Virginia Cavaliers
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- For the historical use of the term, see Virginia Cavaliers (historical).
The Virginia Cavaliers are the athletics teams of the University of Virginia. The athletics program has won 16 recognized NCAA National Championships, 13 of them since 1980. The media generally refers to the University's athletic teams as simply Virginia for short, and the mascot is a mounted swordsman, or "Cavalier". (This mascot is a historical reference to the time when Virginia earned its nickname, the "Old Dominion." The Commonwealth was a hotbed of persons loyal to the English crown, called cavaliers in the days of the English Civil War and Interregnum.) An unofficial moniker, the Wahoos, or 'Hoos for short, based on the University's rallying cry "Wah-hoo-wah!" is also commonly used. Though originally only used by the student body, both terms — Wahoos and Hoos — have come into wide use by the media as well.
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[edit] Origins and History
The school colors, adopted in 1888, are orange and navy blue. The athletic teams had previously worn silver and cardinal red, but those colors did not show up very well on dirty football fields as the school was sporting its first team. A mass meeting of the student body was called, and a star player showed up wearing a navy blue and orange scarf he had brought back from a University of Oxford summer boating expedition. The colors were chosen when another student pulled the scarf from the player's neck, waved it to the crowd and yelled: "How will this do?" (Exactly 100 years later in 1988, perhaps ironically, Oxford named their own American football club the "Cavaliers", and soon after the Virginia team adopted its "curved sabres" logo in 1994, the Oxford team followed suit.)
When boxing was a major collegiate sport, Virginia's teams boxed in Memorial Gymnasium and went undefeated on a six-year run between 1932 and 1937, also winning national championships in 1938 and 1939.
Virginia's athletic teams have participated in the Atlantic Coast Conference since the league's first year in 1953. Its men's basketball team has five times been part of the NCAA Elite Eight (1981, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1995), twice advancing to the Final Four (1981 and 1984). The Virginia Cavaliers football team has twice been honored as ACC Co-Champions (1989 with Duke, and 1995 with FSU). Women's cross country won national titles in 1981 and 1982. The soccer and lacrosse programs have both been tremendously successful. The Virginia men's soccer team has won five national championships, four consecutively (1989, 1991–1994). The Men's lacrosse teams has won six national titles, while the women have claimed three. Men's lacrosse won national championships in 1952, 1970, 1972, 1999, 2003 and 2006; the women's lacrosse team won national titles in 1991, 1993, and 2004.
[edit] Basketball
- Main article: Virginia Cavaliers basketball
The brand-new John Paul Jones Arena opened in the Fall of 2006 and is now the current venue for the men's and women's basketball teams. At its recent height in the 1980s, the men's basketball team was better than perennial power Duke and second only to UNC in that decade's cumulative ACC standings. The 1990s and 2000s have seen a bit of a slide for the program to the middle of the pack in the conference but the hiring of new coach Dave Leitao and the young team's success during the 2005-2006 season, along with the 2006 opening of John Paul Jones Arena, are reasons for excitement among fans and students. The new arena is one of the three largest on-campus facilities in the Atlantic Coast Conference, with the only bigger arenas belonging to universities with far greater student populations. The previous facility, University Hall, was the smallest in the ACC until the addition of Miami (FL) to the conference.
[edit] Football
- Main article: Virginia Cavaliers football
Scott Stadium sits across from the first-year dorms along Alderman Road and is home to the University of Virginia's football program. The press box at Scott Stadium was a gift from an alumni in honor of Norton G. Pritchett, the admired athletic director at UVA from 1934 until his death in 1950. Students, fans, and alumni have recently begun to sport orange clothing for the games, a new tradition the current head coach, Al Groh, has been pushing for since he became head coach in 2000. Many students, however, have continued to wear the traditional sundresses or coat and tie at football games. Several fans have also begun garbing themselves in outlandish costumes in the style of football superfans (such as the Orange Gorilla or Super Hoo). Funding from benefactor Carl Smith created the foundation for the 230-piece Cavalier Marching Band, which was introduced in 2004. This replaced the Virginia Pep Band in its official capacity at athletic events.
[edit] Traditional Rivalries
- South's Oldest Rivalry. Virginia vs. UNC. The Cavaliers share the South's Oldest Rivalry with UNC and the schools have played every year since 1919 totaling 111 games.
