Championship Weekend

Brian Boland's team has won 16 straight ACC matches.

Spring is always a kind season for Virginia sports fans and 2007 is no different so far. The men's tennis and women's rowing teams claimed ACC Championships over the weekend in dominant fashion, giving Hoos everywhere two reasons to celebrate.

The tennis team crushed North Carolina 5-0 on Sunday to claim the ACC Tournament title for third time in four seasons. UVa has rattled off 16 straight wins in ACC matches, dating back to last season.

"I am so proud of this team," Virginia coach Brian Boland said in a news release. "The ACC is one of, if not the best conference in the country. To win three of these in four years says a lot about our team. I feel great about where the program is and how much we have improved over the past few years. This weekend gives us a lot of momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament."

Virginia won the doubles point and quickly took care of business in singles. Treat Huey cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2, which was quickly followed by Ted Angelinos' 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 6. Needing just one more match victory, Dominic Inglot wrapped up the W at No.3 with a 6-1, 6-4 triumph. Somdev Devvarman made it 5-0 when UNC's Benjamin Carlotti agreed to play out the final game since Devvarman was sitting at match point.

Angelinos earned ACC Tournament MVP honors after winning three singles matches. He lost just six games the whole tournament after moving into the line-up at No. 6 singles for the first match of the event.

"It's nice to be named MVP, but that isn't as important as what we were able to accomplish as a team," Angelinos said in a news release. "I started off the week not being in the singles line-up, but got my shot and made the most of it. Coach stressed to me that you always have to be ready to go in, and it paid off for me this weekend."

The No. 5 Virginia women's rowing team, meanwhile, rolled to its eighth consecutive ACC Championship on Saturday at Clemson's Lake Hartwell. Like the tennis team, the Cavaliers dominated the competition - they claimed all four scoring events to take the team title with 60 points.

UVa's varsity eight - Caitlin Mixter (coxswain), Jennifer Cromwell, Melanie Kok, Libby McCann, Emelia Colman-Shepherd, Lauren Hutchins, Kelsie Chaudoin, Sara Lippa, and Anna Samaha - earned ACC Crew of the Year honors. Coach Kevin Sauer was named ACC Coach of the Year for the fourth time and Cromwell was named ACC Freshman of the Year in that award's inaugural year.

"I'm really pleased with the overall effort of the whole team," Sauer said in a news release. "They did a fantastic job. I'm really happy with what our team did."

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Commitment #3

On Sunday, Virginia received verbal commitment No. 3 for the 2008 football recruiting class. The pledge comes from 6'6", 240-pound tight end recruit Colter Phillips, a rising senior out of Georgetown Prep (Darnestown, MD).

In his junior season, Phillips made 11 receptions for 180 yards from the tight end spot. He also played defensive end for head coach Dan Paro.

"In regards to his abilities, his strengths are mentally - he understands the game - and that he has a great set of hands," Paro told The Sabre.com in an interview earlier this month. "He certainly can block. And he also performs in tough situations. He can catch the ball coming through the middle. All that together, and his best football is still ahead of him."

Phillips has visited UVa twice during spring football - once for a practice and again for the spring game. He is an outstanding student who gets it done on and off the field.

Phillips' older brother, Andrew, is a freshman offensive lineman at Stanford.

Stay tuned for more on Phillips' commitment on The Sabre EDGE.

I attended the combine in Norfolk last Thursday and caught up with 6'4", 290-pound defensive lineman recruit Klinton "Buddy" Ruff. The Norview star turned in a good performance at the combine, as he was clocked at 4.5 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle. He also benched 185 pounds 30 times.

Ruff has been offered by Virginia and Virginia Tech, but he is getting looks from other programs as well. Georgia assistant coaches stopped by Norview on Thursday for further evaluation. Right now, though, I continue to hear that this is an in-state battle with the race being almost too close to call right now.

Look for more with Ruff in an EDGE update later today. This could be one of the top in-state battles of the 2008 class.

