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   SabreMail - June 3, 2013
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King, Fisher Find Their Groove

By Kris Wright, Editor, TheSabre.com

Senior Jared King and sophomore Derek Fisher had struggled at the plate in NCAA Tournament play the past two seasons, but both broke through in Sunday's 11-3 win against Elon that clinched the NCAA Tournament's Charlottesville Region title. Both players finished 2 for 5 with 4 RBIs between them.

"I think you first have to start by looking at the quality jobs done by the first two starters that we faced this weekend [from Army and Elon]. You go back and look at the video and see the pitches that those guys made in our games and you have to give them credit. They made a lot of pitches they were trying to make in good locations," O'Connor said. "You know what someone like Jared King is made of, and you know how much talent Derek Fisher has. I just knew it was a matter of time before a lot of those guys broke out. They've worked too hard to put themselves in this position and worked too hard for it to not go their way. If you stick with what you've done and don't try to change much, good things will happen guys get in trouble when they try to make quick adjustments rather than stick with what has given them success in the past. Fortunately it worked out tonight."

It was a long time coming. King entered the game in a 1-for-19 slump in NCAA Tournament play, while Fisher had been 0 for 22 in his latest NCAA at-bats. Both shook the struggles in the third inning Sunday night. With Elon leading 3-0 entering the bottom half of the frame, Nate Irving led off with a double and moved to third base on Mike Papi's sacrifice fly. That brought up King, who delivered with an RBI double up the third base line to get UVa's scoring started.

"Nate Irving started it off with a double and Mike Papi did a great job moving him to third. Honestly, I was just looking for something I could drive to the outfield," King said. "Really looking back on it, it was about the worst thing I could have done because if the third baseman gloves that we might not have gotten anything there. But I hit it well enough to get by him and I think we did a great job of stringing quality at-bats together right afteward."

A pair of walks loaded the bases behind King when Fisher stepped into the box. He snapped his NCAA Tournament funk with a single past the second baseman that brought home two runs and tied the game at 3-3.

"The best thing for me was that it was with two strikes. I think that's a swing I need to be taking all the time, instead of changing things with two strikes. I felt good, obviously I'm seeing the ball better and putting better swings on the ball, and that helped carry us through," Fisher said. "It was obviously something I’d been in for a week and a half, coming up to bat with runners in scoring position. To actually come through and be clutch for the club in that point in time was nice. I pretty much stuck with the same thing id been doing all weekend and tried to produce a hit, and fortunately it went through."

King finished 2 for 5 with 1 RBI, while Fisher went 2 for 5 with 3 RBIs. The Hoos hope the duo can keep it going in Super Regional play this weekend.

   Recruiting News

This Week In Recruiting With Chris Horne

After going about a month without a commitment in the class of 2014, the University of Virginia's football program struck with two recent commitments: 6'6", 300-pound offensive tackle Will Richardson and 6'3", 225-pound outside linebacker/defensive end Canaan Brown.

Richardson, a product of Cummings High School in Burlington, N.C., committed to the Hoos over Memorial Day weekend. Virginia won out over some impressive competition that included Florida State and Virginia Tech.

"I just felt at home," Richardson said in an EDGE feature posted last Friday. "If I stopped playing football, this is the place I want to be. My parents liked it. So when Coach London asked if I wanted to join the bus, I said, 'Yeah Coach.'"

EDGE subscribers can read much more on UVa's newest offensive line pledge in the feature linked below. This week, I plan to have a closer look at Brown, a rising senior prospect out of Clearwater Central Catholic in Clearwater, Florida. Brown committed to the Hoos last week after making an unofficial visit.

Virginia now boasts six commitments in this class with two offensive linemen, three defensive players, including 5-star safety Quin Blanding, and one special teams standout in place-kicker Gary Wunderlich.

This past weekend, two of Virginia's top class of 2014 targets visited in-state rival Virginia Tech. 5-star Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, VA) defensive lineman Andrew Brown was in Blacksburg this past Sunday as was T.C. Williams (Alexandria, VA) defensive tackle Jeremiah Clarke.

