Franklin, Moore sign with Hook Sports Marketing
Virginia student-athletes Armaan Franklin (men’s basketball) and Matt Moore (men’s lacrosse) have signed exclusive representation agreements with Hook Sports Marketing, a Charlottesville-based firm. HSM will represent Franklin and Moore in all Name, Image and Likeness opportunities.
Franklin is the fourth member of the UVA men’s basketball team’s starting five to sign with HSM along with Reece Beekman, Jayden Gardner and Kadin Shedrick while Moore is the first men’s lacrosse student-athlete to join the HSM team.
HSM actively seeks opportunities for the student-athletes it represents to make public appearances, conduct clinics, promote businesses through a variety of marketing channels and create licensed apparel.
Franklin and Moore join fellow UVA student-athletes Beekman (men’s basketball) Chris Glaser (football), Ryan Goetz (men’s tennis), Cam Lexow (women’s soccer), Jayden Nixon (men’s basketball), Amber O’Dell (women’s tennis), Diana Ordonez (women’s soccer), Shedrick (men’s basketball), Alexis Theoret (women’s soccer) and William Woodall (men’s tennis), who are represented by HSM.
For more information on NIL sponsorship opportunities with UVA student-athletes, business representatives should contact Todd Goodale by email at goodale@hooksportsmarketing.com or by phone at (434) 981-0004.
Jerry Ratcliffe addresses Virginia coaching news
Jerry Ratcliffe answers the hard questions on the latest news in the UVA Football coaching search.
Clemson’s Elliott is Virginia’s new head football coach after Poindexter negotiations collapse
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott is Virginia’s new head football coach. He and his family are flying to Charlottesville at this moment, with an announcement expected as early as this evening.
In a shocking turn of events, fan favorite Anthony Poindexter has walked away from becoming Virginia’s coach after negotiations fell apart Tuesday in a meeting with Williams in Las Vegas, where Poindexter was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Elliott was interviewed for the job more than a week ago. All the while, sources said that Poindexter, a two-time, first-team All-American safety for George Welsh’s teams in the 1990s, was having several in-depth conversations with Williams. Sources also confirmed that Williams flew to Vegas on Sunday to officially close the deal but that something happened that caused the deal to fall apart.
Another source said that “apparently UVA failed to produce something” that Poindexter requested (not money). What that “something” was, no sources could confirm.
Speculation is that Virginia asked Poindexter to keep some of former coach Bronco Mendenhall’s staff and that Poindexter balked. That is only speculation and no confirmation of that notion.
Poindexter is presently co-defensive coordinator at Penn State.
He was viewed by the Virginia fan base as the perfect candidate to take the program to the next level, to reinvigorate both the fan base and the donor base as Williams has attempted to raise money for a new football center and Olympic sports center.
Women’s Basketball: Virginia falls 69-56 against American
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
The Virginia women’s basketball team (3-7, 0-0 ACC) suffered a 69-56 loss against American (6-2, 0-0 Patriot) on Tuesday at John Paul Jones Arena
The Eagles were hot from long range, making 10 three-pointers, to pick up the road win.
Grad student guard Amandine Toi lead the Cavaliers with 12 points while also dishing five assists. Junior forward Camryn Taylor scored 11 points. Junior point guard Taylor Valladay led the defensive efforts with a team-high eight rebounds while scoring six points with five assists.
Riley DeRubbo was one of four American players to finish the game in double figures, scoring 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long range. Emily Fisher also scored 12 points, going 2-fo-3 from three.
Cold-as-ice Virginia loses for first time to James Madison
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Photo: UVA Athletics
Tony Bennett warned his basketball team what slow starts can do to its chances after falling behind by 21 points to Iowa in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge a week ago. Apparently the message didn’t sink in.
Virginia came back from that huge deficit only to lose 75-74 to the Hawkeyes. The Cavaliers started better and managed to pull out a one-possession win against Pitt last Friday night in the ACC opener.
Bennett told his team that “lukewarm isn’t going to do it for us.”
UVA wasn’t even lukewarm on Tuesday night at JMU. Stone cold would have been more appropriate, as the Cavaliers, a 5.5-point road favorite, were ambushed 52-49 by the Dukes. Bennett had cautioned his team that it would be a tough test before a sellout crowd of 8,500, the largest crowd to ever see a basketball game in the city of Harrisonburg.
The Dukes, 0-11 all-time against Virginia, jumped all over the cold-shooting Cavaliers in the first half. JMU went on a 22-1 run as UVA missed 10 consecutive shots, including a paltry 1-for-14 from behind the arc, as the Dukes of Mark Byington’s (a former Pete Gillen assistant at Virginia) owned a 24-14 lead at the break. The 14 points were the lowest score of any half by UVA in the Bennett era.
While UVA clawed its way back in the second half and even jumped into the lead on three occasions late (45-44, 47-46, and 49-48 at the 1:28 mark), Armaan Franklin and Kihei Clark both missed 3-point attempts down the stretch that fell short.
The Dukes improved to 8-2, while Virginia dropped to 6-4 on the season, as the Cavaliers now go on an extended exam break before returning to action against Fairleigh Dickenson on Dec. 18.
Over the last seven seasons, Virginia was 68-7 against non-conference competition, but is currently 5-4 this season.
Reason to panic?
Bennett, whose frustration was evident from wire-to-wire, cautioned his fan base before the season that this was the “newest team” he had ever coached. Associate head coach Jason Williford also said numerous times, “We are a work in progress.”
Both were candid. After losing around 80 percent of its scoring to the NBA, everyone, including Bennett and Williford, were wondering where scoring would come from.
Virginia wasn’t expecting Trey Murphy to go early to the big league and thus didn’t recruit to fill the void. Bennett had to pluck Indiana transfer Franklin — the Big Ten’s most improved player last season — from the portal in hopes of bringing some scoring power to the Cavaliers.
While Franklin has shown flashes, he hasn’t been lately. The former Hoosier has missed his last 19 attempts from the 3-point line, going back to late in the first half of the Providence game. He’s not the only Cavalier in a slump from the arc, as sophomore guard Reece Beekman is 3 of 19 for the season.
Yet, Virginia continued to launch bomb after bomb in the first half, shooting blanks as only Clark managed to connect on one of 14 Cavalier long-distance attempts.
“We got a little rushed and panicked at times,” Bennett said after the loss to JMU. “But you’ve got to be in these settings to figure it out. Hopefully some of these lessons will stick.”
If the lessons don’t stick, this team will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
UVA rallies but can’t finish, falling 52-49 at JMU
By Scott Ratcliffe
A long first-half scoring drought came back to haunt the Virginia men’s basketball team Tuesday night in Harrisonburg, as James Madison knocked off the in-state rival Cavaliers for the first time in 12 tries, 52-49.
