‘Hoos News: Brandon Selected By Houston In NWSL Draft

Posted on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019, 6:35 pm

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Betsy Brandon

Courtesy UVA Sports Media Relations

Senior midfielder Betsy Brandon of the Virginia women’s soccer team was selected in the second round of the National Women’s Soccer League Draft by the Houston Dash on Thursday. The draft was held in Chicago in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches convention.

Brandon, the seventh pick of the second round and 16th pick overall, is the most recent Cavalier to be selected in an NWSL Draft as Virginia has had a player taken in every draft for a total of 13 picks.

She joins fellow Virginia players Caroline Miller, Molly Menchel, Annie Steinlage, Shasta Fisher, Morgan Brian, Danielle Colaprico, Emily Sonnett, Makenzy Doniak, Brittany Ratcliffe, Alexis Shaffer, Kristen McNabb and Veronica Latsko as NWSL draft selections.

Through her four-year career with the Cavaliers, Brandon (Littleton, Colo.) started 71-of-88 matches played. She scored 15 goals for her career and added 10 assists for a total of 40 career points through her 5,347 minutes played. She hit a pair of game-winning goals and assisted on five game-winning goals in her career. This season she tallied five goals and three assists.

Brandon was named an ACC All-Freshman selection in 2015 and was named to the ACC Women’s Soccer All-Academic Team following the 2017 season. She is a three-time selection to the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

This season, she helped Virginia advance to the Round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the 14th consecutive season, the longest active streak. It was also the Cavaliers’ 25th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the nation’s second-longest active streak. Virginia’s 31 total appearances in the NCAA Tournament is also the second-most appearances in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament.

Mendenhall Named Bobby Ross Coach of the Year

Bronco Mendenhall

Virginia football head coach Bronco Mendenhall has been named the 2018 Bobby Ross Coach of the Year, recognizing the top Division I football coach in the Commonwealth of Virginia by the Touchdown Club of Richmond. He will be honored at the organization’s All-Metro Banquet on Jan. 23, at the Hilton Richmond Hotel & Spa/Short Pump.

This season, Mendenhall directed the Cavaliers to an 8-5 record including a 28-0 victory against South Carolina in the Belk Bowl. It was UVA’s first bowl win since 2005 and marked the first time UVA played in back-to-back bowl games since appearing in four bowl games in a row from 2002-03-04-05.

Picked to finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division in the pre-season media poll, the Cavaliers finished third in the division and their 8-5 record tied as the fourth best among all ACC teams. UVA’s defense ranked third in the ACC in total defense and scoring defense. It was second in pass defense and fourth in stopping the run.

Mendenhall finished his 14th season as a head coach with a career record of 115-65.

The Touchdown Club of Richmond previously honored several UVA players with its player of the year awards. Quarterback Bryce Perkins received the offensive back award, Olamide Zaccheaus was named the top receiver/tight end, Chris Peace was tabbed as the linebacker of the year and Bryce Hall was named the defensive back of the year. Perkins was also honored as the Bill Dudley Award winner, presented to the state’s top Division I collegiate player.

Fong Sets School Record Against Virginia Tech

Senior Zach Fong led the Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams on Saturday as both programs captured a win against Virginia Tech to cap the team’s last home meet of the season. The No. 11 Virginia women topped Virginia Tech 171-115, while the No. 16 Cavalier men defeated the Hokies 159-140.

Fong led the Cavaliers in the meet, capturing a school and pool record in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 45.53. Junior Sydney Dusel and Kylie Towbin also had a record setting day, tying for the Aquatic and Fitness Center record on the 3m board. Both Dusel and Towbin finished with a score of 367.5.

Dusel went on to win the 1m dive with a score of 315.45.

“I’m proud of our teams today, backing up the energy, hype and performance from yesterday against Tennessee,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “It’s always tough to go back-to-back duals and match the emotion and performances, and our teams are doing well with that. We had a lot of emotions today as we celebrated the last home competition for 15 of our seniors. They’ve led this program all year and we are excited to have them push us through the championship season.

“We had some great performances today and a handful of pool records. We also had a wild diving tie that ended in a pool record.”

The women’s team won 14 events during the day in addition to the wins on the boards. Sophomore Paige Madden captured a first-place finish in three events, topping the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:59.58, 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:57.62 and 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:03.34. Junior Morgan Hill won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:46.98 and the 100-yard butterfly 53.18.

