Hoos Heading To Atlanta!

After Sunday's bowl selection process took some unexpected turns, the Virginia football team is headed to Atlanta for the 2011 Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome. The Hoos will face Auburn of the Southeastern Conference on New Year's Eve. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. It will be televised nationally by ESPN.

UVa, which finished the 2011 season at 8-4, has played three times in the Chick-fil-A Bowl (formerly the Peach Bowl). The Cavaliers played their first-ever bowl game in Atlanta on. Dec. 31 in 1984, defeating Purdue 27-24. In 1995, Virginia defeated Georgia 34-27. In 1998, the Bulldogs won the rematch 35-33.

"This is outstanding for our football program and our players will be elated to meet the reigning national champions from Auburn in Atlanta at the Chick-fil-A Bowl," Virginia coach Mike London said in a news release. "No one on our roster has played in a bowl game, so what a fantastic opportunity and setting for them to do so for the first time. I want to congratulate coach Gene Chizik and the Auburn team on another successful season in the very competitive SEC. We are looking forward to our game with the Tigers."

Auburn is headed to the Chick-fil-A Bowl for the fifth time. The Tigers are 3-1 in previous appearances. Auburn finished the regular season with a 7-5 record and a 4-4 mark in SEC play.

"We're extremely excited to be traveling to Atlanta to play a very good Virginia team in the Chick-fil-A Bowl," Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said in a news release. "I know our players are excited for this opportunity and I look forward to our fans helping pack the Georgia Dome on New Year's Eve."

Chick-fil-A bowl representatives are excited to feature the Cavaliers and Tigers in this year's bowl.

"Virginia and Auburn represent two of the most exciting young teams in the country," said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. "With these two teams, we have two top-tier coaching staffs, incredible fan bases and great history and tradition. We're expecting an unmatched atmosphere and a real battle in Atlanta for the Chick-fil-A Bowl."

For on information on tickets, hotels, bowl events, and more, please check out the Bowl Central page on VirginiaSports.com.

This Week In Recruiting

Quarterback will be the focus of this week's recruiting updates, at least early on in the week. Specifically, the focus is 2013 quarterback recruiting, though EDGE subscribers should be sure to read last week's update on 2012 commitment Greyson Lambert, who is just more than a month away from enrolling at the University of Virginia. This week, EDGE subscribers can read the latest on Stone Bridge (Ashburn, VA) junior signal caller Ryan Burns and Salem (Virginia Beach, VA) junior quarterback Bucky Hodges.

In his first season as a starter on the varsity level, the 6'5", 220-pound Burns guided the Bulldogs to a 10-2 overall record. He is considering offers from Boston College, Penn State, Rutgers, Stanford and Virginia, and in this update he provides an assessment of his 2011 season and talks recruiting, including his experience at UVa's home game against Virginia Tech last month.

Hodges, a 6'6", 215-pound prospect, has offers from ECU, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Virginia Tech according to Sun Devils head coach Robert Jackson. Hodges has started two full seasons on the varsity (as well as a stint his freshman year), this year helping his team to an 11-2 overall record. The Sun Devils lost to Oscar Smith by just one point in the Division 6, Eastern Region final.

Virginia has offered two 2013 class prospects out of Salem and is giving a look at a 2012 class recruit according to Jackson.

Also this week, junior quarterback Brendan Marshall provides the latest on his recruitment. The 6'5", 210-pound Marshall boasts two offers, including one from Virginia, and has the interest of a handful of other major FBS programs at this point. Like Burns and Hodges, he attended UVa's regular season finale against Virginia Tech.

Marshall quarterbacked one of the top high school football programs in the country this year, Good Counsel (Olney, MD).

On the gridiron ...

Only three recruits from UVa's 2012 class were in action this past weekend. The weekend went well for two of the three with one capturing a state championship and the other helping his team to a win in the state semifinals. Read more in "Week In Review" on the Good Ol Blog.

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 ...

Catching Up With OL Michael Mooney
Michael Mooney earned first-team all-conference honors at offensive tackle last year, which was his first season on the Malvern Prep (Malvern, PA) varsity football squad. An intense offseason proved beneficial for Mooney, who started out his high school career at tight end before moving down to the line.

