Blog Banter: Congratulations Vic!

Virginia football captain Vic Hall had his jersey retired Friday at Gretna High School where the Hawks posted a 47-5 record when Hall was the quarterback. Gretna won two state championships in Hall's final two seasons, posting undefeated records in both seasons. Hall recorded 13,751 total yards in his career, a Virginia High School League state record; he tossed 104 TD passes and carried the ball on 66 scoring runs.

Read about Hall's big day at Gretna in the Chatham Star-Tribune. Also, here's a huge thank you to Tim Davis of the Star-Tribune for emailing us this photo for the blog! Pictured with Vic Hall are his father Vic Calloway and his nephew Nicqual Hall.

View this entry! Make sure to check out the The Good Ol' Blog after each football game for notes from the past week's game.

Kris Wright
Editor
TheSabre.com

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Basketball recruiting ...

We hope to have more today on Shawnee Mission South (Overland Park, KS) junior point guard Will Spradling, who was scheduled to visit Virginia and Virginia Tech over the weekend. The 6-2, 150-pound prospect had not been offered by the Hoos prior to the weekend visit, but we'll check in to see if he indeed made the trip and whether or not he left with an offer.

Spradling, who averaged 18 points and six assists per game last season as a sophomore, currently boasts offers from Kansas State and UNLV. He would like to make his college choice by the beginning of his junior season.

In case you missed it, be sure to check out last Friday's EDGE profile on another top 2010 class target, Miller School (Charlottesville, VA) guard/forward Mychal Parker. Virginia is in solid shape with the 6-6, 180-pound prospect, who is also drawing interest from Clemson, Florida and Virginia Tech just a few weeks into the Fall Contact Period.

How badly does Virginia want Parker? Well, head coach Dave Leitao stopped by the Miller School the first week of the contact period, and that is a pretty good indication of Virginia's interest.

One of Virginia's top overall targets in the 2010 class, Courtland (Fredericksburg, VA) forward Josh Hairston, verbally committed to Duke earlier this month. The 6-8 junior chose the Blue Devils over Georgetown, Ohio State, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Football recruiting ...

Our follow-ups with current commitments continues when we'll put out an EDGE article on 5-11, 200-pound safety/linebacker prospect LoVante Battle. Battle has helped Phoebus get off to a dominating start in this 2008 season; the Phantoms are one of the top teams in the state of Virginia.

In our interview, Battle updates his senior season and has a good response to Virginia's slow start on the gridiron.

On the prospect front, we'll continue to monitor Virginia's recruitment of Brookville (Lynchburg, VA) offensive lineman Devin Bolling and we'll check in on another potential offensive line target in Kellam (Virginia Beach, VA) senior Hunter Steward.

Virginia could be on the verge of offering the 6-5, 270-pound Brookville senior, while Steward, a 6-7, 300-pound prospect is a major senior sleeper to watch.

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 ...

Class of 2010 Profile: Miller G/F Mychal Parker
Clemson, Florida, Virginia and Virginia Tech were all represented at the Miller School (Charlottesville, VA) last week, which was the beginning of the fall contact period for Division 1 men's basketball. Drawing interest from these schools is a newcomer to Miller, 6-6, 180-pound guard/forward Mychal Parker, a prospect out of Little Washington, North Carolina. One of the top ranked juniors in the country, Parker is in his first year at the Miller School.

UVA Commitment Notes
In this week's edition of "Notes," check out a "Q&A" with senior linebacker commitment Connor McCartin. Also check out top performances from last week, including a big match-up between Orange (WR/QB Quintin Hunter) and Chancellor (RB Dominique Wallace).

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Star OL/DL Enjoys Big Start to the 2008 Season
• Exum Visits Virginia, Virginia Tech
• Checking in with Oscar Smith WR Tim Smith
• New Interest in Bolling
• McCray Talks Official Offers, Recent Visits

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Lalich No Longer With Team

University of Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage announced late last week that quarterback Peter Lalich is no longer with the UVa football program. Per a statement released by Littlepage: "We have supported Peter, but believe today a point has been reached where it's best for all concerned that he no longer participate on the team. This is my decision, and it has the support of head football coach Al Groh. We wish Peter the best in the future."