UVa is thought to be at or near the top of the list for both defensive line prospects. I plan to check in with both this week for more on their recruitments. Also this week, Virginia football will host its first one-day camp of 2013. TheSabre.com plans to be on hand for coverage, so stay tuned for reports from the camp this weekend.


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.

More recent Sabre recruiting updates ...

Richardson Finds Perfect Fit In UVa
Image: Will RichardsonMike London had good reason to celebrate last weekend. London, heading into his fourth season as Virginia football's head coach, asked offensive lineman Will Richardson if he "wanted to join the bus" and become part of the Cavaliers program. The 6'6" prospect replied with a yes, to which London responded with a bear hug. Marques Hagans, who is Richardson's primary recruiter for Virginia, and offensive line coach Scott Wachenheim were there for congratulations as well.

Sabre Scoop: Richardson To Enroll Early
In this latest "Sabre Scoop," newly committed offensive line prospect Will Richardson talks early enrollment, Varina head varsity football coach Stu Brown provides the latest on the academic status of top Virginia cornerback recruit Tim Harris, and BJ Stith discusses his impending move from Brunswick High School to Oak Hill Academy.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

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   News, Notes, and Fan Discussion

Sims Out At UVa

UVa Athletic Media Relations Official Release

Virginia football coach Mike London announced that quarterback Phillip Sims is ineligible and will no longer be enrolled at the University after completion of his current summer school session. A native of Chesapeake, Va., Sims completed his sophomore season in 2012 after transferring from Alabama last summer.

Last year, Sims played in all 12 games and started four times. He completed 132 of 231 passes for 1,426 yards and nine touchdowns. He started against Duke, Maryland, Wake Forest and NC State

"The thing we tell the young men who come to the University of Virginia to receive a world-class education and play for our football program is pretty simple," said Virginia coach Mike London. "Go to class. Show class and treat people with dignity and respect. Those directions are pretty easy to follow and they will lead you on a path of success.

"When an individual strays from those directions, it is very disappointing to me. Phillip Sims did not make the commitment he needed to succeed here. I appreciate his efforts last season. He is a very talented young man who is blessed with some extraordinary athletic abilities. I still believe Phillip Sims can and will be a successful person. We will do what we can to assist Phillip in continuing his academic and athletic opportunities elsewhere.

"The young men who remain with this football program are committed and have done a great job in the classroom, in the weight room and on the practice fields. Our team spring semester grade point average is the highest it has been in the past 10 years and we understand that for us to be successful on Saturdays in the fall, it will require that everyone involved in the program do what is necessary each and every day to prepare to win."


License Plate section is up in Wahoowa!

In recent months, SabreMail made a request for anyone who had license plates that reflected your status as a Hoo fan. The responses have started to trickle in and the Plates Photos are up and running the Wahoowa! section of the site. The Wahoowa! section of the Sabre is dedicated to all things associated with UVa Fan-dom. There are various fan-related areas including desktop wallpaper, Fan of the Week photos, V-Sabres Worldwide, and more. If you have suggestions for new and interesting things in the Wahoowa! section, please email us at [email protected] with the header: Wahoowa! suggestion.

We'd like to keep adding photos to the section so if your license plate shows that you're a Hoo fan, let us know so we can include you in our gallery. All you need to do is snap a picture of your license plate and email a jpeg version of the photo to [email protected] with the email header: License Plate Photo.


Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

  • Virginia Finishes Fifth at NCAA Championships: The Virginia rowing team concluded the 2012-13 season with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships on Sunday on Eagle Creek Park Lake in Indianapolis, Ind. It is the seventh consecutive season the Cavaliers have finished in the top six at the national regatta. UVa finished fifth with 108 points, behind NCAA Champion Ohio State (126), California (124), Princeton (112) and USC (110).
  • McCarthy Finishes 22nd at NCAA Championships: Virginia sophomore golfer Denny McCarthy finished the NCAA Championships in 22nd place after shooting 1-under 69 during the final round of stroke play. McCarthy turned in a 54-hole total of 2-under 208 at the Capital City Club in Atlanta. McCarthy played his final 36 holes at 4-under par.
  • Altomare Named First-Team All-American: Virginia senior Brittany Altomare has been named a first-team All-American by the Women's Golf Coaches Association. She becomes the first player in the 10-year history of the program to earn first-team All-America honors.This season, Altomare won the Atlantic Coast Conference individual championship and was named the ACC Women's Golfer of the Year. She was also named to the All-ACC squad for the fourth consecutive season.
  • Amirault, Keveren and White Earn Academic All-District Honors: Three members of the Virginia track and field and cross country teams were named to the Capital One Academic All-District teams. Mark Amirault, Sean Keveren, and Catherine White were named District 3 first-team selections and are now eligible to receive Academic All-America honors.

