O'Connor Shares Thoughts

Shortly before taking a flight back to Charlottesville, Virginia baseball coach Brian O'Connor joined reporters for a teleconference Monday afternoon. O'Connor answered questions about his team's Irvine Regional win, which allowed the Hoos' program to advance to a Super Regional for the first time in program history. The Cavaliers take on the Ole Miss-Western Kentucky winner in a best two-out-of-three series in the Super Regional round. Some of O'Connor's thoughts follow:

On returning to Charlottesville vs. waiting to see where the next round will be played ...

"Had we not won the game and played again today, then we would have waited to see what happened before we made our flight reservations. When we could back to Charlottesville late tonight and not leave again until Wednesday, I just thought it was the best thing for us to get back home for a day. We've been on the road for a week. I want to get back home today; it's my daughter's ninth birthday today so I want to try to get back home for it."

On Franco Valdes being named the regional's Most Oustanding Player ...

"He's very deserving of that award. Not only did he get some of the big hits in the tournament, he was also a real leader for us behind the plate. Obviously only giving up two runs in the three games in the regional, you not only have to have great pitching, you have to have a catcher behind the plate handling those pitchers and doing a great job. He was fantastic all weekend."

On the pitching rotation for the Super Regional ...

"It's more based on the match-ups. We're still obviously coming down off of a high from winning this thing. We'll take a couple of days to think about it. Our rotation this weekend in the regional was very thought out. We really didn't make that decision until Thursday on what the best thing to do is. So we'll take a couple of days and think about it, but it's nice to know we have some really great options."

On anticipating Keith Werman's impact this season ...

"I didn't. I wasn't planning on him being a factor. But just like Robert Morey, sometimes you give a kid an opportunity and they make the most of it and make a difference in your team, Keith Werman was the same. It was just about four weeks ago that up until that point he had only had about five starts on the year. So I plugged him in there and he did a great job and swung the bat well and then we continued to give him opportunties and I really feel like he makes a difference in our team. He plays great defense. Phil Gosselin has played wonderful defense all year - I think he only has two errors - but Werman has added a dimension for us defesively and offensively. He's a tough out. He's gotten some really big key hits for us or drawn some key walks. He's a scrappy little fighter and I think our team has fed off of that emotion a little bit."

On Kevin Arico and the bullpen ...

"I thought all along, all year, that Kevin Arico has good stuff and felt like it was a matter of time before he started showing some consistency and giving him enough opportunities to show it. I felt all year long that we had a really good ball club and I just thought it was a matter of time before I got that bullpen figured out and that bullpen got confidence in itself. I just felt like once we did that, we could really, really have a special club and I feel fortunate that's proven to be true.."

Stay tuned to The Sabre for more coverage of the baseball team's postseason run.

Kris Wright
TheSabre.com

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

The Evaluation period is over, so we head into late spring and summer in football recruiting world, which means summer camp season. Virginia will hold a junior day on June 13 called the "Future Wahoo Day" according to several recruits who plan to be in attendance. TheSabre.com has confirmed a handful of visitors so far, including Deep Run (Glen Allen, VA) offensive lineman Conner Davis, DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD) stars Shane Johnson (OL), Arie Kouandjio (OL) and Kyrrel Latimer (S), Good Counsel (Wheaton, MD) wide receiver E.J. Scott, Green Run outside linebacker prospect Jamal Wallace, Lake Braddock (Burke, VA) offensive lineman Khamrone Kolb, Linganore (Frederick, MD) offensive lineman Robby Havenstein and West Rowan (Mount Ulla, N.C.) running back Kevin "KP" Parks.

There is no question that there will be a lot of size in Charlottesville that day. Check out more on Havenstein, a 6-7, 345-pound prospect, and Kolb, a 6-6, 300-pound prospect, from the EDGE last week. This week, we'll have more on Davis, a 6-5, 270-pound rising senior, and hope to have more on Johnson and Kouandjio. Davis and Johnson have visited UVa several times this year already.

While no offensive line prospects seem extremely close to making a decision, the same may not be true for several skill athletes that plan to attend. DeMatha's Latimer told TheSabre.com on Sunday that he hopes to have a decision within a month to a month-and-a-half and is currently considering offers from Virginia and New Mexico and interest from Maryland, Pitt and Syracuse. Good Counsel's Scott could well commit in June and lists a top three of Virginia, Wake Forest and Rutgers. Virginia seems to be in good shape with Scott, who will be featured in an EDGE update this week.