Additionally, senior Eryn Eddy won the 100-yard freestyle (50.56), junior Mary Claire Tansill won the 200-yard breaststroke (2:14.79), sophomore Anna Pang won the 50-yard freestyle (23.44), and freshmen Julia Menkhaus and Kaki Christensen won the 100-yard backstroke (55.10) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.05), respectively. Sophomores Emma Seiberlich and Abby Richter closed the individual events with a win in the 500-yard freestyle (4:51.27) and the 200-yard individual medley (2:00.14), respectively.

The women swept the relay events with sophomore Caroline Gmelich, freshman Alexis Wenger, Pang and Hill swimming a time of 1:38.83 in the 200-yard medley relay and redshirt junior Megan Moroney, Hill, Eddy and sophomore Kyla Valls recording a time of 3:21.38 in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

On the men’s side, Fong captured his second first-place finish of the meet in the 200-yard butterfly, recording a time of 1:45.55. Redshirt senior Brendan Casey placed first in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:08.78 before racing to the wall for a win in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:24.27. Sophomore Keefer Barnum recorded a pair of wins, capturing the top time in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 54.74 and the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:59.28.

Junior Joe Clark paced the 100-yard backstroke (48.41), while junior Ryan Baker won the 100-yard freestyle (44.49).

The men’s team of Clark, Barnum, Fong and Baker swam a time of 1:27.43 for first place in the 200-yard medley relay.

“Next, we head on the road in two weeks to face some rivals just to the south in North Carolina, which will be another tough back-to-back battle like this weekend” DeSorbo said. “It’ll be fun to make the trip back down Tobacco Road. But for now, we will enjoy these wins and then get back to work on Monday.”

Virginia will return to action on January 25 as the team competes against North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Cavaliers Set Three Facility Records Against Tennessee

The ‘Hoos set three Aquatic and Fitness Center records on Friday as the Cavaliers swept Tennessee in a dual meet. The No. 11 Virginia women topped No. 5 Tennessee 178-122, while the No. 16 Cavalier men defeated the No. 11 Volunteers 158-142.

Dusel opened the meet by setting an Aquatic and Fitness Center record on the 3m board with a score of 357.15. She followed with a win on the 1m board, scoring 303.45, to sweep the day’s events.

The women’s 200-yard medley relay team of Gmelich, Wenger, Pang and Hill opened the swim meet with a facility record. The four swam a time of 1:38.22 to place first in the event. The Virginia women followed with a facility record in the 200-yard freestyle relay with Hill, Pang, Valls and Eddy recording a time of 1:30.13.

“I’m pleased with our performances today against Tennessee,” DeSorbo said. “They are a great team and very well coached. It’s always fun to win in front of the home crowd, especially against tough competition that is ranked higher. It provides a little motivation. Our goals as the season progresses are to get faster week-to-week and month-to-month, starting in October and rolling through March. The teams are beginning to hit their strides.

“It was a big day for our female divers and especially Sydney (Dusel) with a pool record on the 3m. Our women’s relays set the tone with two pool records as well. The guys had a full team effort to pull off the upset.”

The Cavaliers captured the top-three swims in three events as Seiberlich paced the women’s 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:56.33. Moroney and sophomore Marcella Maguire followed, recording times of 1:57.08 and 1:58.05, respectively. In the men’s 200-yard individual medley, Schubert recorded the top time in the event at 1:50.28. Sophomore Robby Giller placed second with a time of 1:51.00 as sophomore Matthew Otto finished third with a time of 1:51.28. Virginia tied for first place in the 200-yard breaststroke as Otto and Barnum both touched the wall with a time of 1:59.56. Junior Jacob Wells finished third with a time of 2:01.73.

Additionally, Virginia finished first in 11 events. On the women’s side, Madden and Hill each recorded a pair of victories. Madden topped the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:46.09 and the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:45.59, while Hill won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.47 and the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.55. Sophomore Abby Richter paced the women’s 200-yard butterfly, recording a time of 1:59.00.

In the men’s competition, Fong swept the butterfly events, recording a time of 47.59 in the 100-yard butterfly and a time of 1:46.47 in the 200-yard butterfly. Sophomore Samuel Schilling led the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:37.43, while junior Joe Clark won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 47.83 and redshirt senior Brendan Casey won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:27.54.

The men’s 200-yard medley relay team of sophomore Cooper Wozencraft, freshman Oliver Rus, Fong and Schilling paced the event, capturing first place with a time of 1:27.76.

