The University of Virginia women’s golf team posted a total score of 296 (+8) on Day 1 of the NCAA Columbus Regional. The Hoos enter Day 2 tied with the Washington Huskies for seventh place in the 18-team field. The top six teams advance to the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Virginia Bossi led UVA with an opening round 71, followed by senior Beth Lillie, who posted an even par 72 on Ohio State’s Scarlet Course. Junior Riley Smyth turned in a 74, sophomore Celeste Valinho scored a 79, and freshman Jennifer Cleary posted an 81. The four best scores make up the total score.
Oklahoma leads the field with a 2-under 286. The Sooners are followed by Duke (287), Michigan (288), Georgia (289), Arizona State (291) and Kent State (291), and then Virginia and Washington. Six other teams are also within eight strokes or less of Arizona State and Kent State.
UVA, seeded third in the regional, has ground to make up but has rallied before. Virginia overcame an 11-stroke deficit heading in the final round to claim the UCF Challenge in February. Last month, the Hoos rallied from seven strokes down heading into the final 18 to overtake Virginia Tech and earn a spot in the match play portion of the ACC Championships.
There are two more rounds to go in Columbus. Tuesday’s tee times begin at 8:00 a.m. EST. Click here to see live results.
While women’s golf is underway, four more Virginia sports teams compete in NCAA Tournament action later this week, beginning with the College Cup-bound women’s soccer team.
Women’s Soccer, NCAA College Cup Final Four Vs. Florida State
For the fourth time in school history the University of Virginia women’s soccer program has reached the NCAA College Cup Final Four. The Hoos (14-4-2) are looking to leave Cary (N.C.) with their first national title. To accomplish this feat, UVA will likely have to take down ACC foes and the tournament’s top two seeds, Florida State and North Carolina.
Florida State (13-0-1), the tournament’s top-seed, defeated Milwaukee (3-0), Penn State (3-1), and Duke (on penalty kicks) to reach the College Cup. The Cavaliers did not earn a seed but have played outstanding soccer, downing four opponents – SIUE (3-1), No. 12-seed BYU (2-0), Rice (3-0) and No. 4-seed TCU (1-0) – on their way to the final four. Virginia and Florida State clash on Thursday, May 13, at 6 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. ESPN2 will televise.
The Cavaliers and Seminoles faced off last fall with FSU coming away with a 4-3 victory in a back-and-forth contest. Virginia rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game before FSU scored the game-winner late in regulation.
The winner of UVA/FSU will take on the winner of No. 2-seed North Carolina and No. 11 Santa Clara for the championship on May 17 at 5:30 p.m. EST.
Men’s Lacrosse, NCAA Tournament First Round Vs. Bryant
Virginia is the No. 4-seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament and will face unseeded Bryant at Klöckner Stadium on Sunday, May 16, at 12 p.m. EST. ESPNU will televise.
The reigning national champion Hoos – UVA captured the title in 2019 and there was no tournament last season because of coronavirus – carry a 10-4 record into this year’s NCAA Tournament. From March 20 thru April 10 the Cavaliers captured four consecutive wins, including road victories at tournament No. 5-seed Notre Dame and tourney No. 1-seed North Carolina, before dropping two of three to conclude regular season play. All four of UVA’s losses came to teams in the NCAA Tournament – North Carolina, Duke, and Syracuse twice.
The Bryant Bulldogs earned an automatic bid to the tournament by winning the NEC postseason title. Lacrosse Bucket considers Bryant, which is riding a 4-game win streak, an underdog “that could make noise” in the tournament. Bryant enters the postseason with a 9-3 record, though none of the wins came against NCAA Tournament-bound opponents.
The winner of UVA/Bryant will face the winner of No. 5-seed Georgetown (12-2) and Syracuse (7-5) on Saturday, May 22. Should the ACC schools advance, Virginia would be looking to avenge two regular season losses to the Orange. Syracuse crushed the Hoos at home on February 27 before downing UVA on Senior Day, 13-11, in Charlottesville.
Women’s Lacrosse, NCAA Tournament First Round Vs. Connecticut
Despite losing its last six games, the Virginia women’s lacrosse team (8-8) received a bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The unseeded Cavaliers will take on unseeded U-Conn (12-6) on Friday, May 14, at 5 p.m. EST. The game will be streamed on ESPN3.
