Women’s Lacrosse
What: No. 4 Virginia (1-0) at No. 12 Princeton (0-0)
When: Saturday, Feb. 20; 12 p.m.
Where: Princeton, N.J.
The Skinny: The No. 4 Virginia women’s lacrosse team will look to stay undefeated as they travel to play against No. 12 Princeton in Princeton, NJ this Saturday.
Virginia (1-0) heads into this game coming off of an impressive victory last Saturday over then No. 4 Northwestern, 10-8. Despite having just five seniors on the 28 player roster, the Cavaliers showed they have the talent to beat any team in the country.
Key players for Virginia include sophomore goalie Rachel Vander Kolk, who was named this week’s ACC Defensive Player of the Week after recording 12 saves against Northwestern, and sophomore midfielder Kasey Behr, who had two goals and one assist in the win.
For Princeton, this game will be their season opener. The defending Ivy League champions return ten starters from last year’s team that made it to the NCAA quarterfinals. Five of those returning starters, including their goalie, were a part of a Tiger’s defensive unit that ranked 20th nationally for scoring defense last season.
The Tigers also has been historically a strong team at home, owning a home record of 23-4 over the past three seasons.
In last season’s meeting, Virginia defeated Princeton in Charlottesville 18-11.
—compiled by Jack Gallagher
Softball
What: UTSA Classic
When: Friday-Sunday
Where: Roadrunner Field; San Antonio, Tex.
The Skinny: The Virginia softball team, after winning their first two games of the season, dropped three straight to close out their opening weekend of the season. This weekend, Virginia (2-3, 0-0 ACC) heads to San Antonio, Tex. and looks to put those losses behind them. The Cavaliers open up their weekend with some stiff competition playing Tulsa and Texas A&M — Corpus Christi Friday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Tulsa (3-2, 0-0 AAC) has gotten off to a solid 3-2 start and Texas A&M — Corpus Christi (5-1, 0-0 SC) has had a sizzling start to their season, going 5-1 within the last week. Saturday, Virginia will take on North Dakota at 10 a.m. and the University of Texas at San Antonio at 5:30 PM. The Fighting Hawks (1-3, 0-0 BSC) have gotten off to a slow start, as they sit at 1-3, and the Road Runners (2-3, 0-0 CUSA) are looking to gain some momentum, for they sit at 2-3. To close out the five game stretch, Virginia will take on UTSA once again Sunday at 12:30 PM.
—compiled by Rahul Shah
Indoor Track and Field
What: UCS Invitational
When: Saturday, Feb. 20
Where: Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Skinny: In one of its best showings of the season, the Virginia indoor track and field teams produced six top-three finishes last week in Staten Island, N.Y., at the Fastrack National Qualifier Invite. This week, the Cavaliers will look to carry their momentum in the UCS Invitational.
On the women’s side, the Cavalier women will look to continue to ride the success of senior Peyton Chaney, who won the 200-meter dash at last week’s meet. Additionally, she was part of the squad that won the 4x400-meter relay.
Meanwhile, although the Cavalier men produced three winners at last week’s meet and saw junior Henry Wynne break a school record, they fell outside of the USTFCCA Top 25 for the first time all season. At this meet, they will need a strong team effort to re-enter the Top 25 before the regular season comes to a close.
The UCS Invitational is the last meet the Cavaliers will participate in before the ACC Championships in Boston, Mass., starting Feb. 25.
—compiled by Ben Tobin
Women’s Tennis
What: No. 9 Virginia (4-3, 1-0 ACC) at Syracuse (6-0, 0-0 ACC)
When: Sunday, Feb. 21; 11 a.m.
Where: Syracuse, N.Y.
The Skinny: After having their match against No. 18 Alabama last Monday postponed due to inclement weather, No. 9 Virginia looks forward to playing their first match in two weeks, as they set up to take on Syracuse.
After losing their last match to Vanderbilt, the Cavaliers (4-3, 1-0 ACC) hope to regain winning form as they return to ACC play. The match is set to take place at Syracuse Sunday, February 21 at 11 a.m. The season will be in full swing in a couple weeks, and this matchup could be a good tune-up for the Cavaliers as they hope for a successful season.
—compiled by Hunter Ostad
Men’s Lacrosse
What: No. 14 Virginia (0-1) at Drexel (0-0)
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: Vidas Field, Philadelphia, Pa.
The Skinny: The No. 14 Virginia men’s lacrosse team will attempt to gain some momentum Saturday when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa. to face off against out of conference foe Drexel.
The competition against the Dragons (0-0) will mark the season opener for the Drexel, who return their leading scorer, sophomore attacker Cole Shafer, who scored 29 goals and 38 points last season. Coach Brian Voelker is in his seventh season with the team, and the team’s goalie, junior Jimmy Joe Granito, returns after going 7-4 last season.
Although Virginia leads the all-time series against Drexel 14-1, the teams have an interesting history, since the Cavaliers (0-1) have won each of the last three out of four meetings against the Dragons by just one goal.
Virginia suffered a hard loss in their season opener to No. 8 Loyola 11-4 last weekend in a game that did not live up to the team’s expectations. Senior Greg Coholan, freshman Ryan Conrad, and juniors AJ Fish and Ryan Lukacovic each notched one goal for the Cavaliers last Saturday. Defensively, junior goalie Matt Barrett saved 47.6 percent of the shots in the contest and junior midfielder Zed Williams picked up 10 ground balls.
The Cavaliers are hoping that Saturday will not only bring a solution to their shooting woes, but a much-needed win.
—compiled by Mariel Messier
Wrestling
What: No. 20 Virginia (6-6, 1-3 ACC) at No. 24 Pittsburgh (9-6, 1-3 ACC)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Where: Fitzgerald Field House, Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Skinny: The No. 20 Virginia wrestling team moved down a spot in the rankings after a shocking loss to Chattanooga last weekend. The Cavaliers (6-6, 1-3 ACC) will look to improve their ACC record against No. 24 Pittsburgh as they visit the Panthers (9-6, 1-4 ACC) Friday night. The match was originally set for Jan. 24, but was rescheduled due to weather conditions.
The Panthers have been on a long losing streak, falling in their last five duals since hosting the Pitt Duals in early January. With both teams having just one ACC victory, there will certainly be hard-fought competition.
The Panthers boast two nationally-ranked wrestlers on their roster with sophomore Dom Forys coming in at No. 17 in the 133 pound weight class and junior Mikey Racciato ranked No. 10 at 141 pounds.
The Pitt match is of a bit more significance for two members of the Virginia wrestling staff. Assistant coach Keith Gavin and volunteer assistant coach Shelton Mack both wrestled for the Panthers in 2008 and 2014, respectively, and will be returning to Fitzgerald Field House for the first time Friday.
Not only is Friday’s match a chance for Virginia to gain an edge in the ACC, it also marks the end of the regular season for the Cavaliers. Virginia will have a couple of weeks to prepare for the postseason, as the ACC Championships will be hosted at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville March 6.
—compiled by Mariel Messier
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