Former Wahoos Anderson, Key earn All-NBA G League honors
By Scott Ratcliffe
Justin Anderson (Photo: Will Burris)
A pair of former Virginia basketball standouts earned accolades Monday, as Justin Anderson was named to the All-NBA G League’s First Team and Braxton Key was named to both the Second Team and the All-Defensive Team.
Anderson, who played 22 games as a member of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, averaged 27.8 points per game along with 6.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks.
Key, an Alabama transfer and member of the 2019 UVA national championship team, appeared in 24 games for the Delaware Blue Coats, averaging 19.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.6 blocks per contest. He also improved his 3-point shooting percentage from 29 percent in 2020-21 to 39 percent this past season.
Both Anderson and Key spent time in the NBA this season as well. Anderson had a pair of stints — one with the Cleveland Cavaliers (3 games) and one with the Indiana Pacers (three call-ups, 13 games). He averaged 6.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his 16 NBA contests.
Anderson, who spent three years in Charlottesville from 2012-15 before turning pro after his junior season, has now appeared in 242 NBA games (starting in 30 of them) with a career average of 5.3 points. He was selected 21st overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2015 NBA Draft and has also played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets. Anderson has an NBA career high of 26 points.
Anderson posted this message on his Twitter account: “I am extremely honored and thankful to be selected to the All @nbagleague First-Team. This isn’t possible without my teammates and coaches this season in Fort Wayne.”
I am extremely honored and thankful to be selected to the All @nbagleague First-Team. This isn’t possible without my teammates and coaches this season in Fort Wayne. 🙏🏽
— Justin Anderson (@JusAnderson1) April 18, 2022
Key also was signed by a couple of NBA teams, the Blue Coats’ parent club, the 76ers, and the Detroit Pistons. Key, nephew of UVA legend Ralph Sampson, appeared in two games for Philadelphia in January on a 10-day contract, averaging just three minutes a game before rejoining the Blue Coats, but then was scooped up by Detroit on a 10-day deal in late March, where he finished out the regular season and impressed the organization enough to sign him to a two-way contract in early April.
Braxton Key (Photo: Sports Illustrated)
In the Motor City, Key played in nine contests, averaging 21.2 minutes a night. He averaged 8.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks for the Pistons. Key’s career high in scoring came on April 6 against the Mavericks, when he registered 14 points.
“I love his defense,” Pistons coach Dwayne Casey said after Key’s performance against Dallas. “I thought his defense was spectacular. He put his chest into whoever came down there, got a couple of steals, finished around the lane. That young man is giving us everything he can give us defensively.”
Star rookie Pistons teammate Cade Cunningham said this about Key: “I’ve really liked playing with him and just watching him play. He’s always in the right spot, it feels like. He plays super hard. He just makes a lot of things happen for us. I really like watching him play and I’m excited for that contract he just got and to be around him more.”
Along with Anderson and Key, nine other UVA alums have played in at least one NBA contest this season: Malcolm Brogdon (Indiana Pacers), Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets), Anthony Gill (Washington Wizards), De’Andre Hunter (Atlanta Hawks), Kyle Guy (Miami Heat), Ty Jerome (Oklahoma City Thunder), Mamadi Diakite (Oklahoma City Thunder), Trey Murphy III (New Orleans Pelicans), Jay Huff (Los Angeles Lakers) and Sam Hauser (Boston Celtics).
Additionally, there are unofficially 10 other former Hoos currently playing professionally: Darion Atkins (German BBL), Billy Baron (VTB United League), Devon Hall (Italian Lega Basket Serie A), Nigel Johnson (Hungarian NBIA), Akil Mitchell (German BBL), London Perrantes (Israeli BSL), Jack Salt (Australian NBL), Darius Thompson (VTB United League), Mike Tobey (Spanish ACB) and Tomas Woldetensae (Italian Lega Basket Serie A).
2021-22 ALL-NBA G LEAGUE TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
Justin Anderson – Fort Wayne Mad Ants*
Mason Jones – South Bay Lakers*^
Justin Tillman – College Park Skyhawks*
Trevelin Queen – Rio Grande Valley Vipers*^
Moses Wright – Texas Legends*^
SECOND TEAM
Cat Barber – College Park Skyhawks*
Charles Bassey – Delaware Blue Coats#
Braxton Key – Delaware Blue Coats*^
Saben Lee – Motor City Cruise#
Reggie Perry – Raptors 905*
THIRD TEAM
Luka Garza – Motor City Cruise#
Jared Harper – Birmingham Squadron*
Justin Jackson – Texas Legends*
Carlik Jones – Texas Legends*
Anthony Lamb – Rio Grande Valley Vipers*^
2021-22 NBA G LEAGUE ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Charles Bassey – Delaware Blue Coats#
Luka Garza – Motor City Cruise#
Carlik Jones – Texas Legends*
Mac McClung – South Bay Lakers*^
Micah Potter – Sioux Falls Skyforce*
2021-22 NBA G LEAGUE ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Charles Bassey – Delaware Blue Coats#
Braxton Key – Delaware Blue Coats*^
Tacko Fall – Cleveland Charge
Shaquille Harrison – Delaware Blue Coats*
Trevelin Queen – Rio Grande Valley Vipers*^
*Earned GATORADE Call-Up during 2021-22 NBA season
^NBA Two-Way Player
#NBA Assignee
Douglass, Walsh named 2022 Honda Sport Award finalists
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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Junior Kate Douglass and sophomore Alex Walsh were named finalists for the 2022 Women’s Swimming & Diving Honda Sport Award.
Douglass and Walsh join NC State’s Katherine Berkhoff and Indiana’s Tarrin Gilliland. Paige Madden was a 2021 Honda Sport Award finalist for the Cavaliers.
A junior from Pelham, N.Y., Douglass was named the 2022 CSCAA and ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Year. The 21-time All-American captured three individual NCAA titles at the 2022 NCAA Championship and four relay NCAA Championships. She has eight career NCAA titles along with 18 career ACC titles and led Virginia to its second consecutive NCAA Championship.
