Softball: Virginia completes weekend sweep at Boston College
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The Virginia softball team (21-12, 8-1 ACC) swept its second straight ACC series with a 6-5 win at Boston College (14-14, 2-7 ACC) on Sunday. The Cavaliers came up with big defensive plays in the seventh inning to hold onto the win and post the program’s best start in ACC play.
Virginia scored in the first inning with a solo home run in the first from Tori Gilbert before Boston College answered on an RBI single from Darien McDonough.
The Cavaliers pushed back in front in the third inning with four runs. The first came off an RBI double from Sarah Coon before a three-run home run to left center from Katie Goldberg capped the inning to give the Hoos the 5-1 lead.
A sixth run came home in the fourth inning when Abby Weaver doubled to right center to score Lauren VanAssche.
Boston College responded in the sixth, pushing two runs home with no outs to force a Cavalier pitching change before a two-run home run would pull the Eagles within one at 6-5.
The Cavaliers held on in the seventh, erasing a runner at second and getting a diving snag in shallow right field from second baseman Arizona Ritchie to end the game.
Mikayla Houge (9-4) picked up the win, allowing four runs on nine hits with two walks and three strikeouts through 5.0 innings of work. Madison Harris picked up the save for the second consecutive day, working the final 2.0 innings after entering with the Cavaliers leading 6-3 with no outs in the sixth and a runner on first. She allowed one run on two hits – one a home run – with a strikeout.
Abby Dunning (2-6) took the loss, allowing six runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts through 3.0 innings of work.
NOTES ON THE GAME
- The 8-1 start to ACC play is the best in program history, passing the previous best of 7-2 in 2010.
- With the win, Virginia sweeps consecutive three-game ACC series for the first time in program history.
- It’s the first time for Virginia to sweep two ACC series in a season since 2019 (vs. Pitt, at NC State).
- It’s the first back-to-back ACC series sweeps for UVA since 2010 (two games vs. Maryland, three vs. Va. Tech).
- Tori Gilbert hit her ninth home run of the season and third first-inning home run in the last four ACC games.
- Katie Goldberg added her seventh home run of the season with her three-run shot in the third inning.
FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“Boston College is tough. They put us in high-pressure situations and I’m really proud of our response. Mikayla (Houge) didn’t have her best stuff today, but she grinded out five innings for us. Madi (Harris) came in and grinded it out. That’s a tough Boston College team and I’m proud we stayed poised and persistent to grind it out. Arizona Ritchie came up with a huge play at the end. Defense never slumps and I think Coach Tony Bennett would agree with me on that. We put a lot of pride and effort in our defense and made some great plays today. The wins are the result of a lot of work and diligence. We’re looking forward to getting home, getting a little rest and getting after it again with a good Longwood team on Tuesday night.”
UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia returns to action at home against Longwood on Tuesday (March 29) in a 5 p.m. contest at Palmer Park. The game against the Lancers kicks off an eight-game home stand for the Cavaliers.
Wake claims series finale with 8-1 win over #3 Virginia
Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.
Wake Forest (18-6, 4-5 ACC) avoided a series sweep with an 8-1 win over third-ranked Virginia (22-2, 7-2 ACC) on Sunday at David F. Couch Ballpark. The loss snapped UVA’s eight-game win streak, the fourth longest in college baseball going into Sunday’s college baseball action.
The Demon Deacons limited the Cavaliers to a season-low four hits and the lowest run output since the 1-0 opening day win against Bellarmine. Wake Forest starting pitcher Teddy McGraw pitched five innings and struck out six batters to earn his second win of the season.
Chris Newell provided the offense for the Cavaliers with a leadoff homer in the second inning. It marked the ninth-straight game Virginia has hit a home run.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first three Wake Forest hitters reached in the first inning and two runs came in on a two-RBI single by Adam Cecere.
- Virginia responded in its next turn at the plate when Newell led off the top of the second with a solo homer to center field. The homer was his seventh of the season and 16th of his career.
- Four of the next six Demon Deacon runs came via the long ball. Brandon Tinsman hit a three-run blast in the third inning and Cecere hit a solo shot to the opposite field. Cecere was 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored and three RBI.
FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN O’CONNOR
“Overall, it was a successful series when you win a series on the road. That said, we got away from the things that have made us successful and that’s throwing strikes and a good offensive approach. Too many free passes today. They’re a good team, they’re going to capitalize on it and so we got to focus on getting back to what makes Virginia baseball successful and that’s throwing strikes playing good defense. A credit McGraw, their pitching was really, really good today. They executed really well and exposed us a little bit. They played a good ballgame.”
UP NEXT: Virginia will return to action on Tuesday to begin a five-game homestand when it hosts Richmond in midweek action. First pitch at Disharoon Park is scheduled for 4 p.m.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UVA pitchers struck out 10 batters in the contest and totaled 32 in three games against the Demon Deacons.
- The series victory was the first in Winston-Salem since the 2013. Wake Forest had won each of the last two meetings at home (2014 & 2018).
Men’s Tennis: No. 11 Virginia downs No. 8 Wake Forest, 4-1
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The No. 11 Virginia men’s tennis team (14-5, 8-0 ACC) closed out the weekend with a 4-1 victory against No. 8 Wake Forest (22-5, 5-1 ACC) on Sunday on the indoor courts at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers won the doubles point and picked up singles victories on courts one, two and four to take sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.
Sophomore Iñaki Montes and senior Ryan Goetz opened the match with a 6-4 victory on the top doubles court. Sophomore Jeffrey von der Schulenburg and fifth-year senior Gianni Ross won 6-4 on court three to clinch the point.
Wake Forest tied the match with a quick 6-1, 6-2 victory on court six. Goetz countered with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Taha Baadi on court four. Sophomore Chris Rodesch put the Cavaliers ahead 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against No. 34 Eduardo Nava on court one. Montes clinched the victory with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court two against Rrezart Cungu.
