As summer dwindles down to fall here in Charlottesville, the academic calendar begins to fill, and so does the Cavalier athletic schedule. Here is a look back at the Wahoo sports fall season thus far.
Football:
Virginia, led by coach Tony Elliott, has kicked off their 2024 campaign in far better fashion than years past. Second year returning QB Anthony Colandrea has guided the team to a 3-1 start, the best since the 2019 season. The Cavaliers have posted a home win against Richmond, and two on the road against Wake Forest and most recently Coastal Carolina. Notre Dame transfer Chris Tyree, Senior WR Malachi Fields, and RB Kobe Pace have worked well in tandem with Colandrea to kickstart the offense and get Virginia off to this 3-1 start. The team will enjoy a bye week this week and return to action October 5th to face the Boston College Eagles.
Cross Country:
Both the men’s and women’s XC teams have gotten out of the gate quickly, climbing to be ranked #15 and #16 in the USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll, respectively. The teams have competed in two meets thus far. In the Spider Alumni Open, hosted by Richmond, both men’s and women’s teams took home first place, with the women grabbing five of the top six spots in the 4 kilometer race and the men finishing in style first through seventh. The second meet of the year was hosted by UVA and once again both teams had matching finishes, but this time coming in second. Men’s and women’s cross country will continue their seasons in Wisconsin on Friday and Charlottesville on Saturday.
Field Hockey:
Virginia field hockey might just be the best team on Grounds as of late. The women have jumped out to a fantastic 7-0 start to the season and number #3 national ranking. This seven-game winning streak has included wins over #16 Penn State, #11 Liberty, and a 2-0 record against ACC opponents. The Cavaliers have outscored the opposition 24-8 and are led by Suze Leemans, who has 5 goals on the season, and goalie Tyler Kennedy, posting an impressive season GAA of 1.12. The women’s field hockey team will look to extend their seven-game winning streak when they take on rival Duke on the road this Friday.
Volleyball:
While field hockey might be the only unbeaten team on grounds, women’s volleyball is making just as much noise, with a 10-1 opening tear to the year. The team has just come off back-to-back wins against Middle Tennessee State. The Wahoos have registered almost 100 more kills than their opponents in their eleven games. Brooklyn Borum, Abby Tadder, and Elayna Duprey have all recorded over 100 points thus far this season. The team will dive into ACC action this week as they challenge Wake Forest on Friday and NC State on Sunday.
Men’s Soccer:
Virginia men’s soccer has gotten off to a somewhat lackluster start in August and September. The team is 2-2-3 so far with an in conference record of 0-1-2. The team’s two wins came against Rider and St. Joseph’s. Last year, the team made it to the second round of the National Tournament and posted a finishing record of 11-4-4. The team’s leading scorer in the 23-24 campaign Stephen Annor Gyamfi has since departed, so the Wahoos will have to look elsewhere for offense as they look to keep their season on track. Action will resume for the team against ACC newcomer Stanford in Charlottesville on Friday night.
Women’s Soccer:
The women’s soccer team has had a rollercoaster of a season through their first ten games. They debuted in 2024 as unranked, then had big wins against #3 Penn State and rival JMU, catapulting up the national rankings. The team topped out at #2 and has since lost to ACC opponents Wake Forest and Notre Dame, taking them back to unranked. Overall the Cavaliers are 8-2 on the season and 1-2 in the ACC. The team has shown promise to become the best. They will go on the road to take on rivals UNC and Duke in their next two contests and look to rebound back to their winning ways.
Swimming:
The Cavaliers will return to the pool this weekend as they face the Navy Midshipmen at home in Charlottesville. This is an exciting time for Virginia swimming, to say the least—the women cemented their Dynasty status as they took home a fourth consecutive National Championship last year. The team was led by Gretchen and Alex Walsh who continue to tear through not only college pools, but Olympics ones as well. Overall, Virginia sent six students to the Olympics in 2024 and won an astonishing eleven medals, five of which were gold, five silver, and a lone bronze. Gretchen Walsh also bested the previous Olympic 100 Fly record and swam on two relay teams that posted world records. As the new season opens for swimming and diving, eyes will be watching intently to see if Virginia can continue this period of dominance.
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