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8 CAVALIER CORNER cavalier sports Photo by Matt Riley Jay Aiello • Wrestling The graduate student from Chantilly, Va., was tabbed as the ACC Wrestler of the Week after going 4-0 with three bonus-point victories in matches at the Virginia Duals Jan. 14-15. Among his victories was a 6-1 decision over No. 11 Jake Woodley of Oklahoma, who was a 2021 All-American and NCAA semifinalist. Aiello was 7-0 overall and ranked No. 11 nationally at 197 pounds after returning to action following his bronze- medal outing at the U23 World Games in November. Kate Douglass • Swimming The third-year from Pelham, N.Y., racked up five medals for Team USA at the 2021 FINA Short Course World Championships Dec. 16-21 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She took home two golds (4x50 freestyle relay and 4x100 free relay), two silvers (4x50 medley relay and 4x50 mixed medley relay) and a bronze (200 IM). As of mid-January, Douglass led the ACC in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 200-yard breast- stroke, 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard IM. Annie Dyson • Lacrosse The fourth-year midfielder from Alexandria, Va., was named a 2022 Pre- season All-American by Inside Lacrosse. The Tewaaraton Award Top 25 nominee was an honorable mention selection. Last year, Dyson paced the Cavaliers in draw con- trols (56), and was second in ground balls (34), third in caused turnovers (14) and fifth in points (35). She scored multiple goals in seven games, including a career-high four in the win over UConn in the first round of the NCAA Championship. Jayden Gardner • Basketball The fourth-year forward from Wake Forest, N.C., was ranked 12th on CBS Sports' list of the 20 "most impactful" transfers in college basketball as of mid-January. The 6-4, 246-pound forward, who transferred from East Carolina, led Virginia in both scoring (14.0 points per game) and rebounding (7.0 boards per game) through 18 contests. He was also shooting a career- best 52.5 percent from the field for the 11-7 Cavaliers. HOO'S HOT Recognizing the "Who's Hoo" in UVA athletics — Cavalier student-athletes, past, present and future who are making news around the world of sports. Photo by Jim Daves " [Joey] Blount made money for himself because of his ability to break on a ball. He had a great showing. He reminds me of [Buffalo Bills safety] Micah Hyde." — Damond Talbot of NFLDraftDiamonds.com on former Virginia safety JOEY BLOUNT'S perfor- mance, which included a game-clinching inter- ception for his team, at the Hula Bowl all-star game Jan. 15 in Orlando, Fla. 40 Steals for Virginia second-year guard REECE BEEKMAN through 18 games this season. As of Jan. 19, he led the ACC in both total steals and steals per game (2.22), and ranked 10th and 21st na- tionally in those two categories. 3 NCAA men's lacrosse teams have captured three consecutive national championships — Johns Hopkins (1978-80), Syracuse (1988-90) and Princeton (1996-98). Virginia will look to join that exclusive club this year after winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 2019 and 2021. (The 2020 NCAA Championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) The Cava- liers' seven all-time championships are the third most in NCAA history, trailing only Syracuse's 10 and Johns Hopkins' nine. 16 Consecutive years at least one Virginia field hockey player has been named to an All-American team. On Dec. 14, graduate student goalkeeper Ra- chel Robinson and senior defender AMBER EZECHIELS were named 2021 Division I All-Americans by the National Field Hockey Coaches As- sociation. Ezechiels was selected to the first team, while Robinson earned third- team honors. They are the 59th and 60th All-America honors earned by the Cavaliers, and Ezechiels' honor was the 25th time a Virginia player was named to the first team. Photo by Matt Riley