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


   UVa Bookstores - The Place for Wahoo Gear!

Men's Tennis National Championship Gear


The 2013 UVa men's tennis team completed a magical season with a dramatic 4-3 victory over UCLA to clinch their first ever NCAA National Championship. Commemorate their acheivement with The Perfect Season T-Shirt! The front has an arched Virginia above a tennis ball enclosed with 2013 above Tennis. The back imprint features The Perfect Season above 30-0, the team's record this season. The 2013 Virginia Tennis National Champions T-Shirt is also available with a full-chest and full back design. The front features a V-Sabre tennis ball and crossed rackets graphic in-between 2013 NCAA Men's National Champions on the top and Virginia Tennis on the bottom. The back has the V-Sabre above Game. Set. Match! and the final scores from all the matches played by the team in the NCAA Tournament.


   SabreMail History

Issue No. 556 - July 23, 2012

Covington Joins UVa Radio
UVa Athletics Media Relations Official Release

Virginia Sports Properties, a division of CBS Collegiate Sports Properties, the multi-media rights partner of the University of Virginia athletics department, announced [Friday] that former Cavalier football player Tony Covington has joined the Virginia Sports Network. Covington will serve as analyst with play-by-play announcer Dave Koehn on Virginia broadcasts during the 2012 football season.

Covington lettered for the Cavaliers from 1987 to 1990. As a junior he was a member of UVa's ACC Championships team that became the first Cavalier squad to be ranked No. 1. He earned second-team All-ACC honors at cornerback as both a junior and senior. Covington started 47 of 49 games during his career and played in the 1987 All-American Bowl, the 1990 Citrus Bowl and the 1991 Sugar Bowl. During his Virginia career he had 194 tackles and six interceptions.

Covington currently resides in Philadelphia where he is the director of the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Philadelphia Chapter.

"I'm extremely excited to once again work with my UVa family. It is truly an honor and a privilege," said Covington. "UVa has and will always be near and dear to my heart and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work alongside a veteran like Dave Koehn. Coach London and his staff are doing great things with the program and I feel that the future is extremely bright for Cavalier Football."

Covington replaces former UVa player and long-time analyst Frank Quayle, who retired from the booth after 29 years behind the microphone.

"We'll definitely miss that wealth of historical knowledge that Frank brought to the booth, but we're excited about what Tony will bring to our broadcasts," said Dave Koehn, Director of Broadcasting at Virginia Sports Properties and Voice of the Cavaliers. "Tony was a passionate member of the this football program as a player and we're excited to see him bring that same level of enthusiasm and insight to our network."

Read SabreMail No. 556 here.

   What's New on TheSabre.com?

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:

  • Baseball Postseason: The postseason has arrived for the UVa baseball team. Stay tuned to The Sabre for the latest.
  • FanWatch: Another edition of FanWatch appears this month!


In Case You Missed It

Recent Sabre articles ...

Virginia Finishes Region Sweep
Image: David RosenbergerAfter scoring just four runs in the first two games of the Charlottesville Regional, the Virginia offense came to life Sunday against Elon. The Hoos put up double-digit runs for the first time since a 10-4 win over North Carolina on May 16. The top-seeded Cavaliers rolled to the 11-3 victory to claim the region title.

Nifty Fifty Again For The Hoos
Image: UVa celebratesThe Virginia baseball team is at it again. After a brief postseason stint a year ago, the Cavaliers returned to their winning ways in the NCAA Tournament after taking care of business this weekend. UVa took down Elon on Sunday night 10-3 to complete a three-game sprint through the NCAA Tournament's Charlottesville Regional. The Hoos have reached the Super Region round four times in the last five seasons.