Lambert Ready For UVa
In just two weeks, senior Greyson Lambert will graduate from Wayne County High School (Jesup, GA). He'll enroll at the University of Virginia in mid-January, fulfilling a goal he had set when he committed to the Hoos in August. Lambert will be the second straight quarterback prospect to enroll early, as David Watford did so out of the 2011 class.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• 2013 Profile: Hampton's Deon Newsome
• Miles-Redmond Sees Bright Future For UVa
• Prince Talks UVa, VT
• Week in Review: St. Joe Wins State Title (blog)

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Photo Gallery: UVa Tops Michigan

TheSabre.com offers free photo galleries! The most recent images come from the Virginia-Michigan men's basketball game. Mike Ingalls snapped 78 great images from the Hoos' 70-58 victory.

Check out the free gallery: click here.

Give The EDGE As a Gift!

Give the Perfect Gift to your favorite Wahoo fan this year, an annual subscription to Sabre EDGE! TheSabre.com is your one-stop shop for all UVa sports information, commentary and discussion. Read articles from our excellent staff of sportswriters, including TheSabre.com's editor-in-chief, Kris Wright. Our resident recruiting expert, Chris Horne, will keep you up to date with recruiting from around the state and beyond. No one covers Virginia's premier sports better than TheSabre.com. Take your fanship to the next level with a Sabre Edge subscription! Scroll to the bottom of the page to see what Sabre EDGE has to offer.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Morgan Brian Named Hermann Trophy Semifinalist: Virginia freshman midfielder Morgan Brian was one of 15 players named as semifinalists for the 2011 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious individual award in college soccer. Brian is the only freshman to be named a semifinalist this season.
• Virginia Pulls Away From Richmond, Wins 69-56: The Virginia women's basketball team earned a 69-56 road win at in-state foe Richmond on Sunday. Virginia improved to 7-2 on the season and won its second-consecutive contest. Senior guard Ariana Moorer led Virginia by matching a season-high and scoring 17 points. The Hoos also defeated Indiana, 65-49, in the 2011 Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Thursday. Sophomore guard Ataira Franklin scored a season-high 16 points to lead four Cavaliers in double figures for scoring.
• Men Fourth, Women Fifth at Georgia Invitational: The Virginia men's and women's swimming teams wrapped up the three-day Georgia Invitational Sunday in Athens, Ga. The No. 21 men's team finished fourth with 574 points while the No. 18 women placed fifth with 574 points.
• Virginia Picks up Two Wins on Final Day of Liberty Kick-Off: The Virginia men's and women's track and field teams completed action at the Liberty Kick-Off Saturday at the Tolsma Indoor Track Center. Freshman Jordan Lavender won the women's 60-meter dash in a time of 7.57, the sixth-fastest time in UVa history. Sophomore Thomas Fuson won the men's weight throw with a mark of 18.18m (59'7.75"), the third-best mark in school history. Earlier in the meet, senior Maureen Laffan opened her season strong, winning the women's weight throw with a throw of 17.74m (58'2.5"), the second-best mark in school history.
• UVa Men's Recruiting Class Ranked Eighth as Indoor Season Opens Friday: The men's 2011 recruiting class was tabbed the eighth-best in the country by Track and Field News in its January edition. The No. 8 ranking is only the second time in UVa history that the men's team has had a nationally ranked recruiting class. In 2009, the Cavalier men were ranked ninth by Track and Field News, while the women were tabbed eighth.
• Maes Resigns as Virginia's Volleyball Coach: Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage announced that Lee Maes has resigned as the Cavaliers' head volleyball coach. Maes joined the Virginia staff in February 2008 after serving as the head women's assistant coach at Nebraska for three years. He compiled an overall record of 53-70 at UVa, including a mark of 28-52 in ACC play. The Cavaliers finished the 2010 campaign 10-20 overall and 4-16 in conference action.

To read the full stories or gather more information on Virginia athletics, check out Virginiasports.com.

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Issue No. 436 - March 8, 2010

Wrestling Wins First ACC Championship Since 1977

Official Release, UVa Athletics Media Relations

The Virginia wrestling team, behind ACC champions Chris Henrich and Mike Salopek, won the program's first ACC Championship since 1977 on Saturday night in Raleigh, N.C. Virginia racked up 85 points, edging out Maryland (80.5) and Virginia Tech (78.5).

