Virginia Baseball Close to Breakthrough

Will the disappointing end to this season become a driving force for Sean Doolittle and the Cavalier baseball team?

Certainly, many University of Virginia baseball fans have been watching the College World Series with interest. Why? That's simple. Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and North Carolina all advanced to the CWS this season - the Cavaliers beat each of those teams at least once in 2006.

Of course, one ACC team fared better than the rest in Omaha as the Tar Heels advanced to the final to face Oregon State for the National Championship. That's actually good news for Hoo fans. After all, the Cavaliers defeated North Carolina 2 out of 3 times this season. In total, the Hoos topped CWS participants Miami twice, Clemson three times, GT once, and UNC twice. In other words, the UVa baseball program is extremely close to a breakthrough of a major proportions.

The last remaining stumbling block has been the postseason where the Cavaliers have made three straight NCAA Regional appearances, but have yet to reach the Super Regional round. With such a young team this season, perhaps the disappointment of losing in the regional round at home this season will be a driving force for the program. Tasting defeat in the 2005 postseason led the UVa men's lacrosse team down a path of unending hardwork and dedication, which helped the 2006 Cavaliers roll to the National Championship. If the baseball team takes on a similar year-long drive to erase the disappointing end to this record-breaking season, then 2007 could hold a breakthrough moment for Brian O'Connor and company.

Kris Wright
TheSabre.com
Editor

Eric Wallace

Virginia's men's basketball program held an elite camp last week and some of its top targets in the 2007 class and beyond participated. What really made the event a successful one was the commitment of 6-6, 210-pound small forward Eric Wallace, a player the staff certainly seemed to covet in this year's class.

Wallace, who averaged 18 points per game last season as a junior for Glenn High School in Kernersville, chose Virginia over offers from Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina and Wake Forest, among others. The super athletic and strongly built standout will take his game to Hargrave Military Academy for his senior season and will sign with Virginia in November.

Patrick Patterson

An excellent student, he carries a weighted 4.0 grade point average and is looking to major in Architecture. Wallace joins 6-1, 185-pound Penn Charter (Philadelphia, PA) point guard Sammy Zeglinski in Virginia's 2007 recruiting class. He and Zeglinski played on the same team at last weekend's elite camp.

Patrick Patterson, a 6-8, 225-pound power forward out of Huntington High School in West Virginia, was also on hand for last weekend's elite event. Patterson is another coveted prospect who has received offers from Virginia, Florida, Kentucky, Wake Forest, and West Virginia and is drawing interest from Duke.

Stay tuned for an update in the near future on Patterson and whether or not Virginia's chances are improving or slipping. Also, stay tuned as we follow up with more of the prospects in attendance at the elite camp.

In other basketball recruiting news ... Johnnie Lett, a 6-9, 235-pound power forward/center out of Ben Rain High School in Mobile, Alabama, was also expecting to go to Hargrave this fall. Unfortunately, he no longer has a spot there and will go to junior college for two seasons. Lett signed with UVa last fall and was hoping to prep for a year at Hargrave due to academics. He still hopes to sign with Virginia, but that now looks bleak.

On the football recruiting scene ... late last week, UVa made the final 10 for the one of the nation's top prospects in Coolidge (D.C.) defensive tackle Marvin Austin. Florida State, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, N.C. State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Southern Cal, and Tennessee are the other finalists.

Austin has a great relationship with Mike London. At this point, I still consider Virginia to be a long shot. If the Hoos keep hanging around, however, then certainly anything can happen.

UVa is in heavily on another top defensive tackle out of the D.C./Maryland area. Nick Jenkins, a 6-3, 285-pound prospect out of Good Counsel (Wheaton, MD), is seriously considering UVa among his 31 official scholarship offers. Jenkins has already visited UVa once and plans a return trip next weekend with his mother.

Florida, Penn State, South Carolina, and Tennessee are among the other programs he hopes to visit this summer.