Cavalier coach Al Groh also released a short statement: "Any time a situation doesn't work out in the most positive way for any player it's regrettable, but we stand united with this decision."

Read more about the news in Sabre Newslink. Make sure to check out these follow-up stories from Saturday's newspapers: Untimely departures decimate UVa football depth (Richmond Times-Dispatch ) | Lalich sorts options after learning fate (The Roanoke Times).

License Plate section is up in Wahoowa!

In recent months, 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.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Neuhauser Sets UVa Tournament Scoring Record: Led by junior Whitney Neuhauser's record scoring performance, the 14th-ranked Virginia women's golf team finished fourth at the 22-team Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C. Neuhauser shot 4-under 68 during Tuesday's final round to complete the 54-hole tournament at 8-under 208. She also posted a 68 Sunday and shot even par 72 Monday. Her tournament total bettered the UVa 54-hole scoring record of 210 set by Leah Wigger at the 2005 NCAA East Regional Championships.
• Stanec Joins Virginia Wrestling Staff: Virginia head wrestling coach Steve Garland has announced the addition of Jim Stanec as the team's volunteer assistant coach. Stanec is a familiar face to Garland and the Virginia program after serving as UVa's assistant coach from 2002-04 and wrestling under Garland at Cornell University.
• Mein Now Assistant Director of Operations/Video Coordinator: Tim Mein has been named assistant director of operations/video coordinator with the Virginia men's basketball program. Mein's appointment was announced Wednesday by UVa head coach Dave Leitao. Mein is no stranger to the men's basketball program at Virginia. He worked with the team as a manager, associate head manager and head manager for five years as an undergraduate and graduate student at Virginia.
• Virginia Shuts Out NC State, 5-0: The Virginia men's soccer team, behind two goals and an assist from freshman Tony Tchani, defeated N.C. State Friday night, 5-0. The Cavalier offense had its highest output of the season, while the defense in front of UVa goalkeeper Michael Giallombardo recorded its first shutout. "Once again we created a ton of quality chances," Virginia coach George Gelnovatch said. "The difference tonight was that we banged the first two in for goals, which changed the whole complexion of the game. By scoring first we were better able to manage the game."
• Cavaliers Suffer First Loss of the Season at West Virginia: The No. 9 Virginia women's soccer team suffered its first loss of the season, falling to No. 15 West Virginia 3-0 Sunday at the Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. "We definitely struggled today and we had difficulty getting anything going," said coach Steve Swanson. "Give West Virginia a lot of credit. They were organized and most importantly, finished their chances. We didn't make good decisions and the end result was justified."
• Volleyball Rebounds with Win Over Georgetown: The Virginia volleyball team responded from a tough first day at the Wildcat Classic by winning it's final match over Georgetown, 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 27-25) on Saturday at Northwestern University. Senior Shannon Davis was named to the all-tournament team for her efforts.
• Play Concludes at UVa Invitational: The Virginia women's tennis team concluded play at the UVa Invitational Sunday at the Snyder Tennis Center. The Cavaliers picked up five singles wins and one doubles win on the final day of competiton. "This was an incredible weekend for our team," said coach Mark Guilbeau. "With the results over the first two weeks of the fall, I think everyone in our program realizes that we have things heading in the positive direction. It is very enjoyable for us to see this team compete against this level of competition at such a high level. They were able to learn, adjust and persevere on the courts and played with a lot of maturity."
• Virginia Defeats Ohio 2-1 In Extra Time: Virginia's Paige Selenski took a pass from Lauren Elstein on a breakaway in extra time and slotted the ball to the far corner 7:54 into the extra frame to send the fifth-ranked Cavaliers (8-1) to a 2-1 win over Ohio (2-5) at University Hall Turf Field. Floor Vogels and the rest of the Cavalier defense allowed the Bobcats only two shots on the day, including only one in regulation.

For more Hoo news or to read full releases, check out Virginiasports.com.