FROM HEAD COACH ANDRES PEDROSO
“I thought it was a great doubles point from our guys. Everyone played a complete match and I thought we had great energy. As you know, Wake Forest is a good team. We always get up for matches like this. So thank you to the crowd. incredible support from Wahoo nation so we appreciate that. And I am proud of our guys
MATCH NOTES
- Both teams were undefeated in conference play coming into the match
- This is UVA’s ninth-straight victory
- Gianni Ross and Jeffrey von der Schulenburg are 4-0 as a doubles team
- Ryan Goetz and Iñaki Montes improved to 9-1 as a doubles team
- Chris Rodesch and Bar Botzer led 5-3 on court two when doubles play was abandoned
- Botzer, who played three years at Wake Forest, had dropped his singles first set 6-4, but rallied for a 6-4 win in the second set to force a third. It had just begin when play was abandoned
ON THE HORIZON
- Virginia has a bye week from ACC play but will travel to play a postponed match at No. 12 Kentucky on Thursday, March 31 at 5 p.m.
#11 Virginia 4, #8 Wake Forest 1
Singles competition
- #16 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #34 Eduardo Nava (WF) 6-4, 6-4
- #29 Inaki Montes (VA) def. Rrezart Cungu (WF) 6-3, 6-3
- #59 J vd Schulenburg (VA) vs. Melios Efstathiou (WF) 6-4, 6-5, unfinished
- #75 Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Taha Baadi (WF) 6-4, 6-3
- Bar Botzer (VA) vs. Siddhant Banthia (WF) 4-6, 6-4, unfinished
- Jakob Schnaitter (WF) def. Gianni Ross (VA) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
- Inaki Montes/Ryan Goetz (VA) def. #74 Eduardo Nava/Matthew Thomson (WF) 6-4
- #51 Chris Rodesch/Bar Botzer (VA) vs. #14 Siddhant Banthia/Jakob Schnaitter (WF) 5-3, unfinished
- Gianni Ross/J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Ben Draper/Robert Maciag (WF) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (6,4,1,2)
T-2:16 A-356
No. 3 Virginia clinches series with one-hit shutout
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.
Three Cavalier pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts as No. 10 Virginia (22-1, 7-1 ACC) clinched the series at Wake Forest (17-6, 3-5 ACC) with an 8-0 win on Saturday. UVA had its combined no-hit bid broken up with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning on an infield single.
Making his first collegiate start, Jake Berry delivered five hitless innings and struck out a career-high, nine batters to pick up his third win of the season. Berry sat down nine of the first 10 batters he faced, six by way of the strikeout. In his final frame he issued two walks but came up with a pair of strikeouts and induced an inning-ending fly out to keep the fifth-highest scoring offense in the country off the board.
Jay Woolfolk pitched the next two innings and fanned four batters. Graduate student Paul Kosanovich recorded the final six outs of the ball game to preserve UVA’s, NCAA-best, sixth shutout. Tommy Hawke was credited with Wake Forest’s lone hit, a ground ball up the middle that was knocked down by a diving Justin Rubin at second base but not close enough for him to make a throw to either first or second base.
Graduate student Alex Tappen continued his torrid hitting, belting a pair of home runs in the contest. He drove in five of the eight on the day and is 3-for-9 with three home run and six RBI in two games against Wake Forest. Tappen has five home runs over his last five games played.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Jake Gelof doubled to lead off the third inning and eventually came around to score on a Chris Newell sacrifice fly to open up the scoring.
- Tappen hit the first of his two homers in the fourth, a two-run shot to give UVA a 4-0 advantage.
- Wake Forest elected to intentionally walk a 2-for-2 Gelof in the fifth inning, putting runners at the corners with one out and Tappen due up next. Tappen made the Demon Deacons pay with opposite field blast to make the score 6-0. It was the first time in his career Tappen hit two homers in a game.
- The Cavaliers added a pair of unearned runs in the eighth, one came around to score on a on Kyle Teel ground rule double.
FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN O’CONNOR
On Tappen: “He really came on at the end of the year last year in our run to Omaha. He was really vital. He hit some big home runs for us and he’s just a mature player. He understands what he needs to do up there. Since the first weekend (this year) he’s been absolutely locked in. He’s spraying the ball all over the field, driving the ball in the ballpark. He’s just a veteran guys that knows how to play.”
On Berry: “Jake’s been doing a nice job out of the pen for us but wow. I mean, he just found out this morning at breakfast that he was going to start today and goes out there and throws you five shutout innings and he was dominantly and looked great.”
UP NEXT: The series finale is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday (March 27). The game will now air on ESPNews as well as WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM). Virginia will have lefthander Brandon Neeck (2-0) on the mound and he will be opposed by righthander Teddy McGraw (1-1).
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- The series victory was the first in Winston-Salem since the 2013. Wake Forest had won each of the last two meetings against Virginia at home (2014 & 2018).
- The Cavaliers have won eight-straight games, the fourth-longest streak in college baseball.
- Casey Saucke extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a two-out single in the second inning. He’s only the second Cavalier since 2000 (Brandon Guyer – 26) to hit safely in 21 games in a single season.
- Virginia is 7-1 to start ACC play for only the second time in school history. The 2011 College World Series team started the year with a 13-1 mark against ACC foes.
- Tappen now has 21 career home runs, the first Cavalier to reach the 20-career home run plateau since Pavin Smith (28) and Adam Haseley (21) in 2017.
Virginia sets two school records, finishes 10th at NCAA Championships
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The Virginia men’s swimming & diving team set two more school records to close out the 2022 NCAA Championships on Saturday night at McAuley Aquatic Center.
The Cavaliers finished 10th overall with 154.5 points, the second-best finish for an ACC team behind NC State’s third-place finish. Virginia had school records broken eight times during the NCAA Championships. Virginia has finished in the top-10 the last three NCAA Championships. The only other time it has had three top-10 finishes in a row was 2009-11.
Saturday was a day of records for the Cavaliers as UVA saw two individual records fall in the prelims, then the same records were topped in the finals.
Senior Justin Grender made the first school record with his 1:39.49 swim in the 200-yard backstroke to qualify eighth. Grender finished eighth overall, his best individual finish at NCAAs, with a time of 1:40.72 in finals.
Freshman Jack Aikins won the consolation final of the 200 back, taking the UVA record from Grender with a time of 1:39.26 to finish ninth.
