Cavalier Corner

TOP MEN'S TEAMS The men's soccer team set the tone for UVa athletics in the fall, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the 34th straight season — the longest active streak in Division I — and making an unexpected run to the program's seventh national title. The Cavaliers entered the 48-team NCAA Tournament field as the No. 16 seed. Thanks in large part to one of the country's most challenging schedules, UVa (14-6-3) totaled only 27 goals for the season — its fewest in George Gelnovatch's 19 years as head coach at his alma mater. After playing a wide-open style for most of the season, though, the Wahoos adapted a defensive focus for NCAA play and proceeded to knock off UNC Wilmington, No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 8 Georgetown, UMBC and No. 2 UCLA en route to the NCAA crown. The Cavs, who matched the second-lowest seed to ever win a championship since the NCAA started seeding 16 teams in 2003, capped the run by holding UCLA scoreless for 110 minutes before defeating the Bruins 4-2 in a penalty-kick shootout. The men's tennis squad kept the momentum going, continuing its ACC dominance and winning its second national crown in three seasons. The Cavaliers have now won nine consecutive ACC titles and 11 overall, and have won 139 consecutive matches (regular season and tournament) against conference foes — the longest streak in league history in any sport. TOP ROOKIES The latest wave of first-year talent was paced by Quin Blanding (football) and Tara Vittese (field hockey). Blanding, a safety, was tabbed as a Freshman All-American by seven media outlets — the Football Writers Associa- tion of America, ESPN.com, Sporting News, USA Today, Scout.com, Phil Steele and 247Sports — after finishing No. 2 in the ACC, No. 17 nationally and No. 1 among the nation's first-years with 10.3 tackles per game. In addition to being Scout.com's National Defensive Rookie of the Year, Blanding earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors from both the ACC media and coaches. Both also included Blanding on their All-ACC second-teams. Blanding finished his rookie campaign tied with Jamie Sharper (1996) for No. 10 in the UVa record book for tackles in a season, and his 123 stops were the most tackles by a Cavalier in a season since Angelo Crowell had 155 in 2002. He also set UVa's record for tackles by a first-year, passing Ahmad Brooks' 2003 total of 117 stops. Vittese became just the second-ever Cavalier rookie to be named a first-team All-American, when she earned a spot on the 2014 Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association squad. She was also honored as the ACC Freshman of the Year and a first-team all-conference performer. She led the ACC in points (51), points per game (2.68), goals (17), shots (80) and shots per game (4.21), and was tied for first in assists (17) while ranking second in goals per game (0.89) and assists per game (0.89). Nationally, Vittese ranked in the top 10 for points per game (fourth), assists per game (sixth) and goals per game (10th). Vittese set the Virginia rookie record for assists in a season, and tied for sixth-highest single-season total in school annals. Her 51 points ranked second all-time among UVa first-years. Other notable rookies include (in alphabetical order): men's tennis player Collin Altamirano (ITA Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year and third-team All-ACC); baseball outfielder/pitcher Adam Haesley (All-ACC Freshman Team); women's swimming and diving standout Jennifer Marrkand (ACC All-Freshman Team); men's soccer midfielder Jake Rozhansky (ACC All-Freshman Team); baseball first baseman/outfielder Pavin Smith (ACC All-Freshman Team); and women's basketball guard Mikayla Venson (ACC All-Freshman Team).

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