- Commonwealth Cup. Virginia vs. Virginia Tech. Although a somewhat less historical rivalry, the team faces off with Virginia Tech annually for the Commonwealth Cup, given since 1999 to the winner of this game played 86 times and each year since 1970.
- Jefferson-Eppes Trophy. Virginia vs. Florida State. In a friendly rivalry to promote ties between the two universities, this trophy was created in 1996.
[edit] Soccer
Klöckner Stadium is home to several successful programs, including Virginia men's soccer. More years than not, the University of Virginia fields one of the best squads in the country, and the program has, by far, the most successful history in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Coast Conference. Since ACC Tournament play began in 1987, Virginia has played in 14 out of 18 ACC Tournament championship matches, winning nine ACC titles (including 2003 and 2004), to go with their five NCAA Tournament championships. The man who built the U.Va. program, Bruce Arena, compiled an amazing 295-58-32 record before leaving in 1995 to coach D.C. United to their first two MLS championship seasons, and later the U.S. National Soccer Team to their best World Cup showing since 1930.
[edit] 2006 Season
[edit] Men's Soccer
The men's squad is currently 16-3-1, 5-3 in the ACC. The team is currently ranked No. 3 in the latest National Soccer Coaches of America Association's (NSCAA) Poll[1] and No. 6 in the Soccer America Poll [2].
| ACC Games in Silver |
[edit] Women's Soccer
The women's team winds up the 2006 season 12-8-2 overall, 5-4-1 in the ACC.
| NCAA Tournament | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Day | Opponent | Location | Outcome/Time |
| 11/10/06 | Fri | West Virginia (1st Round) | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | W, 2-0 |
| 11/12/06 | Sun | Wake Forest (2nd Round) | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | W, 2-0 |
| 11/17/06 | Fri | Texas A&M (3rd Round) | College Station, Texas | L, 2-1 |
[edit] Lacrosse
For men's and women's lacrosse, the Cavaliers play at University Hall Turf Field and Klöckner Stadium. Virginia has won four NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships in its history (1972, 1999, 2003, and 2006) playing in Division I. Including the NCAA titles they have held six total national titles (1952 and 1970). They also hold the record for the best record in NCAA history going 17-0 in the 2006 season. The women's team has won three NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championships in 1991, 1993, and 2004.
[edit] 2007 Season
[edit] Men's Lacrosse
[edit] 2006 season
[edit] Men's Lacrosse
In the 2006 season, the Cavaliers broke the NCAA record for the best record going 17-0 and winning the championship, 15-7, over the UMass Minutemen. Their attackmen Matt Ward won the Tewaaraton Trophy and the Final Four MVP. He also broke the NCAA record (previously held by Gary Gait with 15) of the most goals in the tournament (16). Five of Virginia's players were selected in the 2006 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft, including 3 in the first round. Matt Ward, Kyle Dixon, and Michael Culver were selected in the first round, with Matt Poskay in the second, J.J. Morrissey in the third. Eight Cavaliers were also picked for the All-American team (three on the first, and two on both the second and the third).
[edit] Women's Lacrosse
The 2006 women's lacrosse team were the ACC champions after going 14-3. They worked their way up to the final against the Princeton Tigers, but lost 8-7. Two Cavaliers, Tyler Leachman and Nikki Lieb, were selected to be on the first All-American team. Lieb was also a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy.
[edit] Commonwealth Challenge
Adelphia sponsors a challenge between Virginia and Virginia Tech in all games against one another each academic year. The school that does the best in sporting events between the two wins the Commonwealth Challenge. Virginia won the Challenge for the 2005-2006 year, 14.5 to 7.5, with series sweeps in Men's Basketball and Baseball.
[edit] Leadership
The current athletic director is Craig Littlepage, a former head coach at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University, who has held a variety of titles at the University of Virginia.
[edit] External links
- Virginia Cavaliers official website
- thesabre.com unofficial fan site
- Commonwealth Challenge website
[edit] References
| Atlantic Coast Conference |
|---|
| Boston College • Clemson • Duke • Florida State • Georgia Tech • Maryland • Miami • North Carolina • North Carolina State • Virginia • Virginia Tech • Wake Forest |
