Independent Analysis and Commentary

NCAA Sports Soccer (Women)

Springboard to Success

ByHooamp

Jul 8, 2021 , , , , , , , , , ,

The Virginia men’s basketball team lost to Ohio in the first round of the NCAA tournament on March 20, the first day of spring. But another UVa sports event happened that day, too, and it had a much happier ending – the Wahoos women’s swimming and diving team captured its first national championship, the 28th NCAA team title for the university’s athletics program. That victory sparked what turned into a successful spring for many UVa sports teams. That semester is usually a pretty good one for Virginia athletics, and spring 2021 was no different.

A few of the Hoos Place writers got together to summarize this superlative spring season that saw Virginia win two NCAA team national championships, a plethora of NCAA individual titles (six alone in women’s swimming), and compete deep into the NCAA tournaments of a number of other sports. ICYMI, here’s Karl Hess’ season-ending baseball awards post to cap off the run of those Cavaliers to the College World Series. Now, let’s take a look at the rest of UVa’s spring standouts, starting with the national championship teams and individuals:

Lucky Lacrosse Title? ‘Hoos Are Just Good, and Could Get Even Better

By MaizeAndBlueWahoo

On Memorial Day in Connecticut, UVa won its seventh national title in men’s lacrosse, 17-16, by holding on to a one-goal lead over Maryland for 10 seconds. You don’t need to have watched much lacrosse to know a one-goal lead is only useful with about half a second left in the game. You don’t need to even have watched any other games before that one; the Wahoos victimized the Terrapins twice with quick strikes, just in the first quarter, by cleanly winning face-offs and answering Maryland goals with two of their own, each time within no more than eight seconds.

So it was with obvious trepidation that I and thousands of other UVa fans watched that last face-off, hoping for anything but the incredibly clean win that the Terps’ Luke Wierman earned. Wierman came streaking down the field in about four seconds and unleashed a shot with about 6 seconds on the clock, but luckily, the ball went almost straight into the chest of Alex Rode and bounced away. In the ensuing chaos with just a couple of seconds left, Virginia gathered the rebound and claimed the crown.

Or, was it not luck at all? Many called it that. But while UVa couldn’t control the direction of that shot, what it could control was that it had played just well enough to earn that slim advantage with 10 seconds left.

Ten seconds was enough time for Maryland to get off that one shot, but not enough time to do anything with the rebound. Enough time for Maryland to win a clean face-off, but not enough time – in the mind of Wierman – to set up a good shot. Wierman actually could’ve taken a little more time, but what matters is this: He thought he couldn’t. If UVa had played just well enough to have that lead and final face-off with 12 seconds remaining instead of 10, maybe Wierman is a little more composed and gets a better shot off. If there were 20 seconds, maybe Maryland has a chance to set up an offense while UVa’s defense is still scrambling.

Luck may be a tempting way to describe the whole tournament run, really; except for the quarterfinal match against Georgetown, every game was close, two of them requiring last-second defensive stands, and the first needing a fourth-quarter comeback just so the ‘Hoos could get past Bryant. But in case you can’t tell from the previous paragraph, I’m not a big believer in luck. This UVa team struck me most with its ability to fight through all kinds of physical play to score goals – or else to make the pass that led to one. More so than its opponents, that much is clear. Virginia wasn’t an overly aggressive team itself – it stood right around the middle of the NCAA in penalties taken – but the Wahoos could dish out aggression when they needed to and fight through it whenever they wanted to. (Which was usually.)

Further, the fact that the ‘Hoos spent championship weekend grabbing big leads against higher-seeded teams (and then fighting off counterpunch after counterpunch) should worry the rest of the country, as should the fact that two of their top three scorers were underclassmen. Payton Cormier and Connor Shellenberger have two more years together as teammates. UVa has not yet put together a truly dominant full season in five years under Lars Tiffany, but the program has won national titles now in two of five (really four) seasons. Credit Tiffany and his players, but also credit former UVa athletics director Craig Littlepage for having the guts to move aside one of the all-time greats in that position.

Most programs don’t have the stones to push out a legend when his program has become obviously stale and underachieving. Tiffany has done a masterful job in a short time, but he’s also been aided by the fact that Littlepage did not let UVa lacrosse turn into a has-been program, making the move to remove Dom Starsia before UVa lost its luster as an elite destination. Both the present and future are as bright as the past.