Fans stormed the Atlantic Union Bank Center floor after the final horn sounded, as Armaan Franklin’s desperation halfcourt attempt to tie it was off the mark, and UVA dropped to 6-4 on the season with the loss.
Like it did against Iowa last week, Virginia once again fought back to take the lead Tuesday, erasing a double-digit deficit in the process, but couldn’t get it done down the stretch.
Trailing by one, Franklin’s jumper gave Virginia a 49-48 edge with 1:27 left, but JMU’s Takal Molson scored the game’s final two baskets — the first gave the Dukes (8-2) the lead back, 50-49, with 1:10 to play; the next sealed the deal with 22 ticks showing, after Franklin couldn’t get one to drop on the other end.
Kihei Clark launched a deep 3-point attempt to tie it with six seconds left, but the ball bounced off the front of the rim and into the hands of JMU guard Terrell Strickland.
The Cavaliers had one last crack at it when Strickland missed the front end of his ensuing one-and-one trip to the line, and Jayden Gardner grabbed the rebound and quickly kicked it to Franklin for the final shot.
Every time the Wahoos got within striking distance in the second half, the Dukes seemed to have a response. With 17:13 to go, Clark lofted one up for Kadin Shedrick, and his alley-oop slam cut it back to single digits, but JMU answered with a Vado Morse 3 just 15 seconds later.
At the 12:15 mark, Reece Beekman’s 3-pointer cut it to seven, 37-30, but JMU big man Alonzo Sule nailed a long jumper on the other end.
A Gardner follow of a Clark 3-point miss with 8:51 remaining made it a two-possession contest, 41-35, and also clinched another Gardner double-double, his fourth of the season and 34th of his collegiate career.
Down by seven with under six minutes left, the Hoos forced a JMU turnover and a pair of Shedrick free throws trimmed it closer than it had been since it was 16-11 in the first half.
After another Dukes turnover, Franklin fed Gardner for a dunk, then Shedrick’s jumper cut it to one, 44-43, with still over four minutes to go.
Franklin put the Hoos in front with a floater, 45-44, with 3:50 remaining, capping a 10-0 spurt in a span of 2:41, Virginia’s first lead since it was 11-9.
JMU reclaimed the lead, 46-45, with 2:20 to play, but Beekman buried two freebies with 2:03 left to briefly put the Hoos back in front, setting up the tight finish.
UVA shot 38 percent (19 for 50) on the night, and 15 percent (4 for 26) from beyond the arc. Gardner led the Hoos with 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Clark added 11 points (3 of 9 from long distance).
JMU shot 47 percent (22 for 47) from the field, including 31 percent (4 for 13) from deep. The Dukes outrebounded the Hoos, 32-31. Each team committed 11 turnovers. Morse paced JMU with 9 points, while Molson added 8. Three other Dukes finished with 7 points.
FIRST HALF
The Cavaliers got off to another slow start offensively, but managed to build an early 10-2 lead as both teams struggled to get much going out of the gate. UVA made 5 of its first 11 shots, and then the bottom fell out of the boat.
The Dukes eventually came alive in front of their sold-out crowd, using an 11-1 run to take their first lead, 13-11, midway through the half.
Conversely, UVA went ice cold for the remainder of the half, not scoring a single point across a span of over nine minutes. JMU’s run extended to 22-1 as Virginia missed 10 straight shots — 8 of those from long range — until Clark finally sank a triple just before the halftime horn sounded, cutting the Dukes’ lead to 24-14 at the break.
The Hoos shot just 27 percent in the half (6 for 22), including a wretched 7 percent from 3-point land (1 for 14). The Dukes, who shot 40 percent in the half (10 for 25; 1 for 8 from downtown) converted Virginia’s nine first-half giveaways into 11 points.
UP NEXT
The Cavaliers will be on an 11-day exam layoff before rounding out the non-conference slate against Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 18 (2 p.m., ACCN) at John Paul Jones Arena.
Team Notes
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
- UVA is 1-1 against in-state foes in 2021-22 and 73-17 overall vs. the Commonwealth since 1999-00
- JMU led 24-14 at halftime
- The 14 first half points marked a low for any half during the Tony Bennett era at UVA
- UVA went on an early 8-0 run to gain a 10-2 lead
- JMU answered with a 22-1 run to lead 24-11
- UVA had a scoring drought of 9:31 before a Kihei Clark 3-pointer with three seconds left in the half
- UVA forced one shot clock violation (10 in 2021-22)
- UVA went 1 of 14 from 3-point range in the first half and finished 4 of 26
- UVA shot 46.4 percent in the second half
- UVA went on a 10-0 run to gain a 45-44 lead in the second half
Series Notes
- Virginia is 11-1 all-time against JMU in the series that dates back to the 1977-78 season
- UVA is 3-1 vs. the Dukes in Harrisonburg
- Virginia head coach Tony Bennett is 3-1 all-time against JMU
Player Notes
- Double Figure Scorers: Jayden Gardner (12), Kihei Clark (11)
- Gardner added a season-high 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double (34th career)
- Clark had three assists to move into eighth on UVA’s all-time list with 427
- Clark has a 12-game 3-point streak dating back to last season
- Kadin Shedrick (3 blocks)recorded his eighth multi-block game
UVA’s Beekman, Shedrick sign NIL endorsement deals with Blue Ridge Bank
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Photo: Blue Ridge Bank
Virginia basketball players Reece Beekman and Kadin Shedrick have signed a college athlete endorsement deal with Blue Ridge Bank, named the “Best Small Bank in Virginia” in Newsweek’s ranking of America’s Best Banks 2022.
Beekman, a sophomore guard, has quickly established himself as one of the top defensive players in the ACC, while Shedrick, a redshirt freshman, has already carved out a reputation as one of the conference’s best shot blockers.
“Supporting our community is a passion for Blue Ridge Bank,” said Dan Moskowitz, Charlottesville Market President. “Reece and Kadin’s passion for the sport bring our community together and we are excited to align our brand with these two outstanding student-athletes.
“We are proud to be the first community bank to partner with these athletes and this is another example of Blue Ridge Bank’s entreprenurial spirit. This partnership will enable us to further connect and engage with our community across the Commonwealth.”
Shedrick and Beekman will make appearances, voiceover radio spots, appear in print and digital advertising and promote Blue Ridge Bank on social media.
Beekman started 20 games as a true freshman last season and has started every game for the Cavaliers this season. Shedrick is the first men’s basketball player to enroll in the McIntire School of Commerce and is a regular starter this season.
Both are represented by Hook Sports Marketing, a Charlottesville-based firm focused on aiding student-athletes to maximize the new Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) opportunities.