Meanwhile, UVa did not make the cut for 6-4, 260-pound Spring Valley (Columbia, SC) tight end recruit Mason Cloy. Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech, in that order, are the final three.

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License Plate section is up in Wahoowa!

A few weeks ago, SabreMail made a request for anyone who had license plates that reflected your status as a Hoo fan. The responses have started to trickle in and the Plates Photos are up and running the Wahoowa! section of the site. The Wahoowa! section of the Sabre is dedicated to all things associated with UVa Fan-dom. There are various fan-related areas including desktop wallpaper, Fan of the Week photos, V-Sabres Worldwide, and more. If you have suggestions for new and interesting things in the Wahoowa! section, please email us at [email protected] with the header: Wahoowa! suggestion.

We'd like to keep adding photos to the section so if your license plate shows that you're a Hoo fan, let us know so we can include you in our gallery. All you need to do is snap a picture of your license plate and email a jpeg version of the photo to [email protected] with the email header: License Plate Photo.

Gooooaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllll!

The World Cup takes center stage this month as soccer teams from around the globe compete in Germany. Want to discuss the action with fellow futbol fanactics? We've got you covered! The Sabre's Soccer Message Board is the perfect place to rant and rave about the World Cup.

Newslink - Your One Stop Shop for UVa News

TheSabre.com provides an excellent service for the Virginia fan base that you may not know about: Newslink. Sabre NewsLink provides you with links to the daily news on your Hoos. Our staff checks the Internet each morning to locate and link to articles from various online media sources from around the state and beyond. We even throw some interesting ACC news to let you know what the Hoos' opponents are up to. Sabre NewsLink is updated every morning, 365 days a year!

Today's Virginia articles included updates on men's basketball, baseball, football, and more! Check out Sabre NewsLink today.

The Sabre's Opponent Sites' Directory

Pittsburgh (Official) Panther Lair Panther Digest

With football season approaching fast, many Virginia fans might be interested in what the Cavaliers' opponents are up to this summer. Well, the Sabre has saved you some research time. Much like the Pittsburgh example seen here (the Panthers are the Hoos' opening opponent), all of the Web sites for the football and basketball teams' opponents have been linked in our Other Sites section. That makes it easy to check up on UVa's opponents before the opening kickoff!

Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

Chris Long

• Arseneault Moves into Quarterfinals at Western Amateur: Virginia sophomore women's golfer Jennie Arseneault defeated two opponents in match play Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals at the Women's Western Golf Association's 106th National Amateur Championship.
• Long Named to Hendricks Watch List: Virginia junior defensive end Chris Long has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2006 Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award. On field performance, exceptional winning attitude, leadership abilities and contributions to school and community and academic preparedness are some of the criteria used to determine the award's winner. Candidates may represent any class as well as any recognized four-year NCAA accredited school. The candidate's primary position must be defensive end.
• Lieb, Weymouth Take Home Honors: Virginia's Nikki Lieb and Blair Weymouth took home top honors as the Virginia Sports Information Directors' Association named the 2006 All-State (University Division) Women's Lacrosse Teams. Lieb was named the Player of the Year while Weymouth was tabbed as the Rookie of the Year. Three other Cavaliers, Tyler Leachman, Kim Connors, and Julie Hauser were named to the first team.
• Virginia Sports Radio Increases Coverage in Blacksburg/Radford: The University of Virginia athletics department announced today plans to bolster its radio coverage in the Blacksburg and Radford markets by adding an FM station associated with the Sports Addict Radio Network. WZFM-FM (101.3) joins the Virginia Sports Network's lineup beginning this fall. The station will carry all UVa programming, including football and basketball games, the Cavalier Minute and Cavalier Call-In, the Monday night talk show with Virginia coaches.
• Devvarman, Boland Take Top State Tennis Honors: Somdev Devvarman was named State Player of the Year and Brian Boland was named State Coach of the Year Tuesday when the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) announced its men's tennis all-state team.
• Zoll Named First-Team All-State: Virginia junior Sharneé Zoll has been named to the 2006 Virginia Sports Information Directors' (VaSID) Division I first-team all-state women's basketball team, VaSID announced on Tuesday.
• Three Cavaliers Named to VaSID Women's Tennis All-State Team: Three members of the Virginia women's tennis team were honored Tuesday as the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) All-State team was announced. Lindsey Pereira was named to the singles second team, while Kristen James and Lori Stern were named to the doubles team.

