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AUGUST 2017 ◆ 13 nis singles championship and field hockey junior midfielder Tara Vittese repeated as the Longstreth/NFHCA National Player of the Year. Jimmy Stanger (men's golf), Georgia Ratcliff (rowing), Mihaljevic (track & field) and Kwiatkowski (men's tennis) earned ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. TOP MEN'S TEAMS Once again, the tennis team stole the spotlight with its third consecutive national championship, capped by a 4-2 win over North Carolina at the NCAA Champion- ships in Athens, Ga. The feat marked the end of a nearly flaw- less 34-1 campaign and gave the program its fourth NCAA title in the last five years. Virginia is one of only four schools to have won three (or more) consecutive NCAA titles in men's tennis, along with UCLA (1952-54), Southern California (1962-64, 1966-69, 2009-12) and Stanford (1988-90, 1995-98). After helping the Cavaliers take home the team title and earning NCAA All- Tournament accolades at No. 2 doubles, Kwiatkowski was crowned as the NCAA single champion. It marked the fourth time a Cavalier took home the championship. The track and field program continued its ascent under director of track field/cross country Bryan Fetzer, culminating with the third-place showing at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. That finish was the best by an ACC school since Florida State was the runner-up in 2011 and the best in UVA history. The strong closing effort landed the Cav- aliers at No. 4 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Program of the Year standings. That was also the best showing in program history, and UVA was one of five schools to earn a top-20 national finish at all three NCAA Championships (cross country, indoor and outdoor). "This is very important to our program," Fetzer said. "Three straight years of rank- ing in the nation's top five places us among the track and field royalty. … Some uni- versities specialize in cross country or out- doors, etc., but we will continue to strive to have a complete program. That was my goal from the beginning. "We want to contribute to the department's goal of winning the Learfield Directors' Cup by pro- ducing the most points possible, and being na- tionally competitive in all three seasons does just that. It speaks vol- umes to where we are as a program, and everyone associated with the program has played a role in the success." It was a breakout season for the golf program. Virginia finished sixth or better in 10 of 13 events during the 2016-17 regular season, including four victories and two runner-up performances. The Cavaliers finished sixth at the ACC Championships and a program-best 10th at the NCAA Championships, and they were ranked No. 12 by Golfstat and No. 17 by Golfweek/Sagarin at the end of the season. "To have won four tourna- ments this year and have the best finish in the history of our program at NCAAs is a credit to the work and effort these young men put in over the course of the year," head coach Bowen Sar- gent said. In addition, the soccer team posted an 11-4-5 overall mark, qualified for its 36th consecutive NCAA Tournament and advanced to the third round; wrestling finished 15th at the NCAA Championships, marking its second-high- est finish in program history, plus redshirt fourth-year George DiCamillo became UVA's first national finalist since 2000 (and third all time); basketball advanced to its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1981-84, led the nation in scoring defense (56.4 points allowed per game) and recorded its school-record fifth straight season with 23 or more wins; and baseball competed in the NCAA Tourna- ment for 14th straight season — the fourth- longest active streak in Division I baseball — and finished with a 43-16 record. 2016-17 DIRECTORS' CUP FINAL STANDINGS Rk. School Points 1. Stanford 1,563.00 2. Ohio State 1,343.75 3. Florida 1,252.50 4. USC 1,251.25 5. North Carolina* 1,154.00 6. Michigan 1,133.25 7. Texas 1,067.75 8. Penn State 1,046.75 9. Oregon 1,027.00 10. Kentucky 1,025.00 13. Florida State* 921.75 19. Virginia* 862.00 23. Notre Dame* 801.00 26. Louisville* 767.50 29. NC State* 710.50 32. Duke* 679.50 40. Virginia Tech* 549.50 44. Syracuse* 519.25 52. Clemson* 471.50 55. Wake Forest* 443.00 56. Miami (Fla.)* 441.00 72. Boston College* 303.00 92. Pittsburgh* 216.00 102. Georgia Tech* 198.00 * ACC schools George DiCamillo became UVA's first national finalist since 2000 while helping the Wahoos to their second-best finish ever (15th). PHOTO COURTESY UVA