The Virginia men’s and women’s lacrosse teams learned their NCAA Tournament assignments on Sunday. The Cavalier men will open play at home in front of the fans at Klockner Stadium, while the UVA women will make a long trip to Colorado.
On the men’s side, Virginia earned the No. 2 overall seed as part of a strong ACC group at the top of the bracket. Duke took the No. 1 seed, while Notre Dame checked in at No. 3. Among that trio, UVA beat Notre Dame twice, Duke beat Virginia twice, and Notre Dame beat Duke once. If seeds hold, the Hoos and the Irish will meet again at the Final Four while Duke has No. 4 seed Maryland in its potential path. This is the first top 2 seed for the Cavaliers since 2010.
Before championship weekend in Philadelphia enters the conversation, though, there are other games to be played. UVA (11-3) opens with a familiar opponent as Richmond (11-4) visits Klockner for the second time this season. The Hoos and Spiders face off at noon on Saturday (ESPNU). Virginia won the March 4 meeting, 25-8, and holds an all-time series lead of 8-1. The winner of this matchup will face the winner of Georgetown and Yale in Albany, N.Y., on Saturday, May 20.
On the women’s side, the Cavaliers received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament field, which extended the program’s streak to 27 straight selections. They won’t play in the comfortable surroundings of Klockner Stadium, though. Virginia is starting away from home for the third straight tournament.
The Hoos have been placed in a pod with No. 5 seed Denver (19-0) as the host school. UVA (11-6) faces Albany (11-6) on Friday at 8 p.m. in Denver. The winner there will take on the winner between Denver and USC (16-3) on Sunday. Virginia defeated USC in the opening round of last season’s NCAA Tournament, 13-11.
The Cavaliers have never faced Albany. UVA has won a game in the NCAA Tournament in five straight appearances, but has not advanced beyond the quarterfinals since 2014.
Virginia Tennis Teams Advance
While the lacrosse teams begin their NCAA Tournament journey this week, the Virginia tennis teams already began tourney play and rolled through the opening weekend.
The UVA men’s team blanked Navy and Mississippi with matching 4-0 scores on Saturday and Sunday. In the NCAA opener against the Academy, Virginia took the doubles point with wins at No. 2 (Chris Rodesch/Jeffrey von der Schulenburg) and No. 3 (Ryan Goetz/Alexander Kiefer). The Hoos then secured singles wins at No. 3 (von der Schulenburg), No. 5 (Kiefer), and No. 6 (Mans Dahlberg ) with all three coming in straight sets.
Against Ole Miss on Sunday, UVA again took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 (Inaki Montes/William Woodall) and No. 2 (Rodesch/von der Schulenburg). The Cavaliers claimed three singles matches with play split between outdoor and indoor courts due to rain. The wins came at No. 3 (von der Schulenburg), No. 4 (Ryan Goetz), and No. 5 (Kiefer).
Virginia has advanced to the Sweet 16 in 17 of the last 18 championships. This year’s team takes an 18-match winning streak into Saturday’s Super Regional. The Hoos host Duke at 1 p.m. in a rematch of the ACC Tournament Championship. UVA won 4-1 to take the conference title.
On the women’s side, the Cavaliers advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third straight time and the eight time overall in program history. They’ll travel to Michigan on Saturday for the Super Regional matchup.
A pair of 4-0 wins sent this year’s team ahead in the bracket. On Friday, Virginia ousted Long Island University quickly. The Hoos captured the doubles point with wins at No. 1 (Julia Adams/Melodie Collard) and No. 2 (Natasha Subhash/Annabelle Xu). In singles, they grabbed victories at No. 3 (Xu), No. 4 (Hibah Shaikh), and No. 5 (Collard) in straight sets with Shaikh and Collard going 6-0, 6-0.
Against Princeton on Saturday, the 4-0 win didn’t come quite as comfortably. UVA won the doubles point with wins at No. 2 (Subhash/Xu) and No. 3 (Sara Ziodato/Shaikh). In singles the victories came from No. 3 (Xu), No. 5 (Ziodato), and No. 6 (Collard) but Xu needed three sets to win, while there was only one 6-0 set among the trio of matches.
More Postseason Ahead
The Virginia golf teams will begin NCAA Tournament play soon too. The UVA women’s team opens Monday at the NCAA Regional site in Westfield, Ind. The top five teams advance after 54 holes of play. The men’s team plays next week at the NCAA Regional site in Las Vegas.
The softball team qualified for the ACC Tournament. The Hoos will face Syracuse in the single elimination format on Wednesday at 1 p.m. The winner advances to face top-seeded Florida State on Thursday. Notre Dame is hosting the tourney this year.
The ACC Rowing Championship will be Friday and Saturday in Raleigh. Virginia earned the top seed in the Varsity Four, Second Varsity Eight, and Third Varsity Eight. The Cavaliers are also the No. 2 seed in the Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Four. UVA is seeking its 13th straight ACC title.
The ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships are also set for Raleigh this weekend.