In addition to Dusel’s performance in the diving events, senior Kylie Towbin finished second in both the 1m and 3m boards with a score of 279.15 and 341.03, respectively. Junior Bryce Shelton led the men’s team with a second-place finish and a score of 378.88 on the 3m board and a third-place finish and a score of 303.68 on the 1m board.

UVA Opens Indoor Season at Nittany Lion Challenge

The Virginia men’s track and field team opened the 2019 indoor track and field season on Saturday at the Nittany Lion Challenge at Ashenfelter III Indoor Track in University Park, Pa.

“It was a great meet against some regional teams – Penn State, Maryland, Georgetown and Pitt,” director of track and field Bryan Fetzer said. “I’m very pleased with our competitive spirit today. The opener isn’t about how high, far or fast, but really it is about competing and putting yourself in a position to win. The next step will be learning from it as we move forward in coming weeks.

“Dey (Ayende Watson) and Trey (Causey) made impressive freshmen debuts. We were excited with how they raised their level in competition during high school. It showed today. They need to continue to learn and to make adjustments to continue the progression.”

In the first competition of his college career, freshman Trey Causey set a freshman record in the high jump. He cleared a height of 2.10m (6’10.75”), capturing the fourth-best performance in UVA history and placing second in the event.

Senior Nace Plesko paced the shot put with a career-best mark of 18.27m (59’11.25”), while redshirt junior Sam Young topped the pole vault, clearing a height of 5.05m (16’6.75”).

Freshman Ayende Watson placed second in the long jump, capturing the fourth-best jump by a freshman in program history with a mark of 7.27m (23’10.25).

Senior Emmanuel Jackson advanced to the finals of the 60m hurdles where he recorded a time of 8.22 for fourth place.

Sophomore Harry Monroe finished eighth in the 3000m run with a time of 8:30.84.

In the mile, redshirt junior Johnny Pace and sophomore Rohann Asfaw finished ninth and 10th, respectively. Pace ran a time of 4:13.78, while Asfaw recorded a time of 4:14.53.

Guy, Hazzard Lead Women’s Team

The Virginia women’s track and field team also began the indoor season on Saturday at the Nittany Lion Challenge.

“For the opening competition of the indoor season, we talked about executing and for the most part we did that,” Fetzer said. “It was one of our best openers in the last five to six years from a competitive stand point. Now, we just need to learn from it and improve for the next week.”

Redshirt senior Bridget Guy opened the season with a win in the pole vault, clearing a height of 4.15m (13’7.25”), while sophomore Halle Hazzard led the UVA sprinters, finishing first in the 60m dash and second in the 200m dash with a time of 7.41 and 24.41, respectively.

Senior Ciara Leonard ran a time of 8.64 in the 60m hurdles, finishing second in the event.

Juniors Anna Jefferson and Andrenette Knight finished second and fourth, respectively, in the 600m run. Jefferson recorded a time of 1:34.36, while Knight captured a time of 1:35.44.

In the weight throw, sophomore Eva Mustafic placed fifth with a mark of 16.92 (55’6.25), the sixth-best throw in school history, while senior Jade Baker threw a career-best mark of 16.91 (55’5.75) to rank seventh all-time at UVA.

Sophomore Brittany Jones placed third in the shot put with a mark of 14.99m (49’2.25), while redshirt senior Mia Barron jumped 5.69m (18’8”) to place fourth in the long jump.

Senior Alana Herran finished fourth in the 400m dash, running a time of 57.58.

Junior Tedi DeMaria joined Guy in the pole vault, finishing fourth and clearing a height of 3.50m (11’5.75”).

Wahoos Finish Second at Virginia Duals

The Virginia wrestling team (9-6) took a second-place finish at the Virginia Duals this weekend, falling in the finals to No. 13 Virginia Tech (5-2) by a score of 36-5 on Saturday night at the Hampton Coliseum.

It marked only the third time that both teams in the finals were from Virginia – all three of them featuring Virginia and Virginia Tech – with all three coming in the last seven years. The two teams met in the 2013 and 2015 finals prior to this year’s final.

“All credit to Virginia Tech, they took it to us tonight,” said Virginia head coach Steve Garland. “That loss hurts, but it doesn’t negate our progress. We have things that need to be fixed – attack areas that need to be addressed. Maybe that was the wake-up call some of our guys need to make the necessary changes.

Junior Jack Mueller, the fifth-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds, starting the dual with a tech fall for the Cavaliers. It was his eighth bonus-point victory in as many matches since coming off his redshirt at No. 6 Missouri on Dec. 20. In those eight matches, Mueller has posted four wins by fall, three tech falls and a major decision.

