Blog Banter: Meet Mason At Wizards Game

From TheSabre.com's Good Ol Blog

Virginia basketball fans have an opportunity to meet NBA guard Roger Mason Jr. thanks to the UVA Club of Washington and the Washington Wizards. The two organizations have teamed up for a meet and greet event with Mason on Tuesday, April 10 following the Wizards’ game with the Orlando Magic. Mason will be available to take pictures and sign autographs. The first 200 people also receive a signed photo of Mason from his Virginia days.

For more information on this event or to buy tickets, please click here.

Mason played three seasons at UVa and helped the Hoos make the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 13.8 points per game as a Cavalier and set the career free throw percentage record at 86.9% (318-366). As a junior, he earned second-team All-ACC honors after scoring 18.6 points per game. He elected to leave Virginia early and was selected in the NBA Draft’s second round by Chicago in 2002.

This Week In Recruiting

Football Recruiting

• The spring game is upon us, and as usual it's expected to be a significant recruiting event. As this week progresses, we'll be sure to update those prospects expected to be in attendance. Throughout the weekend, we'll provide updates and any breaking news on those particular recruits.
• Also this week, I hope to have the latest on ... Lovejoy (Hampton, GA) tight end Arshad Jackson, Good Counsel (Olney, MD) WR Andre Levrone and Liberty Christian (Lynchburg, VA) offensive lineman Braxton Pfaff.
• Thousand Island Secondary School (Brockville, Ontario, Canada) senior athlete Trent Corney finally committed to UVa just a few weeks ago. Later this evening, I'll take a closer look at the 6'3", 245-pound prospect with comments from Thousand Island track coach Jack Weststrate. In addition to being a standout football player, Corney is also a top track athlete, specializing in the javelin. Weststrate discusses Corney's overall athletic ability, work ethic, and more in this update.

Basketball Recruiting

Pointguardu.com, a website devoted to coverage of University of Arizona basketball, tweeted last night that former Duquesne point guard T.J. McConnell had committed to Arizona. McConnell, though, has yet to officially confirm anything as of this writing. He has narrowed his list down to Arizona and Virginia and is expected to decide for one of the schools any day.

Should UVa lose out on McConnell, the Hoos likely would make a push for freshman point guard Dylan Ennis. Ennis, who is transferring from Rice, reportedly has a final five of Villanova, Cincinnati, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Boston College (per Twitter reports, this is the current order of standing).

Also on the transfer front, power forward Anthony Gill has received permission from South Carolina to speak with other schools. UVa is expected to be in the mix for Gill, a 6'8" freshman out of Charlotte (N.C.).

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 since the last SabreMail ...

The Latest On Top DL Wyatt Teller
Liberty (Bealeton, VA) junior defensive end Wyatt Teller visited Virginia and Virginia Tech back in February. Since then, he returned to UVa for another unofficial and is hopeful of attending Spring Games in Charlottesville and Blacksburg later this month. The 6'5", 253-pound Teller has already visited both in-state schools more than once, including UVa "four or five" times and Tech twice.

Ocean Lakes QB Lands First Offer
The night of April 2 was a special one for Ocean Lakes (Virginia Beach, VA) junior quarterback Corwin "Turtle" Cutler. That was the night he received his first college scholarship offer, from the University of Virginia.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• 2014 OL Moss Talks Football, Offers
• Cavs Show High Interest In NC LB/RB

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Gelnovatch On Spring Soccer

Courtesy VirginiaSports.com

Here's a video update on the spring soccer season from Virginia men's coach George Gelnovatch.

UVa Football Jerseys will be on sale at Spring Game

Just like the last couple of years, UVa Football jerseys from past years will be on sale at the Spring Football Game again this year. The Spring Football Game is set for Saturday, April 14th at Scott Stadium. The merchandise will be sold under the scoreboard at the top of the hill inside the stadium starting at noon when the gates open. The gates at Scott Stadium open at noon and the scrimmage will begin at 2 p.m.

Nike jerseys worn by the Hoos from 2001 to 2005, with numbers on the shoulders, will be available for $40 apiece. Nike jerseys worn from 2006 to 2009, with V-Sabres on the shoulders, are $75 apiece.

A limited number of navy helmets will be sold for $150 each. All items will be sold as-is and may have rips and marks on them. Cash and credit cards will be accepted, but no checks.

