Hoos Claim Share Of Title Again

UVa Athletics Media Relations
Official Release

The No. 1 Virginia men's tennis team clinched at least a share of its sixth consecutive ACC regular season title when it shutout No. 39 North Carolina 7-0 Sunday afternoon before 502 fans at the Snyder Tennis Center. The Cavaliers improve to 24-0 overall and 9-0 in the ACC with the victory, while the Tar Heels fall to 14-7 (3-5 ACC).

"It was great to close out our regular season home schedule on such a beautiful day and in front our fans that once again made this an unbelievable environment to play in," Virginia coach Brian Boland said. "The crowd gave us a lot of energy and we played well overall. We are implementing some of the things we have been working on in practice. This was another step in the right direction for our team."

The win was also Virginia's 40th consecutive win over an ACC opponent (regular season and tournament) and 47th consecutive home victory, extending both school records.

Virginia enters the final week of the regular season at 9-0 in the conference, with every other team having at least two ACC losses this season. The Cavaliers have now won at least a share of the ACC regular season title every season since 2004.

"What a honor to have in one of the best leagues in country," said Boland. "We are proud of the accomplishment but also realize that we have a lot of work in front of us. I see us improving an awful lot in the upcoming weeks."

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

UVa has its new men's basketball coach. Now we wait to learn the futures of Virginia's two 2009 class basketball recruits, Word of Life (Springfield, VA) forward Tristan Spurlock and Bethel (Hampton, VA) point guard Jontel Evans. Exactly when we will know more on the two recruits is uncertain, though I expect both players would like to have their situations resolved as soon as possible.

Spurlock, a 6-8, 220-pound prospect, has already met with new head coach Tony Bennett according to multiple reports. In fact, the two reportedly met following Bennett's introductory press conference last Wednesday. Spurlock, rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals.com and Scout.com, participated in the Charm City Classic on Sunday. He originally chose the Cavaliers over Georgetown, among others.

According to Bethel head coach Craig Brehon, Evans also hopes to meet with Coach Bennett before making any final decisions regarding his future. As of late last week, that had not happened. It is not certain when the 5-11, 190-pound senior will meet with Bennett, but we hope to find out more soon.

Both Evans and Spurlock signed letters-of-intent with Virginia last November so at this point all they could do is ask out of their commitments. UVa is not required to let either player out if the request is made.

Football recruiting: Offers continue to be handed out ...

TheSabre.com reported on two prospects that recently received an official offer from the University of Virginia. There is Bolles (Jacksonville, FL) offensive lineman Brent Benedict, a 6-5, 285-pound rising senior who has 38 Division 1A scholarship offers. Virginia is a long shot at this point, but Benedict didn't rule out making an unofficial visit to Charlottesville this summer. Alabama, Florida, Southern Cal and Virginia Tech are among the programs that have also offered Benedict, who was named an EA Sports Junior All-American following the 2008 season.

On Thursday, Fork Union Military Academy prep offensive lineman Russell Bodine earned an offer from the University of Virginia. Bodine, a 6-4, 285-pound rising senior, now boasts official offers from Duke, Marshall, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest. Bodine, who earned the offer while meeting with head coach Al Groh Thursday evening, is being recruited by the Cavaliers as a center.

For more on these two prospects, be sure to check out the EDGE articles written last week. The 2010 class recruiting beat continues this week, so stay tuned for more article on the rising senior class. We'll also check in with 2009 signee Tim Smith, a wide receiver out of Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA). There is a good chance that Smith, a first-team all-state selection as a senior, sees action as a true freshman.

We'll also profile 2011 class quarterback Lafonte Thoroughgood, a talented recruit out of Ocean Lakes High School (Virginia Beach, VA).

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 ...

Cavs Offer FUMA's Bodine
The University of Virginia became the sixth school to officially offer Fork Union Military Academy prep standout Russell Bodine, who met with Cavaliers head coach Al Groh earlier this evening. Duke, Marshall, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Wake Forest have also offered the 6-4, 285-pound junior offensive lineman, who commented on the offer he picked up just hours ago.

Ocean Lakes WR a National Recruit
6-4, 180-pound wide receiver Justin Hunter, a star junior out of Ocean Lakes High School (Virginia Beach, VA), has become a true national recruit in recent months, having earned official offers from Alabama, Florida and LSU, among others, and drawing interest from Southern Cal. He has also accepted an invitation to play in the Under Armour All-American game next January. Through it all, Hunter has kept grounded.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• All-American OL Makes Visits
• Interest Increasing for Chase Williams
• Kolb Talks Recovery, Recruiting
• All-State OL Visits UVa

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Must Read: Bennett will win

Virginia hired and introducted Tony Bennett, 39, as the school's new men's basketball coach last week. Naturally, there have been plenty of articles out about Bennett since the news broke last Monday afternoon. One story hit The Oshkosh Northwestern on Sunday that is a must read for Cavalier fans. Columnist Doug Ritchay writes:

It's no secret how Bennett has made it to Virginia - hard work. That's how he reached the NBA, and that's why he's coaching in the ACC now.

