though we won the second varsity eight and the
varsity four. We've finished second three times.
"In 2010, a lot of people came up to me and
said, 'Congratulations! You finally won it after
you came close so many times.' 2010 was the
hardest and consequently it showed us it was
possible. It's not easy to do.
"Since 2012, we haven't won. Both are hard,
but 2010 was the hardest because we got the
monkey off our back."
CAVALIER CORNER: What was a major rea-
son why you were able to transform Virginia's
program into a national champion?
SAUER: "We had success as a club program
and won the varsity fours national champion-
ship in '95. We finished fifth in the country the
first year of varsity status (1995-96) and went
undefeated during the regular season. Then, we
went to the NCAAs. We placed fourth in the
1997 NCAAs.
"The combination of club success plus the suc-
cess we had in our first year at the varsity level
showed people Virginia was for real and enabled
us to recruit. People didn't know who we were
until then."
CAVALIER CORNER: Given all the ACC
championships and national championships Vir-
ginia has won during your tenure, what's given
you the most satisfaction?
SAUER: "The championships don't give you
as much satisfaction as changing kids' lives and
preparing them for the real world. Just seeing
how much they mature and grow shows it takes
a lot of hard work.
"This program has helped kids to do this."
— Mike Scandura
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