To read the full stories or gather more information on Virignia athletics, check out Virginiasports.com.

Sabre articles from the past week

Last Ball in U-Hall: Parkhill Raised UVa's Profile
After 10 minutes inside University Hall, Barry Parkhill was awestruck. The 17-year-old high school recruit from State College, Pennsylvania, visited the arena in 1968 when it was only three years old and was impressed enough with the new facility to sign on to play at Virginia once the Cavaliers offered him a scholarship. By the time he left U-Hall as a player, UVa had retired his number and the Hoos were on the hoops map.

Rotating Quarterbacks Is A Must For Virginia
I can't believe I'm saying it. The first thought of it crept up like a nearly forgotten anniversary. In fact, the idea first evolved out of some radio interviews about Virginia football and the whole spring practice quarterback debate. I was saying it with conviction, but then it dawned on me: Do I really support that? Yes, I do and I still can't believe it - the Cavaliers have to platoon players at quarterback this season.

Ask the Experts #12: Ahmad Hawkins
Ahmad Hawkins played both receiver and defensive back for the Virginia Cavalier football team in the late 1990s, moving to defense in his final year. He believes the switch late in his career opened the door for his professional playing career, which is still rolling with the Arena Football League's Colorado Crush. Hawkins talked about changing positions, the AFL, his days at UVa, and his famous arms-wide-open moment with the Hoos in this edition of "Ask the Experts."

Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week ...

Wallace Commits to UVa!
UVa head coach Dave Leitao landed a coveted 2007 recruiting class target when, last weekend, 6-6, 210-pound small forward recruit Eric Wallace verbally committed to Virginia. He made his decision public before the 5-Star Camp all-star games held at Hamden-Sydney College.

UVa Targeting Jenkins for Nose Guard
Virginia is one of 31 schools that have offered a scholarship to 6-3, 285-pound Good Counsel (Wheaton, MD) defensive tackle Nick Jenkins, and the 'Hoos are in serious contention at this point. Jenkins has already unofficially visited several schools and plans to make another round of visits starting with a trip next weekend to Charlottesville.

Any Timetable for Alvarez?
6-5, 310-pound Hylton (Woodbridge, VA) OL William Alvarez enjoyed a successful evaluation period, adding significantly to his scholarship count. His teammate, OL Leo Grassilli, saw his recruitment pick up in intensity last month as well and could be on the brink of earning his first 1A scholarship offer. We caught up with Hylton head coach Lou Sorrentino for updates on both of his recruits.

Q&A with John Bivens
Former Prince George High School star John Bivens was the super sleeper recruit of the 2006 recruiting class. Bivens flew under the recruiting radar after not playing varsity football his junior year in order to focus on baseball. He played in 2005 and played very well, eventually drawing interest from Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and N.C. State. UVa was the only school to officially offer at the time he committed and Al Groh was certainly happy to have him on board.

Why or Why Not? - The Pre-Summer Top 30
Chris Horne revealed The Sabre's Pre-Summer Virginia Top 30 this week with Tyrod Taylor taking the No. 1 spot. Chris is next up in the Sabre's "Why or Why Not?" series where we present several statements to an expert and, in true or false style, they tell us why it will happen or why it won't. Chris tackles tough questions on Taylor, Russell Wilson, Jamar Jackson, and offensive linemen.

Every week, Sabre Edge provides you with exclusive articles, columns, special features, interviews and recruiting news, including daily recruiting updates. There's even a special message board just for subscribers. And to top it off, you get 10 percent off all of your UVa Bookstores purchases during your subscription.

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