Here's an example of his work ethic:

One offseason while at UWGB, the school was putting in a new floor at the Phoenix Sports Center (team's practice facility), which meant there was no place on campus to work on his game.

If you knew Tony, you know he would not accept this. So he improvised. He went into the pool area at the sports center and dribbled on the deck for a couple hours a day, just working on his ball handling. Then at night, he would find a local high school and go work on his shot.

Bennett was obviously gifted, but he never settled, thinking he could always get better, and he did.

Read Ritchay's full piece here. And, as always, you can read great articles like this one in Sabre NewsLink - we update news on the Hoos 365 days a year!

Blog Banter: Goodbye Pullman, Hello C-ville!; Cavs Tap Bennett

From The Good Ol' Blog

Virginia's potential wish list for their head coaching vacancy in the wake of Dave Leitao's departure read like a 'Who's Who in College Basketball'. A sea of names from Tubby Smith to Trent Johnson to Sean Miller and everyone in between seemed to be discussed in articles and message board posts alike. The rumor mill went wild as Tubby toured JPJA under the cover of darkness and planes were chartered all over the continental U.S.

But in a surprise move Craig Littlepage and Co. selected one name that had not been widely discussed to this point: Tony Bennett. Bennett, the former head coach at Washington State, reportedly accepted the Cavaliers' offer Monday to become the next head coach of the Wahoos. Details of the contract are still unknown at this point. As late as Monday morning, Smith still appeared to be the favorite for the position but that turned to speculation as The Daily Progress broke the story that Bennett, 39, was the Cavaliers' man. ... Read the full post on The Good Ol' Blog!.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Nielson's 67 Leads UVa to 2nd Place Finish at Bryan National : For the second time this season, Virginia sophomore Calle Nielson tied the school's single-round scoring record, helping the third-ranked Cavaliers finish second in the 18-team Bryan National Collegiate in Greensboro. Virginia shot 1-under 287 during the final day to complete the 54-hole event at 27-over 891. LSU, ranked No. 9, finished four shots ahead of Virginia to claim the team title.
• No. 1 Virginia Posts 11-10 Win Over North Carolina: Virginia used a 7-1 run to erase a 4-goal deficit and rally for an 11-10 win over North Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. With the win the top-ranked Cavaliers move to 12-0 overall this season and 2-0 in the ACC. The win is the Cavaliers' third 1-goal win in a row, the first time in school history that has happened. Overall it is their fourth 1-goal game of the spring.
• Virginia Defeats Harvard, BC: The No. 9 Virginia women's lacrosse team rallied for a 9-0 run midway through Sunday afternoon's contest with Harvard to pull away from the Crimson, en route to a 13-9 win in Harvard Stadium. The victory followed Saturday's triumph over Boston College. Senior Blair Weymouth led the attack with four goals and junior Brittany Kalkstein notched three in the ACC win.
• Women's Tennis Edged at No. 18 UNC 4-3: The No. 26 Virginia women's tennis team suffered its sixth consecutive loss to a top-25 team, dropping a close 4-3 decision at No. 18 North Carolina Sunday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. The loss drops the Cavaliers' record to 10-8 overall and 3-6 in the ACC.
• Seven-Run Sixth Lifts Maryland Over UVa, 8-4: The Virginia softball team (23-12, 2-7 ACC) fell to Maryland (19-16, 5-4 ACC) 8-4 Sunday as the Terrapins completed the series sweep over the host Cavaliers. Freshman Giannina Cipolloni and sophomore Nicole Koren both homered in the game.
• Mizzou Sweeps Jefferson Dual: The Missouri track and field teams swept the second annual Virginia-Missouri Jefferson Dual on Saturday afternoon. The Mizzou men, who won the inaugural competition a year ago, secured a 107-93 victory this season, while Missouri's women claimed their first victory by a score of 105-95. Virginia combined for eight first-place finishes, led by senior All-American Yemi Ayeni's school record in the shot put. Ayeni threw 59' 9.75" to break his own record and earn the victory.
• No. 7 Virginia Wins Four Against No. 16 Ohio State: No. 7 Virginia rowing won four races against No. 16 Ohio State Saturday at Lake Monticello. The Novice Eight, Second Novice Eight, Third Varsity Four and Second Varsity Four were victorious. "Ohio State came ready to race and did a good job in winning the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four," Virginia coach Kevin Sauer said. "We will improve over the next few weeks."
• Littles Invited To WNBA Draft: Virginia's Lyndra Littles is one of 15 players invited to the 2009 WNBA Draft, which is set for Thursday, April 9, at the NBA Entertainment studios in Secaucus, N.J. During her final season, Littles became only the third player in UVa history to score 1,800 points and grab 800 rebounds (Heather Burge and Wendy Palmer are the others). She finished her career as UVa's fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,889 points and fifth on the all-time rebounding list with 887.

