The moon was nearly full and the sky was mostly dark as the Virginia baseball team tried to squint its way to victory against Old Dominion in yesterday's home opener.
For a man whose facial expression never changed, whose steely, 1,000-yard stare terrified even Mike Ditka, Tom Landry always looked a little peculiar with a brushed suede fedora atop his balding head. Maybe his unbending calm for 29 seasons along the Dallas Cowboys sideline rendered the hat a bit odd.
The Virginia wrestling team rebounded quite nicely from a loss to Virginia Tech last weekend, destroying Maryland last night at Memorial Gymnasium, 27-10. The Cavaliers (3-5, 1-1) won their first ACC match of the season by stealing seven of the 10 bouts on the night against the rival Terrapins (4-2, 2-1). The seven Cav victories included a pin by first year Steve Mazzola and major decisions by second year Ryan McGrath and fifth years Steve Garland and John Pozniak. "We wrestled really well," Virginia Coach Lenny Bernstein said.
Trying to guess how the Virginia baseball team will fare this season is a difficult task at best.
As my collegiate sports writ ing career comes to a close, I am constantly asked about my future plans in the sports world.
Most people know the ACC boasts powerhouse programs in football, basketball and even soccer. ACC fans should not forget about baseball, though. Baseball America ranks four Conference teams in the Top 25 - Florida State (1), Georgia Tech (8), Clemson (19) and North Carolina (20) - proving the ACC is one of the nation's most challenging conferences. "The ACC is gonna be a difficult league this year," Tar Heel Coach Mike Fox said.
What a difference one month and the addition of Adam Hall can make. Coach Pete Gillen benched Hall for the duration of the last meeting between the two teams for still undisclosed reasons.
This, evidently, is what 10-on-1 basketball looks like. Clemson had Will Solomon, the ACC's leading scorer, but Virginia's overwhelming depth was more than enough for a comfortable 76-62 win last night at University Hall. Third-year floor general Donald Hand poured in 21 points to lead four Cavs in double figures, while swingman Adam Hall smothered Solomon, limiting the sophomore guard to 13 largely meaningless points. "That was the best defense we've played in a long time," Cavalier Coach Pete Gillen said.
Renee Robinson can get out of control. Just ask her teammates. Ask her coach. The fourth-year Virginia point guard can yell, scream and taunt with the best of them.
Now that the Cavalier men's basketball team has claimed sole possession of fourth place in the Conference with Saturday's 88-82 victory over N.C.
After emerging from my one-year tour of duty as Sports Editor for this publication, I decided to return to the real world and - for only about the fifth time in two years - actually attend a men's basketball game as a fan.
The North Carolina basketball teams grabbed half of this week's ACC honors as shooting guards Joseph Forte and Nikki Teasley were named Men's Rookie of the Week and Women's Player of the Week, respectively. Forte scored 40 points in the Tar Heel wins against N.C.
Renee Robinson's tie-breaking foul shot with 0.4 seconds left capped a 57-55 victory over Arkansas State yesterday, giving Virginia women's Coach Debbie Ryan her 520th win in her 700th career game. The victory boosted the Cavs' record to 19-6 overall.
Don't call it a comeback, just call it coming home. After dropping three consecutive away games, the Virginia men's basketball team returned to University Hall Saturday night ready to plays with home-court advantage against N.C.
After picking up three personal fouls in a little over two minutes, Virginia center Travis Watson was forced to take a seat on the bench with his team only up four against N.C.
Senior leadership is a slippery term, one bandied about with careless abandon in the world of collegiate athletics.
After a lopsided victory over James Madison last Wednesday, the Virginia wrestling team took a step backward Saturday by falling to Virginia Tech, 23-20, at Memorial Gymnasium.
Steve Swanson was named head coach of the Virginia women's soccer team yesterday, four weeks after former coach April Heinrichs left the Cavalier program to take the helm of the U.S.
Sometimes women's basketball - especially ACC women's basketball - can launch a happy, go-lucky student-athlete into the depths of depression and misery.
After enduring a grueling four-game road trip, the Virginia men's basketball team should be relieved to return to the friendly confines of Charlottesville. The Cavs' long road has come full circle and they will try to piece things back together against N.C.
