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14 CAVALIER CORNER 'I NEEDED TO BE HERE' More comfortable in his surroundings, Faumui had a breakout year as a second-year. That season he played in all 14 games as the Cavaliers defeated Virginia Tech in the regular- season finale to clinch the ACC's Coastal Division title. Virginia then played in the ACC Championship Game and made the program's first appearance in a New Year's Six bowl game, falling to Florida in the Orange Bowl. Faumui had 33 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and 4 sacks during the season, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in the win against the Hokies. His 78.8 pressure grade from Pro Football Focus was both best on the defense and the best for a de- fensive lineman in any of Mendenhall's first four seasons at UVA. His 40 total pressures were also most on the defense and tied for second-most in the country among players expected to return for the 2020 season. The season gave Faumui a great sense of accomplishment and he knew he belonged at UVA, both as a student and athlete. Then came the pandemic and an entirely new set of challenges. As the university's student body was sent home to resume their studies on a remote basis, Faumui found himself back in Hawai'i. Following the wishes of his mother, who was concerned about her son's asthma, he did not return to Grounds in the fall of 2020 and missed the entire season. "To this day I still regret not playing that year, not being here in 2020. I felt lost," Fau- mui said. "That was the first time I felt lost back home. And I felt like I didn't need to be there at that point, that I needed to be here. "But because of my medical reasons, my mom wanted me back home." Faumui found himself homesick again, but this time for Virginia. "Virginia is a blessing," Faumui said. "I love Virginia. It's been home ever since I got comfortable with it." In the summer of 2020, Faumui had an- other big change in his life. That summer, while in Hawai'i, he married his high school sweet- heart, Tracey. LEARNING FROM TRAGEDY Faumui returned to Grounds for the spring semester in 2021. He played in all 12 games that season and totaled 23 tack- les, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1 sack. Then came another twist. Mendenhall unexpectedly resigned after the regular season. Uncertain of his future, Faumui put his name in the transfer portal. After meet- ing new head coach Tony Elliott, he elected to stay at Virginia. That proved to be a big bonus for the Cavalier defense. Faumui started nine of the first 10 games in 2022. He led the Cavalier defense with 8.5 tackles for loss and his 39 tackles were the most among UVA defensive linemen. But then came the night of Nov. 13, when teammates Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D'Sean Perry were shot and killed on a bus as they returned to Grounds from a school field trip to see a play in Washington, D.C. Faumui was devastated. Perry was one of his closest friends and a former roommate. The following day, Faumui went to the site of the shooting, where he told a local televi- sion reporter, "He had a whole future ahead of him and just to see him gone is heart- breaking. I came over here because this is where they got shot, and I wanted to be in their presence one last time." Faumui said he thinks of his fallen team- mates every day, and he's learning from their tragedy. "I think I'm a lot more grateful," he said. "It definitely did give me a different perspective on life, to not take everything for granted, to love your loved ones while you can. "And I think I really emphasized on loving my brothers, loving my sisters, my siblings, my teammates as much as I can while I'm still here. Because you never know when it's your time. So, I think it's just being apprecia- tive of everything you have while you have it." While Faumui grieved the loss of his team- mates, he was confronted with another deci- sion: to complete his undergraduate degree and move on, or to take advantage of an extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted for players who were in their last year with the program? Compounding that was the fact Tracey was several months pregnant when UVA's season ended prematurely in November. Faumui opted to come back for one more year of competition, in part to honor his for- mer teammates. In June, when their son was born, Faumui paid the ultimate compliment to Perry. He and Tracey named their son Saint D'Sean Faumui. "When he got closer to him being born, I came up with Saint and then I came up with D'Sean," Faumui said. "Also, because D'Sean was the first person I told when Tracey became pregnant. Tracey had no problem with it. She knew the relationship between me and D'Sean. We were very close. And she met D'Sean and D'Sean would come over almost every day to the house. We had dinner together all the time. She also got to know him really well." When the Perry family learned of the Fau- muis' plans, they were delighted. "They thought it was wonderful," Faumui said. "Miss Happy [Perry's mother], she thought it was great. She's always holding him, always loving on him. So he's great. It is like still having a part of D'Sean here." TAKING IT UP A NOTCH The birth of a son also gave Faumui pause to reconsider his "why." Faumui's teammates said he has taken his drive, commitment and intensity up a notch this year. (Photo by Pete Emerson/courtesy UVA)