I was able to catch up with speedy junior Cameron Saddler last night. The 5'7", 155-pound RB/KR/PR currently holds six scholarship offers - Akron, North Carolina, Pitt, Syracuse, Temple, and Virginia. Gateway High School's (Monroeville, PA) star could make a decision anytime, though he is waiting until he feels 100 percent comfortable with his decision. He does not want to commit and then change his mind.

Pitt and Virginia led a few months ago. To find out where UVa currently stands, check out the EDGE update that will be posted today or tomorrow.

Basketball recruiting ...

Repeated attempts to reach 6-10 junior Henry Sims were unsuccessful. But, from all accounts as well as the account from Mount St. Joseph's (Baltimore, MD) head coach Pat Clatchey, Sims' unofficial visit to Virginia last weekend went very well. Virginia is right there in contention with Georgetown and Maryland for the talented power forward/center, although Georgetown may be UVa's biggest competition right now.

Sims is rated a 4-star prospect by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. He averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds per game this past season. He is expected to sign in November with a decision possibly coming as soon as this summer.

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 ...

Checking in with QB Conner Kempe
The Benjamin School (Tequesta, FL) junior quarterback recruit Conner Kempe is looking forward to a busy evaluation period. He expects about 40 schools to stop by Benjamin for further evaluation and is hoping to add to his offer list, which right now includes four written scholarship offers.

4-Star PF/C Enjoys 2nd Visit to UVa
Virginia head men's basketball coach Dave Leitao played host to 6-10, 210-pound junior Henry Sims this past weekend. Rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com, Sims, a standout for Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore, MD), enjoyed trip to Charlottesville according to his head coach.

Is Virginia Still in the Running with Walker?
Christchurch (VA) junior Deion Walker is now up to 30 scholarship offers, including ones in recent weeks from LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Southern Cal. Virginia, which was the first school to offer the 6-3 wide receiver/defensive back, was considered the team to beat early on but recent rumors have Walker eventually heading out of state to play his college ball ... leaving the Cavs on the outside looking in. Are these rumors true?

More updates since the last SabreMail ...

• Top DL Visits UVa Twice in April
• Groh Answers Glennon's Questions
• Cavs High on Talented RB's List

SNL Financial is a leading provider of essential news, data and business intelligence to Wall Street and America's top corporations. Headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, SNL celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2007 with a staff of more than 600 employees worldwide that's growing all the time. A career at SNL puts you in the middle of the action. The work is challenging, the atmosphere is casual, the technology is cutting-edge...and the potential for growth is unlimited. Click here to check out their latest career opportunities.

Thank you for actively supporting the sponsors of TheSabre.com. Sponsorships are a critical component of our business and sponsors' success will permit us to continually improve our services to you, our community.

"They're my buddies"

Sports rivalries are funny things. We make them all important, we toss around heavy words to describe them, and let our emotions consume us as the rivalry unfolds year after year. From the high school ranks to the pros, from one coast to the other, we Americans are united in this thing that divides us: athletic competition.

And so it is for me, like thousands of other Wahoos, when it comes to the Virginia Tech Hokies. I want UVa to win games and Virginia Tech to lose them. A simple formula - one that can be used to define all other rivalries throughout the globe.

But yesterday, a sad day in Blacksburg unfortunately displayed the other side of these rivalries. When tragedy strikes, rivals in sports often become brothers in mourning. I read the news as it grew steadily worse, and the tragedy affected me profoundly. The emotions consumed me. My wife called me in the mid-morning, and I was quiet. She had heard about a shooting, but not the death toll. I couldn't get out the news without choking up. After mouthing out the news as best I could, the only words I could muster to explain my own feelings were three vague words. "They're my buddies, you know?" I asked her. She knew exactly what I meant. Those three words explained my feelings perfectly.

These Hokies, most of whom I've never met, that I've ragged on and envied and bragged to and everything else that gentlemen do in the athletic arena, they really are my buddies. They're my brothers and sisters. My fellow Virginians. I grew up with them. I share this grand Commonwealth with them. We work together, we vote together, we are Americans together. And, strangely enough, our sports rivalry has created a special bond in a time like this. One that allows me to realize that the rivalry itself yields to something much grander when a tragedy strikes.

God bless Virginia Tech. We're all Hokies now.

