ACC Championships Weekend

Thursday, April 21 2011 by Tim

Virginia is competing in seven different ACC Championships this weekend. Kind of insane. So let’s take a quick look at each event and what we can expect:

  • Men’s Golf (Friday through Sunday): The Virginia men’s golf team is ranked #19 in the country according to the GCAA Coaches’ Poll. Georgia Tech is far in the lead in the conference, ranked #4 nationally, while Duke is also ahead of the Cavaliers at #18. N.C. State is the final ranked ACC team, coming in at #23. Clemson and Wake Forest are somewhere just outside the top 25. I expect the ‘Hoos to be competitive here, but I would be surprised if they pull it off. The Jackets have won two straight ACC titles, so they have to be considered the favorite here.
  • Women’s Tennis (Friday through Sunday): Virginia is in a position that is becoming all too familiar to ACC schools in the non-revenue sports. Virginia is ranked #11 in the country, but is only the fourth highest ACC team in the country. Duke is #3, North Carolina is #5 and Miami is #6. And those rankings line up exactly with what you’ll see in the ACC tournament this weekend as those are the top four teams and all will get byes in the first round today. Virginia plays the winner of the 5/12 game between Florida State and Wake Forest. The Cavaliers defeated both of those teams (5-2 over FSU and 6-1 over Wake Forest) earlier in the season. I expect that Virginia will win their first match tomorrow, but the semi-final matchup against Duke will be tough. They’re on a roll, though, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they pulled off an upset here or there.
  • Women’s Lacrosse (Thursday through Sunday): I was shocked to see that Virginia was the #6 overall seed in the ACC. They’re the #10 team in the country, after all. But that’s what a poor performance in your ACC slate and some tie-breaking rules will do to you. Virginia opens up against the third seed (and #6 ranked) North Carolina at 7pm today. I expect we’ll put up a fight – there’s a lot of talent on this team – but I have a hard time seeing us make it all the way to Sunday. I hope the ladies can prove me wrong, however.
  • Outdoor Track & Field (Thursday through Saturday): I don’t know enough about this group of men and women to really comment on their chances. I know my former office-mate Stephanie Garcia will be crushing opponents on Friday night during the Steeple Chase. But beyond that… I don’t know. Good luck Hoos!
  • Men’s Lacrosse (Friday through Sunday): So we’re the fourth seed and we have to face Duke. Again. If we get past Duke, I like our chances. But that’s a big if. Duke has had our number for the last 5 years or so and the match will be played in Durham. Let’s just hope ACC Player of the Year Steele Stanwick is back. He could have been the difference-maker last Saturday against the Blue Devils.
  • Rowing (Saturday): And here’s where it gets really fun. The crew team is definitely the favorite to win the ACC this year, just like most years. They’ve only not won it once, as far as I can remember. Virginia is currently ranked fifth in the country with Clemson being the closest ACC team at #14. I’ll be surprised if we don’t bring home another conference title here.
  • Men’s Tennis (Friday through Sunday): Speaking of “surprised if we don’t win” – there’s not a team more qualified for that distinction in the entire ACC, regardless of sport, than the Virginia Men’s Tennis team. They’re the top-ranked team in the country. They’re undefeated. They won the ITA National Indoors Championship. They’ve won 74 consecutive matches against conference opponents (keep in mind, we only play about 14-15 ACC matches per year. So that’s a LONG streak). We’ve won it four times in a row. This should make it five.

Recap:

So there you have it. Two likely titles, a decent shot at a title and some outside shots. Regardless, it’s a huge sports weekend for Virginia and I’ll be paying close attention to everything that’s going on. You should be as well!

Go Hoos!