Walsh is a two-time NCAA Champion in the 200 IM, setting an American record at the 2022 NCAA Championship en route to the team title. The sophomore captured three individual NCAA Championship titles in 2022 and boasts nine career NCAA titles in both individual and relay events. Hailing from Nashville, Tenn., she was named the 2022 ACC Swimmer of the Meet after capturing six ACC titles.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 46 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2022 Honda Cup which will be presented on a telecast on CBS Sports Network.
The women’s swimming and diving finalists were selected by a panel of coaches and experts from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). The Honda Sport award winner for swimming & diving will be announced later this week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
The CWSA, entering its 46th year, has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for their superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its partnership in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.4 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs.
No. 11 Virginia prepares for midweek bouts with VCU, Georgetown
No. 11 Virginia (26-9) will play a pair of midweek contests beginning with a road game at VCU (19-15) on Tuesday at The Diamond in Richmond before returning home to face Georgetown (22-14) at Disharoon Park on Wednesday.
First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and 6 p.m. on Tuesday on ACCNX.
ESPN+ is a subscription-based service available for a monthly fee on the ESPN app and ESPN.com. Wednesday’s home match is set to air on ACCNX, available to authenticated subscribers of ACC Network. Additionally, Tuesday’s game can be heard locally in Charlottesville on WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM) or anywhere on WINA.com. Links to live stats can be found on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can get in-game updates on the team’s official twitter page (@UVABaseball).
Probable Starting Pitchers
Tuesday
Virginia: RHP Will Geerdes (2-0, 4.22 ERA, 21.1 IP, 9 BB, 19 SO)
VCU: LHP Campbell Ellis (1-3, 2.97 ERA, 39.1 IP, 12 BB, 35 SO)
Wednesday
Georgetown: LHP Andrew Williams (1-2, 4.74 ERA, 24.2 IP, 13 BB, 27 SO)
Virginia: TBA
Kihei Clark announces he’ll return to UVA for a fifth season; Reneau commits to Hoosiers
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Photo: theacc.com
He’s b-a-a-c-c-k … Virginia’s starting point guard Kihei Clark announced Monday afternoon that he will be returning for a fifth year.
We reported prior to UVA’s Senior Day that Clark’s parents told our colleague Scott German that Tony Bennett had invited the senior guard back for another season and that Clark had agreed.
Clark’s official announcement means that Virginia will return its top five scorers from a team that won 21 games this past season. A starter in all 35 games for the Cavaliers this past season, he averaged 10 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 38.7 percent from the floor, 34.6 percent from the 3-point arc and 78.2 percent from the free-throw line.
He was second in the ACC in minutes played, an average of 36.1 minutes per game, fifth in assists and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.99). Clark was All-ACC honorable mention.
Forever remembered for his assist of Mamadi Diakite’s basket that sent the 2019 Elite Eight game against Purdue into overtime (UVA went on to win the game and eventually the national championship), Clark is within range of breaking several program records according to Danny Neckel’s data:
Games Played: 138 (London Perrantes and Mike Tobey), Clark 128
Starts: 132 (Perrantes), Clark 108
Minutes: 4,425 (Perrantes), Clark 4,244
In other UVA basketball news, 5-star power forward Malik Reneau, who decommitted from Florida, committed to Indiana on Monday after a weekend visit to Bloomington. Reneau had listed Virginia as one of the five schools he planned to visit.
No. 8 Virginia drops Sunday finale, series, at Pitt
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.
Pitt (21-13, 9-8 ACC) clinched its fourth-straight series with a 4-1 victory over No. 8 Virginia (27-9, 10-8 ACC) on Sunday. The Panthers scored the game’s final three runs and held UVA scoreless over its final five trips to the plate.
Six of the seven Cavalier hits on the day came with two outs and for the second time in the series Virginia was charged with multiple fielding errors. Only two of the four Panther runs were earned.
Virginia turned a triple play in the fifth inning to escape a bases loaded jam unscathed in the fifth inning. It was the first triple play by UVA since February 14, 2004 against NC A&T, the first game of Brian O’Connor’s UVA coaching career. Going into the weekend, only three other teams have turned a triple play this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Panthers grabbed the early 1-0 lead, capitalizing on a pair of Cavalier defensive miscues. Designated hitter Jack Anderson came around to score on a Josh Overbeek sacrifice fly. It marked the 10th time an opponent has scored first against Virginia this season. Five of UVA’s nine losses have come when an opponent has scored the first run.
- Chris Newell knotted the game up at one in the top of the fourth with an RBI double to the gap in right center. It was the 12th double of the series and only extra base hit of the game for Virginia.
- Pittsburgh recaptured the lead in its half of the fourth, scoring another run on a sacrifice fly. Nick Giamarusti flew out to left with the bases loaded and allowed Tommy Tavarez to score from third.
- The Panthers tacked on two more runs, one unearned, in the seventh. Ron Washington Jr. had a pinch-hit single to make the score 4-1.
- Brandon Neeck, who was on the mound for triple play, struck out four batters including three in the sixth inning to strand a pair of Panther runners.
- Pitt starting pitcher Billy Corcoran logged seven innings did not allow an earned run to earn the win. He combined with Baron Stuart to retire the final 13 Cavaliers in order. Stuart was credited with his fifth save of the season.
FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN O’CONNOR
“Pitt’s starting pitcher (Billy Corcoran) was outstanding. Their pitching was just really superior today. When you can spot your fastball like he did and throw your changeup at any count, you’re going have a chance to be successful and he just had us tied into knots and did a terrific job. There were a handful of times that we had opportunities to drive runs and didn’t do it and when you’re facing great pitching like that, it’s going to be a tough day and we just couldn’t match them. A credit to them.”
UP NEXT: Virginia will wrap up its four-game road trip on Tuesday when it visits VCU for a non-conference tilt at The Diamond in Richmond. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and can be heard on WINA.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- The UVA triple play in 2004 against NC A&T ended the game and sealed O’Connor’s first career victory. It was scored 5-4-3, a play started by Ryan Zimmerman at third, a putout by Kyle Werman at second and the final out to Joe Koshansky at first.