The Good Ol' Blog will take another day off. In my next post, I'll be aggregating information about how to help, cope, and more in case anybody reads it and needs it. Thanks and my prayers (alongs with those of everyone in theSabre.com family) continue to go out to Hokie nation.

Read more from The Good Ol' Blog.

V-Sabres Worldwide in Wahoowa! Section

Mike Ingalls at the Parthenon in Greece.

We want to expand our section, though! This week, we're looking for photos to include in the V-Sabres Worldwide gallery. V-Sabres Worldwide is a collection of photos sent to us from Hoos from around the globe. For example, check out our own Mike Ingalls (Boardhost) at the Parthenon on the Acropolis site in Athens, Greece.

For any photo to be accepted, the V-Sabres logo must be visible. It can be on any type of merchandise (i.e. sunglasses, hats, shirts, dog collar, etc). It must also fit one or more of the requirements below:

• Any photo taken outside the continental U.S. For example: You're in Japan and you have a photo taken of you with a V-Sabres hat on. Or, you're in Alaska and you have a V-Sabres banner flag hanging on your house.
• Within the United States, but there must be some sort of landmark in view. For example: You're standing in front of the Statue of Liberty, or on top of the Empire State Building with NYC in view.

Please include some sort of reference to your location in the photo (i.e. standing in front of the Great Wall of China). Also, please include a name that will be visible to all (either your real name or message board username - please specify).

We'd like to keep adding photos to the section! All you need to do is email a jpeg version of the photo to us here with the email header: V-Sabres Worldwide Photo.

Advertise With The Sabre!

Our advertising approach is different in that we make it abundantly clear in a direct and honest way that your company's commitment of sponsorship dollars is what enables the site to continue existing and improving into the future.

To learn more, please contact [email protected].

The Sabre is a vital part of a unique collegiate sports network that reaches nearly 2 million individuals per month. Like the Sabre, each site in the SportsWar network is an organically grown community and the emotional home for its fans.

To learn more about SportsWar network sponsorship opportunities, please contact [email protected] and visit the SportsWar media guide www.sportswar.com

To view a list of our sponsors, please visit our Sponsors Page.

Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Men's Tennis Wins ACC Championship With 5-0 Victory Over North Carolina: The Virginia men's tennis team won its third ACC Tournament in four seasons, topping No. 6 North Carolina 5-0 Sunday in the final of the 2007 ACC Tournament at the Cary Tennis Center. The Cavaliers (26-3) have now won 16 consecutive matches against ACC opponents, dating back to last season.
• UVa Golfers Finish Ninth at ACCs: The Virginia men's golf team finished the 54th ACC Championships in ninth place after shooting 5-over 293 during the final round of the 54-hole tournament contested at the Old North State Club in New London, N.C. Virginia was led by sophomore Conrad Von Borsig, who finished 25th at 3-over 219.
• Virginia Claims Eighth Consecutive ACC Championship: The No. 5 Virginia women's rowing team captured its eighth consecutive ACC Championship on Saturday at Clemson's Lake Hartwell. The Cavaliers won all four scoring events. The Hoos won the team title with 60 points, followed by Clemson in second with 46 points. Duke was third with 43 points, followed by Miami with 25, Boston College with 23, and North Carolina with 13.
• Virginia Softball Shut Out By Florida State: Florida State's Terese Gober limited the Cavaliers to one hit to lead the Seminoles to an 8-0 five-inning win over the Virginia softball team Sunday (April 22) at JoAnne Graf Field. With the loss, UVa falls to 15-34 overall and 1-17 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Florida State, which has won its last eight games, improves to 36-19 overall and 11-6 in the ACC.
• Foerster Wins 5K ACC Title, Men Finish in Fourth: Virginia's Jan Forester pulled away from the pack en route to the ACC title in the event with a personal-best 14:07.16. His time not only moves him up to the No. 7 performer all-time in school history but also qualified him for the NCAA Regional meet. His win helped Virginia finish fourth overall for the second consecutive year. The women took sixth overall with 69 points, just eight out of third. The men scored 81 points and were in fourth.
• Glading's Man Down Goal Sends Virginia Past Dartmouth 10-9: Virginia posted a 10-9 come-from-behind victory over Dartmouth before 3,195 fans on a sun drenched afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. The game is the Cavaliers' third consecutive one-goal contest as they improve to 11-2 overall this season. Sophomore Danny Glading scored a man down goal with one minute and 28 seconds remaining to send the Cavaliers to the win.
• Cavaliers Defeat Boston College 13-6: Virginia held Boston College scoreless for 29 minutes and pulled away to a 13-6 win in Newton, Mass. Blair Weymouth led the offensive charge for the No. 7 Cavaliers (13-3, 3-2 ACC) with four goals and two assists.

