"A Night At The Park"

Former Cavalier baseball great Ryan Zimmerman is well known for his accomplishments inside the friendly confines of Davenport Field and in the Major Leagues. A three-year starting third baseman for the Cavaliers, Zimmerman started in all 174 games he appeared and he concluded his career among the top 10 in Virginia history in batting average, at-bats, hits RBI and doubles. The No. 4 overall draft pick for the Washington Nationals has earned an All-Star nod and a Gold Glove Award so far in his career.

Zimmerman's biggest challenge is away from baseball - finding a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.

Zimmerman's mother Cheryl was diagnosed with MS in 1995. A chronic, unpredictable neurological disease, MS affects the central nervous system and more than 400,000 people in the United States. In 2006 the native of Virginia Beach launched ziMS Foundation, which is "dedicated to the treatment and ultimate cure of MS by funding comprehensive support and educational programs." The foundation is a tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) charitable organization classified as a public foundation working to raise money and awareness of MS.

The highlight of the foundations' 2010 fundraising year will be "A Night at the Park". "A Night At The Park" will be held August 9 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Nationals Park.

The benefit will include cocktails, dinner, silent and live auctions highlighted by special performances by world renowned magician David Blaine and recording artists Amos Lee and Mutlu. The guest list will include celebrities from the sports, entertainment and political world as well as Zimmerman's Nationals teammates.

Nationals Park will be transformed into an intimate concert hall for 1,000 people (a special stage is being built on the outside concourse of the Presidents' Club with attendees sitting in the Diamond Club seats). This is the ziMS Foundation inaugural event in Washington, D.C.

"We are extremely excited to be able to launch the ziMS Foundation in DC through such a unique platform," said Zimmerman. "This will truly be a special event and a great night."

Read more in this Sabre blog post or by visiting the event Web site.

- Greg Waters, TheSabre.com

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Football recruiting

Last week proved to be a busy week on the recruiting front with several UVa targets making their college choice. Chancellor (Fredericksburg, VA) OL/DL Sam Marshall picked Duke and Colonial Forge (Stafford, VA) athlete Tim Scott picked North Carolina, but Virginia scored a commitment from 6-7 1/2, 295-pound offensive tackle Tim Cwalina.

Cwalina, a product out of Mount Lebanon High School (Pittsburgh, PA), chose Virginia over offers from Boston College, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin and more. He committed on an unofficial visit to UVa, which originally offered a scholarship to the first-team all-conference performer in May.

Mount Lebanon head coach Chris Haering provides more on Cwalina in an EDGE update posted last Friday, but stay tuned for more this week as we hope to catch up with the massive prospect.

FBS programs are only allowed to enroll 25 freshmen in a given class, so with 21 commitments in the fold Virginia doesn't figure to have much room left. More decisions are expected soon, including Manchester (Midlothian, VA) offensive lineman Jake Goins and Point Pleasant (N.J.) tight end Ryan Malleck.

As I reported on the Blog over the weekend, Goins will visit Virginia Tech and Virginia this week. The 6-5, 285-pound rising senior heads to Tech on Wednesday and UVa on Friday and may have a decision soon. Maryland also remains in the running for the first-team All-Dominion District performer, who I will check in with this coming weekend.

As for Malleck, the 6-5, 235-pound prospect reportedly picked up an offer from Rutgers and has pushed back his decision timetable. He's still expected to decide soon, though obviously the home-state school is a significant factor. I'll check back with Malleck for more this week, so stay tuned.

Also stay tuned for more from Gilman (Baltimore, MD) athlete Darius Jennnings, a big-time prospect who visited UVa last Friday. Can the Cavaliers continue its roll in Maryland in the 2011 class? I'll check in with the 5-11, 175-pound star, who previously visited Virginia earlier this spring.

Basketball recruiting

UVa is off to a good start on the 2011 basketball recruiting front following a commitment from Merrill (WI) small forward Paul Jesperson. Jesperson, who was offered by Virginia at its Elite Camp in June, chose Tony Bennett's program over Minnesota and Notre Dame, among other offers. He averaged 20 points per game last season as Merrill's starting point guard, though he projects as a 2 or a 3 on the college level.

Stay tuned for more basketball recruiting coverage in the coming weeks. For more on Jesperson's commitment, read the EDGE update posted on Sunday.

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 ...

Profile: New OL Commit Tim Cwalina
Before heading home from an unofficial visit to the University of Virginia on Thursday, Mount Lebanon (Pittsburgh, PA) offensive tackle prospect Tim Cwalina verbally committed to Cavaliers head coach Mike London. Not surprisingly according to his coach, the 6-7 1/2, 295-pound rising senior was back at Mount Lebanon Friday morning for summer workouts.

Several Factors Drew Jesperson To UVa
When he arrived on Grounds in June, Paul Jesperson wasn't sure if he would receive a scholarship offer from the University of Virginia, much less if Charlottesville would be the place he'd choose to spend the next four or five years. The 6-7, 185-pound rising senior would earn an offer from head coach Tony Bennett at UVa's Elite Camp on June 14 and 15, but he also came away highly impressed with the Virginia program.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Hill Remains Impressed With UVa
• 2012 Lineman Eyes Big Season
• Big Offensive Tackle Picks UVa

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UVa Football TV Series Continues

The "Virginia Football: The Building of a Program" television show's next episode airs tonight at 9 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. It also will be posted online at VirginiaSportsTV.com and VirginiaFootball2010.com. The show airs each Monday on Comcast Sportsnet at 9 p.m. and is available online at VirginiaSportsTV.com on Tuesdays at 8 a.m. For more information, click here.

