UVa's Men's Basketball Schedule Released

In case you missed it, the Virginia men's basketball schedule was released last week. Here is part of the official Virginia athletics media relations report:

A 17-game home schedule, featuring eight games against Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponents and including games against Iowa State, LSU and Oregon, highlights the Virginia men's basketball team's 2010-11 schedule released Thursday (Sept. 2) by the ACC. The Cavaliers are also scheduled to participate in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational (Nov. 22-24) and play at Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Virginia will play at least 11 games against teams that participated in the 2010 NCAA Tournament and at least five games against teams that participated in the 2010 National Invitation Tournament.

Among the teams scheduled to visit UVa's John Paul Jones Arena during the 2010-11 season in addition to Iowa State, LSU and Oregon are ACC opponents Boston College, Clemson, 2010 NCAA Champion Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, NC State and Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers also host non-conference opponents Howard, Norfolk State, Radford, Seattle, USC Upstate and William & Mary.

UVa's 2010-11 road schedule features the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational, games at Minnesota and Stanford, and eight games against ACC opponents. The Cavaliers are scheduled to play ACC games at Boston College, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Virginia plays Washington in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational on Nov. 22. Other teams participating in the tournament include Chaminade, Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan State, Oklahoma and Wichita State.

The Cavaliers open the season against William & Mary at the John Paul Jones Arena on Nov. 12.

Season tickets and two five-game mini-packages for the 2010-11 Virginia men's basketball season are currently on sale.

For more ticket information and the full release, click here.

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Cavs commits attend U of R game

As reported on The Good Ol Blog, a handful of 2011 commitments were spotted at Scott Stadium on Saturday. Hermitage (Richmond, VA) defensive end Diamonte Bailey, Cox (Virginia Beach, VA) offensive lineman Ross Burbank, Stone Bridge (Ashburn, VA) defensive end Rob Burns, Independence (Charlotte, N.C.) wide receiver Adrian Gamble, Petersburg (VA) athlete Kevin "Duke" Green and Menchville (Newport News, VA) running back Clifton Richardson attended with Richardson seen high-fiving the team as they entered the locker room following the contest.

Virginia's recruits enjoyed a glimpse of the future. They were able to walk on the field during pre-game and into the locker room after the game.

"I was just looking around, checking out the field and seeing what the players were doing during warm-ups," said Burns, who last stepped in Scott Stadium as a player in the Group AAA, Division 5 State Championship game last December. "I was realizing that I'll get to do this next year. It is huge knowing I'm locked up and good to go. I'll play my senior year and then go to UVa."

I'll have an EDGE report on those confirmed visitors, including reflections on Saturday's experience and a look toward the future.

It goes without saying that success on the field breeds success on the recruiting trail. Coach Mike London and company may get some good news this week as Richardson, who has been a "soft commit" prior to this past weekend, may firm up his commitment to the Cavaliers. EDGE subscribers can read more on this soon.

On the uncommitted front, I'll check in with Newton (Covington, GA) linebacker D.J. Hill for the latest on his recruitment. A report on PalmettoSports.com last week indicated that the 6-1, 220-pound senior may have a decision as soon as this week. Virginia is very much in the running along with Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Memphis.

Basketball recruiting

Stay tuned this week for a feature on 6-7, 210-pound power forward Darion Atkins from the Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland. Atkins, rated a 3-star prospect by Rivals.com, is a senior very much on the University of Virginia's radar. The Hoos have received commitments from two wing players - Greater Atlanta Christian (Atlanta, GA) G Malcolm Brogdon and Merrill (WI) guard/forward Paul Jesperson - and addressing the low post remains a priority in this class.

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 ...

Q&A: Croce Talks Big Win, Commitment to UVa
University of Virginia 2011 recruit Vincent Croce helped Good Counsel (Olney, MD) defeat St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) last weekend, in a battle of two of the top high school football programs in the country. The 6-4, 265-pound senior, a defensive end recruit for the Cavaliers, starts at tight end and middle linebacker for the Falcons and played a significant role in last Sunday's 21-6 win in Cincinnati. He took some time to discuss the game as well as his commitment to Virginia in this "Q&A."