Blue Ridge Bank, which also sponsors this website (JerryRatcliffe.com) and the Jerry Ratcliffe Show podcast, earned the Newsweek ranking, which recognizes financial institutions that best serve their customers’ needs in each state.
Blue Ridge Bank was recognized as the No. 1 small bank in Virginia. Additionally, Blue Ridge Bank recently received a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial, the nation’s leading independent bank rating firm. The 5-star rating denotes a “Superior” rating.
Touchdown Club of Richmond honors three Cavaliers
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
The Touchdown Club of Richmond named Brennan Armstrong its Offensive Back of the Year, Dontayvion Wicks as its Offensive End of the Year and Olusegun Oluwatimi as the co-Offensive Lineman of the Year. The group will be featured during aa televised broadcast of the Dudley and Lanier Awards presentation on Saturday (Dec. 11) on WTVR-TV6, the local CBS affiliate in Richmond.
The NCAA Division I honorees:
- Offensive Back of the Year – Brennan Armstrong, QB, University of Virginia
- Offensive End of the Year – Dontayvion Wicks, WR, University of Virginia
- Offensive Lineman of the Year (tie) – Olusegun Oluwatimi, C, University of Virginia
- Offensive Lineman of the Year (tie) – Nate Kidwell, RT, James Madison University
- Defensive Lineman of the Year – Nate Lynn, DE, William & Mary
- Linebacker of the Year – Stone Snyder, LB, Virginia Military Institute
- Defensive Back of the Year – Jermaine Waller, DB, Virginia Tech
- Specialist of the Year – Ethan Ratke, Place Kicker, James Madison University
Armstrong, a finalist for the organization’s Dudley Award, receives the honor for the first time and it marks the third time in the last four years a Virginia quarterback has been named the Offensive Back of the Year. The ACC’s leader in passing yards (4,449) and total offense (4,700), earned Third Team All-League honors from a voting panel of 50 media members and each of the league’s head coaches. In addition, he garnered Second Team All-ACC honors from the Associated Press and Pro Football Focus. Armstrong is a semifinalist or finalist for three national quarterback awards, The Manning Award (Finalist), the Davey O’Brien Award (Semifinalist) and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award after setting school records for passing yards, total offense and passing touchdowns (31) in 2021.
Wicks emerged as Virginia’s top target this season and was one of two First Team All-ACC selections. The Cavalier wideout set the school record for receiving yards in a season with 1,203, the third highest total in the league. He has hauled in nine touchdowns and his 21.11 yards per catch average is the highest in the conference and sixth-highest in the nation.
Oluwatimi became Virginia’s first finalist for the Rimington Trophy on Monday (Dec. 6), the first UVA center to become a finalist for the coveted award. He has started all 12 games and 32-straight dating back to 2019. He blocks on a front that has helped UVA average 515.8 yards of total offense per game the third highest in the country. According to Pro Football Focus, he is ranked second-highest among all FBS centers with a 90.2 run blocking grade and only allowed three sacks and five QB hits in 2021.
The awards show will air, live, following the national broadcast of the Army vs. Navy football game on CBS, which kicks-off at 3:00 p.m.
Sources: Hiring of Anthony Poindexter as UVA’s football coach is imminent
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Anthony Poindexter (Photo: gopsusports.com)
According to sources, the hiring of Anthony Poindexter as Virginia’s new head football coach is imminent and could be announced as early as tonight, no later than Wednesday.
Poindexter, the leading candidate for the job, flew to Las Vegas this morning to begin advanced negotiations to fill the position.
Poindexter is meeting with UVA athletics director Carla Williams in hopes of coming to an agreement and signing contracts. Williams flew to Vegas over the weekend to meet with Poindexter, who will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. Poindexter is a member of the 2020 Class, but those ceremonies were delayed a year due to the pandemic.
Sources said that because Williams had already conducted lengthy discussions with Poindexter, this meeting was about closing the deal.
According to Clemson’s Tiger Illustrated, offensive coordinator Tony Elliott is out of the running for the Virginia job. Elliott was interviewed by Williams last Saturday. He is still in the running for the Duke head-coaching vacancy.
Poindexter is presently co-defensive coordinator at Penn State. He was a consensus All-American at UVA under George Welsh and has his No. 3 jersey retired. Poindexter has 17 years of coaching experience at UVA, UConn, Purdue and Penn State.
Virginia’s football program would definitely get a bounce out of Poindexter’s news coinciding with his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, where he would join his former coach, Welsh, who passed two years ago.
Oluwatimi named a finalist for the Rimington Trophy
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Virginia center Olusegun Oluwatimi has been named one of three finalists for the Rimington Trophy, annually awarded to most outstanding center in college football. Oluwatimi is the first UVA center to be a finalist for the award.
2021 Rimington Trophy Finalists
- Tyler Linderbaum (Iowa)
- Alec Lindstrom, (Boston College)
- Olusegun Oluwatimi (Virginia)
Oluwatimi has started all 12 games for Virginia in 2021 and has started 32-straight dating back to the 2019 season. A Rimington Trophy watch lister for the second season in a row, Oluwatimi earned Second Team All-ACC honors in 2021. He anchors a front that has helped Virginia average 515.8 yards per game of total offense, the third most of any team in the country. According to Pro Football Focus, he is ranked second-highest among all FBS centers with a 90.2 run blocking grade and only allowed three sacks and five QB hits in 2021
The 2021 Rimington Trophy recipient will be honored in at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Neb. on January 15, 2022. To learn more about Dave Rimington, the trophy’s namesake, and the event, please visit www.rimingtontrophy.com. The award has raised over $4.8 million for the Boomer Esiason Foundation founded by Boomer and his wife Cheryl founded to raise funds and awareness for the cystic fibrosis community.
Game Notes: Cavaliers play at JMU Tuesday night
Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.
Virginia (6-3) travels to JMU (7-2) for a nonconference game on Tuesday, Dec. 7. Tipoff at Atlantic Union Bank Center is set for 6:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
For Openers
- Virginia (6-3) concludes its nonconference road slate at JMU.
- UVA meets its second in-state opponent (Radford) of 2021-22.
- The Cavaliers rank 10th nationally in scoring defense, yielding 56.2 points per game.
- UVA ranks 20th nationally in turnovers per game (10.1).
- UVA has limited its foes to 49.7 points per game and 33.9 percent shooting in its six wins.
- Kihei Clark has an 11-game 3-point streak dating back to last season and is shooting a career-best 42.9 percent from 3-point range this season.
- JMU Head Coach Mark Byington served as a graduate manager (1999-2001) and director of basketball operations (2004-05) at Virginia.
- JMU Director of Player Development and Recruiting Calvin Baker played three seasons at UVA from 2008-10.
Broadcast Information
- The Virginia-JMU game will be televised on CBS Sports Network and streamed on the CBS Sports App.