Women’s Tennis: No. 8 Virginia closes regular season with 5-2 win at Georgia Tech
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The No. 8 Virginia women’s tennis team (18-4, 10-3 ACC) closed out the regular season with a 5-2 win at Georgia Tech on Sunday at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex in Atlanta, Ga.
The Cavaliers finished conference play with a 10-3 record in a three-way tie for third place with Miami and NC State. By virtue of tiebreakers, Miami will be the three seed, Virginia the four and NC State the five in next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Tennis Championship.
Georgia Tech opened the match with a win on doubles court three. Emma Navarro and Hibah Shaikh evened it with a 6-2 win on court one against the fifth-ranked doubles team of Carol Lee and Kate Sharabura. With the doubles point on the line, Sofia Munera and Natasha Subhash battled back from trailing 6-2 in a tiebreaker to win it 10-8 and secure the point for the Cavaliers.
Sara Ziodato gave UVA a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-1 win on court six, but the Yellow Jackets took courts three and four in straight sets to tie the match. Navarro gave UVA a 3-2 edge with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Lee.
The final two courts were three-set battles. Subhash rebounded from dropping her first set 6-2 against Kylie Bilchev with a 6-4 win in the second set. She took the third set 6-2 to clinch the victory for the Cavaliers. Hibah Shaikh and Gia Cohen traded 6-3 wins to go to a third set. Shaikh broken Cohen’s serve at 6-5 to win 7-5 to close out the match.
MATCH NOTES
- The Cavaliers have won seven straight matches heading into the ACC Championship
FROM HEAD COACH SARA O’LEARY
“Today was a battle. Credit to Georgia Tech. They played and competed well. I think the doubles point was a big difference-maker today. Sofia and Natasha were down 2-6 in the deciding match tiebreaker. Sofia made one of the best gets I’ve ever seen on one of those match points and our entire team played with such determination, toughness and belief after that. There were a lot of momentum switches within the entire match but I loved the composure and focus everyone played with no matter what the situation was. I’m super proud of our team!”
ON THE HORIZON
- Virginia will be the No. 4 seed in the ACC Championship, earning a double-bye into Friday’s quarterfinals
- Virginia will play at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, April 22 against a team TBD
#8 Virginia 5, #31 Georgia Tech 2
Singles competition
- #1 Emma Navarro (VA) def. #32 Carol Lee (GT) 6-4, 6-3
- #34 Natasha Subhash (VA) def. #79 Kylie Bilchev (GT) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
- Ava Hrastar (GT) def. #62 Elaine Chervinsky (VA) 6-3, 6-2
- Mahak Jain (GT) def. Sofia Munera (VA) 6-0, 7-6 (7-3)
- Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Gia Cohen (GT) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
- Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
- #11 Emma Navarro/Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. #5 Carol Lee/Kate Sharabura (GT) 6-2
- Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash (VA) def. #34 Kylie Bilchev/Ava Hrastar (GT) 7-6 (10-8)
- Gia Cohen/Ruth Marsh (GT) def. Amber O’Dell/Elaine Chervinsky (VA) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,3,4,1,2,5)
Men’s Tennis: No. 6 Virginia secures ACC regular-season title with BC sweep
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The No. 6 Virginia men’s tennis team (19-5, 12-0 ACC) closed out the regular season with a 7-0 victory against Boston College (5-16, 0-12 ACC) on Sunday at the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort.
With the victory, the Cavaliers finish conference play with a 12-0 record and earn the regular-season title and the top seed in next week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Tennis Championship.
Bar Botzer and Alexander Kiefer opened the match with a 6-1 win on doubles court three. After BC took court two, Iñaki Montes and Ryan Goetz won 6-4 on the top court to clinch the point.
In singles, all three of the Cavaliers’ fifth-years who were honored before the match in the annual Senior Day ceremony logged victories. Grad student Jackson Allen picked up the clinching point with a 6-0, 6-3 victory on court four. Grad student Jefferson Dockter won 6-2, 6-3 against Shreekar Eedara on court six and fifth-year senior Gianni Ross picked up a dominant 6-0, 6-1 victory on court three.
Botzer, playing on the top court, won 6-4, 6-2 against Max Motlagh. Goetz sailed through a 6-1, 6-0 victory on court two. Kiefer closed out the sweep with a 6-2, 6-3 win on five.
MATCH NOTES
- This is the Cavaliers’ 15th ACC regular-season title and second consecutive
- It is the 11th time in program history that UVA has finished conference play with a perfect record
FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO
“It was a great effort by the guys. You know, we had a tough February losing five matches in a row to top-five teams, but we learned a lot from it. And the guys responded, and you saw that in the ACC season. So I’m really happy about it. They were super professional. They just keep evolving, keep growing, and keep working hard together and that’s what this team does when we’re playing together.”
“The postseason in this program means a lot and that’s what we prepare all season for. We’ve got a lot of tough competition at the ACC Championships. we’re not taking anybody lightly. Every match can be a war. We’ll be ready. That’s how it is in the postseason. It’s everyone’s 0-0. No wins, no losses. It’s a new season. So that’s how we’re gonna approach it.”