Preseason Top 40, Final Version
There isn't much change from 1-20 from the original Preseason Top 40 posted in June, but there has been some shuffling from 20 through 40. With the final piece of evaluation - the 2010 season - yet to come, check out which prospects are included in this final version of the TheSabre.com's Preseason Top 40.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• L.C. Bird Notes: Junior LB One To Watch
• LCA Wideout Primed For More Offers?
• Preseason Report: ATH Anthony Harris
• 4-star OT Narrows List
• Commits in attendance for the UR game (blog)
• More on Vincent Croce (blog)

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Hoos Talking Returns!

The Sabre's Richmond radio partner "Hoos Talking" is back on the air! Hosted by Jim Hobgood and Frank Maloney on Wednesday evenings, the show features expert analysis as well as featured guests from around the world of UVa athletics. Check out The Sabre's Hoos Talking page for the archived audio from Season Two's first show! The clips feature Frank Quayle, The Sabre's own Chris Horne, and more.

Hoos Talking will air from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesdays through football season. Don't forget, you can listen live on the Web - just click on The Sabre's Hoos Talking page for the "listen live" link.

Blog Banter: Virginia Defeats No. 16 ODU

Note: Effie Nicholaou has joined The Sabre blog team to provide more coverage of the Hoos' field hockey team. Make sure to follow the Cavaliers on The Good Ol Blog.

At 1 p.m. on the University Hall Turf Field, the UVa field hockey team defeated the No. 16 Old Dominion Lady Monarchs on Sunday, 5-2. The first half ended with the Cavaliers holding a 2-1 lead in goals, a 3-1 lead in shots and a 5-2 lead in penalty corners.

Entering the second half, Virginia's No. 9 Michelle Vittesse took a reverse chip shot on the upper left side of the goal, only to see it tipped out of bounds. ODU stepped up by scoring a goal off of a penalty corner and tied up the game with 28 minutes left. After knotting the score, the Monarchs continued to penetrate UVa's circle. Assistant Coach, Inako Puzo said: "Old Dominion is very strong and has good skills. It was too easy for them to come up with a lot of corners and situations, which we should be able to handle a lot better."

...

After refocusing Virginia earned a penalty corner with 15 minutes left. Vittesse took a strong shot which was tipped in by sophomore Tara Puffenberger. Only 5 minutes later, junior Paige Selenski earned a hat trick off of a reverse chip shot. Five minutes later Selenski scored again, earning her fourth goal of the game to set a new career high.

When reflecting on the ups and downs of the game, senior Boyd Vicars said: "When we're not playing well, we need to bring everyone in and stop and make it work." Virginia did exactly that and came out stronger down the stretch to finish with the 5-2 victory.

Read the full blog post here.