- The game will also be broadcast on Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
- Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
The Head Coach
- Dean and Markel Families Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tony Bennett has a 301-106 (.740) mark in 13 seasons at UVA and 370-139 (.727) career mark in 16 seasons as a head coach.
- UVA is 151-44 (.774) in non-conference action under Bennett.
- Bennett won his 300th game at Virginia with the 61-43 victory against Lehigh on Nov. 26, 2021.
- The three-time National (2007, 2015 and 2018) and four-time ACC Coach of the Year (2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019) guided the Cavaliers to their 10th ACC regular-season championship in 2020-21.
- In 2018-19, Bennett led the Cavaliers to their first NCAA national championship, a share of their ninth ACC regular-season title and a school-record 35 wins.
- Bennett has led UVA to 10 consecutive postseason appearances (2012-21) and seven consecutive NCAA tournaments (2014-21).
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
- The Cavaliers play defense, take good shots, share and take care of the basketball, rebound, and play more defense.
- UVA is led by its returning backcourt of Kihei Clark (10.7 ppg & 4.2 apg) and Reece Beekman (6.4 ppg, 4.6 apg & 2.3 spg), and the additions of transfers Jayden Gardner (14.1 ppg & 7.9 rpg) and Armaan Franklin (11.6 ppg).
- Clark has played 102 games at UVA and has an 11-game 3-point streak dating back to last season, while Beekman ranks 12th nationally with 21 steals.
- The Cavaliers added transfers Gardner (East Carolina) and Franklin (Indiana) to fill the void left by standouts Sam Hauser (16 ppg), Jay Huff (13 ppg) and Trey Murphy III (11.3 ppg).
- Gardner averaged 18.5 points and 8.9 rebounds in 79 career games at East Carolina, while Franklin averaged 11.4 points and shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range in 2020-21.
- Kadin Shedrick (6.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg & 2.9 bpg) and Francisco Caffaro (4 rpg) anchor the paint, while Taine Murray (60% 3FGs), Igor Miliĉić Jr. (35.7% 3FGs), Malachi Poindexter, Kody Stattmann and Carson McCorkle provide perimeter depth.
Virginia All-Time vs. JMU
- Virginia is 11-0 all-time against JMU in the series that dates back to the 1977-78 season.
- UVA is 3-0 vs. the Dukes in Harrisonburg, including a 79-51 win on Nov. 14, 2014.
- The Cavaliers are 7-0 against the Dukes in Charlottesville, including a 65-34 win in the last meeting between the teams at JPJ in 2019.
- Virginia head coach Tony Bennett is 3-0 all-time against JMU.
Last Time vs. the Dukes
- Mamadi Diakite set career highs in points (19) and rebounds (13) for his first career double-double as Virginia cruised past in-state foe JMU 65-34 on Nov. 10, 2019.
- Braxton Key added 14 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double,
- UVA held its second straight opponent to 34 points and yielded JMU to 22.6 percent shooting (12-53) from the field.
- Jay Huff added 11 points and seven rebounds and Kihei Clark handed out six assists.
- UVA outrebounded JMU 50-36, recording 50 rebounds for the first time since the 2015 season.
Last Time Out
- Jayden Gardner’s step-back jumper with 0.9 seconds remaining lifted Virginia (6-3, 1-0 ACC) to an improbable 57-56 win over Pitt (2-6, 0-1 ACC) on Dec. 3 at John Paul Jones Arena.
- Gardner’s 3-point play with 9.7 seconds and ensuing five second in-bounds violation on Pitt set up the game-winner which came off a rebound on a Taine Murray missed 3-pointer.
- Gardner finished with a game-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, tallied five rebounds and tied his career high of four assists.
- Armaan Franklin had 10 points and Kihei Clark added nine.
- UVA had a season-high 18 assists.
- John Hugley led the Panthers with 12 points.
Cavaliers vs. The Commonwealth
- UVA is 73-16 against teams from Virginia since 1999-00.
- UVA has won 26 of its last 30 games against teams from Virginia, including a 73-52 win over Radford on Nov. 12, 2021.
- UVA went 1-1 against the Commonwealth in 2020-21, posting a win vs. William & Mary (76-40) and loss at Virginia Tech (65-51).
On The Horizon
- Virginia returns to action against Fairleigh Dickinson in nonconference action on Saturday, Dec. 18. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 2 p.m. on ACC Network.
Guidry, Rouse called to U20 National Team Training Camp
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
(© kamonrat – stock.adobe.com)
Virginia sophomore defenders Samar Guidry and Laney Rouse are part of a group of 24 players called by U.S. U20 Women’s National Team Coach Tracey Kevins to the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. for a year-end camp running from Dec. 7-14.
The U-20 USWNT is preparing for next year’s Concacaf U-20 Women’s Championship which is set for Feb. 25-March 12, 2022 in the Dominican Republic. This year’s Concacaf U-20 Women’s Championship will qualify three teams to the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica. As host, Costa Rica received an automatic bid to the world championship tournament.
Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2002, are age-eligible for the Concacaf U-20 Women’s Championship.
Guidry played in 21 games this season for the Cavaliers and earned All-ACC second team honors, while Rouse played in all 23 games on the season. The defenders helped Virginia post 13 shutouts on the season and allowed only 13 goals while limiting opponents to 157 shots on the season. Included were shutouts of No. 2 Duke, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 9 Santa Clara, No. 12 West Virginia and No. 24 Clemson.
Guidry tallied a goal and three assists on the season, including assists on the game-winning goals against No. 12 West Virginia and again against Milwaukee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She also connected with Diana Ordoñez for the goal in the draw at No. 2 Florida State that secured the ACC regular-season title. She logged 1,232 minutes on the back line for the Hoos this season.
Rouse tallied a pair of assists on the season, connecting for goals against Richmond in the season opener and High Point in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She logged 1,317 minutes on the back line for Virginia this season.
Three UVA football starters enter transfer portal
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Three Virginia starters – linebacker Noah Taylor, offensive lineman Bobby Haskins and center Olu Oluwatimi – have all entered the transfer portal.
The news comes as the Cavaliers begin preparation for its trip to Boston (Dec. 29) for the inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl game versus Southern Methodist University. UVA is winding down its search for a successor to Coach Bronco Mendenhall, who announced last week that he was stepping down after six seasons. Mendenhall will coach the Cavaliers in the bowl game.
In a press conference with media on Sunday, Mendenhall said that he had changed his policy concerning players in the transfer portal. Previously, any player who had entered the transfer portal was not allowed to play in a bowl game, but under the unusual circumstances he will allow those players to participate in the bowl.
Any UVA players in the portal may continue to practice and play in the game. Once Virginia names a new head coach, he will have the opportunity to convince players to return to the program.
