Happy New Year Hoos!

The Sabre wishes everyone a Happy New Year as we enter 2007! Our community of message boards and Web site is celebrating our 10th year and we're thrilled to have all of you along for another exciting year of Cavalier athletics.

In the coming months, we'll follow Dave Leitao and Debbie Ryan to see if they can guide their teams to NCAA Tournament berths. We'll follow football's national signing day to see how many players the Cavaliers sign in this class. We'll keep tabs on the baseball team, which opens the preseason with a No. 10 ranking, and we'll monitor the NCAA Championship title defense of the men's lacrosse team.

That, of course, doesn't even mention spring football practice where we'll see if the Hoos can get back on track after a rebuilding effort in 2006.

The Sabre can't wait to get 2007 started so Happy Hoo Year!

Kris Wright
Editor, TheSabre.com

Virginia commitment J'Courtney Williams is in San Antonio, Texas, this week for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. The 6-3, 220-pound Williams, the only UVa commit set to play in the game, is looking forward to the opportunity of competing with and against some of the best players in the nation throughout the week.

"Practicing with those guys, it will be good to see what level I'm on," said Williams, a star LB at Christchurch (VA). "It's not everyday that you get to practice against those types of players. I'm also anticipating what position I'll play. I wonder if I'll be a true outside linebacker or if they'll move me to something else like a rover."

For more on Williams, make sure to check out the updates below.

Basketball recruiting ...

Virginia basketball commitment Sam Zeglinski and Penn Charter High School will be playing in the 2007 Harrisburg Hoopfest on Jan. 20 at Harrisburg High School in Pennsylvania. Penn Charter faces Red Land Senior High School out of Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, in the first game of the event, which tips off at noon.

Zeglinski is one of several D-1 commitments playing in the event. St. Benedict's features Rasho Bishop (Cincinatti), Jabari Edwards (George Washington), and Ryan Bacon (Delaware), while Bishop Maginn features Penn State commit Talor Battle.

The one-day event features 5 games and tickets cost $10.

Chris Horne, our resident recruiting expert, provides updates throughout the week for Edge subscribers about UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and men's basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please check out the Sabre Edge Sign Up and Information Page. If you're already on board as an Edge subscriber, click the links below to catch up on recruiting.

Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week ...

Williams Excited About Army All-American Bowl
On Sunday, UVa commit J'Courtney Williams will head to San Antonio, Texas, for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. The 6-3, 220-pound Williams, the only UVa commit set to play in the game, is looking forward to the opportunity of competing with and against some of the best players in the nation throughout the week.

Mosley Weighing Options
It has almost been two weeks since Corey Mosley made an official visit to the University of Virginia. The 5-9, 190-pound Henrico (Richmond, VA) standout athlete still has not made a decision between making a commitment to UVa or making a second official visit, which would be to Virginia Tech on the weekend of January 20th. Is he close to doing so?

LB Tucker Has a Decision to Make
Romale Tucker will make a decision within the next few weeks - will he go to Syracuse or will he go to UVa? If Syracuse is the choice, the 6-4, 205-pound outside linebacker prospect will transfer from his current school, Ballou (D.C.), to Milford Academy (N.Y.) next month. If UVa is the choice, he will finish out his senior year at Ballou and then prep for one year at Hargrave Military Academy.

Updates since the last SabreMail ...

• Castonzo Makes Decision on Final Two Visits
• Class of 2008: 6-6, 315-pound OL Vinston Painter
• Dontrelle Inman's Road to Committing to UVa
• Schwartz Nearing Decision?
• 2008 Class: UVa, VT Offer Goochland's Coles
• Ballou Notes: Is Tucker Eyeing Other Schools?
• Will Castonzo Visit UVa?

Planning a great party at your house? Headed to someone else's celebration? Planning to tailgate at UVa? Regardless of your plans, Kroger® is the place to go for all of your grilling and cooking needs. Pick up your favorite hamburgers, hotdogs, buns, ketchup, mustard, relish, or whatever else you need for a perfect and tasty meal.

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Also, don't forget that Kroger® is still the place to go for all of your dinner needs!

Thanks, as always, for giving the Sabre's sponsors the first chance to win your business. Remember, our sponsors help bring you a better Web site.