ON THE HORIZON
- The ACC Championship will be held Apr. 20-24 at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga. Tournament seeding and brackets will be announced Sunday (April 17) afternoon
- The Cavaliers will have a double-bye in the tournament, beginning play on Friday, April 22 at 10 a.m. in the quarterfinals, facing either 8-seed Florida State or 9-seed Notre Dame
#6 Virginia 7, Boston College 0
Singles competition
- Bar Botzer (VA) def. Max Motlagh (BC) 6-4, 6-2
- #77 Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Oliver Worth (BC) 6-1, 6-0
- Gianni Ross (VA) def. Matt Campbell (BC) 6-0, 6-1
- Jackson Allen (VA) def. Will Kasten (BC) 6-0, 6-3
- Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Jake Vassel (BC) 6-2, 6-3
- Jefferson Dockter (VA) def. Shreekar Eedara (BC) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
- Inaki Montes/Ryan Goetz (VA) def. #90 Juan Jose Bianchi/Max Motlagh (BC) 6-4
- Mason Fung/Jake Vassel (BC) def. Gianni Ross/William Woodall (VA) 6-3
- Bar Botzer/Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Bennett Turner/Matt Campbell (BC) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,3,4,1,6,5)
T-2:15 A-265
Spring Football: Armstrong should be even more lethal in new offense
By Jerry Ratcliffe
UVA quarterbacks coach Taylor Lamb (right) and Brennan Armstrong. (Photos: UVA Athletics)
Taylor Lamb hasn’t been a quarterbacks coach for long, but there’s one thing he already knew coming in – allow the QB to do what he does best.
In Virginia’s case, “Let Brennan be Brennan.” That’s Brennan as in Brennan Armstrong, who is the top returning quarterback in the nation in terms of passing yards and total yards per game.
Lamb is Tony Elliott’s new quarterbacks coach, and what a luxury it is for Lamb to inherit a player like Armstrong, who passed for 4,449 yards and 31 touchdowns last season, plus was the team’s leading rusher with 486 yards (minus 235 in sacks yardage) and nine more TDs in 11 games.
Because the southpaw QB is a grad student, he has less of a load in the classroom and has more time to study football, which has made his transition to a new staff, new philosophy and new terminology easier to grasp.
“He’s in our meetings voluntarily, and if he likes out-breaking routes, well, let’s do out-breaking routes,” Lamb said. “If he likes this play, let’s throw this play. It doesn’t matter what we like as coaches, right? If the trigger man does not like it, it’s probably not going to work, so let’s find things that he likes, that he’s good at, and let’s get the best we can out of that.”
Lamb, like Armstrong in that he was a dual-threat quarterback who crushed the records at Appalachian State and the Sun Belt Conference, has a great understanding of what Armstrong’s strengths are and aims to take advantage of those.
The two hit it off immediately once Lamb came in. They got together for a bite to eat and got to know the non-football side of their lives. On the field, Lamb has learned about his quarterback’s leadership, emotions, temperament, poise outside of the physical aspect.
Certainly, Lamb has liked what he’s seen. Having left college only five years ago, he’s young enough to relate well to Armstrong, noting that it’s almost like they’re teammates.
Because Armstrong is such a quick study, the transition hasn’t been that difficult in most areas.
“I feel like a lot of my learning is more individual, like we’re in the gun a lot, so i’m learning a lot of stuff,” Armstrong said. “I’m learning under-center things (he has played out of the shotgun in previous seasons), in-gun stuff. I feel like I’m adding to my skill set.
“I’ve always said this: I think football is football. There’s only so many patterns you can run. It’s just however you want to say it to the player.”
Armstrong loves the new offense, which he describes as diverse, a collaboration of all the offensive staff, directed by Elliott, who called the offense for Clemson’s greatest teams over the past decade. Armstrong has grown a strong relationship with offensive coordinator Des Kitchings as well.
“This offense gives us more ability to take our shots, take what the defense gives us,” Armstrong said. “I have the ability to really control and manage the game. It’s just a fun, unique offense.”
Taking more shots is potentially bad news for the opposition because Armstrong’s deep-passing skills have been lethal the past two seasons with the likes of Dontayvion Wicks and Lavel Davis Jr., among others, in UVA’s throwing attack. Wicks led the nation last season in deep catches, while Davis was sensational in that department two seasons ago as a freshman. Davis missed last season with a knee injury, but now he and Wicks combine as a terrifying duo.
Plus, Armstrong should be even more effective this season because Kitchings will allow him to check off a play call and go to something else. All of the added responsibility keeps Armstrong in the film room as he adds to his repertoire.
Lamb has been impressed with how Armstrong has brought what he’s learned from the classroom and film room to the field.
“We don’t need a LeBron James or Kobe Bryant,” Lamb said. “We need Brennan to be a Rajon Rondo, a Steve Nash in order to get it to our guys in space where they can make plays, where they can be the big-time guys. It’s been surprising to me how quickly he gets the ball out and how quickly he’s picked it up on the field.”
When Lamb first met Armstrong, he was surprised that the UVA quarterback was so physically built at 6-foot-2, 212 pounds, and by his quick release, which Lamb had seen on film, but said was even more impressive in person. Plus the accuracy by the southpaw has been eye-popping.
“The accuracy, from throw to throw, and I’m talking about five-yard outs, 40-yard posts, he’s very accurate, which is something I like as a quarterback,” Lamb said. “As a wideout, you’ve got to love it, too. He can put his foot in the ground, get it out.”
Click to enlarge
Cavalier bats come alive in 18-0 rout of Pitt
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo: UVA Athletics
An offensive outburst and a stellar effort on the mound by graduate student Brian Gursky powered No. 8 Virginia (27-8, 10-7 ACC) to an 18-0 win over Pitt (20-13, 8-8 ACC) on Saturday. The Cavaliers evened the weekend series to force a Sunday rubber match at 2 p.m. on ACC Network.
Gursky limited the Panthers to two hits over a career-high 6.2 innings of work to earn his team-leading, sixth victory of the season. The lefthander fanned six batters and delivered his second quality start of the season.
The Cavalier offense drew 15 walks in the contest and took advantage of four Panther fielding miscues. Every batter in the Cavalier starting lineup recorded an RBI in the contest. Sophomore Jake Gelof led the way by going 4 for 4 with a double, three runs scored and two RBI.
Griff O’Ferrall and Kyle Teel started the game with back-to-back doubles to give UVA a quick 1-0 advantage. Teel advanced to third on his two-bagger and scored on a Gelof RBI single. Virginia made it a 4-0 game in the third inning when Teel scored from first on a Pitt error in the outfield. Gelof also scored in the frame on an RBI groundout by Alex Tappen. The RBI for Tappen was his 49th of the season.
