The Skinny on weekend competition for Virginia’s track and field, men’s tennis, softball, women’s basketball, women’s golf and wrestling teams
The No. 3 Virginia men’s basketball team survived its first test Wednesday without injured junior guard Justin Anderson, when it pulled out a gritty win against North Carolina State.
After reaching the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament last season, Virginia women’s lacrosse faces expectations to earn the program’s first national championship since 2004. Last season’s semifinal result, a loss to conference foe Syracuse, was the best finish for the Cavaliers since the 2007 season when they lost in the title game against Northwestern.
Vanderbilt junior outfielder John Norwood deposited a Nick Howard fastball into the left field bullpen of TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. One inning later, the Commodores were crowned NCAA champions. The winning home run remains painfully etched in the collective memory of all Virginia baseball fans.
The “Good Ol’ Song” roared over the mumbles of a satisfied audience following Saturday’s 52-47 victory over the ninth-ranked Louisville Cardinals. But uncertainty loomed in the Virginia locker room.
If there is one trademark of a Dom Starsia coached lacrosse team, it is a vaunted offense. Relatively recent names such as Matt Ward and Steele Stanwick have cemented Tewaaraton-worthy resumes in the orange and blue, while countless others have graced All-Conference and All-American lists.
After a weeklong break, the Virginia women’s basketball team returns to home court Thursday night to face No. 11 Duke, its second of three straight ranked opponents.
The No. 2 Virginia men’s basketball looks to continue its two-game winning streak Wednesday when it travels to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the NC State Wolfpack. The game will be Virginia’s first since Jan. 25 against an unranked opponent.
The Virginia women’s golf team shot a program-record 14-under 850 to capture the UCF Challenge at the Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando for its seventh-ever tournament win.
National signing day came and went last Wednesday without much hype at all for the Virginia football team. According to top recruiting experts, the Cavaliers signed somewhere between the 44th and 55th best class in the nation, which doesn’t seem too bad considering Virginia has finished last place in the ACC Coastal for three straight seasons. For me, however, the news is the most damning piece of evidence yet against the case for Virginia coach Mike London, who will enter his sixth season with the team this fall.
The Virginia men’s tennis team will spend significant time on the road in the next six weeks. One of the most important aspects of a long road trip is starting off strong and gaining momentum, as these are some of the most taxing times for a team. At Thalhimer Tennis Center in Richmond Saturday, Virginia did just that.
Duke suffered its first home loss in 41 games to Miami, 90-74, Jan. 13. After the game, I tweeted “OVERRATED *clap clap clap clap clap* OVERRATED *clap clap clap clap clap* OVERRATED *clap clap clap clap clap* #Duke” adding insult to injury to the No.4 Blue Devils.
Twenty-four track and field athletes traveled to Blacksburg for the Doc Hale VT Elite Meet on Feb. 6 and 7.
The Virginia women’s tennis team went 2-1 over the weekend at the 2015 ITA National Women’s Tennis Indoor Team Championships hosted at the Boar’s Head Inn.
The Virginia men’s lacrosse team opened its season against Loyola for the second consecutive year on Saturday.
No. 12 Virginia wrestling dropped its match against unranked North Carolina, 17-16, Saturday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.
It was a busy weekend for Cavaliers (1-3) as the Virginia softball team competed in the final three games of the Kajikawa Classic at Farrington Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. In Friday’s game against the University of Texas at El Paso, Virginia capitalized upon two big innings as they routed the Miners 14-5 in five innings.
As the ESPN showcase at John Paul Jones Arena became more of a defensive clinic than an evenhanded dual during the first half Saturday night, it was easy to forget that the opposition is a top-10 program.
The Virginia swimming and diving teams completed their final tuneup before the ACC championships this weekend, with swimmers participating in the Virginia Tech Invitational and divers hosting the Cavalier Diving Invitational.
Facing a top-15 opponent for the third consecutive game, Virginia held off the No. 8 Cardinals late for a 52-47 win.