Former Virginia running back Tiki Barber made sure his last NFL regular season game with the New York Giants was a memorable one. Barber rushed for a team-record 234 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead his team past the Washington Redskins 34-28. The win lifted the Giants into the playoffs where they will face NFC East rival Philadelphia in the first round of the NFC postseason.

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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.

Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Albright, Caponi, Jones Place at Southern Scuffle: Sophomore wrestler Eric Albright led Virginia with a fourth place finish while teammate Rocco Caponi placed fifth to lead the Cavaliers on the final day of the Southern Scuffle hosted by UNC Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum. Brent Jones, who wrestled unattached in the tournament, finished seventh.
• Cavalier Baseball Ranked Preseason No. 10 by Collegiate Baseball: Virginia will open the 2007 baseball campaign ranked No. 10 in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Fabulous 40 NCAA Division I preseason poll. The Cavaliers return eight position starters, their top two weekend pitchers and top two relief pitchers. Also, junior first baseman/left-handed pitcher Sean Doolittle was named to the Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American first team.
• Virginia Claims Marriott Cavalier Classic Championship With 81-63 Win Over UAB: Virginia women's basketball claimed the 2006 Marriott Cavalier Classic Championship title with an 81-63 win over UAB on Friday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Virginia's Lyndra Littles earned All-Tournament Team honors while Cavalier point guard Sharneé Zoll was named the Most Valuable Player.
• Virginia Softball Signs Allee Rife:Virginia head softball coach Karen Johns has announced the signing Allee Rife to a national letter of intent with UVa during the early signing period. Rife, a left-handed pitcher/first baseman, will enroll at Virginia for the 2007-08 academic year.
• Dom Starsia and Marc Van Arsdale Receive Prestigious Awards at Coaches Convention:Men's lacrosse Dom Starsia received the Howdy Myers "Man of the Year" Award, while Marc Van Arsdale was selected the Division I Assistant Coach of the Year at the United States Interollegiate Lacrosse Association/Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Association meetings this past weekend in Baltimore.

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

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Issue No. 219 - December 9, 2005

Despite the coaching situation, Virginia had an extremely successful weekend last week by landing four prospects - three of whom were on their official visits to Charlottesville. Coach Al Groh picked up verbal commitments from Vance (Charlotte, N.C.) 5-11, 185-pound defensive back Rico Bell, Prince George (VA) 6-2, 215-pound linebacker John Bivens, Deep Creek (Chesapeake, VA) 6-2, 185-pound defensive back Ras-I Dowling and Malvern Prep (Malvern, PA) defensive back Trey Womack (pictured right).

Bell, rated a 3-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com, could play the cornerback or safety positions on the next level. He possesses tremendous speed, as he was timed at 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash during the Nike camp in Blacksburg earlier this year.

Although he is listed as a "sleeper," there is no mistake that John Bivens is a nice pickup for the 'Hoos. He is a physical, athletic linebacker prospect who impressed the UVa coaches with an outstanding senior season. He would likely have a handful of scholarship offers had he played football as a junior.

Dowling, an outstanding athlete who possesses a 40-inch vertical leap and who says he ran a 4.4 in the 40 at Virginia Tech's senior camp this summer, is being recruited as a defensive back. He believes he could play either safety or cornerback for the 'Hoos.

Womack was the only player to commit this weekend who wasn't taking his official visit. The 6-0, 175-pound Womack, who chose UVa over Northwestern, is being recruited strictly as a cornerback. He decided to verbally commit to Virginia after an awesome official visit experience last month.

Coming Soon

January means that 2007 is officially under way and Virginia's winter sports are heating up. The Sabre will help you close out start the new year with plenty of content to keep you excited about the Hoos! Here's a sneak peak at some of the articles to expect on the site in the coming days:

• Top Stories of 2006
  The Sabre takes a quick look back at the top stories in Virginia athletics for 2006.
• American Photo Gallery
  Ian Rogol snapped some photos during Virginia's win against American.
• Gonzaga And Stanford Visit
  A pair of West Coast teams roll into the John Paul Jones Arena this week. How will the Hoos fare in these key out-of-conference battles?
• Getting To Know Mark Ambrose
  The Sabre's recruiting series continues with Pennsylvania tight end Mark Ambrose.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Singletary Scores 1,000th Point In UVa's Win
With a former Virginia guard watching as the coach on the other sidelines, Cavalier junior guard Sean Singletary scored his 1,000th career point on Thursday night as the Hoos defeated Jeff Jones led American, 91-70. Singletary rebounded from a rough shooting week in Puerto Rico to post a season-high 33 points in the Cavs' victory. J.R. Reynolds added a season's best 26 as well.