Already leading 4-0, Virginia sent 12 batters to the plate in the fifth inning and plated seven runs. It was the 19th time this season that the Cavaliers have scored five or more runs in an inning and eighth time that UVA has scored seven or more in a single frame. Devin Ortiz, Justin Rubin and O’Ferrall had RBI hits in the frame.
The Cavaliers added seven additional runs after the fifth-inning outburst, including three-run rallies in the seventh and eighth. Coming on a pinch-hitter in the eighth, freshman Ethan Anderson had a two-run double and he was followed by a Colin Tuft RBI single to cap the Virginia scoring.
Sophomore Alex Greene pitched the final 2.1 innings to preserve UVA’s seventh shutout of the season. He stranded a runner in scoring position in the seventh and faced six batters over the final two innings.
“It was a terrific bounce back day for us,” said UVA coach Brian O’Connor. “Our guys accepted the challenge and Pitt has got a very good team, they showed that on Friday night. Our guys responded and [Brian] Gursky was outstanding. When you’re in a tough spot, you need guys to step forward and he did. Jake Gelof had five quality at bats today, everybody in the lineup had an RBI and it was just a complete team effort. We needed a really well-played game today. I was just proud of our guys, having bounced back on the road for an ACC win.”
UP NEXT
The weekend ACC series will conclude on Sunday at 2 p.m. with a rubber match on ACC Network. The Cavaliers will have lefthander Jake Berry (4-1) on the mound and he will be opposed by Panther righty Billy Cocoran (4-2).
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- The 18-run margin of victory over the Panthers was the largest of any of the 29 all-time meetings between the UVA and Pitt. The 18 runs were the second-most UVA has scored against Pitt. The Cavaliers scored 19 in the first ever meeting against the Panthers in 1940.
- Virginia is the only school in the country with seven shutouts this season.
- In Gursky’s eight starts this season, the UVA offense is outscoring opponents 101-25.
- Virginia has 11 doubles in two games against the Panthers, six on Friday night and five in Saturday’s contest.
- O’Ferrall has reached base in 11-straight games and has hit safely in five-straight.
SG McNeil visiting UVA this week; Vander Plas visiting now; Poindexter finds a home
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Sean McNeil (Photo: West Virginia Athletics)
West Virginia’s second-leading scorer last season, Sean McNeil, is scheduled to visit UVA basketball on Monday and Tuesday. Meanwhile, Virginia received a visit this weekend from former Ohio University forward Ben Vander Plas.
In other UVA basketball news, former Cavalier guard Malachi Poindexter announced on his Twitter account Saturday that he has committed to Illinois State.
McNeil, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who has one year of eligibility remaining, averaged 12.2 points per game for the Mountaineers last season, while shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from the 3-point arc. McNeil scored 900 points in three seasons at WVU.
Originally from Union City, Ky., McNeil was the No. 24 overall prospect nationally in the Class of 2019, the No. 11 shooting guard and the top-ranked high schooler in the state of Kentucky. He came to WVU from Sinclair Community College for the 2019-20 season.
After McNeil visits UVA, he plans to visit Cincinnati later in the week and said he possibly will visit Louisville, Ohio State, Texas Tech, Iowa and Indiana.
Ben Vander Plas (Photo: Ohio University Athletics)
Vander Plas helped Ohio eliminate Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament two years ago. Wahoo fans may remember that Vander Plas was named after the Bennett family, UVA coach Tony Bennett and his father Dick Bennett, who coached Vander Plas’ father, Dean, at Green Bay-Wisconsin. Dean was a teammate of Tony Bennett.
Ben Vander Plas is a 6-8 forward who averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for the Bobcats last season.
He is also considering Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio State, Iowa State and Virginia Tech.
Poindexter was a former Cavalier walk-on from nearby St. Anne’s-Belfield School who earned significant playing time throughout this past season.
State top-10 OT McConnell visiting Virginia this weekend
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Nolan McConnell (Photo: Colonial Forge Athletics)
One of the state’s top 10 football prospects for the Class of 2023 is visiting Virginia this weekend.
Nolan McConnell, a 6-foot-7, 275-pound offensive tackle from Colonial Forge, is a 247Sports composite 3-star, but McConnell is listed as a 4-star on his Twitter account.
He is a highly-sought after offensive lineman, who already has amassed more than 20 offers from Power Five programs, including: UVA, Nebraska, Penn State, Florida State, West Virginia, Maryland, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Pitt, Louisville, Duke, Arkansas, Michigan State, Boston College, NC State, Duke, Syracuse and others.
Rivals.com rated McConnell the No. 46 offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 10 overall prospect in the state, while 247Sports ranked him No. 31 and No. 7 respectively.
Virginia in mix for 5-star PF Reneau who decommitted from Florida
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Malik Reneau (Photo: Montverde Academy Athletics)
Virginia is on the visit list of 5-star power forward Malik Reneau, who recently decommited from Florida.
Reneau, a 6-foot-8, 214-pound blue-chipper, is an ESPN Top-100 prospect, ranked the No. 21 overall recruit in the country for the Class of 2022 and the No. 5-ranked power forward in the nation. 247Sports ranked him as a consensus 5-star and the No. 4 power forward.
A product of famed Montverde Academy in Florida, Reneau was set to play for the Gators this year, but decided to decommit after a coaching change that brought Todd Golden of the University of San Francisco to Gainesville.
Virginia had offered the big man before he chose Florida over Florida State, Miami, Memphis, Indiana, LSU and Arkansas. While Indiana was in his top seven, he never visited, but is visiting Bloomington this weekend. The Hoosiers could have the inside track because Reneau’s high-school teammate, Jalen Hood-Schifino, is an Indiana commit.
Reneau said that after his visit to Indiana, he plans to visit Virginia and Maryland, possibly Tennessee.
This past season, the forward, who can score from outside but is more effective in the paint, averaged 12 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. The left-hander possesses a high basketball IQ.