Taylor recorded 69 tackles this season, including 28 solo. He also had three sacks, four pass break ups and a fumble recovery. He is a versatile player who can be physical against the run and drop into pass coverage.
Haskins is a 6-7, 295 experienced offensive tackle, who has carved out a reputation as a physical player and solid pass blocker. He has been a staple of UVA’s offensive line for the past few seasons.
Oluatimi, who transferred to Virginia from Air Force, has been the team’s starting center for the past two seasons. He was named a Rimington Trophy finalist on Monday just before news broke that he had entered the portal.
Money, staff not obstacles for Poindexter hire
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Anthony Poindexter (Photo: gopsusports.com)
According to sources close to the University of Virginia head football coaching search, if there were any significant financial differences between UVA and candidate Anthony Poindexter, money is no longer a roadblock.
Athletics director Carla Williams flew to Las Vegas on Sunday and will meet with Poindexter there on Monday. Poindexter is scheduled to be inducted into the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.
Along with financial considerations no longer an issue, UVA fans can relax about what type of coaching staff Poindexter can put together if he returns to Charlottesville. After talking with multiple sources around the country on Sunday, assembling a quality staff has turned into yet another strong reason to make the former Virginia All-American head coach of his alma mater.
From what I’m hearing around the coaching world, Poindexter’s phone is blowing up with coaches who want to work for him.
“You would not believe who some of these coaches are,” a source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Sunday night. “Some of the names would blow your mind. Some of them are even willing to take a paycut to work for [Poindexter].
There is no question that Poindexter, presently co-defensive coordinator at Penn State, will surround himself with the right people in terms of a staff, and should be able to retain present Cavalier players, should he get the job. His relationship with Penn State players has been incomparable according to one source.
“Anthony knows what an elite assistant coach looks like,” a source said. “He’s seen the good, the bad and the ugly.”
Poindexter played for Hall of Famer George Welsh at Virginia, under one of the top staffs on the East Coast. He also coached under two staffs (Al Groh and Mike London) at UVA. He coached at UConn, Purdue, and Penn State.
“He knows the Virginia formula on what it takes to win there,” another source said.
Apparently some of UVA’s most powerful boosters have already let it be known to Poindexter that if he is named the Cavaliers’ coach this week, they are prepared to “write checks that will blow your mind,” the source said.
Williams has already interviewed Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott, and will interview Poindexter on Monday. Meanwhile, Elliott was interviewed Sunday for Duke’s head coaching vacancy.
To see Poindexter coaching in action, check out the video below:
Virginia to face SMU in inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl Dec. 29 in Boston
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Virginia will play Southern Methodist (8-4) from the American Athletic Conference in the inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl played at Fenway Park on Wednesday, Dec. 29. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 11 a.m. and will be televised on ESPN. Boston-based Wasabi Technologies is the title sponsor for the game.
Tickets for the game are now on sale at UVATix.com.
The contest will be the first college football bowl game to be played at the historic home of the Boston Red Sox, and the first Division I bowl game to be held in New England. Football games have been played at Fenway Park as far back as 1914. The Cavaliers will play their first game in the city of Boston since 2010 when they visited Boston College.
“We are pleased to be the Atlantic Coast Conference’s representative for the inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl,” athletic director Carla Williams said. “Playing at such a historic venue will be a special opportunity for our football program and a great experience for our fans. I am grateful for everything that Bronco Mendenhall has done to elevate our football program over the past six years and excited to see him be able to coach this team one more time. It will be a very special moment for everyone associated with Virginia football.”
The matchup marks the first-ever meeting between SMU and Virginia. The Cavaliers have not squared off against an AAC opponent since taking on Navy in the 2017 Military Bowl.
Virginia (6-6) will play in its 22nd bowl game and fourth under Fralin Family head coach Bronco Mendenhall. The Cavaliers have been bowl eligible in five of the six seasons under Mendenhall.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to coach my team one more time and it will be a remarkable experience to play a bowl game at Fenway Park,” Mendenhall said. “There are a handful of sporting arenas in the country that are as unique, historic and beloved as Fenway Park. So, the idea of coaching my last game at Virginia at a place like Fenway Park, I really like that.
“At the beginning of the year, we set winning a bowl championship as one of our goals. We are going to plan a great experience for our team, enjoy our time in one of the most historic cities in our country and prepare really hard for the final time we will compete together.”
In December 2020, the Fenway Bowl launched the Fenway Bowl Honor Roll, an annual charitable program focused on recognizing and thanking educational institutions and educators who have gone above and beyond to support their students and respective communities during the pandemic and in 2020 highlighted the achievements of 30 teachers, guidance counselors and administrators from across New England.
The inaugural Fenway Bowl was scheduled to be part of the 2020-21 bowl season but was not held due to COVID-19 concerns.
TICKET INFORMATION
Wasabi Fenway Bowl tickets in Virginia’s designated seating sections are on sale now at UVATix.com and open to all Cavalier fans, including Virginia Athletics Foundation donors, football season ticket holders, UVA students and the public. All fans are encouraged to purchase tickets now as seat locations are assigned at the time of purchase.
Tickets prices start at $30 for upper-level seating and lower-level seating starts $79 (plus fees). VAF donors and football season ticket holders receive access to premium seat locations based on VAF Priority Points by accessing their online account at UVATix.com. UVA students can access tickets by accessing their online account at UVAShots.com.
Virginia coaching search down to two? Bring back Poindexter
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Anthony Poindexter (Photo: gopsusports.com)
Virginia’s search for a new head football coach has apparently narrowed to two candidates, at least for now.
Athletics director Carla Williams interviewed Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott on Saturday, and is scheduled to interview Penn State defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter, a legendary UVA All-American, on Monday.
Elliott, 42, is assistant head coach to Dabo Swinney and is the Tigers’ offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. He is a former Broyles Award winner, which recognizes top assistant coaches around the nation.
However, there is overwhelming support for UVA to bring Poindexter home. Virginia football alumni are demanding that Poindexter be hired, and Wahoo Nation is strongly behind the idea.
Sources said that Poindexter would like to return, but there is a gap between what he expects in terms of money and what Virginia is willing to pay.
Really? Is Virginia going to lose its top candidate over money?
If Virginia is going to hire an outsider such as Elliott, it might as well have given Bronco Mendenhall everything he wanted to stay. I’ve been covering Virginia football for 40 years, and if anyone in the McCue Center believes that Elliott is going to move the needle, they’re wrong.
UVA fans and football alums want someone they can believe in, someone who can restore Virginia football recruiting in the state, someone with strong ties to UVA, knows what it’s like to be a football player at UVA, knows the state like the back of his hand.