Virginia captured its fourth title overall and the program's first since the George Edwards era. Under Edwards, UVa won ACC championships in 1974, 1975 and 1977. The Cavaliers narrowly missed winning the championship the past two years, finishing two points behind Maryland in each instance.

"It was just about a perfect day," Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. "I'm just trying not to cry right now. It was 1977 the last time we won it and it has been a long time coming. There is so much work that goes into it. To see all of our guys hugging and crying, it means the world to me.

"You know you can do it and you put the work in, but at the end of the day, this tournament is crazy. The last two years we just missed the title by two points. We finally pulled it off. Sure, you come here and think you are going to win it, but until you do it, you just cannot imagine the emotion of pulling it off. Seeing the wrestlers hugging each other after Mike [Salopek] had won, that was a special moment."

The championship was a total team effort. Virginia, ranked 22nd nationally, came in as underdogs to No. 10 Maryland and No. 14 Virginia Tech, but all 10 Cavalier wrestlers reached the semifinal round and placed among the top four in their respective weight classes. UVa was the only team to place in the top four in all 10 weight classes.

In addition to the team championship, a school-record eight Cavaliers qualified for the 2010 NCAA Championships. That breaks the previous record of seven, set in 1997, 1998 and 2009. Ross Gitomer (125), Derek Valenti (141), Shawn Harris (149), Dan Gonsor (157), Henrich (174), Salopek (184), Brent Jones (197) and Jack Danilkowicz (285) all punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships after earning automatic bids. In all UVa, earned one-third of the ACC's 24 automatic qualifier slots.

Read SabreMail No. 436 here.

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:

• Basketball before the break: UVa basketball has several more games before the exam break. TheSabre.com helps you keep up with the Hoos on the Hardwood.
• Pro Hoos: TheSabre.com debuted a new series. Beyond The Lawn" is a 12-month series found exclusively on TheSabre.com that follows three Virginia Cavaliers through a year as a professional athlete. Baseball's Tyler Wilson (Baltimore Orioles), track and field's Stephanie Marie Garcia (U.S. Olympic hopeful), and football's Clint Sintim (New York Giants) share their experiences throughout the year.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Hoos Spear Lancers
In a game scheduled as an expected tune-up type of contest, the Virginia men's basketball team took care of business in dominating fashion on Saturday. The hosts dispatched visiting Longwood 86-53 at the John Paul Jones Arena as five Cavaliers had at least 8 points and the Lancers joined the under 60 club. None of UVa's first eight opponents have cracked 60 points during the Hoos' 7-1 start to the season. That's the best start to a season since 2004-05.

UVa's D Key In Win Vs. Wolverines
The Virginia men's basketball team picked up a big win the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Tuesday night, downing Michigan 70-58 in Charlottesville. One of the main reasons for the victory proved to be UVa's continued efforts on the defensive end of the floor where the Cavaliers have been outstanding so far during a 6-1 start to the season.

JHoo's 10 Things I Learned 2011 ... VT
This weekend, the Hoos played Virginia Tech. Also this weekend, almost immediately after the end of the game against Virginia Tech, I got sick. Really sick. Like, turn-out-the-lights, leave-me-alone-in-my-bed, I-am-dead-to-the-world sick. As far as I know, the two are not connected. As far as I know.

Greg's Game Report 2011: VT
You know it's a bad afternoon when a football game brings back memories of Frankie Vallie's "My Eyes Adored You." All day the Hoos were "so close and yet so far" from making it a game. In the end Coastal Division Champion Virginia Tech delivered in the key moments of the game and Virginia only got close. Let's take a closer look at the regular season finale in Greg's Game Report.

Hoos Grab Big Win Over Michigan
There usually isn't such a thing as a 'must win' game this early in the season, but with a bad loss to TCU and a weak non-conference schedule, Virginia really needed a win against Michigan for its NCAA Tournament resume. The Hoos got that important victory Tuesday night. Four Cavaliers scored in double figures and UVa knocked off the 14th-ranked Wolverines 70-58 in the in front of 10,564 fans at the John Paul Jones Arena.

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