UVA stages third-round rally to advance to Match Play at ACCs
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
For the second year in a row, Virginia used a third-round rally to rocket up the leaderboard and grab one of the four spots in the match play semifinals at the ACC women’s golf championships. During Friday’s third round of play, UVA posted the day’s best score, shooting 2-over 290 to finish fourth after the 54-hole stroke play portion of the event. The Cavaliers started the day tied for seventh place and were five shots out of fourth place.
Combined with its opening day score, the Cavaliers finished stroke play at 16-over 880. UVA entered the tournament as the number-two seed. Fourth-ranked and top-seeded Wake Forest won stroke play at even par 864. Florida State, ranked No. 16, was second at 5-over 869 and No. 24 Duke also advanced to match play after finishing at 9-over 873.
The Cavaliers and Demon Deacons will face off in one of the match play semifinals starting at 9:50 a.m. Saturday. The winner will meet the victorious team from the other semifinal featuring Florida State and Duke in Sunday’s final. The Seminoles and Blue Devils semifinal match will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Last year UVA lost to Duke 3-2 in the semifinals.
Junior Celeste Valinho and sophomore Jennifer Cleary led the Cavaliers during the third round by shooting identical scores of even par 72 at The Reserve Golf Club of Pawleys Island. Valinho placed 13th in stroke place at 3-over 219 while Cleary was 24th at 8-over 224.
UVA’s top finisher in stroke play was freshman Amanda Sambach. She tied for third at 1-under 215, including a score of 1-over 73 during the third round. Her finish was her best at UVA and her third top-10 performance of the season. Sambach has placed in the top-25 in eight of nine events during her first season for UVA.
Graduate student Beth Lillie also shot 73 during the final round and placed 28th overall at 9-over 255. Senior Riley Smyth was 39th at 230. She shot 78 during the final round.
Only six players managed to finish under par during the tournament. Duke’s Phoebe Brinker took home medalist honors at 10-under 206.
The semifinals and finals of the championship match play will be televised live on ACC Network Extra. Jim Kelly (play-by-play) and Jane Crafter (analyst) will provide the call. A championship recap show will air April 25 at 7 p.m. on ACCN.
Commonwealth Clash Point for Hoos
By virtue of finishing ahead of Virginia Tech at the ACC Championships, UVA claimed the point at stake between the two schools in the Smithfield Commonwealth Cup Clash, the all-sports points-based program between the two rivals. The Hokies currently lead the competition 9.5-5.5.
ACC Championships
The Reserve Golf Course
Pawleys Island, S.C.
Par 72, 6,212 yards
Third Round Results
Team Results
- Wake Forest 287-281-296-864
- Florida State 286-282-301-869
- Duke 295-280-298-873
- Virginia 293-297-290-880
- Clemson 297-290-303-890
- North Carolina 294-298-300-892
- NC State 289-296-308-893
- Virginia Tech 296-289-308-893
- Miami 300-295-302-897
- Louisville 299-291-316-906
- Boston College 303-297-312-912
- Notre Dame 310-304-305-919
Individual Leaders
- Phoebe Brinker, Duke 70—65-71-206
2. Erica Shepherd, Duke 75-68-69-212 - Amanda Sambach, Virginia 70-72-73-215
- Lauren Walsh, Wake Forest 75-67-73-215
- Kendall Griffin, Louisville 73-69-73-215
- Virunpat Olankitkunchai, Wake Forest 71-70-74-215
Virginia Results
- Amanda Sambach 70-72-73-215
- Celeste Valinho 74-73-72-219
- Jennifer Cleary 75-77-72-224
- Beth Lillie 74-78-73-225
- Riley Smyth 77-75-78-230
Women’s Tennis: No. 8 Virginia sweeps Clemson
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The No. 8 Virginia women’s tennis team (17-4, 9-3 ACC) opened the weekend with a 7-0 victory at Clemson (10-12, 2-10 ACC) on Friday at the Duckworth Family Tennis Center in Clemson, S.C.
The Cavaliers won the doubles point and four of the six singles matches in straight sets.
After dropping No. 1 doubles 6-1, the Cavaliers won 6-4 and 6-2 on courts two and three to take the point.
In singles, Sara Ziodato won 7-5, 6-1 on court six followed by a 6-0, 7-5 win by Emma Navarro on court one to put UVA ahead 3-0. Sofia Munera won the clincher on court three 7-5, 6-0. Natasha Subhash followed with a 7-6 (0), 6-0 win on court two. Amber O’Dell had won her first set 7-5 against Samantha Buyckx on five before dropping her second 6-3. She won the third-set super tiebreaker 10-5 to put UVA ahead 6-0. Hibah Shaikh rebounded from dropping her first set 6-1 on court four to win the second 6-2. She and Ali Despain played a full third set, with the final frame going to a tiebreaker. Shaikh won it 7-2 to take the match and preserve the Cavalier sweep.
The Cavaliers head into their final match of the regular season on a six-match win streak.
ON THE HORIZON
- Virginia closes out the regular season at Georgia Tech (13-8, 8-4 ACC) on Sunday, April 17 at 12 p.m.
#8 Virginia 7, #57 Clemson 0
Singles competition
- #1 Emma Navarro (VA) def. Eleni Louka (CLE) 6-0, 7-5
- #34 Natasha Subhash (VA) def. #106 Cristina Mayorova (CLE) 7-6 (7-0), 6-0
- Sofia Munera (VA) def. Jenna Thompson (CLE) 7-5, 6-0
- Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Ali DeSpain (CLE) 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
- Amber O’Dell (VA) def. Samantha Buyckx (CLE) 7-5, 3-6, 10-5
- Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Lana Sipek (CLE) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles competition
- #70 Samantha Buyckx/Ali DeSpain (CLE) def. #11 Emma Navarro/Hibah Shaikh (VA) 6-1
- Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash (VA) def. Cristina Mayorova/Eleni Louka (CLE) 6-4
- Amber O’Dell/Elaine Chervinsky (VA) def. Daniella Medvedeva/Jenna Thompson (CLE) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,1,3,2,5,4)
Pitt captures series opener against No. 8 Virginia
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Pitt (20-12, 8-7 ACC) broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning with a six-run rally and took the opening game of a three-game ACC series, 9-4 over No. 8 Virginia (26-8, 9-7 ACC) on Friday. The Panthers capitalized on two Cavalier fielding errors in the sixth. Only three of the nine Pitt runs were earned in the contest.
