With Virginia's early momentum — punctuated by their victory at Head of the Charles — Joe believes Virginia has built the foundation it needs, giving the team a crucial sense of belief as they continue their push forward toward collegiate rowing's highest stage, the NCAA Championships in May.
With ACC play looming, three beat writers assess Virginia’s performance and prospects for the rest of the season.
The good news is that this young squad has the time and tenacity required to learn from this season’s mistakes.
“Really proud of our players,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “I thought that was a great team win.”
This tracker will follow Virginia’s arrivals and departures.
"Every step is worth it because there’s no feeling like reaching a lifetime goal," Smith said.
Now 10 games into the season, the team is beginning to find its footing as one of the best offensive teams in the country.
“I feel like we missed and made mistakes that they capitalized on,” graduate linebacker James Jackson said. “It’s hard to win games when you make mistakes a lot.”
Facing tough Ivy League opponents this early in the season should help new additions to the roster acclimate to college squash and remind veterans of the speed of some of the nation’s best.
The weekend was filled with firsts, including eight wrestlers who saw their first action of the season.
The clear highlight of the meet was senior Gary Martin’s 25 second personal record in the men’s 5k.
”We wanted to make sure we started ACC right,” Agugua-Hamilton said. “I think this is a pretty dominant win to start.”
Self-inflicted errors pained the Cavaliers all night.
“[Jacari’s] was just one of those performances where, every time he was open and he had it, you could hear the crowd going, ‘yes!,’” Odom said.
"Doesn't matter who we're playing, and we're prepared to win a one-score game in the fourth quarter.”
