Out of the Park
UVA athletes step up and stand out in memorable spring sports season
April 23: The UVA Polo Club’s men’s team beats Cornell 28-14 to claim the U.S. Polo Association Intercollegiate National Championship at Cornell. The women’s team reaches the finals but is defeated by Cornell 18-10.
April 23: For the second straight year, the women’s rowing team sweeps all four races to win the ACC team championship on Clemson’s Lake Hartwell. It’s the 11th title for the Cavaliers in the 12-year history of the championship.
April 24: The men’s tennis team wins its fifth consecutive ACC championship. In May, the Cavaliers make it to the NCAA finals, falling short in a stirring comeback to lose 4-3 to No. 2 USC.
April 29: UVA cornerback Ras-I Dowling is selected in the second round of the NFL draft by the New England Patriots, making him the highest-drafted defensive back in UVA history.
May 9: Ben Kohles repeats as ACC Golfer of the Year and as a member of the All-ACC team after leading the Cavaliers in stroke average at 71.60 through 35 rounds.
May 19: The women’s tennis team makes its first appearance in program history in the NCAA round of 16, losing 4-1 to UCLA to end the season 20-8 (the first 20-win season). Lindsey Hardenbergh becomes the first UVA woman player to earn All-America honors.
May 21: Men’s lacrosse coach Dom Starsia picks up his 327th career victory, the most for any Division I head lacrosse coach, when UVA defeats Cornell 13-9 in the NCAA Tournament.
May 21: UVA’s women’s golf team wraps up its best showing in the program’s history with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships in Bryan, Texas. Brittany Altomare and Calle Nielson earn All-America honors.
May 29: A 7-2 victory over Florida State gives the UVA baseball team the ACC Tournament title—the third in program history—and gives the Cavaliers an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
May 29: The Virginia men’s rowing club completes the winningest season in its history with four medals—including a gold by the varsity eight—at the American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships at Lake Lanier, Ga.
May 30: Five goals scored by Colin Briggs propel the men’s lacrosse team to a 9-7 win over Maryland and the program’s fifth NCAA National Championship. UVA becomes the lowest-seeded (No. 7 and first five-loss team to win a Division I lacrosse title.
June 2: Lacrosse attackman Steele Stanwick receives the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the top male collegiate lacrosse player in the nation. He is the third Cavalier— joining Chris Rotelli (Col ‘03) and Matt Ward (Com ‘06)—to receive the honor.
June 6: Danny Hultzen becomes the highest draft selection in UVA baseball history when the Seattle Mariners select the left-hander with the second overall pick of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Hultzen also becomes the first player in ACC history to win the Pitcher of the Year Award in back-to-back seasons.
June 9: By a margin of four-hundredths of a second, Robby Andrews wins his second NCAA title in the 800 meters, posting a personal-best time of 1:44.71 at the outdoor championships at Drake University.
June 11: Stephanie Garcia’s runner-up finish in the 300-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships makes her the highest individual finisher in the UVA women’s track program. Her time of 9:47.29 sets an ACC record.
June 12: Former UVA standout Rick Carlisle (Col ‘84) coaches the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks to its first NBA title, defeating the Miami Heat 105-95 to win the series, 4-2.
June 13: The baseball team mounts a two-out, ninth-inning rally to defeat UC Irvine 3-2 at Davenport Field and earn its second trip to the College World Series in the last three seasons.
June 16: Lauren Greenlief goes into the state record books as the first golfer to win the Virginia Women’s Stroke Play Championship three consecutive years.
June 24: The UVA baseball team, after setting a school record of 56 wins and advancing the furthest in program history, comes up just short against defending champion South Carolina, losing 3-2 in a 13-inning game at the College World Series in Omaha.
June 24: In voting by coaches, fans and media across the country, UVA pitcher Tyler Wilson is selected to receive the 2011 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in baseball, given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athletes in NCAA Division I.
July 1: UVA records its second-best finish ever by placing seventh in the final 2010-11 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup competition for Division I schools. Three coaches of spring sports—Brian Boland (men’s tennis), Brian O’Connor (baseball) and Kevin Sauer (rowing)—are named ACC coaches of the year.