Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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APRIL 2023 11 cavalier sports Eden Bigham • Softball The first-year right-hander from Rustburg, Va., tossed a no-hitter with 9 strikeouts in her collegiate debut, a 5-0 win over Lamar Feb. 9. It was the first no-hitter for UVA since Ally Frei tossed one versus Hampton on April 30, 2019. During UVA's 17-5 start, Bigham was 4-1 with 2 saves and a 0.98 ERA. She ranked eighth nationally in fewest hits allowed per seven innings (2.95) and was 35th in ERA as of March 9. Payton Cormier • Lacrosse The fourth-year attackman from Oakville, Ontario, was added to the watch list for the Tewaaraton Award (nation's top player) March 9, joining teammates Connor Shel- lenberger, Petey LaSalla and Cole Kastner. Cormier led the ACC and ranked third nationally in both goals per game (4.50) and points per game (6.00) as of March 9. He scored at least 3 goals in each of his first four games this season, including a career-high 7 against Ohio State Feb. 25. Kate Douglass • Swimming The fourth-year from Pelham, N.Y., helped the UVA capture its fourth straight ACC championship. She won all three of her individual events (200 individual medley, 100 but- terfly and 100 freestyle) and partici- pated in four of the Cavaliers' five relay wins (200 med- ley, 200 free, 400 medley and 400 free) on her way to being named the ACC Women's Most Valuable Swimmer. A couple weeks earlier, Douglass broke her own Ameri- can record in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:01.43 at the Cavalier Invite. Ben James • Golf The first-year golfer from Milford, Conn., was one of 37 players — and one of only three freshmen — named to the watch list for the 2023 Ben Hogan Award, which goes to the nation's top collegiate player. James led the Cavaliers with a 69.33 stroke aver- age in four fall events. He entered the spring season ranked No. 5 by Golf- week and No. 26 by Golfstat among college players, and No. 20 in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings, the 14th highest among American players. 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. " We [the Tampa Bay Buccaneers] played there [in the preseason Hall of Fame game]. I didn't go in. I've been there five times. I've never gone through the Hall. I was purposefully waiting until I had my opportunity to go in." — Ronde Barber on being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Tampa Bay Times) 93 Individual ACC wrestling cham- pions for UVA, with Justin McCoy becoming the latest to achieve the feat. The 165-pounder defeated Virginia Tech's Connor Brady in the finals for the fifth-place Cavaliers March 5 in Raleigh, N.C. McCoy is a three-time All-ACC honoree after finishing as runner-up the previous two seasons. 65 Runs scored in the first four games (16.25 per outing) of the 2023 season for the UVA baseball team, the second-best offensive output in the recorded history of the pro- gram. The inaugural 1889 club scored 70 through its first four games of its seven-game season. This year's team eclipsed the 20-run mark twice in that four-game stretch — 24-5 over Navy Feb. 17 and 26-2 over Longwood Feb. 21. It is the fourth time UVA has scored 20 runs or more twice in a season under head coach Brian O'Connor, joining the 2006, 2010 and 2020 squads. The Cavaliers haven't scored 20 runs three times in a season since 1905 and have only done it three times (1905, 1898 and 1889). The Cavaliers have scored 20 runs 60 times in program history. 800th Career victory for Virginia baseball head coach Brian O'Connor, with the Cavaliers' 16-6 win over Rhode Island March 5. He is the eighth baseball coach in league history to accumu- late 800 wins at an ACC institution. 6 Teams on Virginia's 2023 foot- ball schedule that played in a bowl game last year: Louisville (Fenway Wasabi), Duke (Military), North Carolina (Holiday), Maryland (Duke's Mayo), North Carolina State (Duke's Mayo) and Tennessee (Capital One Orange). Here is UVA football's full 2023 slate: Date Opponent (2022 Record) Sept. 2 vs. Tennessee^ (11-2) Sept. 9 James Madison (8-3) Sept. 16 at Maryland (8-5) Sept. 22 NC State* (8-5) Sept. 30 at Boston College* (3-9) Oct. 7 William & Mary (11-2) Oct. 21 at North Carolina* (9-5) Oct. 28 at Miami* (5-7) Nov. 4 Georgia Tech* (5-7) Nov. 9 at Louisville* (8-5) Nov. 18 Duke* (9-4) Nov. 25 Virginia Tech* (3-8) ^ at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. * ACC game " I'm so happy for him. To see 'Juddy' finally get that ACC title warms my heart. He's put in a lot of work this year, and the way he won was just flat-out guts. He just found a way. That's what it takes at this level." — UVA wrestling head coach Steve Garland on 165-pound ACC champion Justin McCoy