Virginia finished 20th in the final 2012-13 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup competition for Division I schools. The final results were announced Thursday (June 27) by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). The finish marks the seventh consecutive year the Cavaliers’ program has placed in the top 20. Virginia’s best finish came in 2010 when it was third.
It marks the 20th consecutive year, since the program’s inception, the Cavaliers have recorded a top-30 finish. UVa is one of 14 schools to rank in the top 30 of the final Directors’ Cup standings in each year of the program’s existence.
Virginia’s first NCAA championship in men’s tennis capped an athletics season in which teams or individuals from 19 of the Cavaliers’ 25 intercollegiate athletics programs advanced to NCAA postseason competition in 2012-13. Other team highlights from the year included the rowing team’s fifth-place national finish, baseball’s fourth NCAA Super Regional appearance in the last five years and the men’s tennis team winning the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the fifth time in the past six years.
UVa won five Atlantic Coast Conference Championships and now has won 56 in the last 11 years. Virginia’s total is the highest number of championships won among the ACC’s 12 member institutions. UVa won ACC Championships in rowing (13th in 14 years), men’s swimming and diving (sixth consecutive and 14th in 15 years), women’s swimming and diving (sixth consecutive), men’s tennis (seventh consecutive and ninth in the last 10 years) and women’s soccer.
Two Virginia coaches, Kevin Sauer in rowing and Brian O’Connor in baseball, earned ACC Coach of the Year Awards in 2012-13.
Women’s soccer player Caroline Miller, a first-team All-American, was named the ACC’s Offensive Player of the Year. Field hockey’s Paige Selenski, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, finished her four-year Cavalier career with 238 points, the highest career mark in Virginia and ACC history. Men’s tennis standout Jarmere Jenkins was the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s national senior of the year. Freshman Julia Elbaba was selected as the ITA’s national rookie of the year.
Additional highlights of Virginia’s 2012-13 athletics year included:
– The UVa men’s soccer team extended the nation’s longest current streak of participating in the NCAA Tournament by receiving its 32nd consecutive bid
– Women’s Soccer reached the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the eighth consecutive year and Caroline Miller became the first Cavalier to be named a finalist for the Hermann Trophy
– Football’s Oday Aboushi and Steve Greer headlined six All-ACC selections as first-team honorees, giving UVa at least one member on the first team for six straight seasons
– Men’s Cross Country won the NCAA Southeast Regional and finished 14th at the NCAA Championships
– Men’s Basketball, led by All-ACC first team guard Joe Harris, finished the season with a 23-12 record and made its 13th NIT appearance, advancing to the NIT quarterfinals for the first time since 1992
– Led by All-ACC junior guard Ataira Franklin, the Cavalier women’s basketball team had two victories over top-25-ranked teams (No. 17 Vanderbilt and No. 25 Florida State)
– The field hockey team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 16-6 record and No. 7 rank in the NFHCA poll
– The wrestling team finished 21st at the NCAA Championships (23.5 points) and Jedd Moore (6th at 157 pounds) and Nick Sulzer (8th at 165 pounds) each earned All-America honors at NCAAs
– Lauren Perdue was named the Women’s ACC Swimmer of the Championships for the third time in her career
– Swimmers Luke Papendick and Courtney Bartholomew were named the Men’s and Women’s ACC Freshman of the Year, respectively
– The UVa women’s lacrosse team participated in the NCAA Tournament for the 18th consecutive season, advancing to the quarterfinals by defeating a pair of higher-seeded teams
– Five Cavalier men’s lacrosse players were named USILA All-Americans, highlighted by Scott McWilliams and Matt White on the second team
– Softball’s Melanie Mitchell broke the school records for wins (79), strikeouts (1,101), complete games (117), innings pitched (942), appearances (161) and starts (144)
– Rowing’s Kristine O’Brien was named CRCA First-Team All-American for third consecutive year
– Jarmere Jenkins and Mac Styslinger became the third men’s tennis duo in the past five years to win the NCAA Doubles Championship
– The women’s tennis team advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season and the NCAA Round of 16 for the third consecutive year
– Julia Elbaba became UVa’s second women’s tennis All-American after becoming the first Cavalier women’s tennis player to earn a seed (No. 9-16) at the NCAA Singles Championship
– Virginia sophomore Denny McCarthy finished 22nd at the NCAA Championships after tying for second at the NCAA Columbus Regional. McCarthy received All-ACC, All-East Region and honorable mention All-America honors
– Senior Brittany Altomare became the first Cavalier to win the ACC Individual title, be named the ACC’s Golfer of the Year and earn first-team All-America honors.
– Baseball participated in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive year and played in a Super Regional for the fourth time in the last five seasons
– In June of 2013, Blake Miller was named head coach of the softball program
Academics
Virginia placed 293 student-athletes on the ACC Honor Roll. A total of 24 Cavaliers were recognized for the fourth time during their careers.
The ACC Honor Roll is comprised of student-athletes who participated in a varsity-level sport and registered a grade point average of 3.00 or better for the full academic year.
Among the Cavaliers honored were the ACC Women’s Golfer of the Year, Brittany Altomare, and two student-athletes who received ACC Freshman of the Year honors, including Courtney Bartholomew (women’s swimming and diving) and Luke Papendick (men’s swimming and diving). ACC Women’s Swimmer of the Championships and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Lauren Perdue was recognized along with six members of the rowing team’s ACC Crew of the Year – Sarah Cowburn, Constanze Duell, Susanne Grainger, Chandler Lally, Elle Murray and Kristine O’Brien.
Also honored were graduate students Matt Snyder (wrestling) and Sarah Cowburn (rowing), both of whom were recognized as Capital One Academic All-Americans and were named ACC Scholar-Athletes of the Year in their respective sports.
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