Tony Elliott (Photo: clemsontigers.com)
That would be Poindexter, a consensus All-American for Virginia’s greatest football coach, George Welsh. They’re both in the College Football Hall of Fame, by the way. Poindexter’s No. 3 has been retired by UVA, for goodness sake.
This guy is a legend. He’d be coming home. Everyone who has ever worn the Orange & Blue can relate to this man, can believe in him, can help him. High school football coaches in this state know Poindexter or know of him.
Ditto for donors. Was told through the grapevine this weekend that one family claimed if Poindexter is hired, it would fund Virginia’s athletic department’s Master Plan, which includes a new football home beside the McCue Center. That fund drive appears stalled out, and if UVA hires someone that doesn’t excite its donor base, it may remain stalled.
Mendenhall was clear when he said Virginia lagged well behind the rest of the ACC in terms of football facilities, and he was right. Al Groh said that nearly 20 years ago and the administration didn’t listen.
Even Williams can vouch for how far behind UVA is in that commitment.
She was recently quoted as telling the school’s Board of Visitors: “We’ve lost eight recruits in a row. They look at the facility and it says to them that we don’t care about football.”
Well, maybe Virginia doesn’t care about football. It hasn’t done much for football since the late Carl Smith donated money to renovate Scott Stadium. There’s the George Welsh Indoor facility and a couple of new grass practice fields, but when the players visit the antiquated McCue Center, then visit other Power Five schools’ facilities, there is no comparison.
Bringing back Poindexter brings back donors who have been reluctant to open up their checkbooks. He brings back fans, who remember what it was like when Welsh built Virginia into one of the most consistent winners in the country.
It brings back state recruiting, when names like Barber, Kirby, Slade, Jones, Moore, Dixon, Brown, Miller, McMullen, Sharper and Poindexter among others built winners here, became All-Americans here.
Ask Cavalier fans and they’ll tell you, Poindexter is one of us.
Not only would he bring 17 years of coaching experience back to Charlottesville, he would bring hope, belief, allegiance, dollars, fannies in the seats.
Would an outsider cause that kind of stir, excitement?
No.
The hell with something as silly as a salary difference. Give the man what he wants. The dividends will bring millions into Virginia’s athletic coffers.
Bring Poindexter home. Momma is calling, but momma needs to write a big check.
Gardner ‘bounces’ back from benching to save Virginia’s bacon
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Photo: Matt Riley, UVA Athletics
One bounce, two bounce, three bounce, four.
On the first bounce off the rim, Kihei Clark thought the game was over and Virginia had lost. On the second bounce, Tony Bennett was holding his breath. Third bounce, the shooter, Jayden Gardner was trying to will his jumper into the net.
On the fourth bounce, John Paul Jones Arena inhabitants were sent into pandemonium as Virginia pulled off another hoops miracle, the likes of the 2018 win at Louisville. This time, visiting Pitt was the victim. Both of those Cavalier comebacks were settled with 0.9 seconds showing on the arena clock.
On March 1, 2018, host Louisville blew a four-point lead with 0.9 seconds to go against No. 1 Virginia, which accomplished the improbable, winning 67-66 on a De’Andre Hunter 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Friday night in Charlottesville, Pittsburgh blew a four-point lead (56-52) with 10 seconds to go. Gardner scored on an inbounds play and was fouled, made the free throw and cut it to 56-55. The Panthers committed a five-second violation, unable to inbound the ball, giving it back to the Cavaliers with 9.7 seconds showing.
Virginia called timeout, and although Bennett’s plan wasn’t carried out, freshman Taine Murray launched a 3-point attempt that missed and ended up in Gardner’s hands to the right of the lane. The transfer forward put up an off-balance jumper that “used up all of the rim,” as Bennett put it, before dropping in with 0.9 on the clock.
Pitt’s last-ditch effort ended up in the trusty hands of Virginia’s Clark as the buzzer sounded.
UVA 57, Pitt 56.
🗣 “𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈 𝐃𝐎” – @Jayy_Baller_1
🔶⚔️🔷 #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/2Def8G2chB
— Virginia Men’s Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) December 4, 2021
The irony is that in Virginia’s last outing, another last-second loss to Iowa in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Gardner was on the bench the final few minutes, having been jumped by Bennett for poor defensive play. This time, Gardner hit the game-winner.
In yet another Thriller Diller, UVA led 50-43 with over seven minutes to play, having finally gathered some separation from the Panthers. Shortly afterward, Pitt went on an 11-0 run as the Cavaliers went 5:42 without a point and 7:22 without a bucket, and the visitors bolted to a 56-52 lead with 24 seconds to play.
The rest, as they say, is history, and Pitt’s futility against Virginia continued. UVA has owned the Panthers since they joined the ACC in 2013, winning 12 of the 13 meetings.
“It was good to see [Gardner] come back and have a game like that,” said Clark. “I’m confident in him. He’s a senior, he’s been through the grind.”
Gardner, who transferred to UVA in the summer after starring at East Carolina, finished as the game’s leading scorer with 15 points on a 7-of-10 shooting night and a career-high four assists.
The former Pirate was humble after his Reaper Cheater of a jump shot.
“I thought Taine took a great shot out of the bounce, to take as quick a shot as you can take it,” Gardner said. “Kadin [Shedrick] crashed the boards really hard and helped me steal the ball from the defender, and I had to take a shot. I shoot a lot of fadeaways in practice, but none of them were like that though.”
It was an intense final minute for both teams in their ACC opener. Virginia improved to 6-3 overall, while Pitt slipped to 2-6. The Panthers were coming off another last-second loss to Minnesota in this week’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
For the Cavaliers, Bennett was more pleased with his team’s effort than the Iowa loss, when UVA staggered out of the blocks and fell behind by 20 points, a hole it couldn’t dig itself out of. While they rallied to fall short at the end, Bennett criticized his team for its lukewarm first half.
Not the case this outing, as Virginia opened a 10-point gap (30-20) with 4:28 remaining in the first half before Pitt narrowed it to 30-26 at the break. Still, the Cavaliers’ defense held the Panthers to 35-percent shooting in the half and 39-percent for the game, although Jeff Capel’s team did manage to hit half its 3-pointers (8 of 16).
“This is all about the quote that maybe I use a lot, the one about failing better,” said Bennett. “Ever tried, ever failed, no matter — try again, fail again, fail better, keep improving.
“We’re showing some mistakes as every team does, but can we just keep growing and learning from those and be better next time? I thought we started better than we did against Iowa. I thought we were a little more ready and that was the answer to that challenge.”
Bennett said he had told Gardner before the game that he needed to score, and score he did — especially in crunch time, scoring UVA’s final five points in less than 10 seconds.