Virginia’s championship marked the 29th NCAA team title for the Cavaliers.

Women’s Swimming Crushes the Competition at NCAA Championships

By Hooamp

Keyed by three individual titles from Paige Madden, the women’s swimming program won its first NCAA team title at the four-day competition in Greensboro, N.C., that ended March 20.

It wasn’t even that close. Virginia captured the crown with 491 points, with N.C. State a distant second at 354. Amazingly, Virginia is only the ninth school to win a women’s swimming and diving championship and the first ACC school to do it.

Madden, who graduated this spring with a degree in kinesiology, won gold in the 200-, 500-, and 1,650-yard freestyle events. Virginia also claimed championships in the 50-yard freestyle (Kate Douglass) and 200-yard individual medley (Alex Walsh). In addition, UVa won the 800-yard freestyle relay with a team consisting of Madden, Walsh, Ella Nelson, and Kyla Valls.

Though the team title was the most visible breakthrough for this program that had long been a consistent success in the ACC, fourth-year coach Todd DeSorbo had had the Wahoos on a national championship trajectory for a while. In 2018, they won the ACC and placed ninth at NCAAs. In 2019, they won another conference title and placed sixth at the NCAAs. Last season, the Cavaliers won yet another league crown and were expected to compete for the NCAA championship before the pandemic ended up causing the event’s cancellation.

“I’m pleasantly surprised that we’re here this quickly,” DeSorbo told VirginiaSports.com. He noted that being a national title contender and actually winning the whole thing are separate accomplishments. He had said he hoped to win a national title by 2022, so the program met that goal ahead of time.

Funny enough, DeSorbo’s job before coming to Charlottesville? He was associate head coach for second-place N.C. State for six seasons. Seems like the guy knows how to lay a foundation. And who is associate head coach now for the Wolfpack? Former longtime UVa swimming coach Mark Bernardino. The ‘Hoos and ‘Pack also finished 1-2 at the ACC women’s swimming and diving championships.

DeSorbo, an assistant for the U.S. Olympic team, plans to stick around Charlottesville for a while. He signed a five-year extension with UVa in April.

In addition to the NCAA championships haul, in June, four Cavaliers qualified for the Tokyo Olympics: Madden in the 400-meter freestyle and the 4×200 freestyle relay, Walsh and Douglass in the 200 IM, and incoming freshman Emma Weyant in the 400 IM. The Olympic swimming events start July 24.

The UVa men’s swimming and diving team finished fourth at the ACC championships but rebounded for a strong ninth-place finish at NCAAs, its best showing since an eighth in 2011.

Navarro Finishes Off ACC Rivals in Run to NCAA Tennis Championship

By Val Prochaska

The Virginia women’s tennis program has a new face, and it belongs to a true freshman, Emma Navarro.

Navarro won the NCAA singles title in late May to cap a 25-1 season, and she did so in stunning fashion, knocking off the No. 1 seed in the semifinals – North Carolina’s Sara Daavettila – and then avenging her sole loss by downing the No. 2 seed and defending champ – Miami’s Estela Perez-Somarriba – in the final to claim the title. In six matches en route to the title, Navarro only dropped two sets. And if we’re looking at total games lost, which, admittedly, tennis fans never do (but which endlessly intrigues me), Navarro only lost 40 games in the run.

In the semifinals, Navarro, the No. 3 seed, toppled Daavettila in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, giving Daavettila her second loss of the season. Navarro was on the cusp of beating Daavettila earlier in the year, too. On April 24 in the ACC tournament semifinals, Navarro led Daavettila in the third set 5-4 when the overall match was called with UNC topping UVa, 4-1.

In the championship, Perez-Somarriba – who won the first meeting between the two in April, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 – actually got out to a 2-0 lead in the first set, but Navarro stormed back to win six of the final seven games to go up a set. In the second set, the score was knotted at 1-1, but Navarro won the final five games to finish off Perez-Somarriba.

Navarro became only the eighth freshman to win an NCAA singles title, and she is just the second Cavalier woman to bring the award to Charlottesville, joining UVa’s Danielle Collins, who won it twice (2014, ’16). The men’s side has produced three national champs in Ryan Shane, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, and Somdev Devvarman (twice).