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

UVA Bookstore to Host Events in Support of Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

The UVA Bookstore will be hosting two separate fundraising events to support Virginia Tech's official memorial fund, the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. Donations will be collected at the main UVA Bookstore on 400 Emmet Street atop the Central Grounds Parking Garage and across from Newcomb Hall.

After the tragic events of April 16th, David Hamer, a Virginia alum and local orthodontist, contacted the UVA Bookstore looking for assistance with the production and distribution of Virginia Tech t-shirts. The t-shirts provide a means of showing support from UVA to the Blacksburg community. The Bookstore has since developed Dr. Hamer's idea into a fundraising opportunity and with his encouragement has produced 1000 t-shirts that will be distributed for free at the UVA Bookstore starting Monday, April 23. The t-shirt features the VT logo on the front and the words "Virginia Tech is Family" on the back. This quotation is from President John Casteen's letter to UVA students, faculty and staff regarding the recent tragedy. Good-will donations will be taken during the distribution that will go directly to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.

The UVA Bookstore will also be hosting a Hokie Spirit day at the UVA Bookstore, Monday, April 30th. A percentage of the store's sales from this day will also be donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. We encourage all local residents looking to help support Virginia Tech to join us on this day.

For more information, please contact Jon Kates or Patrick Perkins 434-924-3721.

For more information on how to suppor the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, please click here.

Issue No. 265 - October 30, 2006

So What About November?

Jameel Sewell is cool under pressure - and that's helped this team get better.

I have been interested in the number of people of late who have said something along these lines to me:

"I'm having more fun watching this team than last year."

Or ...

"This team is a lot of fun to follow."

Or ...

"This year is going by fast. I wish the season wasn't so close to the end."

In a nutshell, things have changed a lot since mid-September when there was a mutiny aimed at Hooville. Debates raged about Kevin McCabe vs. Christian Olsen vs. Jameel Sewell. Was there a hot seat in Charlottesville? Could Virginia lose every game on the rest of its schedule? So on and so on. In fairness, the way the season started had a lot to do with those frustrations. The way the season has gone since has done a lot to transform many fans' outlook from frustrated to encouraged.

Sewell has developed as quickly as any freshman quarterback in Hoo history if the numbers are a guide. He sits atop numerous freshman record lists with three games to play. The offensive line has slowly but surely improved and how they dealt with N.C. State's impressive front line was another step forward. Kevin Ogletree has emerged as a go-to receiver in the passing game and Jason Snelling has started bowling people over in the running game. Defensively, the big plays from early in the season have come on a more seldom basis and defensive ends Chris Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald are leading an inspiring effort by the D.

Of course, there is a little bit of remaining frustration - about what might have been. The Cavaliers let a 20-0 lead slip away against Maryland and lost 28-26. That could ultimately haunt the Hoos because of the Coastal Division standings and bowl bid hopes. UVa still needs two victories to get to the required six-win bowl plateau and they would be alone in second place in the division standings if they had held on in that game.

Nonetheless, November rolls into town this week with a renewed sense of enthusiasm from the team, the coaches, the fans, and the pundits. If Virginia can somehow when 2 of 3 against the trio of FSU, Miami, and Virginia Tech, there will be great rejoicing in Hooville. After all, this part of the schedule was supposed to the be the toughest of all when the season began. Things look differently now, but none of those three teams is a pushover regardless of the situation. Plus, two of those contests are on the road where Virginia has won just 10 times under Al Groh.