“Down four is kind of tough, I mean it’s two possessions at that point,” said Clark, who finished with nine points and six assists. “I mean, anything can happen. We’ve seen it. I’ve been through them, so that’s what my mindset was. I thought about Louisville.”
0.9 is becoming a legendary number around Charlottesville, even if it is raising the collective blood pressure around Wahoo Nation.
Just part of the growing-up process for the “newest team” Bennett has ever coached. Growing pains.
One bounce, two bounce, three bounce, four …
Gardner’s game-winner with 0.9 seconds left gives Virginia 57-56 win over Pitt in ACC opener
By Scott Ratcliffe
Photo: UVA Athletics
In the ACC opener for both teams Friday night, Virginia and Pittsburgh delivered a tight, entertaining contest for fans at John Paul Jones Arena that featured 14 lead changes and came down to the final second.
The defending regular-season champion Cavaliers were staring defeat in the face after giving up 11 straight Panther points in the closing minutes, but Jayden Gardner’s baseline jumper dropped in for the game winner with just nine-tenths of a second on the clock, sending JPJ into a frenzy.
A desperation pass was intercepted by Kihei Clark as the final horn sounded, and UVA (6-3, 1-0 ACC) hung on for a thrilling, 57-56 win. The Panthers (2-6, 0-1) dropped their fourth-straight contest overall, and lost to Virginia for the seventh-straight time.
The Wahoos trailed by four, 56-52, with just 11.3 seconds left, as Gardner scored on an and-one inbounds play, cutting it to one with 9.7 ticks to go.
“Down four is kind of tough,” Clark said afterwards. “I mean, it’s two possessions at that point, but just run with what the coaches say and just try to do the game plan and just try to go through the game. I mean, anything can happen. We’ve seen it. I’ve been through them, so that’s what my mindset was.”
The Panthers were unable to get the ball inbounds themselves, thanks to solid on-ball defensive pressure by Reece Beekman, giving Tony Bennett’s squad one last crack at it.
Taine Murray had a good look at a 3-pointer in the waning seconds, but his shot caromed off the rim and Gardner gathered it with one hand along the baseline. The East Carolina transfer, who led all scorers with 15 points on the night, stepped back and got his shot off with about three seconds left, as the ball bounced four times on the rim before falling in.
ꜱʜᴏᴏᴛᴇʀ’ꜱ ʙᴏᴜɴᴄᴇ
🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos | @Jayy_Baller_1 pic.twitter.com/B11CLNBBdE
— Virginia Men’s Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) December 4, 2021
“Kihei was getting us together, telling us to stay in it,” Gardner said of the intense crunch-time sequence. “That’s what we did and we willed the win out.”
Virginia missed six of its first eight shot attempts of the second half until Murray hit a 3-pointer, and then Gardner’s basket 40 seconds later gave UVA a 39-38 lead with 13:30 to play. The Cavaliers would not trail again until the final minute.
Leading 44-42 midway through the second half, Beekman registered one of his poke-away steals and dumped it off on the fast break to Kadin Shedrick, who jammed it through for two.
Gardner scored from inside on the next trip down to push the lead to six, 48-42, as the Hoos made good on six of seven field-goal attempts to create some separation after the sloppy shooting start to the half.
“I told some of the guys before the game — Jayden, we need you to score, Armaan, look for your shot, Reece and Kihei, be aggressive, Kadin, do the little things, and get all over it,” Bennett said. “I just want to keep trying to empower these guys to play beyond mistakes and be assertive and aggressive, and I think there were good stretches of that. All of a sudden you get into stretches and games and then they tighten up the zone and then you can just feel it change, and that’s part of working our way through it.”
Clark lobbed one up for Shedrick on an alley-oop finish at the 7:21 mark before the big man picked up his fourth foul with 7:01 to play, with Virginia ahead, 50-45.
The Hoos went cold over the next four minutes and change, misfiring on their next four shot attempts as Pitt pulled within two, 52-50, as the game went under the three-minute mark.
Pitt’s Mouhamadou Gueye had a chance to tie it at the free-throw line with 2:56 left, but split his two tries. After misses by both teams, Shedrick turned the ball over along the baseline, giving it back to the Panthers with 1:30 to go, still trailing by one, 52-51.
Onyebuchi Ezeakudo, a Pitt senior walk-on starting for just the second time in his career who had only scored 12 points all season, put his team in front with a 3-ball with just 52 seconds to go, 54-52.
Armaan Franklin’s 3-point attempt on the ensuing possession was way off the mark, and Gardner was forced to foul Jamarius Burton, who nailed two free throws with 24 seconds left to make it a two-possession affair, but the Hoos had the last laugh.
Virginia shot 46 percent from the field (24 for 52), but just 19 percent from downtown (4 of 21) on the evening, forcing 10 Panther turnovers. The Cavaliers assisted on 18 of their 24 baskets.
Gardner pulled down 5 rebounds (tied for a team high) and dished out 4 assists and blocked a shot to go along with his 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
“It takes time because we have a lot of new pieces, a lot of new parts, guys playing different positions, different roles,” Gardner said. “It’s all about chemistry, and you want to be playing your best basketball come March, so we’re going to keep building to get better day by day.”
Franklin was the only other Wahoo in double figures with 10 points, as he continued to struggle from the perimeter (0 for 6 from 3-point range). Clark added 9 points, 6 assists and 5 boards, while Beekman didn’t score (0 for 5; 0 for 4 from deep), but also dished out 6 dimes and grabbed 3 rebounds and a steal.
Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro each scored 6 points, as both battled with foul trouble throughout the contest. Shedrick didn’t record a rebound in his 20 minutes, but had a pair of blocks and a pair of steals. Caffaro, who fouled out late in the contest, was 3 for 4 from the floor in his 17 minutes.
Pitt shot 39 percent (18 for 46) for the game, but made half of its 3-pointers (8 for 16) and won the rebounding battle, 30-27. John Hugley led the Panthers with 12 points, while Burton added 11.
FIRST HALF
The Panthers connected on four of their first six from long range in a back-and-forth first half that saw seven lead changes in the opening 10 minutes of play.
The Hoos, meanwhile, misfired on their first five attempts from downtown until Clark patiently swished one from the corner with 8:20 on the clock, giving UVA a 19-18 advantage.
Moments later, Clark froze his defender on a slick hesitation move in the lane and dropped it off for Gardner for a floater, stretching the lead to three. Shortly after, Beekman delivered a dime to Caffaro for a two-hand flush, and then Igor Miličić Jr. knocked down a 3-pointer to cap a 12-2 run and give the Hoos their largest lead of the half, 28-20, causing Pitt coach Jeff Capel to call for a timeout with 5:40 remaining.
A Franklin jumper extended the lead to double digits, 30-20, with 4:26 to go, which turned out to be the Cavaliers’ final points of the half.
