UVA Spring Sports Roundup 2/29
By Josh Burton
This week brought more success for UVA’s spring programs while also being huge for the Women’s Basketball team. Let's take a look.
Baseball
#13 UVA Baseball (8-0) went to Jacksonville for their early season tournament and came away the victors, defeating Wichita State, #18 Iowa (who has since fallen from the polls) and a tough Auburn team along the way. The starters were:
Friday - Evan Blanco
Saturday - Jack O’Connor
Sunday - Owen Coady (Penn Grad-transfer)
Jay Woolfolk provided solid relief work on Saturday, while at this point it would appear as though Aidan Teel (younger brother of Kyle Teel) will be the team's closer. The team is still working to figure out where each arm slots in best, but there is certainly plenty of talent throughout the pitching lineup. The biggest issue looks to be finding the starters, as 5 of the 7 wins on the season have come from behind.
Something about seeing a Teel crushing home runs from the left side of the plate in a UVa uniform got me feeling oddly fuzzy inside pic.twitter.com/5y8nStmEZ5
— Stephen Schoch (@bigdonkey47) February 29, 2024
They’ve gotten solid offensive contributions from new players and guys deeper in the lineup, as Bobby Whalen (Indiana transfer), Henry Godbout, and Henry Ford are leading the team in hitting, all batting over .440. Ford was clutch all weekend, delivering the walk off hit on Friday and then busting the lead open on Saturday.
This week's midweek game had to be pushed around, with the Hoos finally getting to host VMI on Wednesday with a first pitch at 6:30. Cullen McKay got the start in this one, with the Hoos picking up the 16-4 victory.
This weekend, the Hoos will be back at the Dish for a 3 game series with UMass.
Women’s Basketball
Though not a spring sport, I feel as though the Women’s Basketball team has earned their flowers and attention should be brought to what they are doing. They’ve now won four of their last five contests, including beating both Miami and winning at #20 Louisville last week. This was the program's first-ever win at Louisville and the first time an unranked ACC team had won at Louisville since they joined the ACC in 2014.
Camryn Taylor was a major contributor, averaging 20 points and 8 rebounds over last week's contests. Meanwhile, first-year Kymora Johnson earned her second ACC Rookie of the Week honors.
🎬 Presenting our top plays of the week!!
— Virginia Women's Basketball (@UVAWomensHoops) February 27, 2024
👇Let everyone know which play was your favorite.#GoHoos 🔸⚔️🔹#GNSL pic.twitter.com/0Y9POlANiy
The women will be back in action at Duke on Thursday (2/29) before hosting Virginia Tech for senior day on Sunday (3/3). Not only is senior day slated to be a “white out” but it was also posted that it will be the most attended women’s game in the state of Virginia in at least the last 15 years. Tickets are still available. If you can make it out, wear white and cheer on the women!
Roundup
Softball now sits at 11-4 after winning the Rawlings Classic over the weekend (4-0) and then picking up a win over Radford in Roanoke on Tuesday. They’ll be back in action this weekend as they host Boston College for their first ACC series of the season.
Men’s Lacrosse beat another Big Ten opponent over weekend, this time a 14-8 home victory over #20 Ohio State. Now ranked #2, the Hoos will host #7 Johns Hopkins this Saturday (3/2) at 1 pm EST. Also of note, Connor Shellenberger has now signed an NIL deal with Rhoback, making him the second UVA athlete to be officially sponsored by them this season!
Women’s Lacrosse lost a tough 10-9 game against #8 North Carolina on Friday before picking up a 20-11 win at Cornell. Now ranked #14, they will face another tough matchup this week as they head to #18 Clemson on Saturday (3/2). This one will start at 1 pm EST.
#8 Men’s Tennis will be back in action this weekend as they host #3 Wake Forest on Friday (3/1, 3pm) followed by hosting #17 NC State on Sunday (3/3, 1pm).
#5 Women’s Tennis has been in the midst of a road stretch, having won at #21 Notre Dame last Friday, followed by winning at Louisville on Sunday. This week they will be at Georgia Tech on Friday (3/1, 4pm) and then at Clemson on Sunday (3/3, 11am)
Lastly I’d like to shout out UVA Women’s Swimming and Diving, as they picked up their fifth straight ACC championship last weekend. Gretchen Walsh was named Most Valuable Swimmer, while Alex Walsh now holds the most gold medals in ACC swimming history with 26. The women’s NCAA championships begin on Wednesday, March 20th, as one of the most dominant teams of all time looks to pick up yet another National Championship.
(Featured Image Credit: Emily Faith Morgan/UVA Athletics)