With a 2-1 lead against Florida State Friday night, the Virginia volleyball team needed just one more win to put the Seminoles away for good. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, FSU rallied late, capturing the next two games and winning the match, 3-2.
It was one of the finest moments in American film history. Trailing the Urbana Cowboys with time left for only one play, the Little Giants pulled out their secret weapon: "The Annexation of Puerto Rico." A complicated play involving several passes and laterals, the Annexation won the game for the underdogs in the timeless cinematic classic from 1994, "Little Giants." While the movie couldn't have ended without the good guys coming through in the clutch to win, the fact that Rick Moranis' character and his rag-tag bunch of players were able to emerge victorious over a bigger and more talented squad through creative play calling is consistent with a common belief among football experts: The more surprise plays you have in the vault, the better. Why?
CARY, N.C. -- All season long, Virginia coach Steve Swanson has said one of his goals is for the Cavaliers to "make history." Yesterday afternoon, that is just what they did. After two scoreless sudden death overtimes, Virginia defeated North Carolina in penalty kicks (5-4) to win the ACC tournament championship for the first time in school history.
Despite a strong defensive performance, the Cavalier field hockey team was unable to hold off a charging Demon Deacon squad, falling in the first round of the ACC tournament Thursday, 5-1. Virginia goalkeeper Logan Carr put forth a solid defensive effort between the posts, collecting 11 saves and holding the Deacons to only one marker in the first half. Down 2-0 in the second half, Cavalier midfielder Katie Phillips narrowed the gap to one with a reverse chip shot over the head of the Wake Forest keeper.
The Virginia men's swimming and diving team earned a second place finish at the Boilermaker Challenge on Saturday, posting a strong performance against three nationally ranked teams from across the country. The women's team also had a solid showing at the meet, finishing sixth in a field of eight ranked teams.
On the final day of the regular season, the Virginia men's soccer team had a lot at stake. With a win against Maryland, the Cavaliers would claim the ACC regular season championship; but with a loss, the team would drop its first game at Klöckner Stadium as well as suffer back-to-back defeats for the first time this year. In an extremely hard fought, back-and-forth contest, the Cavaliers fell to the Terrapins 1-0 on a goal by Jason Arnold with just over four minutes remaining in the game.
It used to be that when the Virginia men's basketball team scored 90 points or more at home, Taco Bell would offer every fan in attendance a free taco.
Virginia's defense pitched its second shutout of the season, holding Maryland to just seven first downs and 51 rushing yards as the No.
Coming off of an 8-0 romp over Virginia Tech on Wednesday in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, the Virginia women's soccer team will look to solidify its status as one of the country's elite squads this weekend. No.
For the Virginia's men's soccer team, it all comes down to today. After a season of success, they will face one of their biggest challenges coming off one of their biggest and most surprising losses.
For the three seniors on Virginia men's basketball team, this season is their last chance to reach the NCAA tournament.
It's pretty safe to say the Virginia women's volleyball team is on a roll. The Cavaliers (17-7, 7-5 ACC) are in a three-way tie for third place in the conference, and they hold both the ACC's second longest current win streak and the best home record (10-1) in the ACC.
It hasn't always been this way. Maryland hasn't always been an elite level football team able to beat Florida State and make annual plans to spend early January in Florida. Prior to the 2001 season, the Terrapins were perennial ACC doormats, located just above Duke in the conference hierarchy.
With an entire week of rest in between games, the Cavaliers talked at practice earlier this week about how much they wanted back on the field.
University of Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen is well-known for his reputation as an offensive genius.
As exposed numerous times in the world of sports, the postseason is a completely different ballgame than everything that comes before.
Al Groh has said all season long that he wants his Cavaliers to still be in the hunt on Nov. 1. Now, after a pair of upsets last weekend in College Park and Chapel Hill, the 'Hoos again control their own destiny for an ACC championship and automatic BCS bid.
By many measures of success, the opportunity to play a kid's game professionally would satisfy most people -- let alone football players.
At Virginia, it sometimes seems as if being miserable is a badge of honor. Respect is gained in the wee hours at Clemons -- war waged over who can outdo who in total assignments and impending tests.
Highly-touted Virginia guard Sean Singletary came in second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Preseason Rookie of the Year voting.