Sophomores Matt Brownstead and Matt King traded the 100-yard freestyle UVA record. Brownstead improved on King’s record of 41.48 from prelims with a 41.22 in the finals to finish fourth overall. King also bested his time from prelims with a 41.34 to place seventh.
UVA’s relay group for Brownstead, King, Aikins and freshman Connor Boyle, respectively, closed out the night with a fourth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Cavaliers matched their best relay finish since 2012’s fourth place 800 free relay at the NCAA Championships. UVA finished in 2:46.80, the second-fastest time in school history.
In Prelims
- Sophomore Noah Nichols just missed the finals, finishing 19th in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:53.01.
- Senior Casey Storch was 26th in the 200 breast in a personal-best time and fifth-fastest time in UVA history, 1:53.71.
- Junior Josh Fong was 24th in the 200-yard butterfly in 1:42.70.
- Senior Walker Creedon finished 40th on the platform with a score of 269.45.
Seaman leads Cavaliers on final day in Raleigh
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams closed out competition at NC State’s Raleigh Relays where Jada Seaman capped an impressive week with strong performances in the long jump and 200m and Wes Porter continued his hot start to the outdoor campaign.
After placing second overall in the 100m on Friday, Seaman started the final day of competition with a win in the long jump as she reached a mark of 6.09m (19’9”). Zoe Rice followed in eighth-place with her mark of 5.68m (18’7.75”).
Seaman didn’t stop there. She placed third in her 200m heat posting the eighth-best time of the day at 24.34. On the men’s side of the event, Jordan Willis’ wind-aided time of 21.27 was the seventh-best of the day. Jay Pendarvis placed third in his heat clocking a time of 21.63.
Keara Seasholtz led the Cavalier women in the 800m with her time of 2.08.92. Alahna Sabbakhan placed second in her heat at 2:09.11 while Sydney Coppolino clocked 2:09.68.
Wes Porter continued his impressive start to the outdoor season with his performance in the men’s 800m. The sophomore topped his heat and posted the seventh-best time of the day at 1:51.72. Liam Bellamy clocked a time of 1:52.42.
UP NEXT
The Cavaliers will travel to Williamsburg, Va. to compete in the Colonial Relays hosted by William & Mary from Thursday, March 31 through Saturday, April 2.
Women’s Golf: ‘Hoos remain in ninth place after 36 holes at PING/ASU Invitational
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The No. 7 Virginia women’s golf team remains in ninth place after the second round of play at the PING/ASU Invitational at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix. The Cavaliers shot 4-over 292 on Saturday, a three-shot improvement over their first-round score. UVA’s 36-hole total stands at 11-over 587. Host Arizona State leads the field at 555.
Senior Riley Smyth led the Cavaliers during the second round by shooting 2-under 70. She moved up to 15th place at 1-under 143.
Sophomore Jennifer Cleary, the team’s first-round leader, shot 74 and dropped back to 27th at 1-over 145. Freshman Amanda Sambach is one shot behind her in 31st position. She carded a scorer of 73 on Saturday. Graduate student Beth Lillie is in 62nd place at 153 and sophomore Rebecca Skoler is 82nd at 160. Lillie shot 75 while Skoler had a score of 77 on Saturday.
Sunday’s final round is scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. MT. Live scoring is online at Golfstat.com.
PING/ASU Invitational
Papago Golf Course
Phoenix, Ariz.
Par 72, 6,426 yards
Second Round Results
Team Results
- Arizona State 280-275-555
- Oregon 286-286-572
- Baylor 286-286-572
- Stanford 285-289-574
- Northwestern 286-290-576
- Oregon State 294-285-579
- UCLA 291-289-580
- Arizona 295-291-586
- Virginia 295-292-587
- Michigan 301-287-588
- New Mexico 292-299-591
- Denver 297-295-592
- Colorado 304-294-598
- San Diego State 297-308-605
- Washington 303-304-607
- Harvard 312-307-619
Individual Leaders
- Ashley Menne, Arizona State 69-67-136
- Alexandra Forsterling, Arizona State 66-71-137
- Rose Zhang, Stanford 70-69-139
Virginia Results
- Riley Smyth 73-70-143
- Jennifer Cleary 71-74-145
- Amanda Sambach 73-73-146
- Beth Lillie 78-75-153
- Rebecca Skoler 83-77-160
Legendary Ralph Sampson’s restaurant opens in Charlottesville
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson stands in front of ‘Ralph’s House’ mural that adorns his restaurant, Ralph Sampson’s American Tap Room.
If you’ve always wanted to meet Ralph Sampson, Virginia’s three-time national basketball player of the year, your opportunity has arrived, wrapped in an invitation to his new restaurant in Charlottesville.
“Ralph Sampson’s American Tap Room,” is open for business only a 3-pointer away from John Paul Jones Arena. Located at 973 Emmet Street N., Ralph’s new house sits in front of Barrack’s Road Shopping Center in the building that formerly housed Zinburger.
Boasting a full menu with such delights as the “Tony Bennett steak,” the “Terry Holland meatloaf,” and a “Ralph Sampson All-American burger,” diners have a lot to choose from along with great appetizers, desserts and a full bar. The restaurant, presently open from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. on Mondays through Sundays, will eventually add brunch and lunch.
“It has been fun to see people in the restaurant,” Sampson said. “Our sign was up for months but we had some supply-chain issues that delayed our opening. Now that people are in it, we didn’t understand how big the restaurant was until we saw it full.”
Sampson, a member of both basketball halls of fame, has spent a lot of time in the building, especially since its soft opening earlier this week. There will be a grand opening on April 8-9-10.
“A lot of us had input into the menu, although I had some ideas about certain items,” Sampson said, including the burger named after himself, the Bennett steak in honor of UVA’s men’s basketball coach and the Holland meat loaf, a recipe lended by Ann Holland. “Coach Holland loved meat loaf and we wanted to offer a good-sized portion in his honor.”
Sampson’s mission was to produce really good food in a really good atmosphere. Mission accomplished. He didn’t want to turn it into a sports bar, but rather a solid restaurant decorated with Sampson memorabilia, including a huge mural of the original photograph of “Ralph’s House.” Virginia fans will remember the aerial photo of University Hall from when Sampson made his official visit to UVA basketball.