In case you missed the EDGE "Quick Take with JHoo: Recruiting" last week, here is an excerpt ...

Spring football is over. Looking at the team's needs overall, pick three true freshmen you see making an immediate impact in 2009.

JHoo: Unlike some recent years, it is easy to see several true freshmen breaking through for playing time in 2009. In a lot of ways, I think Will Hill has to top the list simply because he is the only true freshman to have practices under his belt ... and some pretty decent practices at that. Given that fact and the needs of the two-deep - needs that are getting worse at defensive end, it seems - I think Hill has a good chance to step on the field early.

Looking at positional needs, several wide receivers will have the chance to play early, too. Topping that list has to be Tim Smith, who seems to be the most college-ready of the incoming receiver prospects. Having said that, it would not surprise me one bit if a Kevin Royal or even a Bobby Smith came into camp, impressed early, and worked their way onto the field, too.

It would be easy for me to list Morgan Moses as the third name but given that qualification still is a concern - and given that I never think any offensive lineman really is ready to make the move in year one - I am going to throw out a different name: Drew Jarrett. The kicker out of Cox is coming into a situation where none of the returning placekickers really have established themselves as the starter (or for that matter, even as a consistent performer). That still could happen - maybe Robert Randolph will continue to develop leg strength, for example, and take a hold of the starting spot early in the fall - but at this point, it is clear that the opportunity is there for Jarrett to impress in camp and get right onto the field.

JHoo also offered some thoughts on the 2010 class and Virginia recruiting in general. I'll provide more on the upcoming junior day as well as Virginia's 2010 class this week, so stay tuned.

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 ...

Quick Take with JHoo: Recruiting
Spring football has long been completed and the Division 1A football recruiting Evaluation period is coming to a close, so we decided to catch up with TheSabre football expert JHoo for some recruiting discussion. JHoo answers questions on the current state of UVa football recruiting, from which prospects he expects to make a big impact in 2009 to the general thoughts on Virginia football recruiting.

Jarrett Prepares to Compete for Starting PK Job
Cox (Virginia Beach, VA) senior place-kicker Drew Jarrett is three months away from enrolling at the University of Virginia and suiting up for Al Groh's football program. It'll be an important season for the 6-0, 180-pound prospect, a recruited walk-on who is looking to earn a scholarship and possibly Virginia's starting place-kicker job.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Kolb Recovering Well, Eyeing Summer Visits
• Marshall Scores New Offers, Talks Favorites
• Top OL Schedules Next Visit to UVa
• Davis Sees Decision Coming this Summer

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UVa Finishes Fourth at NCAA Championships

UVa Athletics Media Relations
Official Release

Virginia finished with 78 points, including a second-place finish in the Varsity Eight, to claim fourth place at the 2009 NCAA Rowing Championships Sunday on the Cooper River.

The runner-up finish for the Varsity Eight tied the highest in program history, besting a third-place finish in 2000. The Cavaliers also finished second in 1999.

As a team, the Cavaliers finished in the top four for the eighth time in the 13-year history of the championships, with the program's all-time top overall finish being second. Stanford was this year's NCAA Champion with 88 points, followed by California (85) and Yale (85). California edged out Yale for second place by virtue of a better finish in the grand final of the Varsity Eight.

"To finish fourth is a great testament to the resiliency of this team," head coach Kevin Sauer said.

Virginia's Varsity Eight of coxswain Sidney Thorsten, Jennifer Cromwell, Helen Tompkins, Desiree Burns, Amanda Chase, Lauren Hutchins, Augusta Stratos, Nora Phillips and Victoria Burke put forth a heroic effort throughout the 2,000-meter race. Trailing No. 1-ranked Stanford at the halfway point of the race by just under two seconds, Virginia pushed to the end and was barely edged by the Cardinal by less than one second at the finish line.

"We knew if we kept in contact with Stanford we would have a chance to win," senior co-captain Augusta Stratos said. "We are so proud of how we raced."

Too close to call by sight at the finish line, Stanford was announced minutes after the race ended as the NCAA Champion with a time of 6:11.95. Virginia's second-place time was 6:12.32, followed by California (6:14.76).