Silverstein, Hoos Take Down Elon
Image: Scott SilversteinThe only good news about Virginia posting just four runs in the first two games of Charlottesville Regional play is that the Cavalier defense has given up just one run in 18 innings. For the second game in a row, UVa got a solid outing from its starting pitcher and good support from the bullpen to advance to the championship round of the Charlottesville Regional with a 2-0 shutout win against Elon.

Waddell, McCarthy Set Pace In Win
Image: Brandon WaddellArmy right-handed pitcher Chris Rowley scattered 8 hits over 7 innings while surrendering just 2 runs in Friday's NCAA Tournament opener for the Charlottesville Regional. But UVa starter Brandon Waddell was a little better. While tossing 8 strikeouts, Waddell worked 7 innings and gave up the lone Army run in the fifth as Virginia prevailed 2-1.

Irving Keeps Improving For Hoos
Image: Nate IrvingVirginia catcher Nate Irving scored the winning run against Army on Friday, but he wasn't even supposed to be on base at the time. When Irving stepped into the batter's box, after all, he had instructions to execute a sacrifice bunt. He ended up with a key hit and the go-ahead run in UVa's 2-1 victory instead.

Cavs Prepared For Weekend Foes
When the Charlottesville Region opens play Friday in the NCAA Tournament, the Virginia coaching staff will be prepared. The coaches spent time this week dissecting the three teams coming to Charlottesville. They worked through rosters, statistics, and video in an effort to prepare scouting reports for Army, UNC Wilmington, and Elon.

Consistent Cavaliers Prep For Army
Image: Kenny TownsThe Virginia baseball program has remained so consistent over the last decade that coach Brian O'Connor has easily outdone his movie namesake. While the Fast and the Furious franchise with street racer cop Brian O'Conner topped box office charts with its sixth installment this past weekend, O'Connor's Cavaliers picked up their seventh NCAA Regional hosting bid and 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Hoos Edge Seminoles In Tourney Play
The Virginia baseball team needed 12 innings, six pitchers, and four hours and seven minutes but the Cavaliers finally escaped their final ACC Tournament game with a win against Florida State. Kenny Towns blasted his second home run of the ACC Tournament to secure the team's fourth victory of the season over the Seminoles on Saturday in Durham, North Carolina.

Cavaliers Flip Fortunes To Top GT
After Georgia Tech's Kyle Wren led off the first inning in Thursday's game with a triple and it was followed by back-to-back singles, the last thing anyone was thinking was that a two-run, 8-2/3 inning win for Scott Silverstein was about to occur in Durham, North Carolina. On the heels of the Virginia Tech barrage the Hoos suffered Wednesday, after all, it looked similar to the disastrous second inning from the day before. Shows how much 'anyone' knows.

Hoos Drop ACC Tournament Opener
The Virginia baseball team opened ACC Tournament play in Durham, North Carolina, with a 10-1 loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday. First baseman Jared King said the key now is for the club to put this game behind them and move on to the next outing, which comes Thursday in pool play. UVa faces Georgia Tech at 11 a.m.

Spring Superlatives - Most To Prove
Image: Morgan MosesThe Spring Superlatives series continues to take a look at the Virginia football team as the Hoos head into summer workouts. So far, these articles have discussed "Most Depth," "Most Likely To Surprise," "Most Potential," "Most Likely To Be Consistent," and "Most Difficult To Predict." This piece adds to the list with the focus on "Most To Prove" and there is no question which unit holds the top spot this time. After an inconsistent 2012 season and a position shuffle after spring practice, the offensive line is set to be scrutinized from start to finish this season.


   Sabre Edge

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Every week, Sabre Edge provides you with exclusive articles, columns, special features, interviews and recruiting news, including daily recruiting updates. There's even a special message board just for subscribers. And to top it off, you get 10 percent off all of your UVa Bookstores purchases during your subscription.

All of the great Sabre Edge content can be yours for the price of $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. Try it for a month and cancel if you like. But we think you'll get hooked on the Edge and find out for yourself why the most knowledgeable Cavalier fans are Edge subscribers.

If you're a Wahoo, then the Sabre Edge is right for you. Check it out!


 
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