When Sampson flew over the facility in a helicopter, he couldn’t help but notice the huge black letters atop the white, clam-shell shaped roof that read: Ralph’s House. At least one of the conspirators who hoped to sway Sampson’s decision was in attendance at the restaurant’s soft opening. His name will remain anonymous because … oh, what the hell … it was Bobby Edwards.
Brownie and ice cream, one of the decadent desserts offered at Ralph’s restaurant.
Over time, Sampson plans to add some more basketball decorations to honor his basketball history and some UVA greats. He already has an artist working on renditions of his jerseys from his days at Harrisonburg High School, UVA, the Houston Rockets and his hall of fame jersey.
“The response has been great,” Sampson said. “We’ve had people from Harrisonburg, Richmond and obviously the Charlottesville area to come by.
“The biggest thing to me is incorporating the UVA vibe, so when people come back to town they will have a place to come home to. I want to create a special program for former and current athletes. I want people around the world to know what a great school this is and at the same time honor Coach Holland as much as I can to let him know what he meant to this school. To me, that’s what it’s all about.”
Sampson said his job is to mingle with guests and to come up with creative ideas for marketing purposes.
“I’ve been asked why I didn’t do this a long time ago,” Sampson said. “I didn’t know that much about restaurants years ago. Restaurants are hard to run. But I love this location. You can’t get any closer to JPJ unless you’re at McDonald’s over there. This location is perfect.”
So make plans to drop by Ralph’s House, new house, and meet the Hall of Famer, and enjoy the food and atmosphere. While you’re there, make sure to meet Ralph. He’s anxious to meet you.
Men’s Lacrosse: #3 Virginia downs Notre Dame, 12-8
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No. 3 Virginia (7-1, 3-0 ACC) scored six of the game’s first seven goals as the Cavaliers went on to defeat No. 10 Notre Dame 12-8 on a windy Saturday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. With the win, Virginia now leads the all-time series against the Fighting Irish, 9-8, and has won 14 straight games following a loss in the same season.
Connor Shellenberger (3 goals, 2 assists) led all players with five points, his 12th straight game with at least five points, dating back to last season’s NCAA first round matchup against Bryant.
Virginia first-year goalie Matthew Nunes (7-1) made 12 saves after Notre Dame fired 47 shots, including 20 on cage, en route to earning the victory. Nunes only gave up five goals in 58:22 of game time. Fighting Irish netminder Liam Entenmann (2-4) suffered the loss.
Both teams traded goals to start the game before the Cavaliers ignited a 5-0 run that was capped by back-to-back goals by Griffin Schutz. After Notre Dame’s first goal at the 12:40 mark of the first quarter, UVA held the Irish scoreless for 26:49 of game time, which is the longest drought by a Cavalier opponent this season. Notre Dame, which took 14 shots in the second period, trimmed the UVA lead 6-2 at the half after scoring with 51 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The Fighting Irish scored the opening goal of the second half before Shellenberger seemingly took over the game. Four of Shellenberger’s five points came, including a pair of goals and assists, came in the second half. Virginia led 9-3 at the end of the third quarter, but Notre Dame did not go away quietly. After UVA scored the first two goals of the fourth, the Irish scored four of the game’s last five goals, including three straight in the final 70 seconds of play. On the final play of the game, Virginia ran out the clock after securing a ground ball following a Notre Dame shot with under 20 seconds to play to secure the win.
NOTES
- Virginia’s 7-1 start to the season ties its best start since 2014.
- With the win, Virginia took the lead in the all-time series, 9-8, and Lars Tiffany improved to 4-4 all-time against the Fighting Irish.
- With the win, the Cavaliers extended their win streak to four straight games over Notre Dame, UVA’s longest win streak in series history.
- Virginia is now 18-2 under Lars Tiffany following a loss in the same season and has won its last 14 games coming of a loss.
- Notre Dame’s eight goals are a season low and fewest scored by the Irish in a single game since losing to 10-4 to UVA at Klöckner Stadium in the 2019 ACC Championship game on May 4, 2019.
- With a game-high three goals and two assists, Connor Shellenberger has recorded at least five points in his last 12 games, dating back to UVA’s first round NCAA Tournament game against Bryant on May 16, 2021.
- With two assists, Matt Moore is moved into sole possession of second place on UVA’s all-time points list. Moore currently has 251 career points and is just 19 points away from passing Steele Stanwick’s all-time record of 269 career points.
- Moore also extended his point streak to 57 games, which dates back to March 31, 2018.
- Defenseman Cole Kastner, who entered Saturday’s game third in the nation in caused turnovers, finished with two takeaways.
UP NEXT
Virginia travels to Richmond (4-3) on Saturday, April 2 for noon contest at Robins Stadium. Tickets are on sale via RichmondSpiders.com for $10/adult and $5/youth. The game will air on NBC Sports Washington and stream on ESPN+.
Women’s Lacrosse: No. 16 Virginia wins 12-11 at Louisville
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The No. 16 Virginia women’s lacrosse team (6-6, 2-3 ACC) held on for a 12-11 win at Louisville (5-6, 1-4 ACC) on Saturday afternoon at UofL Lacrosse Stadium.
Senior Ashlyn McGovern and freshman Rachel Clark each had hat tricks to lead the Cavaliers. Senior Braeden Dial scored a career-high four points with two goals and two assists and freshman Kate Miller had two goals and an assist.
Junior Ashley Vernon matched a career-high with 12 saves for UVA. Louisville led in shots (33-26) and shots on goal (23-15), ground balls (17-8) and draw controls (14-13).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Virginia opened the game on a 3-0 run with back-to-back goals by McGovern and a goal from junior Kiki Shaw.
- Louisville scored two straight before Clark hit her first of the afternoon as UVA led 4-2 at the end of the first quarter.
- The Cavaliers were scoreless in the second quarter. Louisville took a 5-4 lead at the half.
- The Cardinals scored to open the second half and take a 6-4 lead.
- Dial scored her first goal of the afternoon to cut it to 6-5.
