game this season.
—compiled by Ryan Taylor
Women’s Tennis
What: No. 9 Virginia (17-1, 11-1 ACC) at No. 44 Florida State (13-10, 5-7 ACC); at No. 15 Miami (16-4, 10-2 ACC)
Where: Tallahassee, Fl.; Coral Gables, Fl.
When: Friday, 3 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m.
The Skinny: The Virginia women’s tennis team closes out the regular season this weekend with a trip to the Sunshine State, taking on ACC opponents Florida State and Miami. In their most recent outing, the Cavaliers dominated No. 70 North Carolina State, 7-0, and No. 74 Wake Forest, 6-1, last Saturday and Sunday.
The Seminoles went 2-1 during the weekend, dropping a 6-1 match to Miami Friday before defeating Pittsburgh and Florida A&M in a double-header Sunday. Florida State has struggled against ranked opponents, going 0-6 against them this season. No. 117 junior Kerrie Cartwright has excelled for the Seminoles, boasting a 14-9 record in singles play. In Friday’s loss to Miami, Cartwright tallied the only point for Florida State with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) win against No. 63 sophomore Kelsey Laurente. Cartwright and junior Daneika Borthwick team up in doubles to rank No. 58 nationally.
Before welcoming Virginia Sunday, the Hurricanes will face No. 60 Virginia Tech. Miami defeated Florida State and No. 17 Clemson, 4-3, during the weekend to continue a strong season. The Hurricane’s only two conference losses come at the hands of No. 1 Duke and No. 7 North Carolina. In both losses junior Monique Albuquerque tallied singles victories for the Hurricanes, defeating Blue Devil junior Rachel Kahan 6-2, 6-2 and Tar Heel senior Tessa Lyons 6-3, 6-1.
—compiled by Kristen Cauley
Softball
What: Virginia (6-35, 1-19 ACC) vs. No. 22 Notre Dame (26-9, 6-4 ACC)
Where: The Park
When: Friday, 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Saturday 12 p.m.
The Skinny: Virginia softball welcomes Notre Dame for a three-game series this weekend, the first ever meeting between the two as conference foes. The Fighting Irish are only the third ranked team the Cavaliers have faced all season — Virginia fell 12-3 in six innings to then-No. 6 Oregon and dropped two out of three against No. 9 Florida State.
Virginia Tech swept the Cavaliers last weekend in a three-game series. Senior second baseman Marcy Bowdren was red-hot, with four hits on eight at-bats and two runs batted in.
Notre Dame hammered Toledo 17-2 in their last game after getting a two-game split with Florida State last weekend. Freshman outfielder Karley Wester went 7-for-9 with two steals against the Seminoles, while junior infielder Katey Haus knocked out a grand slam in the second game of the doubleheader.
Saturday will be Senior Day, when the team will celebrate of the careers of Bowdren, third baseman Karli Johnson and outfielder Stephanie Harris.
—compiled by Matthew Wurzburger
Men’s Golf
What: No. 8 Virginia at the Wolfpack Spring Open
Where: Lonnie Poole Golf Course, Raleigh, N.C.
When: April 19 and 20, all day
The Skinny: Coming off of the best scoring performance in program history two weeks ago at the Jim West Intercollegiate, the Virginia men’s golf team will head south to Raleigh this weekend to compete in the 15-team Wolfpack Spring Open.
The Cavaliers shot a 45-under 819 to win the Jim West Intercollegiate by 29 strokes, with four Virginia golfers notching top-10 finishes. Senior David Pastore and junior Denny McCarthy tied for first at 13-under 203, with Pastore beating his teammate in a one-hole playoff. Senior Ben Rusch and freshman Derek Bard also finished seventh and ninth, respectively, with scores of eight-under 208 and six-under 210.
This weekend, Virginia will compete against four other conference teams in its final event before the ACC Championships next week, including Clemson, Duke, tournament host NC State and Wake Forest. The Wolfpack will also field a “B” team to round out the field along with Columbia, Francis Marion, George Mason, Loyola (Md.), Princeton, St. John’s, Temple, North Carolina-Wilmington and Valparaiso.
—compiled by Zack Bartee
Women’s Rowing
What: No. 4 Virginia at ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Where: Ann Arbor, Mich.
When: Saturday, all day
The Skinny: Coming off a two week break, the Virginia women’s rowing team returns to the water this weekend for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. In addition to the Cavaliers, the event will feature a trio of top-10 programs — No. 10 Michigan, No. 9 Notre Dame and defending national champion No. 3 Ohio State.
Virginia’s last race came in Princeton, N.J., where the team rowed against Columbia and host No. 7 Princeton. The Cavaliers finished the day with four wins in five races, finishing first in the Varsity Eight, Varsity Four, Second and Third Varsity Four and Third Varsity Eight while trailing the Tigers by 3.3 seconds at Second Varsity Eight.
All four teams were present at last year’s NCAA Championships in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes’ 126 points were good enough for first place, ahead of the Cavaliers’ fifth place finish with 108 points. Further down the list, the Wolverines finished 12th with 69 points, while the Fighting Irish came in right behind them at 13th with 66 points.
—compiled by Peter Nance
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