Pitt starting pitcher Matt Gilbertson earned the win after pitching a season-high eight innings. He was charged with all four runs in the contest and struck out eight batters.
Sophomore Jake Gelof led the Cavaliers with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate that included two doubles. Six of the eight Cavalier hits went for extra bases in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Pitt struck first in the top of the third inning with a two-out, two-run homer by Tatem Levins, his team-leading, 11th home run of the season. It marked the third time in the last four games, a Virginia opponent has scored first.
- The Cavaliers chipped away and knotted the game back up at two. After a two-out double by Alex Tappen in the third, Devin Ortiztraded places with him thanks a ground-rule double to right center. In the fourth, Griff O’Ferrall delivered a sacrifice fly that enabled Ethan Anderson to score from third.
- Pitt sent 10 batters to the plate in the sixth and capitalized on two Virginia fielding errors. Three of the six runs came across on a dropped fly ball in right field with two outs. It marked the second time this season, an opponent has scored five or more runs in an inning against Virginia.
- The Cavaliers got two runs back in the top of the eighth when O’Ferrall moved over to third base on a Gelof one-out double. O’Ferrall then scored on a wild pitch and Tappen plated Jake Gelof on a sacrifice fly. The RBI for Tappen was No. 48 on the season.
UP NEXT: The series continues on Saturday with the middle game against the Panthers. Virginia will send lefty Brian Gursky (5-0) to the mound and he will be opposed by Logan Evans (3-3). First pitch on ACCNX and WINA is set for 3 p.m.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Starting pitcher Nate Savino struck out five batters over 5.1 innings and was charged with only two of the six runs that came around to score.
- The six Virginia doubles in the contest are the second most in a game this season. UVA had seven against VMI on Feb. 22
- The Cavaliers dropped their fifth consecutive game, the first five-game losing streak since 2003.
- The Panthers have now won three of the last four meetings against the Cavaliers.
Virginia downs No. 2 Virginia Tech 5-3 to even series
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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Virginia (23-20, 9-8 ACC) used a pair of home runs to help grab a 5-3 victory at No. 2 Virginia Tech (31-6, 14-2 ACC) and even the weekend series with the Hokies.
It marks the third time the Hoos have beaten the nation’s second-ranked team in program history.
Virginia scored first for the second straight game against the Hokies, plating a run in the first when Gabby Baylog homered to left field. The Hoos then doubled the lead in the third on an RBI single driven back up the middle by Leah Boggs that scored Arizona Ritchie.
Virginia Tech answered with a rally in the bottom of the third, pushing two runs home to tie the game.
The Cavaliers moved back in front in the fifth inning with an RBI single driven to left by Tori Gilbert that brought Reece Holbrook home. Holbrook reached on a walk to open the inning before moving to second on a sac bunt and taking third on a wild pitch to set up the score.
Virginia extended the lead in the sixth with a solo home run from Katie Goldberg and an RBI double from Holbrook that drove in Kailyn Jones. The Hoos would lead 5-2 after the sixth.
Virginia Tech used a fielding error with two outs in the seventh to bring home a run and keep the game alive, but the Hoos buckled down to shut down the inning and grab the victory.
Molly Grube (1-2) picked up the win, working 6.2 innings and allowing the three runs – two of them earned – on eight hits. She struck out five and did not walk a batter. Madison Harris picked up the save for her fifth of the season.
Emma Lemley (12-4) took the loss for the Hokies, allowing the five runs on nine hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.
NOTES ON THE GAME
- UVA beat a No. 2 ranked team for the third time in program history (5-4 vs. FSU – 2004, 2-1 vs. Arizona – 2010).
- It’s the first win over Virginia Tech since a 9-8 victory in Charlottesville in the 2017 season.
- Gabby Baylog hit her third home run of the season and brought UVA to 33 home runs on the season.
- The third-inning RBI single for Leah Boggs gave the UVA catcher 20 RBI for the season.
- Katie Goldberg’s sixth-inning home run was her eighth of the season and gave her 28 RBI on the year.
- Reece Holbrook’s RBI double in the sixth was her first double of the season and third RBI of the year.
- Molly Grube’s 6.2 innings of work was a season long as she picked up the victory.
- Madi Harris tied the single-season record for saves with her fifth to match Coty Tolar’s mark (2006).
FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“Molly Grube pitched her butt off tonight. She came out and was competitive. She’s been working hard getting back into pitching shape and had flashes of what we know she’s capable of doing. I’m proud of her for sticking with it and putting it together. The offense had a great approach with good at bats the whole game. Lemley is a great pitcher and we knew we would have our hands full. I’m proud of the adjustments and putting up those runs late in the game really helped secure the victory. Tonight was another testament of what our team is capable of when we stick together. The world might be a little surprised, but we aren’t because we know the work that’s been going into this every day. I’m proud of everyone playing their role and doing their job tonight. It was fun and we’re excited to get the opportunity to play again tomorrow and have the chance to win another ACC series.”
UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia and Virginia Tech will close out the three-game series with a single game at 2 p.m. on Saturday (April 16) at the Tech Softball Stadium. The series is part of the Commonwealth Clash presented by Smithfield and the winner of Saturday’s game will claim a point for their school in the annual competition.
UVA selected as 2025 NCAA Women’s Regional Golf Site
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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Virginia has been selected as the host for a 2025 Division I Women’s Golf Regional Championship site. The Cavaliers will be one of six regional sites in 2025 on May 5-7. The event will be held at Birdwood Golf Course, the home course for the Cavaliers.
The NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee recently approved two additional regional host sites for each of the 2023-2026 Division I Women’s Golf Championships years. Previously, four sites were set to host regional competitions in each of those seasons.
The Rawls Course in Lubbock Texas, hosted by Texas Tech, will be the other new regional site for the 2025 event.