5 Things I Learned From The San Juan Shootout
I'm sure many Hoo fans - and the Cavaliers themselves - have done as much as possible to forget last week's debacle in Puerto Rico. Three days and three uninspiring, to say the least, performances later, left everyone from Dave Leitao on down in a sour mood. But was the trip to San Juan a total waste? I don't think so. Every game is a learning experience. Was it a learning experience for us Sabre-ites too? I pulled some interesting tidbits from the event while listening over the airwaves last week. Here are 5 Things I Learned From The San Juan Shootout.

Jones Returns With American
Weird isn't the word that American University Head Basketball Coach Jeff Jones would use to explain bringing his team to Charlottesville to play against the Cavaliers - where he formerly stood at the helm. "Weird isn't the right word, but it's close," Jones said. "I have a lot of mixed emotions, but I'll treat it like any other game as much as I can."

Greg's Grades: 2006 Final Grades
As bowl season kicks into high gear this week, the Virginia football team's 5-7 season has a bit of a sting to it. More than a month has passed since the Hoos ended their campaign with a shutout loss at Virginia Tech so there has been time to step back and re-evaluate the season, the team's progress, and the overall performance of 2006. That's right the final grades are in and some units might want to hide the report card.

Cavaliers Pick Up San Juan Win
Virginia's nightmare trip to the San Juan Shootout flirted with trilogy status that would have made Wes Craven proud. But like most trilogies, the hero in our story figured out how to overcome the horrors from Part I and II in time to survive the closing act. Not that the Cavaliers escaped without some tense moments against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on Thursday, but they pulled out the 59-52 win to finish 1-2 in the tournament.

Utah Trounces Virginia
Perhaps, the Virginia men's basketball team took the shootout portion of the San Juan Shootout literally. After all, the Hoos played little effective defense and launched enough 3-point attempts to make one dizzy. The problem with that? Utah actually executed the "shootout" part of offense much better than the Cavaliers - the Utes nailed 11 3-pointers and shot 62.3% percent en route to a dominant 94-70 victory on Wednesday.

Mountaineers Drop Cavaliers
Virginia got off to a slow start and could never pick up the pace as the Cavaliers suffered a stunning 80-69 defeat at the hands of Appalachian State in the first round of the San Juan Shootout on Tuesday. The Cavaliers (6-2, 1-0 ACC) will face Utah (4-6, 0-0 Mountain West) at noon on Wednesday in a losers bracket match-up.

5 Things I Learned Against Hampton
When Virginia takes the hardwood in the San Juan Shootout this week, Dave Leitao is looking for two things - a title and consistency. With nothing to focus on except for basketball and beaches, both of those goals are attainable in the three-day event, which will provide the Hoos with their second opportunity to play away from Charlottesville. But first, what can we pull from last week's only game? Let's take a look at 5 Things I Learned Against Hampton.

UConn Rolls Past Virginia Women
Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma buried his head and ran his hand through his hair when another shot swished through the basket late in the Huskies' 96-60 victory on Monday night. In most cases, that wouldn't be the reaction in a 36-point road romp. Things feel a little bit different, however, when the lopsided score is against an old colleague. So this time, Auriemma seemed a little bit distraught as his team handed the worst loss in more than 25 years to Virginia's Debbie Ryan.

Gelnovatch Proud of Team's Season
The Virginia men's soccer team has much to be proud of when looking back at the 2006 season. The Cavaliers finished with a 17-4-1 overall record (5-3 ACC) and returned to the College Cup for the first time since 1997. UVa coach George Gelnovatch recognizes the achievements of his squad, but now he must find a way to retool the team - which loses three senior starters and at least two underclassmen - for 2007.

Things I Learned About ... The Running Backs
All running backs look the same without holes to run through. An Al Groh-ism, if there ever was one. And it's an accurate one, as the 2006 season showed. Jason Snelling. Cedric Peerman. Mikell Simpson. Virginia had some talent in the backfield entering the season, but it took time for that to show in the running game - as the offensive line improved, so did the running game. So what did I learn about the running backs this season?

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