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

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Issue No. 217 - November 25, 2005

Dave Leitao era off to a good start

One reason UVa hired Dave Leitao is because of his ability to teach defense. Well, so far, so good. In his first two games as head coach, the Cavaliers held Liberty and Richmond to fewer than 50 points and below 30 percent shooting. The first big test of that defense, however, will come Sunday when UVa travels to Arizona to face the high-scoring Wildcats. Check out the articles below to read about Leitao's successful start.

• Liberty-UVa Photo Gallery (EDGE)
• Defense Doesn't Rest Against Richmond
>
• Leitao Loud and Proud in Triumphant Debut

Check Out SabreMail #217.

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:

• More on Bennett: Jed Williams is working on his next column for The Sabre while Ben D'Alessandro will also check in with an analysis of the mover-blocker offense Bennett has used in the past.
• Nate Collins: The Sabre caught up with senior Nate Collins to talk about Virginia football. What else is on tap with the Hoos as spring football rolls on?
• Illinois Impact: Stay tuned for a feature on senior Matt Kelly.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Cavs Rebound To Demolish Terps
Following Saturday night's late-inning loss to the Terrapins, Virginia coach Brian O'Connor was not happy with his team's performance. But O'Connor's Cavaliers responded in a big way. The Hoos took their frustrations out on Maryland Sunday afternoon, attacking early and often to chase the Terrapins out of Charlottesville with the 17-2 win.

O-Line Making Spring Progress
One of the main storylines of the spring practice period for the Virginia football team focuses on the offensive system of new coordinator Gregg Brandon. Among the questions: Who will win the quarterback battle? Which receivers have a chance to emerge? How will the running backs be affected? One area that hasn't been brought up as much is the offensive line. Al Groh said there are adjustments for the players up front as well.

Q&A - Marc Verica
In football, spring means a fresh start. Even more so this spring for Virginia, which is in the midst of making major changes to its offense after the addition of offensive coordinator Greg Brandon. One player who has seen the changes up close and personal is quarterback Marc Verica. Although for Verica, a change might be just what the doctor ordered after a rocky end to last season.

Looking Back At ... 7 OT!
The Virginia men's lacrosse team is preparing for game in the Meadowlands this weekend as the Cavaliers try to knock off the Tar Heels to improve to 2-0 in the ACC. Before the Cavaliers suit up for the showdown, however, let's take a look back at the 7OT thriller against Maryland last week. Here are some of the postgame thoughts from the Hoos.

Players Among Many Happy With Hire
The Virginia basketball world officially met coach Tony Bennett for the first time Wednesday in an hour-long news conference at the John Paul Jones Arena. After an afternoon that featured talk of integrity, passion, and even a personal moment when Bennett gathered himself while speaking about the family and the opportunity to coach at UVa, many associated with the program - including Craig Littlepage and several current players - seemed pleased with the decision to hire the 39-year-old coach.

Bennett Officially Welcomed To Virginia
The Tony Bennett era began with a bang Wednesday afternoon as the new coach was formally introduced to Wahoo Nation by UVa Athletics Director Craig Littlepage and University President John T. Casteen III. In front of a packed house of media members, donors and friends of the Virginia basketball community, Casteen and Littlepage enthusiastically welcomed Bennett to the Cavalier community.

Bennett A Strong Choice To Build Model
When I received back-to-back emails this afternoon around 4 p.m. suggesting that Washington State's Tony Bennett would be the next Virginia men's basketball coach, I thought it was just another suggested name to throw on the ever-growing list. Within the hour, The Daily Progress' story hit the internet breaking the Bennett to UVa news. My gut reaction: Really? After looking it over, however, I think the decision-makers did exactly what I suggested a few days ago. They found a model they believe can be successful in Charlottesville and hired Bennett as the architect. So after giving it some time to sink in I believe the Cavaliers made the right move.

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