And if that wasn’t enough success for Navarro, in the doubles tournament, she partnered with senior Rosie Johanson, and the duo advanced all the way to the semifinals, the furthest a Virginia women’s doubles team has ever advanced. Texas’ Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun needed three sets to overcome Navarro and Johanson.

As might be expected, Navarro is the ITA’s (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) freshman of the year. But while I may say that Navarro is the face of the program, she is most certainly not alone because last year’s freshman of the year, Natasha Subhash, is also a Cavalier. She had a pretty decent year as well: selected as an All-American, and she made it to the quarterfinals in doubles (teaming with junior Sofia Munera) and the second round in singles. Subhash was eligible for the USTA Collegiate Summer team but could not play due to injury. Just being named to the team is a marker for a fine season. Navarro is on that team as well.

Also, Navarro’s singles championship grants her a wild-card entry into this fall’s U.S. Open in early September. Playing at Flushing Meadows should be an appropriate reward for a season well played.

Meyer Becomes First Female Track and Field Champion in UVa History

By Hooamp

On June 12, graduate student Michaela Meyer surged ahead of the field over the final 200 meters to claim the 800-meter national championship at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in a personal-record time of 2:00.28 — a temporary personal record, at least.

“I started the same way all of my races do, and I knew that I wanted to stay in the top pack and if I were able to stay up there the first lap, I knew I would have a chance to contend for the title,” Meyer told VirginiaSports.com. “With about 150 [meters] to go, I knew it was now or never, so I just went for it, and I gave it my all. I was just running my own race. I didn’t know the schools that were around me or the people that were around me.”

Second-year track and field coach Vin Lananna, who racked up an incredible 11 team national championships combined between Stanford and Oregon, said, “I am so excited for her. She is off the charts. Even at my experienced years, I still get really fired up and excited when kids do the stuff they might not have thought they could do. That’s how I define success.”

Meyer, the first UVa woman to win an individual track and field title, captured the top spot just ahead of Clemson rival Laurie Barton, who finished in 2:00.65. Barton had won the ACC title by about a second over Meyer, who had finished third (2:00.70 to 2:01.52). That time for Meyer already set the Virginia record.

I said it was a personal best for Meyer temporarily because she has continued to run faster in the event. Most recently, on June 27, Meyer ran a 1:58.55 at the Olympic qualifying final, also hosted by Oregon. She finished fourth, just missing a spot on the U.S. team, which required a top-three finish. Ajee’ Wilson was third in 1:58.39. But Meyer became just the fifth woman in collegiate history to finish under 1:59 in the 800.

Also at the NCAA championships, UVa had three other competitors finish in the top five of their events. Andrenette Knight, also a grad student, completed the 400-meter hurdles in 55.81 to place third. A pair of freshmen on the men’s team placed in the discus throw, with Claudio Romero taking third with a top toss of 61.36 meters and Jacob Lemmon coming in fifth at 57.78 meters.

And also for the men’s team, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, sophomore Derek Johnson placed seventh in 8:32.95, crushing his personal best by almost four seconds.

Women’s Soccer Falls Short of Title, but Future Is Bright

By Val Prochaska

Of all the seasons that were irrevocably altered by the pandemic, women’s soccer stands at the forefront. The women played their ACC season in the fall – Florida State was crowned ACC champs – and then they played the NCAA tournament in the spring. In between the conclusion of the fall campaign and the creation of the NCAA’s tournament bubble in North Carolina, head coach Steve Swanson had to cobble together a meaningful spring slate of exhibition games to prepare for that tourney.

But first there was the wait for Selection Sunday (or, less prosaically, Selection Monday, which it is known as for lesser revenue sports like women’s soccer.) I veered between abject horror and just being concerned that the women would not make the tournament given that the field was reduced to 48 teams and that four other ACC teams were ranked ahead of the Cavaliers in the polls. In talking with Swanson (listen to our podcast here), it was evident he had been very confident that UVa was going to be selected – we did finish third in the ACC after all – so maybe I should have spoken with him sooner. It was close, though, because of the five ACC programs in the tournament field, Virginia was the only one left unseeded.