- After another goal for Louisville, Virginia went on a 4-0 run to retake the lead and go ahead 9-7 with 5:05 to go in the third quarter. Dial had two assists in the run. Clark, Miller, McGovern and sophomore Mackenzie Hoeg scored in the run.
- Louisville tied it up 9-9 at the end of the third quarter.
- Clark scored just 49 seconds into the fourth quarter, then Miller had her second to put UVA up 11-9 with 5:49 remaining.
- Louisville cut it to one, then Dial scored her second to keep UVA in front by two.
- The Cardinals cut it to 12-11 and had a chance to tie it up but a false-start on an 8-meter attempt gave UVA the possession with 1:33 remaining as the Cavaliers held on for the win.
NOTES
- Sophomore Aubrey Williams had seven draw controls to lead UVA. Williams now has 100 draw controls on the season, setting a Virginia single-season record.
- McGovern recorded her 11th multiple-goal game this season and eighth hat trick.
- It was the ninth hat trick for Clark and 10th game with multiple goals.
- Dial scored multiple goals for the first time in her UVA career and finished with a career-best four points.
- Sophomore Morgan Schwab had two assists, her sixth multiple-assist game this season.
- Sophomore Maggie Bostain led the Cavaliers with three ground balls.
UP NEXT
Virginia remains on the road in ACC play at No. 8 Duke on Saturday, April 2 at 1 p.m. in Durham, N.C.
No. 5 Virginia captures Game 1 at Wake Forest
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.
No. 10 Virginia (21-1, 6-1 ACC) won its third-straight ACC weekend opener, coming away with an 8-2 victory over Wake Forest (17-5, 3-4 ACC) on Friday at David F. Couch Ballpark. The Cavaliers are winners of seven-straight games and are 6-1 in the ACC to start the year for the first time since 2011.
Starting pitcher Nate Savino was credited with his fourth win and turned in his fourth-straight quality start after pitching 6.1 innings and allowing only two runs. The lefthander struck out five batters and limited the NCAA’s No. 5 offense to four hits.
Freshman Griff O’Ferrall went 4-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI, his second four-hit performance of the season. Graduate student Alex Tappen cracked his fifth home run of the season to give UVA a 3-0 advantage in the fourth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UVA jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning, scoring two runs on a wild pitch. O’Ferrall came around to score on a pitch that bounced in front of the plate and got away from the catcher. The throw to get O’Ferrall at the plate sailed over the pitcher’s head and allowed Max Cotier to score from second. UVA improved to 19-0 when scoring first this season.
- Tappen gave UVA a 3-0 advantage with a solo shot to left field. It was his 19th career homer, the most of any active Cavalier.
- Wake Forest made it a one-run game on a Brendan Tinsman two-out, two-RBI single in the fourth inning.
- The game-changing inning came in the fifth when UVA sent eight batters to the plate and posted four runs. Two came around on an RBI single from Casey Saucke, his second hit of the day. Colin Tuft was credited with an RBI ground out and O’Ferrall delivered a two-out RBI single to right that scored Cotier.
- Making his fourth appearance of the year, Matt Wyatt faced the minimum over 2.2 innings pitched and struck out two batters. He was the beneficiary of a sliding catch by Saucke in right field in which he doubled up the runner at first base. It was the first outfield assist of the season for the Cavaliers.
FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN O’CONNOR
“I’ll start by saying, in this league, to win on Friday night is difficult to do on the road. Nate Savino was outstanding. I know he had a few walks but he managed around those walks and it was just ground ball after ground ball and I thought he was candidly, a pitch away from having a just a spectacular outing. We played great defense, we took advantage of some opportunities. Griff O’Ferrall was great, swung the bat well all day and we were opportunistic enough on offense. That sixth inning was big, to put up that four-spot was the ballgame and it gave us a little bit of separation. I thought Matt Wyatt looked very good. I know he had a walk there but I thought he was in complete command and shut the game down for us.”
UP NEXT: The series against Wake Forest continues on Saturday with the middle game of the three-game set. The Cavaliers will have lefty Brian Gursky (5-0) on the mound and he will be opposed by fellow southpaw Josh Hartle (3-2). First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Virginia is 6-1 in ACC play to start the season for the third time in school history (2022, 2011, 2010).
- Saucke extended his hit streak to 20 games with a single in the fourth inning. He’s the fourth Cavalier since 2000 to hit in 20-straight games in a single season.
- The Cavaliers have one five of the last six games against Wake Forest including a series sweep against Charlottesville last season.
Virginia concludes third night at NCAA Championships
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The Virginia men’s swimming & diving team set another school record on the third night of competition at the 2022 NCAA Championships on Friday at McAuley Aquatic Center.
Freshman Jack Aikins, sophomore Noah Nichols, junior Josh Fong and sophomore Matt King, respectively, finished 14th in the 400-yard medley relay with a school-record time of 3:04.39. King swam a huge anchor freestyle leg with a 40.90, the third-fastest of the night, as the Cavaliers won the second heat.
Casey Storch advanced to the Consolation final of the 400-yard individual medley after swimming a personal-best time and the third-fastest time in UVA history in prelims. Storch finished 16th overall to earn honorable mention All-America honors with a time of 3:41.34.
The Cavaliers are 13th heading into the final day of competition. California (320.5), Texas (313), Florida (272), NC State (214) and Indiana (183) make up the top five.
In Prelims
- Fong finished 36th in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 46.48.
- Sophomore Matt Brownstead finished 27th in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:33.36 and freshman Connor Boyle was 43rd with a time of 1:34.46.
- Nichols tied for 19th in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 52.00. Junior August Lamb was 41st in 53.77.
- Senior Justin Grender finished 34th in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 46.33 and Aikins was 37th in 46.44.
UP NEXT
The final night of the men’s NCAA Championships on Saturday features the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, platform diving and the 400 free relay.
Cavaliers turn in strong showing on Day 2 of Raleigh Relays
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The Virginia men’s and women’s track and field teams finished competition in day two of NC State’ Raleigh Relays with a number of strong showings on Friday.
