Edge subscribers can also read J.D. Moss's excellent profile of Sean Singletary here.

Women's basketball goes 1-1 vs. ranked teams

At this time last week, the UVa women's basketball team had won 17 games, a nice improvement over last year's 13-16 final mark. But the Cavaliers had failed to beat a ranked opponent until Sunday, when they upset No. 21 Maryland 63-61 at University Hall. Senior forward LaTonya Blue scored a career-high 29 points and did not commit a turnover in earning ACC player of the week honors.

Alas, the 'Hoos couldn't turn the same trick Thursday in Chapel Hill. They were buried by No. 8 North Carolina, 89-60, their worst loss ever to the Tar Heels. Still, at 18-9 overall and 7-6 in the ACC, they are in good shape for an NCAA tournament bid. They finish the regular season with a home game against Wake Forest on Sunday at 2.

For more information on UVa women's basketball, please see the link below.

Men's tennis soars to No. 2

The Cavaliers knocked on the door of the national tennis elite last year. Now they may be knocking it down.

Virginia defeated three top-10 teams at the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago last week. Entering the tournament ranked #9, they beat #7 Stanford, #2 UCLA and #6 Mississippi before losing to #1 Baylor in the title match.

Because of that, Brian Boland's team vaulted to #2 in the rankings this week. The Cavs face Virginia Tech tonight in their ACC opener at the Boar's Head Sports Club, then play No. 24 Notre Dame in Richmond on Sunday.

For more information on UVa men's tennis, please see the link below.

Baseball team gets hot at home

Tom Hagan had three hits in Wednesday's 8-0 victory.

The UVa baseball team was tough to beat at Davenport Field last year. The same seems to be the case this season, judging by some early results.

After starting the season 2-2 on the road, the Cavaliers won their first four home games by a combined score of 30-5. They swept a three-game series against Bucknell last weekend, then dominated Old Dominion 8-0 on Wednesday, avenging a 9-6 loss at ODU the previous week.

The 'Hoos continue their homestand this weekend with a three-game series against Fordham. Today's game was postponed because of yesterday's snow storm, so the teams will play a doubleheader Saturday and a single game Sunday.

For more information on UVa baseball, please see the link below.

Men's swimming goes for seventh straight ACC title

Halfway through the ACC men's swimming and diving championships in Atlanta, the Cavaliers are well on their way to continuing their conference reign.

Despite a disqualification in the 200 medley relay that temporarily dropped them into ninth place, the Wahoos were back in first at the end of Thursday's races. Among the winners for Virginia were Fran Crippen (500 free), Pat Mellors (200 IM), and the 800 free relay and 200 free relay teams.

Winner of the past six ACC championships, UVa now has 250 points, followed by Florida State (204) and North Carolina (180.5). Two days of competition remain, today and tomorrow. The UVa women placed second in last week's ACC meet after winning the previous two titles.

For more information on UVa swimming and diving, please see the link below.

UVa baseball coach Brian O'Connor was the featured guest on Tuesday's edition of CavTalk, hosted by Greg Waters and Mike Andrews. Also on the show was Jed Williams, host of the sports talk radio show "The Best Seat in the House," and Stan Cotton, the "Voice of the Demon Deacons." Edge subscribers can listen to an archive of the show here.

Sabre Edge articles and columns from the past week

They say kickers are misunderstood. If so, Jake McInerney may help you understand them better. Jake was UVa's starting kicker in 1989 and 1990. He led the ACC in scoring in '90 and still holds the school records for consecutive field goals (14) and extra points (88). In this installment of "Ask the Experts," he answers your questions about getting "iced" by timeouts, the importance of a proper snap and hold, kicking technique, squib kickoffs, the difference between kickers and other football players, and why so few high school kickers are offered scholarships.

Anyone who has watched Sean Singletary this season knows how tough Virginia's freshman point guard is physically and mentally, but why? Is it from playing on Philly playgrounds? Is it from his summer battles with NBA players? Is it from watching both parents battle cancer? Is it the influence of his brother, now fighting in Iraq? Is it from learning to deal with all kinds of injuries and adversity? The answer: All of the above.

Mike Brown's high school resume speaks for itself. The first ever four-year starter at St. Peter's Prep, he led the program to a 39-4 record. He starred at both running back and cornerback, once scoring three touchdowns and grabbing two interceptions in the same game. His total all-county selections (4) doubled the number of touchdowns he allowed in his career (2). The only problem? Brown proved to be such an outstanding defender that opposing quarterbacks refused to throw to his side of the field.

The Virginia Cavaliers won 44 games in 2004 because they did the little things well. When the Wahoos got men on base, they usually scored. When they needed to make routine fielding plays, they usually made them. And when they had a lead late, they usually won. Last Wednesday they didn't do any of those things in a loss to Old Dominion, but they bounced back to do just about everything right in a three-game sweep of Bucknell.

With 18:42 to go in the first half of Saturday's game, following a Maryland turnover, the look on Nik Caner-Medley's face said, "It looks like it's going to be a long afternoon." Forty minutes, two overtimes, 14 lead changes, 10 ties and 10 Elton Brown misses at the charity stripe later, Caner-Medley's Terrapins left University Hall with a hard fought 92-89 double-overtime victory. Any hopes of postseason play for Pete Gillen's Cavaliers were probably reduced to an NIT bid as the 'Hoos fell to 13-11 overall and 4-9 in ACC.

Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week

Our resident recruiting expert, Chris Horne, provides updates for Edge subscribers about UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and men's basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please see the sign-up promotion below. If you're already on board as an Edge subscriber, click the links below to catch up on recruiting.

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