Last November, the NCAA announced the move to a six-regional format effective with the 2022 spring championship, with Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California, and the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee added as regional hosting sites for the 2022 championships. Already slated to host regional play May 9-11 in 2022 are The Championship Course at UNM (Albuquerque, New Mexico), U-M Golf Course, Karsten Creek Golf Club (Stillwater, Oklahoma) and Seminole Legacy Golf Club (Tallahassee, Florida).
Each of the six regional sites will feature 12 teams and six individuals, with the top four teams and top two individuals (not on an advancing team) qualifying for the championships.
With the move to six regional sites from the previous four-site format, 72 teams will still qualify for regional play, with the number of individuals not on an advancing team increasing from 24 to 36.
This will mark the first time Virginia will serve as host for an NCAA postseason golf regional.
Five Virginia wrestlers named All-ACC Academic Team selections
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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Five members of the Virginia wrestling team have been named to the All-ACC Academic Wrestling Team. The five selections is the second most in the league.
Graduate students Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.), Michael Battista (Ashburn, Va.) and Brian Courtney (Athens, Pa.), and seniors Patrick McCormick (Poquoson, Va.) and Justin McCoy (New Paris, Pa.) all received the distinction for excellence on the mat and in the classroom.
McCoy is a three-time selection to the team, while Aiello, Courtney and McCormick are two-time selections to the team. All five wrestlers advanced to the NCAA Championships, while McCoy earned All-ACC honors and was a finalist at the ACC Championships in his weight classes. Aiello finished third at the ACC Championships.
Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one’s academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.
The ACC Honor Roll, which recognizes all conference student-athletes with a grade point average of 3.0 for the current academic year, will be released in July.
Virginia falls in series opener at No. 2 Virginia Tech
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The Cavaliers took the early lead, but a fifth-inning rally for the home team was the difference as Virginia (22-20, 8-8 ACC) fell to No. 2 Virginia Tech (31-5, 14-1 ACC) by a score of 5-1 on Thursday in the series opener.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia struck first, using a solo home run from Tori Gilbert in the fourth inning to get on the board.
The Hokies answered in the fifth, using five straight hits to spark a rally as Virginia Tech would plate five runs in the inning.
Virginia started the seventh with a leadoff double from Leah Boggs, but the Hoos were unable to put together an answering rally as Virginia Tech grabbed the series-opening win.
Aly Rayle (4-5) took the loss for the Cavaliers, allowing three runs on seven hits with a walk in 4.2 innings of work. Rayle and worked into the fifth before coming back in to close out the fifth inning.
Keely Rochard (17-2) took the win for the Hokies, allowing the one run on three hits with two walks and 12 strikeouts.
NOTES ON THE GAME
- It’s the third straight weekend for UVA to face a top-13 team and second time in three weeks to face the nation’s second-ranked team in the polls.
- Tori Gilbert’s home run in the fourth was her 11th of the season and sixth in ACC play this year.
- Gilbert has homered at least once in four of the last five ACC series.
- Virginia used three pitchers on the day as Mackenzie Wooten and Morgan Murphy both also pitched.
FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“I thought Aly (Rayle) threw a really good game. She was executing and keeping them off balance. I’m proud of her effort. She’s so competitive and gave us a chance to win. Morgan (Murphy) came in for the sixth and shut them down for an inning. We put five zeros up on the board against a really good team. We’ve challenged our pitchers to pound the zone and get ahead. Virginia Tech has a great offense and we did a good job of keeping them off balance. Their pitching staff is really good and numbers don’t lie, but I thought we had some opportunities to get some swings off. We need to evaluate and learn. We know we’ll see Keely Rochard again at least one more time this weekend, so we have to take away as much as we can from tonight and be ready to play again tomorrow.”
UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia and Virginia Tech continue the series with a single game at 6 p.m. on Friday night (April 15) at the Tech Softball Park.
No. 15 Virginia falls to No. 1 North Carolina, 17-7
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The No. 15 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (7-8, 2-5 ACC) fell 17-7 to No. 1 North Carolina (14-0, 7-0 ACC) on Thursday night at Klöckner Stadium.
Senior Ashlyn McGovern and freshman Rachel Clark accounted for all seven of UVA’s goals. Clark finished with four and McGovern had three. Ally Mastroianni led North Carolina with four goals.
Virginia led in shots (30-29) and ground balls (13-9). Both teams had eight saves. North Carolina had a 17-10 advantage in draw controls.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Clark sparked the offense with the first goal of the game at 12:39 in the first quarter.
- Freshman Kate Miller drove and found Clark open for a goal as UVA took a 2-1 lead at the 10:56 mark in the first.
- North Carolina went on a 6-0 run over 10 minutes to lead 7-2.
- McGovern scored her first goal of the night to end the first quarter and make it 7-3.
- Clark scored back-to-back goals in the second quarter, but North Carolina scored three in the second to lead 10-5 at the half.
- Virginia scored first to open the second half as McGovern notched her second of the game.
- McGovern completed the hat trick with a goal at 1:08 in the third.
- Virginia was unable to score in the fourth quarter.
FROM HEAD COACH JULIE MYERS
“North Carolina is a great team and they were able to capitalize on a lot of our mistakes. I felt like we competed the entire game. Looking at all of the stat lines, you would think this was a one-or-two goal game. The difference was they put their shots on goal, and we didn’t. We did some good things against a really talented team, but clearly not enough. I’m grateful to have a couple more weeks to keep working to get better.”
NOTES
- Clark has now scored multiple goals in 12 games with hat tricks in 11 of those.
- McGovern has scored multiple goals in 13 games with 11 hat tricks.
- Sophomore Mackenzie Hoeg had two ground balls, two caused turnovers and three draw controls in the midfield.
- Sophomore Aubrey Williams led UVA with four draw controls.
- Junior Kiki Shaw led the team with three ground balls.
UP NEXT
Virginia closes the regular season at Virginia Tech on Thursday, April 21 at 7 p.m. in Blacksburg, Va.