Blog Banter: Goins To Visit Next Week

Manchester (Midlothian, VA) offensive lineman Jake Goins admits a decision is "getting kind of close."   Maryland, Virginia and Virginia Tech are the finalists for the 6-5, 285-pound rising senior, who will make two unofficial visits this coming week.

"I think I'm going to Virginia Tech on Wednesday and UVa on Friday," Goins said.

These two visits likely will be the last for Goins, a first-team all-Dominion district performer last season as a junior.  Stay tuned for more next weekend, when I'll follow up with the standout prospect for more on his college decision.

Ocean Lakes quarterback Lafonte Thourogood was leaning towards a summer decision as well, but at this point the 6-2, 215-pound rising senior appears to be leaning in the other direction.

"Right now, he wants to concentrate on preparing for his senior season. He wants to go through and make official visits before he makes his college choice," Dolphins head coach Chris Scott said.

"Lafonte has seen different places and established connections with coaches. He wants to continue to look into his choices.  There is not a timetable. He wants to talk to his family. They want to get to know the coaches more. He doesn't want to de-commit. He wants to make sure he has looked at everything."

In a June interview, Coach Scott listed Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia as the three finalists. Those three remain in the race, but at this point Thourogood is "back to being open," Scott said. Arkansas, North Carolina, N.C. State, Notre Dame, Stanford and Tennessee are other schools that have offered as well.

Thourogood made an unofficial visit to UVa earlier this month along with his father.  Similar visits to Virginia Tech and West Virginia are in the works, though no dates have been set at this time.

Read more news in this post here and follow the Hoo every day on The Good Ol Blog.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Landesberg Signs Two-Year Deal with Maccabi Haifa: The Maccabi Haifa professional basketball team of the Israeli Basketball Super League, announced that they have signed guard Sylven Landesberg, who played at the University of Virginia from 2008-10, to a two-year contract. Landesberg, 20, averaged 16.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in his two seasons at Virginia.
• Andrews Earns Bronze Medal at 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships: Robby Andrews wrapped up a stellar freshman campaign this weekend by earning a bronze medal at the 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada. Andrews and Penn State's Casimir Loxsom - who finished runner-up to Kenya's David Mutua - became the first American males to medal in a middle distance event at the world junior championships. Mutua won in 1:46.41, while Andrews posted a time of 1:47.00.
• Three With Virginia Ties Win Medals at Under 23 World Rowing Championships: Class of 2010 graduate Jennifer Cromwell, rising senior Christine Roper and incoming freshman Kathrin Ketterer all won medals at the 2010 Under 23 World Rowing Championships Sunday in Brest, Belarus. Cromwell, a three-time All-American while at UVa and a member of the NCAA silver medalist Varsity Eight in 2010, rowed to victory with the United States' women's eight. The crew dominated the field in its final and won the gold for the third time in the last five years.
• Crippen Takes Bronze in 5K at Open Water World Championships: USA Swimming National Team member and Virginia alum Fran Crippen took bronze in the 5K race Tuesday at the FINA Open Water World Championships in Roberval, Quebec, Canada. The Conshohocken, Pa., native finished in 57:46.48, behind Germany's Thomas Lurz (57:42.63) and Russia's Evgeny Drattsev (57.44.15).
• Batth Joins Towson Tigers' Coaching Staff: Erin Batth, the director of basketball operations for Virginia women's basketball since the 2007-08 season, has been named an assistant coach at Towson University. Towson head coach Joe Mathews announced the addition of Batth to his staff on July 17.
• Dowling is Listed as a Nominee for 2010 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team: Virginia senior cornerback Ras-I Dowling was announced as a nominee for the 2010 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. To honor the distinguished group of college football players who stand out for the positive influence they have in their communities, Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced the 112 student-athletes nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. It is the most ever in the 19-year history of the award. Dowling also has been named to College Football Insiders' 2010 preseason All-American squad as a member of the second team.

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

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Issue No. 25 - March 21, 2002

New Recruiting Coordinator

Coach Al Groh recently announced that UVa Assistant Football Coach Mike London has been given the responsibilities of recruiting coordinator. London is one of the hot, new assistant coaches who have been responsible for this year's amazing recruiting class. Coach London also coaches the defensive line.

Coach Danny Rocco was the recruiting coordinator for Coach Groh's first full class, a class that finished in the top ten nationally, according to most recruiting services. Rocco has been pulled from the recruiting coordinator duties in order to step up his responsibilities as Assistant Head Football Coach. Rocco also coaches the linebackers.

Check Out SabreMail #25.

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:

• State of the Programs: The Sabre plans to take a look back at a historic sports year for the Hoos, who locked up a record third place finish in the Director's Cup. Where do the various programs stand right now? We'll let you know!
• JHoo's Summer Reading: JHoo is taking a position by position look at the Virginia football team and the ninth article is due out this week!

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

JHoo's Summer Reading 2010: Linebackers
Apparently surprising some, I am fairly optimistic about the play Virginia will get from its defensive line this year. And giving a preview of things to come, I am pretty optimistic about the play UVa will get from its secondary this year, too. But the linebackers? I do not think that I am particularly optimistic or pessimistic when it comes to the linebackers; instead, I am pretty realistic about the fact that there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to this unit. A lot.

Ambitious Goals Guide UVa Athletics
When Craig Littlepage slipped into the Virginia Athletics Director chair in the last decade, he was taking a seat at the helm of a department headed in a new direction. Better funding, better facilities, better academics. In order for the school to achieve at a higher level in athletics, however, the Cavaliers needed more than desire. They needed a plan.

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