So what should we expect from November? Here's my advice: Don't expect anything. Quite a few folks - myself included - started taking that approach with the 2006 season way back in the dark days of September. The ride since has been bumpy at times, but the view has been grand. After all, this team is a ton of fun to follow.

Kris Wright
TheSabre.com
Editor

Coming Soon

The Sabre has you covered when it comes to Hoo news. This week, the Sabre continues to look back at the Spring Game, but we'll also look ahead to the ACC Championships in lacrosse and prep you for the Maryland series in baseball. Here are a few of the articles to expect on the site in the coming days:

• Time To Use The Hall Not surprisingly, Vic Hall stepped up and made one of the biggest plays of the Spring Game. It's time for Virginia to get creative in its use of the Gretna star.
  
• Around the Horn: Maryland Greg Waters' weekly baseball feature breaks down the upcoming opponent while also giving you an inside look at the top 10 Cavaliers.
  
• JHoo Returns We know you've all been waiting for it - what did JHoo learn from the spring practice period?
  
• Tourney Time Dom Starsia's team battled to an 11-2 record this season with a ton of close contests. Will that help the Hoos now that the postseason has arrived?
  

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Peerman Shows Determination In Spring
The 2006 season was a tough one for Cedric Peerman. In his sophomore year as a Cavalier, the tailback/kick returner from Gladys saw his development curve regress as his production slipped from 237 yards on 70 carries in 2005 to 153 yards on 46 carries in 2006. It was certainly not the path envisioned when he enrolled at Virginia on the heels of a standout four-year career at William Campbell High School.

Around the Horn: Never Too High, Never Too Low
The Virginia Cavaliers experienced a roller coaster of emotions in this weekend's Georgia Tech series, losing an 11-inning pitcher's duel in the series opener 2-1 and taking the finale of the rain-shortened series 7-6 Saturday afternoon on David Adams' three-run walk off home run. The Cavaliers could have gone from the depths of despair after Friday's disappointing loss to the height of euphoria Saturday afternoon but that's not the way this team plays the game says coach Brian O'Connor.

Best Seat in the House: Dom Starsia, Doug Tarring
The Virginia men's lacrosse team wraps up the regular season portion of its schedule this weekend when Dartmouth visits Charlottesville. Dom Starsia and UVa radio analyst Doug Tarring joined Jay James on The Best Seat in the House this week to talk about Dartmouth, the Duke game, the growth of lacrosse, and more.

Miklo, Hoos Eye ACC Tournament
Last Sunday, the Virginia men's tennis completed a perfect ACC regular season and secured the No. 1 seed in this weekend's ACC Tournament with a 6-1 victory over North Carolina at the Boar's Head Inn. Today, the Cavaliers commence their quest for a third ACC tourney title in four years when they square off against eighth-seeded Miami (which knocked off ninth-seeded Georgia Tech 4-3 in opening round action on Thursday) at 9 a.m. in Cary, N.C.

Appleby Continues To Improve
Playing inside linebacker in a 3-4 defensive scheme is hard enough as it is. Try following Ahmad Brooks and Kai Parham on the timeline, though. That's part of the task handed to Antonio Appleby, a junior linebacker that just won the Rock Weir Award (most improved) for the Virginia defense this spring.

Photo Gallery: Spring Game 2007
The Virginia football team wrapped up its spring practice period with its annual Spring Game over the weekend. The Blue team won the event 7-0 with guys like Scott Deke, Chris Long, Aaron Clark, Vic Hall, and Simon Manka leading the way. Saturday's festivities also saw the return of Matt Schaub, who recently signed a lucrative deal with the Houston Texans. Check out Rachel Zahumensky's images from the Spring Game in this EDGE gallery.

Get your Wahoo fix. Subscribe to Sabre Edge!

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.

All of the great Sabre Edge content can be yours for the price of $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. Try it for a month and cancel if you like. But we think you'll get hooked on the Edge and find out for yourself why the most knowledgeable Cavalier fans are Edge subscribers.

If you're a true Wahoo, then the Sabre Edge is right for you. Check it out!

• Sabre Edge Info and Sign Up