The second-place finish garnered UVa 45 points toward the team standings.

"That was the best collegiate women's rowing race I have seen, and I've been doing this for awhile," Sauer said. "What an amazing race. They kept bringing it all the way to the last stroke, they just ran out of water."

In the Second Varsity Eight, the crew of coxswain Cristine Candland, Lauren Shook, Claudia Blandford, Marie Long, Bridget Fowler, Martha Kuzzy, Cara Linnenkohl, Christine Roper and Susie Chalker finished sixth in its grand final with a time of 6:37.17.

Yale won that race with a time of 6:29.04, followed by California (6:29.58), Stanford (6:31.88), Brown (6:32.93) and Washington (6:34.28). The Cavaliers earned 22 points for their sixth-place finish.

The first race of the day, the Varsity Four, was won by Atlantic Coast Conference competitor Clemson with a time of 7:26.78. UVa finished sixth with a time of 7:34.26 and earned 11 points towards its team standings.

The Varsity Four crew is coxswain Sarah Pichardo, Ruth Retzinger, Summers Nelson, Caroline Sweeny, Shalane Carlson.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Ayeni Wins First-Ever Regional Title in Discus: Senior Yemi Ayeni won his first-ever discus title at the NCAA East Region Championships on Saturday, while the Virginia track and field team saw five more Cavaliers punch tickets to the 2009 NCAA Championships during the day's competition. Senior Andrew Jesien, juniors Meghan Briggs, Steve Finley and Stephanie Garcia and freshman Lance Roller each automatically qualified for NCAAs in their respective events, joining seniors Billie-Jo Grant and Caitlin Kelly - who advanced earlier.
• Four Cavaliers Earn IWLCA All-America Honors: Four Virginia women's lacrosse team members earned All-America honors, as announced by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA), while two others were named to the All-South Region team. Junior Kaitlin Duff and senior Blair Weymouth were named second-team All-Americans, while junior Brittany Kalkstein and senior Ashley McCulloch were honored on the third-team. In addition, all four Cavaliers - and sophomore Liz Downs and senior Jenny Hauser - were named to the all-region team, as announced by the organization. Duff and Weymouth were first-team all-
• Cavalier Golfers Finish 27th at NCAA Championships: The Virginia men's golf team completed its final round of play Friday morning at the NCAA Championships and finished the 54-hole event tied for 27th place. The 47th-ranked Cavaliers shot 17-over 301 in the final round and were 52-over 904 for the week at Toledo's Inverness Club. UVa's finish tied it with 26th-ranked Wake Forest. Cavalier sophomore Will Collins led the team in 96th place at 13-over 226.
• Three Cavaliers Selected in Major League Lacrosse Draft: Three members of this season's Virginia men's lacrosse team were selected Wednesday night in the 2009 Major League Lacrosse draft at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. Attackman Danny Glading was chosen by the Washington Bayhawks with the fifth overall pick, the second time the Bayhawks have selected a Cavalier attackman in the first round; they chose Matt Ward with the fourth pick in 2006. Glading joins his older brother, Billy Glading, as well as former UVa teammates Kyle Dixon and Ben Rubeor in Washington. The Toronto Nationals selected the next two Cavaliers-longstick midfielder Mike Timms in the third round (25th overall pick) and attackman Garrett Billings in the fourth round (32nd overall pick).
• Three Cavaliers Earn Academic All-District Accolades: Three Virginia student-athletes have earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors. Mike Timms (lacrosse) and Pat Mellors (swimming) were named to the men's at-large first team and Peter Ferrara (wrestling) was named to the second team. As first-team honorees, Timms and Mellors are now in the running for Academic All-America recognition, which will be announced next month.
• Inglot and Shabaz Win NCAA Doubles Championship: Dominic Inglot and Michael Shabaz became the first doubles team from the ACC to win the NCAA Doubles Championship, defeating No. 2 seed John-Patrick Smith and Davey Sandgren of Tennessee 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 in the final Monday at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
• Four Virginia Rowers Earn All-Region Honors: The Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) recently announced its Division I all-region award winners and Virginia had four rowers earn honors. Desiree Burns, Amanda Chase and Jennifer Cromwell were named to the first team all-south region, while Augusta Stratos was named to the second team.
• Parker Named Louisville Slugger All-American: Virginia sophomore outfielder Jarrett Parker has been named a 2009 Third-Team All-American by Louisville Slugger as announced by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Parker becomes UVa's first All-America position player since Sean Doolittle in 2007.

