The men’s and women’s teams took on the ASICS Last Chance Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C., Saucony Battle for Boston in Mass. and the VT Challenge in Blacksburg, where they delivered dominant performances as they look to spike up for the championship season.
In 1987, Freeland was the first African American athlete in the ACC to help Virginia earn an ACC Championship — the team’s first — marking a major milestone for the program.
“This is a really really good team, and they steamrolled us,” Wade said. “They’re better than we are. If we played them 10 times I’m not sure we could beat them. Maybe once if we get lucky on a neutral court. But, I mean, they’re just flat out better than us.”
For Pollard, Gracia’s loudest trait is not exit velocity or bat speed — it’s the poise. He is as advanced between the ears as he is between the lines.
The Virginia men’s week in Georgia was one of individual brilliance undermined by a lack of depth throughout the roster. The Cavaliers’ top three point scorers — King, Williamson and Heilman — each made A-finals and medaled, sitting among the ACC’s elite.
Curzan, Moesch, Canny and Curtis closed out the championships by obliterating Virginia’s previous NCAA record of 3:05.84 with a 3:05.30 — the old mark swum by alumnae and Virginia legends Maxine Parker, Kate Douglass and Gretchen and Alex Walsh.
That tale of two Georgia Tech results, separated by five weeks, offer a verdict on where these two programs stand heading into Tuesday night's rematch at John Paul Jones Arena.
As a whole, the Cavaliers outshot Notre Dame by a 26-15 margin. Although 26 shots signaled a successful attacking outing, allowing just 15 shots from a top-five team might be even more impressive.
This weekend, the Cavaliers continued their stellar start.
The Cavaliers now look ahead to a journey to Las Vegas, Nev. this upcoming weekend for the Southern Highlands Invitational hosted by UNLV — an event packed with top competition and the potential for major ranking implications if the Cavaliers were to turn in an uncharacteristic performance.
The Cavaliers are now 2-0 in conference play, another ranked win under their belt.
Virginia fought hard in all positions against Trinity, however ultimately fell in a close loss to the Bantams who, on both sides, just earned their 19th consecutive NESCAC Championship.
On a raucous floor at the KFC Yum! Center, Virginia executed its most impressive performance of the season to record its most ACC wins in 26 years, knocking off No. 8 Louisville 74-72 after a commanding final period, which ended in a back-and-forth thriller that was not decided until the buzzer sounded.
It is evident that the roster is deep with talent for scoring the ball, and having two distributors in both Millon brothers is paying dividends for setting up scoring opportunities on a silver platter.
Virginia’s offense produced fewer than 10 runs for the second time in its first six games, but the primary culprit in the upset loss was the pitching staff and its whopping 12 walks surrendered on the evening.
Friday, Pollard’s Cavaliers displayed resilience and tantalizing offense in the face of adversity — factors which could come to define this 2026 Virginia team.
“Our other guys showed no urgency,” Garland said. “The ACC tournament is right around the corner. Our staff will do everything we can from now until then to help our guys improve.”
On a day already steeped in consequence, with a pre-tip-off ceremony dedicating the JPJ hardwood to legendary coach Tony Bennett, a series of clutch baskets, free throws and defensive stands iced a tight 86-83 victory over the surging Hurricanes.
“We can still improve on finishing better in some moments,” said LaMonica. “But this group is continuing to pound the rock and focused on getting better each day."