Swanson specifically avoided answering the question as to whether the women had a chip on their collective shoulders by being so snubbed, but there is no doubt that having to compete in the “play-in” game was good for the Cavaliers. The first game was against SIU-E, and you might be forgiven for not knowing that this stands for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and maybe the women were a little dismissive of their foes with all the letters in their name. Tony Bennett has mentioned a couple of times that schools with lots of letters – think UMBC (shudder) – still play good ball, even if they don’t necessarily have the athletes. That was the case with SIU-E, as the Cougars scored in the opening 10 minutes. But Virginia got back on track, locked down the game – and the rest of the tournament, for that matter – and won 3-1.

As I have written several times over the years, Virginia is the highest-scoring team in the country the past decade. And it’s not particularly close. But just like the 2019 team – ranked No. 1 for more than eight weeks – which was built on the defense, the 2020-21 ‘Hoos were just as stout. After conceding that first goal versus SIU-E, the Cavaliers did not give up another goal in their five NCAA tournament games. And that included shutouts versus BYU, the highest-scoring team in the country, and Florida State, probably the best team wire to wire this season.

Virginia ended up making it all the way to the College Cup, or what soccer calls the Final Four, for the third time in Swanson’s 21-year tenure. For over 110 minutes in the semifinal against FSU on May 13, UVa played the Seminoles to a standstill, and for much of the night, Virginia was the better team on the pitch. That a trio of Cavaliers choked on their penalty kicks should not lessen the striking accomplishments of an oft-injured and oft-contract-traced team in this most trying of years.

Looking ahead to the fall, the Cavaliers will bring back fifth-year seniors Sidney Zandi (redshirt), Laurel Ivory (COVID fifth year), and Taryn Torres, who probably could have received a fifth-year exemption for either reason. The team only loses presumptive sixth-year senior Anna Sumpter, fifth-year forward Alyssa Gorzak, and third-year senior (and yes, you read that correctly) Ashlynn Serepca. Virginia welcomes what is probably a top-25 recruiting class, and in a transfer coup, Swanson landed Vanderbilt forward Haley Hopkins. Hopkins has two years of eligibility and is a three-time all-SEC and two-time All-American designee. In three years, she has scored 34 goals, including 14 game-winners.

The schedule has not been released yet, but the first game is probably about six weeks away.

Lillie Claims Top-10 Finish at NCAA Golf Championships

By Hooamp

In late May, Beth Lillie finished tied for ninth at the NCAA championships, held over four days at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. The UVa men’s and women’s teams did not qualify, and Lillie was the only Cavalier to compete as an individual. It was Lillie’s best showing in three appearances at the tournament.

She finished with an even par 288, tied for the second-best score at the NCAA championships in Virginia history. Lillie had an up-and-down tournament. After the first day, she was in fifth after shooting even par 72. She opened the first round with three straight bogeys before completing her final 15 holes in 3-under par, a stretch that included four birdies. In the second round, Lillie shot 2-over 74 to fall into 22nd place. In the third round, she rebounded with another 72 to climb back up to 16th. Her final round was her best, as she shot 2-under 70 with an eagle on the second hole and three birdies.

Lillie, who made only one double bogey in her 72 holes over four days, finished eight strokes behind Stanford freshman Rachel Heck, who won the individual title. Lillie, a senior, plans to use her extra year of eligibility provided by the NCAA because of the pandemic and return to Virginia.

Rowing Program Adds Another National Top-Five Result

By Hooamp

Virginia finished fifth at the NCAA championships, which took place May 28-30 at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla. Texas won the national title, and Stanford, Washington, and Michigan rounded out the top four. It was UVa’s 17th top-five finish in 23 appearances at the national championships. The Cavaliers captured NCAA titles in 2012 and 2010.

UVa and those four squads were the only schools to advance all three of their boats (Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, and Varsity Four) to the grand finals. The Varsity Four placed fourth, the Second Varsity Eight fifth, and the Varsity Eight took sixth. The Cavaliers finished with 106 points, 2 behind Michigan and 2 ahead of sixth-place Ohio State. Texas, Stanford, and Michigan all finished with 126 points, but Texas won the Varsity Eight grand final, which was the tiebreaker for the event.

Thanks for following along. All of this spring success helped boost Virginia to an 11th-place finish in the Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup standings. The Directors’ Cup is a competition that determines the best athletics programs in the country based on their finishes in 19 sports. UVa finished in the top 25 for the 14th consecutive season.

We can’t wait to see what 2021-22 brings. Wahoowa!

By Hooamp

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