UVa Football TV Series Continues

The "Virginia Football: The Building of a Program" television show's latest episode aried Monday night 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.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• No. 2 Virginia Tops UAB, Blanks No. 17 St. John's: The second-ranked Virginia men's soccer team won its season-opener on Friday night, defeating UAB, 2-1. On Sunday, the Hoos blanked No. 17 St. John's, 5-0, at Klöckner Stadium. Freshman Brian Span scored two goals and added an assist for the Cavaliers.
• Cavaliers Post 8-0 Win Over Richmond: The No. 7 Virginia women's soccer team scored four goals in each half as it topped Richmond 8-0 on Friday night at Klöckner Stadium. Five different Cavaliers scored as UVa improved to 4-0-1 on the season.
• Third-Ranked Virginia Outlasts No. 16 ODU, 5-2: Junior Paige Selenski scored a career-high four goals in the third-ranked Virginia field hockey team's 5-2 victory over No. 16 Old Dominion (1-4) Sunday at the Turf Field. Sophomore Tara Puffenberger also scored.
• Cavaliers Fall to George Washington but Claim Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup Title: The Virginia volleyball team saw its rally fall short to George Washington in the final match of the 2010 Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup Saturday afternoon, but the Cavaliers still claimed their 12th tournament title due to set victories throughout the three matches. The tournament title marks the third-straight year the Cavaliers have won the Jefferson Cup. Virginia (5-1) was led by tournament MVP sophomore Jess O'Shoney, and also placed junior Simone Asque on the all-tournament team.
• Former Cavalier Monica Wright Named To 2010 WNBA All-Rookie Team: Former Virginia women's basketball All-American and ACC Player of the Year Monica Wright, who recently wrapped up her rookie professional season playing for the Minnesota Lynx, has been named to the 2010 WNBA All-Rookie Team.
• Messer Named to Baseball Administration Position: Virginia head baseball coach Brian O'Connor has announced the hiring of Billy Messer to the program's baseball administration position. Messer comes to Virginia after spending four successful seasons as a starting second baseman at Slippery Rock University.

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

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Issue No. 90 - June 6, 2003

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!
• Richmond in Review: The Sabre's postgame coverage continues with Greg Waters and JHoo taking a look back at the win against Richmond.
• USC Week: The Sabre's pregame coverage for Southern California rolls out this week.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

The Sunday Sampler - Richmond
When Marc Verica looks comfortable in the pocket, he becomes a totally different quarterback. On Saturday, the Cavaliers' senior signal caller never looked better. No happy feet, no dancing through drops, and a Cool Hand Luke posture. With a good running game and play action passing at his disposal in the 34-13 win against Richmond, Verica posted a career-high 283 passing yards and his seventh career game with 200+ yards through the air.

Payne Leads Charge For The Forgotten
When Mike London first started talking about his Virginia football team this spring, the conversation often drifted toward new beginnings. New opportunities. Second chances. Guys with a chance to prove themselves all over again. For one night in early September at least, a few Hoos took that mantra and ran with it.

Cavs Run All Over Richmond To Open 2010
Some of the many highlights from Virginia's 34-13 win over the University of Richmond came courtesy of Cavalier head coach Mike London. Enthusiasm and energy are two of the first year head coach's key points of emphasis this season, and he brings both of them to the Virginia sideline. The game featured a solid, balanced offense, a physical defense that achieved success without one of its biggest stars, and a stadium full of loud, supportive fans; not to mention some pretty awesome orange uniforms.

It's Finally Here!
Sometimes it's hard to get into the football spirit when you're slogging through 90-degree heat in the middle of a Virginia August. Almost every classic football movie, from Rudy to Remember the Titans conjures images of leaves turning crunchy and brown and the frosty breath of football players pushing and hustling through tire drills, the grass on the practice field still wet with early morning dew.

Game Preview 2010: Richmond
Since Mike London's hire in December, Virginia fans have talked about everything from renewed energy to TV programs to new uniforms to predictions. New schemes and new coaches. And on and on. Finally, though, it's time for games and that's what everybody has been waiting to see. Will the London era feature an immediate spark and quick turnaround? Will progress be shown on a long road back to success? The first step comes this weekend when UVa welcomes Richmond to Scott Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.

Photo Gallery: Fall Practice 2010
The Virginia football team is just a few days away from its first kickoff of 2010. Mike London is the new head coach. The defense is now a 4-3. The fullback, like Terence Fells-Danzer, is back in the offense. Get ready for the start of the Hoos' season with this EDGE photo gallery, featuring 121 photos of the team taken during fall practices.

Press Conference Notes 2010: Richmond
The 2010 Cavalier football season kicks off this Saturday, and the team has a clean, undefeated slate at 0-0. This year, the first game of the season means a lot to head coach Mike London and his squad for several different reasons. No player on the current roster has ever won the season opener. The last time Virginia won its season opener was in 2005 against Western Michigan.

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