Virginia started strong in 2021, winning eight of its first 10 including victories over NCAA Tournament-bound teams Duke and James Madison. However, the March 26 win over the Dukes was the last time the Cavaliers tasted victory.
All but one of UVA’s eight losses have come to seeded NCAA Tournament teams, including five defeats to the top four tournament seeds. Virginia finished the regular season 2-7 against tournament teams. Meanwhile, Connecticut face three NCAA Tournament-bound opponents during the regular season and in its conference championship. The Huskies lost to Denver three times (once in triple overtime), split two games with U-Mass, and lost to Hofstra.
Men’s & Women’s Tennis, NCAA Round Of 16
The Virginia men’s and women’s tennis teams are headed to Orlando, Florida to compete in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16.
The Cavalier women (16-6), seeded 14th in the field of 64, cruised to a 4-0 win over FIU in the first round before taking down Tennessee, 4-2. Both contests took place in Charlottesville. Up next is No. 3-seed Georgia (22-1) on Sunday, May 16, at 10 a.m. EST. The winner of UVA/UGA will take on the winner of No. 6 NC State/USC.
Virginia will have its hands full with the Bulldogs, who boast five players ranked in the top 68 of the Oracle/ITA Division 1 Women’s Rankings. The Hoos counter with two top nine players in Emma Navarro and Natasha Subhash, as well as No. 90 Rosie Johanson.
Singles Rankings
Emma Navarro, UVA (No. 3)
Katarina Jokic, UGA (No. 4)
Natasha Subhash, UVA (No. 9)
Meg Kowalski, UGA (No. 20)
Marta Gonzalez, UGA (No. 52)
Lea Ma, UGA (No. 55)
Morgan Coppoc, UGA (No. 68)
Rosie Johanson, UVA (No. 90)
Doubles Rankings
(Note: UVA has been going with Glozman/Shaikh the last four matches instead of Glozman/O’Dell.)
Arsenault/Jokic, UGA (No. 6)
Munera/Subhash, UVA (No. 17)
Johanson/Navarro, UVA (No. 21)
Glozman/O’Dell, UVA (No. 68)
The Virginia men (23-2), fresh off of capturing the 2021 ACC Tournament Championship, are seeded fifth and will take on No. 12 USC (22-6) on Monday, May 17, at 4 p.m. EST. The winner of this match will take on the winner of No. 4 Texas/No. 13 South Carolina in quarterfinal action.
In Charlottesville this past week, UVA dispatched Fairleigh Dickinson, 4-0, before defeating Stanford, 4-2, in the first two rounds of the tournament. Stanford faced USC twice during the regular season, losing the first matchup 4-0 but taking the second, 4-3.
Here is a look at how the Hoos and the Trojans match up rankings-wise:
Oracle/ITA Division 1 Men’s Singles Rankings
Carl Soderlund, UVA (No. 7)
Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg, UVA (No. 44)
Daniel Cukierman, Southern Cal (No. 49)
Riley Smith, Southern Cal (No. 52)
Inaki Montes, UVA (No. 61)
Ryan Goetz, UVA (No. 106)
Mor Bulis, Southern Cal (No. 113)
Stefan Dostanic, Southern Cal (No. 116)
Doubles Rankings
Smith/Cukierman, Southern Cal (No. 10)
Soderlund/Woodall, UVA (No. 14)
Goetz/Rodesch, UVA (No. 89)
Virginia Baseball Continues Push For NCAA Bid
Virginia baseball had an 11-14 overall record, including a 4-12 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play heading into the second of three games at Georgia Tech. The Hoos had lost the first game to the Yellow Jackets, and another loss meant the Hoos would have lost their first six series in conference play.
UVA won the next two games in Atlanta to capture the series 2-1. The Cavaliers have since won three of their next four ACC series and now stand 22-21 overall, 13-17 in the conference, with six regular season games remaining – a 3-game homestand against Wake Forest and a 3-game series at Boston College.
Baseball America placed Virginia as the second team in the “First Four Out” category in its May 5 NCAA Tournament projection. The Hoos let a victory over VCU, a team bound for the NCAA tourney according to Baseball America, slip away at The Dish on May 5. They’ll have to rebound and at the very least win the final two series of the regular season to have a chance at making the NCAA tournament field.
Virginia hosts Wake May 14-16. The Demon Deacons are 17-23 overall, 7-19 in the conference. UVA’s series with BC, which is 20-25 overall and 9-21 in ACC play, begins May 20.
