When you think of the best team in all of baseball, which team comes to mind? Is it the Rockies, who exploded to a sizzling start and currently hold one of the best records in the big leagues?
[caption id="attachment_43854" align="alignleft" width="288" caption="Sophomore Branden Kline sports a 1.69 ERA and has collected an impressive 13 saves since assuming the role of Virginia's closer at the beginning of 2011.
I'm not going to lie, sometimes writing a sports column has its perks. By merely slipping on our press badges, we sports writers obtain access to the heroes that most people only get to watch from the stands or on television at home.
[caption id="attachment_43850" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="In her final season at Virginia, senior defender Liz Downs has made the list of 24 finalists for the women's lacrosse 2011 National Player of the Year award.
Freshman Anthony Kostelac and redshirt senior Stephanie Garcia placed first in the 800 meter race and the steeplechase, respectively, to become conference champions at this past weekend's ACC Championship meet held in Durham, N.C. Kostelac, who also claimed victory in the 800 meter event during the indoor championship, crossed the finish line at the 1:49.02 mark to narrowly defeat teammate junior Lance Roller by less than a second.
[caption id="attachment_43856" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The No. 5 Virginia rowing team claimed its 11th conference crown Saturday as the squad swept all four races to finish 11 points ahead of second-place finisher, No.
[caption id="attachment_43794" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Senior pitcher Tyler Wilson tossed 6.1 innings of one-run ball and struck out seven against the Wolfpack Saturday.
[caption id="attachment_43792" align="alignleft" width="222" caption=".Junior outfielder Giannina Cipolloni notched two hits and also drew a walk at the leadoff spot for the Cavaliers during their first game against Ga Tech.
[caption id="attachment_43789" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Virginia men's tennis team won its fifth consecutive ACC title and its seventh in eight years after sweeping Maryland, Georgia Tech and Duke, all by identical 4-0 scores.
The No. 11 Virginia women's tennis team bowed out of the ACC Tournament Friday afternoon as the squad suffered a narrow 4-3 loss against No.
The No. 10 Virginia men's lacrosse team suffered its second loss in consecutive weeks to No. 6 Duke as it fell to the Blue Devils, 19-10, in the ACC Tournament semifinals and failed to defend its 2010 conference title. Junior midfielder Colin Briggs started the scoring early for the Cavaliers (8-5) with a fast-break goal only 1:23 into the first quarter.
[caption id="attachment_43725" align="alignleft" width="161" caption="Junior attackman and ACC Player of the Year Steele Stanwick missed last week's loss against Duke with a foot injury, but hopes to return this weekend.
[caption id="attachment_43723" align="alignleft" width="127" caption="Senior first baseman Kenny Swab is expected to return to the starting lineup for the first time since April 5.
[caption id="attachment_43721" align="alignleft" width="206" caption="Junior Emily Fraser likely will play No.
[caption id="attachment_43719" align="alignleft" width="107" caption="Senior catcher Alison Pitman leads the Cavaliers with 31 runs this season and will look to counter a Georgia Tech team which has belted an ACC-high 85 total home runs this year.
[caption id="attachment_43666" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Junior Danny Hultzen, who usually contributes on the mound, registered a rare, inside-the-park grand slam last night.
Following last Tuesday's matchup between the Lakers and the Spurs, NBA Commissioner David Stern fined Kobe Bryant a sum of $100,000 for using a gay slur to refer to a referee who had hit the superstar with a technical foul during the game. While I completely understand what kind of image the commissioner is trying to promote with the punishment and the need for serious responses to problems like this, Stern is dealing with this situation in the completely wrong way. Since the rise of Allen Iverson and what some people have come to describe as the "thug" culture of the NBA, Stern has taken whatever steps he could to combat a negative image of his players.
[caption id="attachment_43663" align="alignleft" width="203" caption="After tallying a team-high 51 points throughout the regular season, junior Julie Gardner was named to the 2011 All-ACC team yesterday afternoon.
[caption id="attachment_43661" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sophomore Robby Andrews enters the ACC Championship ranked No.
The No. 2 Virginia rowing team travels south to Clemson, S.C. this weekend, eyeing an opportunity to defend its conference title and once again exert its dominance against its rivals at the ACC Championships.
