There is no better way to welcome the turkey-devouring holiday than with Virginia's biggest football game of the season against its biggest rival, No.
Given that both of this year's freshmen, Mamadi Diane and Laurynas Mikalauskas, started in the exposition game against Concordia, the youngest members of the Virginia's men's basketball team may be among the first five to take the court again tonight.
Virginia sophomore point guard Sharneé Zoll wears the number "729" on her shoes in honor of her role model, former Cavalier star Dawn Staley.
Amid mixed expectations, the Cavaliers begin their first season under Coach Dave Leitao, many questions linger about the strength and depth of the team's frontcourt.
The 2005 Virginia wrestling team is green. Green in terms of experience and years of course, certainly not talent. Entering the 2005-2006 campaign, one thing Virginia lacks is experience at the collegiate level.
Javier Gomez and his friends had it all planned out. Thursday night they would pitch their tent and set up shop in front of the student gate at Scott Stadium -- a full 36 hours before the kickoff of the Virginia-Virginia Tech game.
Ladies and gentlemen: the pride of the Virginia backfield, Wali Lundy, is back. With 196 yards and six touchdowns in his last two games, Lundy finally has begun to put up the gaudy statistics Virginia fans became accustomed to in his first three seasons at Virginia -- those of a tough running back who can move the ball downfield and score touchdowns. Last season, Lundy picked up almost 900 yards as a backup to now-Jacksonville Jaguar Alvin Pearman. "It feels good to be back to the old Wali," Lundy said.
The Virginia defense had all kinds of problems going into the Georgia Tech game last Saturday, as it faced suspensions and injuries.
I must say, I have been looking forward to this Saturday's Virginia-Virginia Tech game more than anything else this season.
A team with only one senior and two junior starters is not supposed to exude confidence and strong leadership, but such is the case for the Virginia women's basketball team.
In the modern world of hyper-specialized athletes, many forget that some teams train together as one -- boys and girls. However, Virginia swimming and diving head coach Mark Bernardino correctly identifies the swimmers as "men and women, now that they are out of high school." The swimmers are at a sufficient age that they can deal with the presence of the other gender in the pool.
Most college basketball analysts and prognosticators hold low expectations for Virginia this season.
Last year, when many assumed that Pete Gillen's tenure as Virginia basketball's head coach was coming to a close, rumors flew that the new Virginia coach would be a big name.
On the eve of the heated rivalry against an insignificant school in Southwest Virginia, I will bury the hatchet this week and give credit where credit is due.
In the beginning of the season, Virginia coach Al Groh probably never expected to see the Virginia starting secondary he saw Saturday. But after a horrific injury to starting safety Nate Lyles in the second quarter, the unexpected became reality.
It may be hard to imagine, but Virginia women's basketball begins Friday. Sunday the team played its first competition, an exhibition win over EA Sports, but it awaits its first regular season game this week. Over the weekend Virginia fans were given the opportunity to see what style of play Virginia will adopt this year, with its relatively young, small but athletic roster. When asked to describe her role on the team, sophomore Denesha Kenion cited her role "as an energizer, to get steals and finish on layups." Sophomore guard Takisha Granberry added a list of her own responsibilities that includes, "pressuring the ball, getting rebounds, penetrating the lanes and getting my shots." Both players stressed speed, yet failed to mention the team's frontcourt and inside game for one reason: size. "We have to [stress our speed]," captain sophomore guard Sharneé Zoll said.
The NCAA released the brackets Monday for the 2005 men's soccer tournament, and Virginia (12-4-2) was awarded the No.
In what Virginia coach Al Groh said was his team's "most complete game of the year," the Cavaliers downed No.
Sometimes making history can look pretty routine. For the Virginia volleyball team, it all began Saturday night against Miami when junior setter Emily Kirkwood handled a pass from her back row, setting up her younger sister Sarah for a kill along the right side -- a move the two have pulled off dozens of times this season and thousands of times in practice.
Here's a great stat that was announced by a member of the media peanut gallery before Al Groh's post-game press conference Saturday night: Virginia is 2-0 this year at home against top-25 opponents ... when the Cavaliers have had a player -- or four -- suspended. That record says a lot about this team's determination to stick together in the face of adversity.