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Issue No. 36 - May 9, 2002

Reynolds to play in SIT in Charlottesville

J.R. Reynolds, the first basketball commitment for the Cavaliers for next year's class, will be participating in this weekend's Bob Gibbons/Hoop Group Southern Invitational Tournament in Charlottesville. Reynolds is currently playing for Boo Williams' AAU squad, a team that often plays for the AAU National Title. Other recent members of Williams' AAU team were Virginia's Elton Brown and Jason Clark, Duke's J.J. Redick and Maryland's John Gilchrist.

Reynolds' team will be playing their first game Friday night at 8:45 p.m. (Court 1), their second game Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (Court 2), and their third game Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. (Court 1). All of Reynolds' games are scheduled to be played in University Hall. The playoffs will be on Sunday.

This will be the third consecutive year the Southern Invitation will be played in Charlottesville, and this year will be the largest turnout by far. 96 AAU teams will participate in the event, with 48 of the teams being part of the "17 and under" division (the focus for most recruiting analysts and college coaches).

Teams will compete at various locations, including University Hall, Slaughter Rec. (off McCormack Rd), North Grounds Rec. (off Massie Rd) and Albemarle High School (off Hydraulic Rd).

Coming Soon

The Sabre has you covered when it comes to Hoo news. Here are a few of the articles to expect on the site soon:

• Looking Ahead To Duke: The Sabre brings you pregame coverage and analysis for the football team's ACC opener at Duke this weekend.
• The Hawk's Nest: Sabre columnist Ahmad Hawkins pens his most recent column.
• Soccer Update: Bailey Stephens checks in with the Cavalier soccer programs.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

A Lost Voice?
Wahoos, allow me to begin this column with a disclaimer: the following paragraphs are laced with buzz words that, over the last several weeks, have driven Cavalier nation into a disturbed frenzy. Just leveling with you. You'll hear about "signs," ask "what would Jefferson think?" and ponder whether or not to "fire Groh." Now, here's the rub: sure they're included, and that inclusion might spark electroshock reactions, but this piece isn't so much about the aforementioned buzz words (or buzz-kills if you prefer) as it is about what they signify for you. This is about your voice - and the multiple mixed messages that the University of Virginia continues to send its loyal fans about the value, or lack-thereof, placed on that voice.

10 Things I Learned ... UConn
Late Saturday evening, I received the following email from a friend of mine: "Please don't break down this game. I don't think my heart can take it." I know exactly how he feels. But even if we are not going to rehash in great detail everything that went wrong on the field this past Saturday, now is the time to analyze where the team is at going into the bye week. I said coming into this weekend that I believed the UConn game was a crossroads game for the season. I still believe that ... and it appears that the team took a U-turn. Or maybe a sharp left turn. Or maybe the car stalled. Regardless of the analogy, things did not go well ... and do not appear to be going well. That leaves a lot of questions to answer.

Inside The Game - UConn
After Virginia's disappointing 45-10 loss at Connecticut, many of the questions for coach Al Groh on Sunday had a looking ahead theme. In other words, with a bye week before the team's next game, did Coach Groh anticipate making personnel changes before the ACC opener at Duke? While Groh chose not to guarantee changes, he did seem to embrace a back to the drawing board approach to upcoming practices.

Greg's Stock Report '08: UConn
Virginia's first road game of the season at Connecticut ended up as a 45-10 blowout loss. The Cavaliers couldn't stop the run, couldn't run the football themselves, and had very little success in producing points on offense. Some of the special teams units - punting and kick returns in particular - played well in what was a dismal outcome otherwise. Let's take a look at Greg's Stock Report.

Cavalier Call-In Highlights '08, Show 4
Despite the Cavaliers' woes on Saturday at Connecticut, Dave Koehn and Virginia coach Al Groh marched on Monday night with the weekly Cavalier Call-In Show. This week's topics were the disappointing 45-10 loss to UConn, Peter Lalich's situation, and the plans for this week's practices - UVa has an open date this Saturday, meaning it has two weeks to prepare for a road game at Duke later this month.

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