Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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FEBRUARY 2023 11 cavalier sports Of the 351 schools that have men's and women's Division I basketball pro- grams, only one boasted two undefeated teams on Dec. 4: Virginia. The Cavalier men started 8-0 and didn't take their first loss until falling at home to Houston Dec. 17, while the Cavalier women opened 12-0 before falling at Duke Dec. 21. Jenny Bressler • Softball The graduate transfer who is joining the Virginia softball program after a successful career at UNLV came in at No. 94 in the D1Softball Preseason D100 Player Rankings Jan. 10. She also was tabbed No. 98 on Extra Innings Softball's top-100 list Jan. 17. Bressler, a four-time Mountain West All-Conference first- team selection and a two-time NFCA all-region selection, struck out 599 batters — the fourth most in program history — and posted 78 career wins, which ranks second all-time at UNLV. Jake Gelof • Baseball The third-year third baseman was named a preseason first-team All- American by Collegiate Baseball News- paper. He is one of nine ACC players on the CBN All-America team and one of four listed on the first team. Gelof batted .377 with 65 runs scored, 21 home runs and a school-record 81 RBI in 2022. His RBI total last season is the best by any returning college baseball player, and his .764 slugging percentage is the second highest of any NCAA returner. Andreas Ueland • Soccer The Virginia defender was selected in the third round of the 2023 MLS Super- Draft by the New England Revolution with the 68th overall pick, becoming the ninth Cavalier drafted since 2020. The Bryne, Norway, native excelled during his final season with the Cavaliers. Ueland served as a co-captain and defensive leader, and he became the first UVA player to be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Cavaliers to eight shutout performances. He also is the second-ever Cavalier to earn first-team Scholar All-America honors. Aubrey Williams • Lacrosse The third-year was tabbed as a pre- season third-team All-American by USA Lacrosse Magazine. Last year, she posted a UVA single-season record 149 draw controls. Williams started all 20 games as the draw specialist for the Cavaliers and grabbed double-digit draws in six games in 2022. She ranked third in the ACC and 10th in the NCAA with an average of 7.45 draws per game. HOO'S HOT Recognizing the "Who's Hoo" in UVA athletics — Cava- lier student-athletes, past, present and future who are making news around the world of sports. " Along with Mir McLean, who transferred from UConn after the 2020‑21 season, Brunelle has been the foundation of a Virginia resurgence. Having earned her degree in three years at Notre Dame, but seeing her playing time diminish, Brunelle elected to transfer closer to home to finish her playing career. Her 11.7 points per game are the most Brunelle has averaged since her freshman season, and she is the leading three‑point shooter for a Cavaliers team off to its best start in 31 years under first‑year coach Amaka Agugua‑Hamilton." — ESPN's Charlie Crème on ranking Virginia graduate student forward Sam Brunelle No. 20 on his list of women's college basketball's most impactful transfers in 2022-23 .515 .515 Increase in winning percentage for the Virginia wom- en's basketball team after its 14-6 (.700) start through Jan. 25. That was the second best in the country, behind only Illinois (+.541) and ahead of Illinois-Chicago (+.505), East Tennessee State (+.500) and Florida Atlantic (+.444). The Cavaliers were also tied with Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and East Tennessee State for the largest increase in total wins at +9. By Nov. 23, UVA had eclipsed its win total from the previous two seasons com- bined. The Cavaliers were 0-5 during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season and 5-22 (.185) in 2021-22. 327 327 Victories as the Cavaliers' men's basketball head coach for Tony Bennett after a 73-66 win over Syracuse Jan. 7. In the process, he surpassed Terry Holland (326 wins) as UVA's all-time winningest men's basketball coach. Two weeks later, Bennett earned his 400th career victory as a head coach with UVA's 76-67 triumph at Wake Forest. Through Jan. 21, Bennett had a 331-120 (.734 winning percentage) mark in 14 seasons at UVA and a 400-153 (.723) overall career mark in 17 seasons as a head coach. Holland was 326-173 (.653) in 16 seasons at UVA.