Also, an autographed and framed Chris Long jersey will be auctioned off. Tickets are $5 each or three for $10.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• No. 1 UVa Picks Up Key ACC Victory at No. 9 North Carolina, 15-10: Nine different Cavaliers scored at least one goal to help No. 1 Virginia (10-1, 2-0 ACC) to a key league road victory over the No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels (8-4, 1-2 ACC) on Saturday afternoon, in front of 5,138 fans at Fetzer Field. The attendance was the largest crowd to watch a lacrosse game at Fetzer Field since 1991. With the win, UVa cinches no worse than the No. 2 seed for the ACC Tournament, hosted by the Cavaliers on April 20 and 22. Friday's home game with Duke will determine the league tournament's No. 1 seed.
• No. 7 Virginia Falls To Virginia Tech, 10-9, in Overtime: The seventh-ranked Virginia women's lacrosse team dropped an overtime contest, 10-9, at Virginia Tech on Saturday. Senior attacker Josie Owen scored four goals, including the 100th of her career, to lead the Cavaliers.
• Cavaliers Earn 4-1 Win over Wake Forest to Clinch Series: The Virginia baseball team clinched a series win over Wake Forest with a 4-1 victory Sunday afternoon at Davenport Field. Winners of 13-consecutive games at home, the Cavaliers (21-10-1, 8-6 ACC) have now captured 16-consecutive ACC home series dating to 2009. UVa will go for the series sweep at 7 p.m. Monday in a game that will be televised on ESPNU as part of the network's ACC Monday package.
• Cavalier Men's Tennis Wins Over clemson, Georgia Tech: The second-ranked Virginia men's tennis team remained unbeaten in ACC play as it downed Clemson and Georgia Tech by 6-1 scores over the weekend. The Cavaliers (19-1, 9-0 ACC) have won 12 straight matches.
• Cavalier Women's Tennis Splits ACC Matches: The No. 13 Virginia women's tennis team posted its third straight win with a 6-1 victory over No. 25 Georgia Tech on Friday, but concluded its regular season home schedule with a 6-1 loss to No. 24 Clemson on Saturday.
• Bickersteth, DeVita Win High Jump on Final Day of Liberty Invitational: At the Liberty Collegiate Invitational in the women's high jump, junior Pearl Bickersteth won with a mark of 1.83m (6'0"), the third-best mark in program history for the Virginia men's and women's outdoor track and field teams. She became the third Cavalier female to clear six feet and achieved it on her first attempt at the height Saturday. In the women's triple jump, junior Dallas Rose won with a mark of 12.77m (41' 10.75"), the third-best mark in school history. Sophomore Tommy DeVita reached a new PR in the men's high jump, winning with a height of 2.05m (6' 8.75"), tied for ninth-best in school history.
• UVa Men's Golfers Finish Seventh at Koch Invitational: The 18th-ranked Virginia men's golf team finished seventh at the Gary Koch Invitational in Tampa, Fla. The Cavaliers shot 13-over 301 Sunday for a 54-hole total of 878. UVa was led by Ben Kohles' 15th-place finish.
• UVa Women's Golfers Finish 11th at Bryan National Collegiate: The 24th-ranked Virginia women's golf team finished 11th of 17 teams at the Bryan National Collegiate contested in Greensboro, N.C. The Cavaliers shot 13-over 301 during Sunday's final round for a three-day total of 903. Virginia was led by the 13th-place finish of junior Brittany Altomare.
• No. 23 UNC Sweeps Series with Virginia Softball: The Virginia softball team (19-17, 5-7 ACC) lost a doubleheader to No. 23 North Carolina 2-0 and 7-6 Saturday as the Tar Heels swept the series at The Park.
• Three Cavaliers Named to Under 23 US National Team Camp: Three members of the Virginia rowing team, senior Martha Kuzzy, junior Kristine O'Brien and sophomore Brandy Herald, have been accepted to the 2012 Women's U23 National Team Camp in Syracuse, N.Y., and Princeton, N.J. Out of the camp, the women's eight and women's quadruple sculls crews that are selected will compete at the 2012 World Rowing Under 23 Championships July 11-15 in Trakai, Lithuania. In addition, the camp may select crews in the women's four, pair and double sculls that will compete at the USRowing Under 23 National Team Trials June 24-27 in West Windsor, N.J. A full team roster will be named by July 1.