Mia Barnett and Margot Appleton picked up right where they left off after an incredible indoor campaign. In the 1500m, Barnett placed sixth overall while posting the seventh-best outdoor time in UVA history of 4:16.68. Appleton followed shortly after in eighth-place with her time of 4:17.17 which ranks ninth on the Virginia all-time performance list.
Competing in the 3000m steeplechase for the first time this season, Helena Lindsay shaved nearly five seconds off her personal-best as she dropped a time of 10:20.92. Lindsay finished second in her heat and turned in the eighth-best performance in Virginia history.
In the women’s 100m, Jada Seaman placed second overall with a wind-aided time of 11.30. Kayla Bonnick clocked in at 11.78 to finish fourth in her heat.
In the women’s high jump, Bex Hawkins soared to a mark of 1.75m (5’8.75”) matching her outdoor-best while multi-athlete Alix Still reached a height of 1.65m (5’5”).
Jordan Willis placed sixth overall in the 400m with a time of 46.80 while Jay Pendarvis and Nigal Davis each placed third in their heats posting times of 48.67 and 49.77 respectively.
UP NEXT
The final day of competition at the Raleigh Relays will kick off at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow (March 26) at the Paul Derr Track and Field Facility.
Softball: Virginia claims series opener at Boston College
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The Virginia softball team (19-12, 6-1 ACC) used a seventh-inning rally on Friday to take the series opener at Boston College (14-12, 2-5 ACC) by a score of 5-3.
Tori Gilbert got things started for the Hoos with a home run to straightaway center in the first inning.
The lead doubled in the second inning when Abby Weaver singled through the left side to drive in Katie Goldberg. Goldberg reached on an error before stealing second and taking third on a sac bunt from Leah Boggs.
Boston College got on the board in the bottom of the second with an RBI double from Kennedy Labshere and added a second run in the fourth when a fielding error allowed Labshere to score from second with two outs.
Virginia moved back in front with a two-RBI double from Gabby Baylog after the Hoos loaded the bases with one out in the seventh. The Cavaliers would load the bases again before Leah Boggs lifted a sacrifice fly to left to push another run home and Virginia took the lead out to 5-2.
Boston College would get a solo home run in the home half of the seventh, but the Hoos shut things down from there to grab the 5-3 victory.
Mikayla Houge (8-4) picked up the win in relief, allowing two runs – one earned – on five hits. She struck out two in her 6.0 innings of work.
Susannah Anderson (6-6) took the loss for the Eagles, allowing five runs – four of them earned – on five hits. She walked one and struck out five in her 6.1 innings of work.
NOTES ON THE GAME
- Virginia head coach Joanna Hardin picked up her 100th victory as UVA head coach with the win.
- Tori Gilbert’s home run was her eighth and she has a first-inning home run in back-to-back ACC games.
- The second-inning error snapped a stretch of four straight games without an error for UVA.
- The seventh-inning rally was the third straight in ACC play for the Hoos who have won each series opener.
- Virginia scored at least three runs in each seventh-inning rally to open all three ACC series this season.
FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“Mikayla Houge came in and did a great job shutting down their offense. Boston College is a scrappy team and plays hard; they are never out of a game so we knew this series would be competitive. I challenged our team to match their energy and intensity because we knew it would be a dogfight. I’m proud of the bounce back. We started strong then went a little flat and got outside of ourselves in the middle of the game. They stuck with it and kept having quality at bats and got a big swing from Gabby Baylog in the seventh. Mikayla Houge kept us in the game the whole way. We’re looking forward to getting back after it on Saturday.”
UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia and Boston College continue the weekend series on Saturday with a single game at 11 a.m. on ACCNX. The game time was moved up from 1 p.m. due to expected inclement weather in the area.
Men’s Tennis: No. 11 Virginia tops NC State 4-0
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
The No. 11 Virginia men’s tennis team (13-5, 7-0 ACC) opened the weekend with a 4-0 victory against NC State (12-6, 1-4 ACC) on Friday at the Virginia Tennis Facility at the Boar’s Head Resort.
The Cavaliers won the doubles point and picked up victories on singles courts one, three and five. Sophomore Jeffrey von der Schulenburg won the clinching match for the Cavaliers.
Sophomore Iñaki Montes and senior Ryan Goetz opened the match with a 6-3 victory at the No. 1 doubles court. The Wolfpack won 6-3 on court two to even things. Fifth-year Gianni Ross and von der Schulenburg clinched the point with a 6-4 victory on court three.
In singles, sophomore Chris Rodesch topped Robin Catry 6-2, 6-4 on the top court. Goetz followed with a 7-5, 6-2 victory against Braden Shick on five before von der Schulenburg closed out a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Martins Rocens on court three.
MATCH NOTES
- NC State is No. 34 in the latest ITA team rankings
- This was the third match against a top-20 opponent this week for the Wolfpack. They had defeated No. 20 Northwestern by a 4-2 score on Monday and topped No. 6 South Carolina 4-1 on Wednesday
- Iñaki Montes was up 6-2, 5-3 when his match was abandoned on court two
- Jeffrey von der Schulenburg has won his last nine completed singles matches
- Gianni Ross and von der Schulenburg are 3-0 as a doubles team
- Ryan Goetz and Montes improved to 8-1 as a doubles team
ON THE HORIZON
- Virginia hosts No. 8 Wake Forest (22-4, 5-0 ACC) on Sunday, March 27 at 1 p.m.
#11 Virginia 4, #34 NC State 0
Singles competition
- #16 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #108 Robin Catry (ST) 6-2, 6-4
- #29 Inaki Montes (VA) vs. Luca Staeheli (ST) 6-2, 5-3, unfinished
- #59 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Martins Rocens (ST) 6-4, 6-3
- Bar Botzer (VA) vs. Damien Salvestre (ST) 6-7 (1-7), 1-2, unfinished
- #75 Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Braden Shick (ST) 7-5, 6-2
- Gianni Ross (VA) vs. Fons Van Sambeek (ST) 6-7 (4-7), 1-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
- Inaki Montes/Ryan Goetz (VA) def. #19 Luca Staeheli/Robin Catry (ST) 6-3
- Martins Rocens/Fons Van Sambeek (ST) def. Chris Rodesch/Bar Botzer (VA) 6-3
- Gianni Ross/J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Collin Shick/Yannai Barkai (ST) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,5,3)
T-2:27 A-183
Women’s Tennis: No. 15 Virginia picks up 6-1 road victory at Louisville
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
The No. 11 Virginia women’s tennis team (12-4, 4-3 ACC) opened the weekend with a 6-1 victory on Friday at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center in Louisville, Ky.
