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8 CAVALIER CORNER cavalier sports 1 Grand Slam final for former Cavalier DANIELLE COLLINS following her impres- sive runner-up finish at the Australian Open in January. Collins, the No. 27 seed in the tournament, fell to No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded Ashleigh Barty 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) in the final, but not before displaying the ability that helped her be- come a two-time NCAA singles champion at UVA. The 28-year-old Collins, who made the semifinals in the 2019 Australian Open after upsetting World No. 2 Angelique Kerber in the fourth round, knocked off 2020 French Open winner Iga Świątek in the semifinals before falling to Barty. Collins' strong performance Down Under elevated her to a career-high No. 10 rank- ing on the Women's Tennis Association Tour. As of March 21, she stood at No. 11 and was the top-ranked player from the United States. She has already amassed $1.2 million in earnings in 2022 and $4.9 million in her career. Photo courtesy UVA I think when you deal with something like what I was dealing with, with my health challenges, you can either really let it bring you down or you can try to focus on your goals and trying to still accomplish those. "I just tried to focus on doing the best I could every day, and luckily I've been able to do a pretty decent job on court. I'm grateful for the painful experiences just as much as some of the more amazing experiences because I think that they're really big moments for growth, personal growth for us, as athletes and as people ." — DANIELLE COLLINS on her journey after undergoing surgery for endometriosis in April 2021 to advancing to the Australian Open final in January 2022 (Eurosport) 3 McDonald's All-Americans have now played for the Virginia women's bas- ketball program after the in-season arrival of guard MIR MCLEAN, who trans- ferred from the University of Connecticut Jan. 27. Monica Wright (2006) and China Crosby (2009) are the other two Cavaliers to earn that prestigious acco- lade since women started being honored in 2002. 6 Times since 2010 the Virginia baseball team has appeared in the top five of Baseball America's preseason rankings. Three of those teams that received preseason top-five rankings ended up advancing to the College World Series, including the 2021 squad. Virginia In Baseball America's Preseason Rankings Since 2010 2010 — No. 2 2014 — No. 1* 2015 — No. 4* 2016 — No. 4 2021 — No. 5* 2022 — No. 5 * Advanced to the College World Series The Cavaliers were also inside the top 25 of the Collegiate Baseball News- paper (No. 24), USA Today Coaches (No. 21) and the NCBWA (No. 17) preseason national polls. In addition, BetOnline gave the Cavaliers the 19th- best odds (33/1) in the country to win the College World Series. UVA backed up its Baseball America ranking by coming out of the gates with a 14-0 start for the third time in school history — the Hoos also had a 14-0 start in 2013 and a 19-0 start in 2009. " Armstrong led one of the most explosive passing offenses of the 2021 college football season. Despite unorthodox mechanics, the Virginia Cavalier finished with the fourth-best PFF grade among FBS quarterbacks. One wouldn't think Armstrong can consistently deliver a catchable ball downfield when watching him throw against air, but he certainly can. "His 28.1 percent uncatchable pass rate on 10-plus yards in 2021 ranked third-best in the Power Five. He also recorded multiple big-time throws in all but two starts, finishing with one each in that pair of outings." — Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus on ranking UVA's Brennan Armstrong No. 7 on his list of the top 10 returning quarterbacks in college football for the 2022 season Photo courtesy UVA