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

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Issue No. 493 - April 25, 2011

Virginia Rowing Wins 2011 ACC Championship
UVa Athletics Media Relations, Official Release

The fifth-ranked Virginia rowing team won every race en route to capturing the team title at the 2011 ACC Championship Saturday (April 23) on Clemson's Lake Hartwell. For Virginia rowing, it was the 11th conference title in the 12-year history of the rowing championship and the Cavaliers swept all four races for the second-consecutive year.

"It is awesome to win the ACC Championship again," UVa head coach Kevin Sauer said. "We were humble but hungry, coming into this thing prepared and ready to go. We are very glad we were able to win all four races and the [exhibition] Second Varsity Four as well. The Varsity Eight race was a barnburner all the way down the course, Clemson did a great job, and we were glad to get our bow in front."

Virginia finished first in the Varsity Eight (24 points), Second Varsity Eight (18 points), Varsity Four (12 points) and Novice Eight (six points) to claim the team title with 60 points in front of an ACC-record crowd of 1,022. No. 14 Clemson was second with 49 points, followed by Duke with 41 points, Miami with 23 points, Boston College with 22 points and North Carolina with 14 points.

Following the regatta, the conference announced its postseason awards and UVa's Sauer was named the ACC Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his career and second-consecutive year. Virginia rowers Claudia Blandford, Christine Roper, Martha Kuzzy, Kristine O'Brien and coxswain Sidney Thorsten were named to the All-ACC team. Kuzzy and O'Brien added the All-ACC nods to their ACC Freshman of the Year awards (Kuzzy in 2009 and O'Brien in 2010). Thorsten, a junior, was a repeat selection to the all-conference team.

"We have a lot of kids that contribute to this program and a few of them are always going to be named All-ACC but in my book every one of them is an All-ACC selection," Sauer said. "We have great depth and great camaraderie that is really cool to see."

Read SabreMail No. 493 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:

• Spring Football: The Cavaliers are finishing up spring practice. The Sabre will be there for the spring game this week and will provide extended coverage.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

Notes: Secondary, Hoos Learn In Spring
In what was a tune-up for next Saturday's spring game, a crowd estimated between 750-800 people watched the final practice of the Virginia football spring road show at the Sports Backers Stadium here in Richmond on Saturday. A full slate of drills, special teams focus and a 10-minute scrimmage at the end of the session were part of the afternoon schedule.

Notes: Spring Practice Rolls On For UVa
The Virginia football team is in the home stretch of the spring practice run and the Hoos held their final Charlottesville open practice at the McCue Center on a chilly Friday morning. This spring has been different from the past several years as the Cavaliers are coming off a postseason appearance. The extra practices leading up to the Chick-fil-A Bowl were clearly beneficial as the team looks to be ahead of where it was last year in the spring.

Diamond Scouting Report: Wake Forest
The Cavalier baseball team spotted JMU a 2-run lead in the opening inning this past Wednesday and then blasted by the Dukes with 15 unanswered runs to win 15-5. Now, UVa's 9-game homestand continues with a visit by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons for the first time since 2008. Here is a brief scouting report on Wake Forest.

Hoos Hope To Be More Explosive
As I prepared for the 2011 grade reports last August, one of the areas I identified as a major issue for the Cavaliers in 2010 and an item to watch as the upcoming season progressed was Virginia's poor offensive scoring efficiency (OSE) numbers in 2010. OSE is the amount of yardage it takes to score one point. Despite winning four more games last fall, the Virginia offense scored fewer points for every yard of offense in 2011. So what's that tell us?

Notes: D-Line Begins Rebuilding
The Cavalier defense lost three starters on the defensive line from last season's bowl team. All three players - tackles Nick Jenkins and Matt Conrath as well as defensive end Cam Johnson - had become three-year mainstays for the defense, leaving the Hoos with a lot of new faces in contention for playing time this season and beyond. In fact, outside of Jake Snyder, Billy Schautz, and Will Hill, the rest of the players looking to earn snaps have received limited action thus far in their careers.

Diamond Scouting Report: JMU 2
The Virginia baseball team thought it could exorcise some demons in Raleigh this past weekend but the ghosts of Wolfpack games past reappeared and continued to haunt the Hoos at Doak Field. Now the Cavaliers start a nine-game homestand by hosting a return matchup with James Madison on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Here is a brief scouting report for James Madison.

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