The Cavaliers won on doubles courts one and three to secure the point and take a 1-0 lead.
In singles, sophomore Sara Ziodato had a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win on court six against Dina Chaika, finishing her match before one of the other courts had completed its first set. Senior Sofia Munera followed with a 6-1, 6-3 victory on court three to put the Cavaliers ahead 3-0. Sophomore Hibah Shaikh clinched the victory with a 6-2, 6-2 win on court five. Emma Navarro and Natasha Subhash followed with straight-set victories on courts one and two to make it 6-0. The Cardinals’ Tatiana Simova won 7-6 (7), 6-3 on court four to pick up Louisville’s point.
ON THE HORIZON
- The Cavaliers close out the road trip at Notre Dame on Sunday, March 27 at 11 a.m.
#15 Virginia 6, Louisville 1
Singles competition
- #3 Emma Navarro (VA) def. Andrea Di Palma (LOU) 6-3, 6-4
- #35 Natasha Subhash (VA) def. Rhea Verma (LOU) 6-3, 6-3
- Sofia Munera (VA) def. Sasha Gorchanyuk (LOU) 6-1, 6-3
- Tatiana Simova (LOU) def. Amber O’Dell (VA) 7-6 (9-7), 6-3
- Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Tyra Richardson (LOU) 6-2, 6-2
- Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Dina Chaika (LOU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
- #32 Emma Navarro/Hibah Shaikh (VA) def. Sasha Gorchanyuk/Rhea Verma (LOU) 6-4
- Tatiana Simova/Andrea Di Palma (LOU) vs. Sofia Munera/Natasha Subhash (VA) 4-5, unfinished
- Amber O’Dell/Sara Ziodato (VA) def. Dina Chaika/Chelsea Sawyer (LOU) 6-1
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,3,5,1,2,4)
Women’s Golf: Cleary leads UVA on Day 1 of PING/ASU Invitational
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
The No. 7 Virginia women’s golf team is tied for ninth place after the opening 18 holes of the PING/ASU Invitational at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix. The Cavaliers shot 7-over 295 during Friday’s round. Host Arizona State leads the 16-team field at 8-under 280.
Sophomore Jennifer Cleary led UVA during the first round after shooting 1-under 71. Her round featured three birdies and two bogeys. She finished the day tied for 12th place.
UVA freshman Amanda Sambach and senior Riley Smyth posted scores of 1-over 73 and are in 26th place. Graduate student Beth Lillie shot 78 and is 66th position while sophomore Rebecca Skoler is 83rd after shooting 83.
Saturday’s second round is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. MT. Live scoring is online at Golfstat.com.
PING/ASU Invitational
Papago Golf Course
Phoenix, Ariz.
Par 72, 6,426 yards
First Round Results
Team Results
- Arizona State 280
- Stanford 285
- Oregon 286
- Northwestern 286
- Baylor 286
- UCLA 291
- New Mexico 292
- Oregon State 294
- Arizona 295
- Virginia 295
- San Diego State 297
- Denver 297
- Michigan 301
- Washington 303
- Colorado 304
- Harvard 312
Individual Leaders
- Alexandra Forsterling, Arizona State 66
- Napat Lertsadwattana, New Mexico 67
Virginia Results
- Jennifer Cleary 71
- Amanda Sambach 73
- Riley Smyth 73
- Beth Lillie 78
- Rebecca Skoler 83
Podcast: Running in Charlottesville with Mark Lorenzoni
Mark Lorenzoni from Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop joins “The Jerry Ratcliffe Show” to talk about the beginning of the spring running season locally.
No. 5 Virginia travels to Wake Forest for three-game set
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.
No. 5 Virginia (20-1, 5-1 ACC) will resume Atlantic Coast Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at Wake Forest (17-4, 3-3 ACC). The series opener is slated for Friday (March 25) at 6 p.m. All three games will air on ACCNX and can be heard on WINA.
GAME COVERAGE: ACCNX is available to authenticated subscribers of the ACC Network through the ESPN app and ESPN.com. In addition, all three games can be heard locally in Charlottesville on WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM) or anywhere at on WINA.com. Links to live stats are available on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can get in-game updates on the team’s official twitter page (@UVABaseball).
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday – 6 p.m.
Wake Forest: RHP Rhett Lowder (5-0, 2.22 ERA, 28.1 IP, 11 BB, 34 SO)
Virginia: LHP Nate Savino (3-0, 1.88 ERA, 28.2 IP, 3 BB, 35 SO)
Saturday – 4 p.m.
Wake Forest: LHP Josh Hartle (3-2, 4.85 ERA, 26.0 IP, 9 BB, 21 SO)
Virginia: LHP Brian Gursky (5-0, 2.00 ERA, 27.0 IP, 10 BB, 33 SO)
Sunday – 1 p.m.
Wake Forest: RHP Teddy McGraw (1-1, 3.63, 17.1 IP, 8 BB, 13 SO)
Virginia: LHP Brandon Neeck (2-0, 3.74 ERA, 21.2 IP, 9 BB, 21 SO)
LEADING OFF
- The weekend series pits two of the top-five offenses in the country against one another. Virginia is averaging 12.0 runs per game this season, tops in the NCAA. The Demon Deacons are fifth in the nation, scoring 10.5 runs per game.
- Brian O’Connor and Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter enter the weekend each with 770 career wins, tied for the 26th-most among active head coaches. O’Connor is second among active head coaches with a .706 career winning percentage.
- The Cavaliers are 20-1 for the first time in the 134-year history of the program. It surpassed the 19-1 starts by the 2009 and 2011 College World Series teams.
- UVA is one of three, one-loss teams remaining in college baseball (Tennessee – 20-1; Purdue 17-1).
- In addition to scoring, Virginia enters the weekend tops in the nation in team batting average (.347), runs (251) and shutouts (5).