Mueller won all three of his matches this weekend at the Virginia Duals by technical fall and helped the Cavaliers to wins over No. 20 Lock Haven and No. 16 Arizona State on the way to Saturday night’s final against the 13th-ranked Hokies.

Despite the strong start, Virginia Tech claimed the remaining weight classes on the way to the dual victory, including tight bouts at 133 pounds, 149 pounds, 165 pounds and 197 pounds.

Virginia will return to action next weekend, wrestling on the road at VMI on Friday night before returning home to host Ohio on Sunday afternoon. Friday night’s dual at VMI will begin at 7:30 p.m., while Sunday’s home dual with Ohio will begin at 1 p.m. at Memorial Gym.

UVA Knocks Off No. 16 Arizona State in Semifinal Round

The ‘Hoos used three bonus-point victories, including two wins by pin, on the way to a 23-16 victory over No. 16 Arizona State (2-5) in the semifinals of the Virginia Duals on Saturday afternoon.

“Our team is rolling,” said Garland after the win. “I keep saying how much improvement I’ve seen, well Arizona State crushed us last year and we just turned it completely around. Our guys are buying in. They are wrestling with confidence and grit. They are wrestling stingy at every position. I couldn’t be happier for them.”

Each team won five weight classes, but the Cavaliers used critical bonus points to pull out the upset victory. A tech fall from Mueller and pins from sophomore Jake Keating at 157 pounds and Jay Aiello at 197 pounds helped power Virginia to the victory. Arizona State only picked up bonus points at one weight class.

Mueller got the Cavaliers started with bonus points before sophomore Louie Hayes would come up with a big win at 133 pounds to extend the Virginia lead. Trailing as time wound down in the third period, Hayes notched an escape and a takedown to pick up the 4-3 decision.

Sam Krivus, the 16th-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds, continued the scoring for Virginia with a 9-3 decision.

Following the first win of the afternoon by the Sun Devils at 149 pounds, Keating provided a big boost to the Cavaliers with his pin of No. 11 Christian Pagdilao at 157 pounds. For the second straight day, Keating quickly reversed his fortunes with a takedown, then flipped Pagdilao on his back for the pin and six points for Virginia.

Arizona State would then grab three straight victories at 165 pounds, 174 pounds and 184 pounds to cut the Cavalier lead to 17-13 before Aiello would clinch the match with his pin of Austyn Harris. The Sun Devils then closed out the match with a decision at heavyweight.

Virginia Upends No. 20 Lock Haven to Open Event

The Cavaliers opened with a strong performance on Friday morning, advancing in the bracket with a 32-12 win over No. 20 Lock Haven (2-1).

Virginia won seven weight classes, including six bonus-point victories highlighted by a tech fall from Mueller and a pin by Keating. The Cavaliers got major decisions from Hayes, senior Will Schany and Aiello, along with a win by forfeit for Tyler Love. Sophomore Michael Murphy provided the seventh win of the day with his hard-fought decision at 149 pounds.

“Our team continues to improve,” said Garland. “From top to bottom, even in some of the losses, we are competing well. We have been getting better each week and that is such a great feeling as a coach to experience that development.”

Mueller gave Virginia a strong start with his tech fall. It marked the sixth bonus-point victory in as many matches this season for the All-American. Hayes then added to the lead with his major decision at 133 pounds before Lock Haven would get on the board with a win at 141 pounds.

Murphy put points back on the board for Virginia, grinding out his 3-1 decision before Keating pushed the Cavaliers out to a 15-point lead with his dramatic pin at 157 pounds. In a deep hole and on the verge of giving up bonus points himself, Keating avoided a tech fall in the first period with a reversal of Alexander Klucker and then flattened him out for the pinfall to vault Virginia out to an 18-3 lead over the Bald Eagles.

Lock Haven would cut back into the lead as fourth-ranked Chance Marsteller took a 4-3 decision over Virginia’s Cam Coy in extra time, escaping the grip of Coy with seconds remaining in the tiebreak period. It was a tight match filled with drama that went to extra time after an official review erased a called takedown by Coy at the end of regulation that would have given the Cavalier the decision.

A pin at 174 pounds would bring the Bald Eagles within six points before back-to-back major decisions from Schany and Aiello at 184 pounds and 197 pounds, respectively, would lock up the dual meet. The Lock Haven forfeit at heavyweight provided the final margin of victory for Virginia.