Cavs host Heels for crucial weekend

The Virginia baseball team is heading into one of the biggest weekends of the Brian O'Connor era. U.Va. (13-11 ACC, 33-15 overall) hosts second-ranked North Carolina in a three-game series at Davenport Field.

The teams are scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday and at 1 p.m. Sunday. Junior right-hander Jacob Thompson will start on the mound for U.Va. in the series opener.

U.Va. closes the regular season next weekend with a three-game series against ACC foe Georgia Tech, also at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers are not assured of a fifth straight trip to the NCAA tournament, and these final two series will provide them multiple opportunities to collect marquee victories.

"There's no question this weekend and next weekend are big for this team," said O'Connor, who's in his fifth season as Virginia's coach.

The Wahoos haven't played an ACC game since April 27, when they lost 10-0 at top-ranked Miami. Freshman right-fielder David Coleman, a Trinity Episcopal graduate, had two of U.Va.'s six hits in that loss.

In ACC games, Coleman is hitting .281, third-best on the team. He's hitting .272 overall and since March 18 has raised his average 87 points. With 11 strikeouts, Coleman has the fewest of any Cavalier who's played regularly.

6 U.Va. coaches lauded

The ACC has honored six coaches from U.Va. this academic year: Al Groh, Kevin Sauer, Kim Lewellen, Mark Bernardino, Brian Boland and Jason Dunn.

Groh was ACC coach of the year in football, Sauer in rowing, Lewellen in women's golf, Bernardino in men's swimming and women's swimming, Boland in men's tennis and Dunn in men's cross country.

U.Va. has won six ACC championships in 2007-08, the most of any school.

U.Va. lacrosse foe on a roll

In men's lacrosse, Virginia's reward for earning the No. 2 seed in the 16-team NCAA tournament is a first-round matchup with an opponent that has won 11 straight games.

U.Va. (12-3) hosts Maryland-Baltimore County (12-3) at 5 p.m. Sunday. UMBC's victims this season include Maryland, one of the teams to defeat Virginia.

In 2003, Virginia drew Mount St. Mary's in the first round and won 19-8. In 2005, U.Va. opened the NCAAs with a 23-9 rout of Albany.

As lacrosse has grown in popularity, the talent level has risen at many schools that aren't considered traditional powers. So don't be shocked if Sunday night's game at Klockner Stadium is close. A year ago, after all, No. 2 seed U.Va. lost 14-8 to visiting Delaware in the first round.

"There's no doubt that in the past couple years what's changed in our sport is that the first-round games are now games," U.Va. coach Dom Starsia said.

One of Starsia's seniors, attackman Ben Rubeor, yesterday was named one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy, given annually to the top player in college lacrosse. Rubeor, from Towson, Md., is a three-time all-ACC pick.

Long drafts several for NYC trip

On the night before the NFL draft, defensive end Chris Long made sure to include former teammates from U.Va. and St. Anne's-Belfield in his celebration in New York City.

"Chris brought up a large number of [U.Va.] players and guys he played with in high school," Groh said. "It was a wonderful gesture on his part."

Long's guests in the big city, Groh said, included Clint Sintim, Nate Collins, Alex Field, Eugene Monroe, Kevin Ogletree and Olu Hall, a former U.Va. linebacker who's now at Kansas State.

Courtney headed to Bucknell?

The athletic director at Bucknell, John Hardt, hasn't said much publicly about his school's search for a new basketball coach, but Bill Courtney is a strong candidate for the job.

A 1992 graduate of Bucknell, where he starred at guard, Courtney has been an assistant coach at U.Va. for the past two seasons. Bucknell is seeking a successor to longtime coach Pat Flannery, who last month announced his retirement.

Courtney, 38, was inducted into Bucknell's athletic hall of fame last fall. - Jeff White