- UVA is the only school in the country to be ranked in the top-10 in batting average (1st – .347), earned run average (4th – 2.24) and fielding percentage (8th – .985).
- O’Connor enters the weekend with a 313-199-1 career record in ACC play. He is one eight coaches in the history of the league with 300 ACC wins.
AGAINST WAKE FOREST
- The Demon Deacons hold a 90-84 advantage in the all-time series against UVA that dates back to 1894. Virginia is 25-14 against Wake Forest in the O’Connor era (2004-present).
- UVA has won four of the last five meetings including a sweep in last year’s series in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers combined for a no-hitter in the opener and recorded walk-off victories in the Saturday and Sunday matchups.
- Virginia has dropped its last two series in Winston-Salem (2014 & 2018) and haven’t recorded a series victory at Wake Forest since 2013.
RAKE GELOF
- Sophomore Jake Gelof enters the weekend as the nation’s leader in home runs (13), RBI (46), slugging percentage (1.194) and total bases (86).
- He’s hit four home runs in the last three games. In the middle game against Boston College, he went deep twice, the fourth multi-home run game of the season.
- His 13th home run came against Towson in the midweek and moved him into a tie with Pavin Smith (2017) for 10th most in a single-season in school history.
- Gelof is one of nine players in college baseball with double-digit home runs this season. He has a two-home run lead on the trio of Brad Malm (Albany), Derek Orndorff (Liberty) and Tommy White (NC State) going into the weekend.
- Gelof became a regular in the Cavalier lineup late last season, starting the final 24 games. UVA is 36-9 with him in the lineup over the last 45 games.
FIRST YEAR CONTRIBUTIONS
- Wednesday’s midweek win over Towson featured 16 Cavalier hits, 11 off the bat of four UVA first years.
- Griff O’Ferrall has led off and played shortstop for all 21 games this season. He ranks 16th in the country and seventh in ACC with 28 runs scored.
- Casey Saucke brings a 19-game hit streak with him to Winston-Salem, the longest by a UVA freshman since 2000. The hit streak is the longest of any Cavalier in a single season since Dan Grovatt strung together 19-straight games with a hit to start the 2009 campaign.
- UVA Longest Single-Season Hit Streaks (Since 2000)
Brandon Guyer (2007) – 26
Greg Miclat (2007) – 20
David Stone (2001) – 20
Dan Grovatt (2009) – 19
Casey Saucke (2022) – 19
- Infielder Justin Rubin has started four of the six ACC contests at second base. Against Towson he hit his first home run, a two-run shot in the sixth inning. He also delivered a game-tying RBI single in the series finale at Duke.
- Colin Tuft had his best game of his young career against Towson on Tuesday, finishing 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI. He’s scored a run in 10 of his 11 starts.
ON THE MOUND
- Slightly overshadowed by the Cavalier offense that has outscored opponents, 251-56, the Virginia pitching staff ranks fourth in hits allowed per game (6.4), sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (11.7) and 11th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.67).
- The Cavaliers have struck out 246 batters, the fifth-most in the country. Virginia has collected 10 or more strikeouts in 16 of the 21 games this year.
- Friday night starter Nate Savino has turned in three-straight quality starts, including a complete game shutout at Duke in the season’s ACC opener. It still stands as the only nine-inning complete game shutout by an ACC pitcher this season.
- Brian Gursky is one of nine pitchers with five wins in the fifth weekend of the series. As a graduate transfer from USC, he came to UVA with five career wins total. The Cavaliers have given him plenty of run support, outscoring opponents 66-11 with him on the hill.
- Brandon Neeck is seeking his first win since March 6 against Penn State where he pitched five innings and struck out a season-high, eight batters.
HOME COOKING
- The Cavaliers leave behind an 18-game home win streak that dates back to last season. It is the third-longest active home win streak in the country (Tennessee – 24 games; North Carolina 20 games).
- Virginia matched the Disharoon Park record and have hit 38 home runs at home this season. The Cavaliers also hit 38 in 2017 over the course of 34 games.
- Virginia has won all 15 of its home games this season and scored 10 or more runs in all but one contest at its home venue. UVA is averaging 13.87 runs per game at The Dish this season.
- The Cavaliers are outscoring opponents 208-45 in home games this spring.
- 38 of Virginia’s 42 home runs on the season have left the confines of Disharoon Park.
CAVALIER NOTABLES
- Alex Tappen earned ACC Player of the Week honors on Monday, March 21 after batting .611 (11-for-18) with two doubles, three homers and 14 RBI. He drove in a career-high six runs in a 4-for-4 effort at the plate. Tappen has reached base safely in 20-straight games.
- In the last six games, Devin Ortiz scored 13 times. He reached base 15 times in the five contests and batted .563 (9-for-16) with two home runs and seven RBI in five games last week.
Matt Brownstead sets UVA 50 free record at NCAA Championships
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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Sophomore Matt Brownstead became the fifth-fastest performer in history in the 50-yard freestyle on Thursday night at the 2022 NCAA Championships at McAuley Aquatic Center.
Brownstead put down an 18.60 in finals to finish third and earn All-America honors. He improved on his own UVA record time of 18.85 from prelims earlier in the day. It was Brownstead’s first top-eight individual finish at the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Matt King finished 12th in the 50 free in 19.02, the second-fastest time in UVA history. King swam a then-personal-best 19.05 in prelims.
The Cavaliers closed out the night with a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Brownstead, King, freshman Connor Boyle and junior August Lamb, respectively, clocked in with a time of 1:14.70 for the second-fastest time in school history. The fifth-place finish was UVA’s best finish in a relay at NCAAs since finishing fourth in the 800 free relay in 2012.
In Prelims
- Senior Casey Storch finished 43rd in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:44.90.
- Boyle just missed qualifying for finals, finishing 17th in the 50 free in career-best 19.18.
- Lamb was 21st in the 50 free with a career-best 19.25.
- Freshman Jack Aikins finished 34th in the 50 free with a time of 19.47.
UP NEXT
Friday’s events will include the 400-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke, 3-meter diving and the 400-yard medley relay.