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

2009 ACC Baseball Champions T-Shirt
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The UVA Bookstore congratulates Coach O'Connor and the UVA Baseball team! Celebrate their fantastic run through the ACC Tournament with the UVA Bookstores' 2009 ACC Baseball Champions T-shirt. The front of the shirt has a left chest imprint with 2009 ACC Champions above home plate with the V-Sabre logo and crossed bats in the background above Virginia Baseball. The back of the shirt has 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Champions screened above a UVA Baseball batting helmet, crossed bats and the V-Sabre. Virginia is written in script with Baseball underneath.

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Issue No. 335 - March 31, 2008

Groh Not Surprised By Albert's Rise

When Virginia junior Branden Albert declared for the NFL Draft in January, it wasn't too surprising. After all, at 6-7, 315 pounds, he had the physical build to be ready for professional football. He displayed the ability to pass block and get out in space as a pulling guard as a Cavalier. Plus, Albert had already shown the ability to handle both the guard and tackle position during the season.

In the weeks since the announcement, Albert's decision certainly has looked like a good one. He is now projected as a likely first round pick by most draft pundits. That's not too surprising to at least one person: UVa coach Al Groh.

"There are some underclassmen that everybody all can see it coming, that this player is probably not going to be back for his fourth year so there's a buzz around that player from the start. There are other players that make that decision at the end of their season so as a result, if we want to use this phrase, the establishment of their stock value is really starting from scratch at that point so it's going to rise. That was the case with Branden," Groh said Monday. "As teams do more study of him and become more aware of him, either through study of his tape or personally working him out or watching his workouts, his skills clearly show and the upside he has as a player is becoming very evident to teams. As a result, yes there seems to be increasing interest in him."

Check Out SabreMail #335.

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:

• JHoo's Summer Reading JHoo's Summer Reading Series starts this week with the QBs.
• Baseball Keeps Rolling: The Sabre had a photographer on hand in California for UVa's regional win. Stay tuned for photos! We'll also have coverage as the team preps for Super Regional play.
• Jed Williams: Jed Williams is working on his next column about the Hoos.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Cavaliers Claim Crown
IRVINE, Calif. - Virginia used the same recipe it has used to win seven consecutive postseason games to take out No. 1 ranked and top-seeded UC-Irvine (45-15) in the Irvine Regional on Sunday, 4-1. Outstanding pitching, tremendous defense and timely hitting led the Hoos (46-12-1) to a sweep of the regional and their first trip to an NCAA Super Regional.

Hoos Advance To Championship Round
IRVINE, Calif. - The hallmarks of Virginia baseball during the Brian O'Connor era is great defense and outstanding pitching. For the second consecutive evening at the Irvine Regional, UVa's defense was superb in the field and on the mound while top-seeded and No. 1 C-Irvine's defense wilted under the pressure by committing a season-high four errors. The Cavaliers (45-12-1) shut out the Anteaters 5-0.

Strasburg gets the hype; Morey gets the win
IRVINE, Calif. - Steven Proscia's eighth inning two-run blast certainly changed the complexion of Friday night's opening game of the Irvine Regional. Proscia's hit extended Virginia's (44-12-1) lead to 4-1 as the Hoos handed San Diego State's Stephen Strasburg (13-1) his first loss since May 22, 2008.

2007-08 Virginia Athletics Financial Report
The University of Virginia enjoys a broad-based and successful athletics program, but the success that Virginia achieves comes at a price. In this special feature, we present a look at the Virginia athletics department finances for the 2007-08 academic year, the most recent year for which data is available. The numbers show an athletic department that runs slightly in the red and, like many athletic departments around the nation, is feeling pressure to increase revenues and hold down costs in the face of an economic downturn.

Third Time a Charm - Hoos Sweep Up ACC Title
For the third time under Brian O'Connor, the Cavaliers earned a trip to the ACC title game. The Hoos lost to Georgia Tech 4-3 back in 2005 and suffered an 8-4 setback last year in Jacksonville to the Miami Hurricanes. But as the 2009 campaign has proved, this is a special Virginia club.

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