The Panthers, who were playing without starting guard and second-leading scorer Femi Odukale, missed eight field-goal attempts in a row — across over seven minutes of action — until 2:24 to go, as a Dan Oladapo layup was the first made Pitt bucket since the 10:07 mark, trimming the Virginia lead to 30-24. Oladapo then jammed one home with under a minute to go, as the Hoos took a 30-26 edge into the halftime break.
Virginia shot 50 percent (13 for 26) in the half, making just 2 of 10 from 3-point land, while limiting the Panthers to 35-percent shooting (8 for 23). Over half of UVA’s first-half points (16 of 30) came from inside the paint.
“I thought we fought,” said Capel. “We called a timeout and we talked about some of the things that we weren’t doing well defensively, namely giving up penetration. We got back to the principles of backing off, and understanding who the shooters and the non-shooters are. Which guys we needed to get out too, which guys needed space, and guys we could play off of and give help. I thought our guys did a good job of executing it. Then we were able to score a little bit.”
Pitt, which had only made 27 triples on the season in its seven games, sank 4 of 10 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes Friday.
UP NEXT
Virginia makes the short trip to Harrisonburg Tuesday to take on in-state foe James Madison (6:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network) before an 11-day exam layoff.
Team Notes
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
- Jayden Gardner’s 3-point play with 9.7 seconds and ensuing five second in-bounds violation set up the game-winning shot by Gardner with 0.9 seconds left in regulation
- Virginia (6-3, 1-0 ACC) has a 14-game winning streak in ACC openers
- UVA improved to 13-0 in ACC openers under head coach Tony Bennett
- Virginia is 34-35 all-time in ACC openers
- UVA went on a 9-0 run to gain a 30-20 first half lead
- The Cavaliers led 30-26 after 20 minutes
- UVA was held scoreless for 6:53 spanning halftime
- UVA had a season-high 18 assists
Series Notes
- Virginia is 18-4 all-time vs. Pitt in the series that dates back to 1957-58
- UVA has a seven-game winning streak vs. the Panthers
- UVA is 11-1 against Pitt since 2013-14 when the Panthers joined the ACC
- Tony Bennett is 11-2 all-time vs. Pitt
Player Notes
- Double Figure Scorers: Jayden Gardner (15), Armaan Franklin (10)
- Clark had six assists to move into ninth on UVA’s all-time list with 424
- Clark has an 11-game 3-point streak dating back to last season
- Gardner matched a career high with four assists
- Shedrick (2 blocks) recorded his seventh multi-block game
Another Virginia quarterback hits the transfer portal
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Virginia is suddenly running out of quarterbacks after freshman Jacob Rodriguez entered the transfer portal on Friday, the second Cavaliers quarterback to do so this week. Previously, redshirt freshman Ira Armstead entered the portal.
Rodriguez played in all 12 UVA games this season, mostly at wide receiver in the same “Football Player” role that Keytaon Thompson thrived. He posted 65 yards receiving and 56 yards rushing. The Wichita Falls, Texas, player had a dynamic career at Rider High School.
With Rodriguez and Armstead exiting, Virginia only has two quarterbacks remaining for the bowl game, record-breaking Brennan Armstrong and backup Jay Woolfolk, who won the backup job midway through the season.
Jones, Thaiss voted into Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.
Former Cavalier pitcher Connor Jones (2014-16) and catcher/outfielder Matt Thaiss (2014-16) will be inducted into the Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame on Jan. 29, 2022. The former batterymates will be officially inducted along with the 2021 class in a ceremony at the Darden Event and Conference Center.
The 2021 class was announced in January of this year and the official induction ceremony was delayed due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic. The 2021 class features: OF Steve Bryant (1968-70), LHP Nathan Kirby (2013-15), RHP Branden Kline (2010-12), OF/1B Mike Papi (2012-14), RHP Josh Sborz (2013-15) and LHP Brandon Waddell (2013-15).
Established in the summer of 2017, The Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame has enshrined a total of 36 former players and coaches that span the 133 years of the program. A former player, coach or administrator must be five years removed from their final year of eligibility to be considered for induction.
Details
Date: Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022
Location: Darden Event & Conference Center
Time: 6-9 p.m.
Programming: Cocktail reception, dinner and formal induction ceremony
Tickets: Space will be limited and prices to attend the Hall of Fame Dinner begin at $2,500. If you are interested in attending, please email Lo Davis (lodavis@virginia.edu) for more information.
In addition to the ceremony, the program will host a “Meet the Team” event at which it will recognize the 2021 College World Series team. Details of the event will be shared in early January.
Connor Jones (2014-16)
- A consensus All-American in 2016. Named a First Team All-American by the ABCA, NCBWA and Perfect Game. Listed on the second team by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and D1Baseball.
- Played on two College World Series teams (2014 & 2015) and was a frontline starter on UVA’s National Championship team in 2015.
- Went 22-5 with a career ERA of 2.86 and 225 strikeouts.
- Garnered First Team All-ACC and First Team All-Atlantic Region honors in 2016.
- As a junior, went 11-1 with a 2.34 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 15 starts. His 11 wins are the second most in a single season by a UVA pitcher.
- Upon graduation, ranked in the top 10 in UVA history in career wins (22 – 4th), innings pitched (274 – 8th) and winning percentage (.815 – 9th)
- His sophomore season in 2015 went 7-3 in 18 starts and led the ACC in innings pitched with 115.2 (4thmost in school history). Struck out a career-high 113 batters, the third most in the ACC and seventh most ever in a single season in program history.
- Selected in the second round (70thoverall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2016 MLB Draft
Matt Thaiss (2014-16)
- Became the fourth two-time All-American at UVA
- In 2016, named Second-Team All-American by Baseball America, D1Baseball and Third-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA
- Named Third-Team All-America catcher by Louisville Slugger and NCBWA in 2015
- A semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy as a sophomore (2014) and junior (2015)
- Member of the 2014 and 2015 College World Series teams
- Appeared in 153 games in three seasons and held a career batting average of .338 while belting 20 home runs and driving in 130 runs.
- Recognized on the 2016 ABCA All-Atlantic Region Second Team
- Selected to play on the 2015 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
- Earned Second Team All-ACC honors in 2015 after ranking in the top-six in the league in batting average (.375), hits (87), RBI (59) and slugging percentage (.578).
- Led UVA in batting average and home runs in his final two seasons.
- Listed on the 2016 ACC All-Tournament team after going 5-for-11 with four runs and a homer
- Selected in first round of 2016 MLB Draft by Los Angeles Angels (No. 16 overall)
- Made is MLB debut with the Angels on July 3, 2019
For details on the 2021 Class: virginiasports.com/news/2021/01/29/six-elected-to-the-virginia-baseball-hall-of-fame
