FOV Cavalier of the Year 2011, #5/#6

From Old Virginia celebrates its birthday in a unique way: by recognizing one of Virginia's student-athletes as the Cavalier of the Year. What are the criteria for the award? You decide; that's the beauty. I nominate the 12 athletes that I think have been the most outstanding during the latest season of UVA athletics, and provide a short summary of their accomplishments. You choose the winner in a poll that goes up after all 12 have had their moment in the spotlight.

Over the next two weeks, two athletes at a time will be profiled, and you'll hear about what they've accomplished while representing Mr. Jefferson's University this year. The athletes are presented in a totally random order so as to hopefully not imply any endorsement one way or another. Athletes from all fields are considered; part of the point is to emphasize that UVA is about excellence across the entire department and doesn't shortchange its so-called non-revenue sports simply because they don't make headlines. The previous winners are Danny Hultzen (2009) and Diego Restrepo (2010); today's athlete's are Mustapha Farrakhan and Michael Shabaz.
Mustapha Farrakhan - Men's basketball - Shooting guard

Team accomplishments:

- First winning record in three years and highest ACC tournament seed in four (OK, that's really reaching.  Not much to brag about.  Still, more than in recent years with a sweep of VT.)

Personal accomplishments:

- Team scoring leader
- Honorable mention all-ACC
- First 30-point game by a Hoo since 2009 (Sylven Landesberg)
- Tied school record with eight straight three-pointers against Howard

On paper, there's nothing much to brag about when it comes to the basketball team's results this year.  Objectively, it's not too exciting going 16-15 and dropping out in the first round of the ACC tournament.  But you'n'I know better, especially given the results of previous years.  It would appear that the Hoos played above their heads and overachieved this season, but they pass the eye test a lot better than they once did.  And Mustapha Farrakhan, here, is the perfect microcosm.

Mu Farrakhan spent most of his first three years here as a role player - specifically, a tremendously gifted athlete (his Thunderdome dunk against NC State is Exhibit A) who was enormously prone to wild inconsistencies in his game.  Three-for-fourteen shooting nights weren't uncommon - in fact, they were just about expected if Mu had just shot well the previous game.  But Mu was a tri-captain this year along with Mike Scott and Will Sherrill, and when Scott went down with an ankle injury, it was time to see what Farrakhan could do.

The answer was: lead the team in scoring.  As the ACC season rolled on, it became eminently clear whose team this was on the floor.  And to be brutally honest: I never would've guessed Farrakhan had the leadership chops.  Consider me proven wrong - Farrakhan straightened out his shot and knocked them down with the consistency you need from your captain, and earned himself an honorable mention to the all-ACC squad.  Does that sound like much?  No.  If you take into account where Farrakhan came from in previous years?  It's as big a step forward as any Hoo cager has taken in a long, long time.

Michael Shabaz - Men's tennis - #1 singles/doubles

Team accomplishments:

- Fourth straight national indoors championship
- NCAA tournament #1 seed
- Advanced to NCAA championship final

Personal accomplishments:

- Advanced to NCAA singles semifinals
- Advanced to NCAA doubles round of 16 with Drew Courtney
- ITA National Senior Player of the Year
- 3rd straight all-ACC recognition
- Five-time ACC Player of the Week
- Selected to travel to Chile with United States Davis Cup team

Michael Shabaz came to UVA as a #1 recruit, and never did anything to put any doubts to those kind of expectations.  Shabaz has national championships under his belt - in fact, during his career, UVA never failed to win an ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) indoor title, though they were never quite able to translate that success to the outdoor courts.

Still, national championships are great and wonderful, as is being named national Senior Player of the Year by the ITA, but the biggest honor has to be the Davis Cup thing, doesn't it?  Shabaz was chosen to travel to Chile with the team for their World Group matches as a practice partner for Andy Roddick, John Isner, and the rest of that gang, surely one of the highest honors accorded a UVA athlete all year.  Maybe more than all year.

FOV Cavalier of the Year, #3/#4

From Old Virginia celebrates its birthday in a unique way: by recognizing one of Virginia's student-athletes as the Cavalier of the Year. What are the criteria for the award? You decide; that's the beauty. I nominate the 12 athletes that I think have been the most outstanding during the latest season of UVA athletics, and provide a short summary of their accomplishments. You choose the winner in a poll that goes up after all 12 have had their moment in the spotlight.

Over the next two weeks, two athletes at a time will be profiled, and you'll hear about what they've accomplished while representing Mr. Jefferson's University this year. The athletes are presented in a totally random order so as to hopefully not imply any endorsement one way or another. Athletes from all fields are considered; part of the point is to emphasize that UVA is about excellence across the entire department and doesn't shortchange its so-called non-revenue sports simply because they don't make headlines. Last year's winner was Danny Hultzen; today's athletes are Drew Courtney/Michael Shabaz and Chris Henrich.

Drew Courtney/Michael Shabaz - Men's tennis - #1 Doubles



Team accomplishments:

- ACC champions
- Ended regular season ranked #1 in the nation
- Advanced to final four

Personal accomplishments:

- NCAA doubles national champions
- 13-2 record as doubles team
- Combined for 23-6 record as singles players in dual matches

National championships are always worth getting excited about, and consecutive national championships are a surefire way to earn a COTY nomination. Michael Shabaz's doubles partner last year was a different guy, but the result is the same: trophies. Shabaz is one of the elite players in the nation: he finished the season ranked 7th in the country in the singles rankings and played 13 dual (that is, us against another team as opposed to an invitational) matches as UVA's #1 singles entry, winning 11. He added three more wins in the NCAA singles championship before being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Courtney's no slouch either, of course; his total of 32 total singles wins and 19 dual match wins is tops on the team. He finished the season ranked #43, but outperformed that designation by also winning a match in the NCAA singles championships.

But it's as a team these two are nominated. In the season's final doubles rankings, they land at #5. The list of vanquished opponents on the way to the NCAA championship, though, is long and distinguished: their last three matches of the tournament were against, respectively, the #1, #4, and #3 ranked pairings on the ITA's list. And in the semifinals, they faced off against Bradley Klahn of Stanford, who himself is the NCAA singles champion. A difficult road to be sure, but it makes UVA's second individual national title of the season all the more satisfying.

Chris Henrich - Wrestling - 174 lbs.


Team accomplishments:

- ACC champions
- 15th at NCAA championships

Personal accomplishments:

- National 3rd-place finish in 174 lb. weight class
- ACC 174 lb. champion
- UVA's first two-time wrestling All-American
- 35-3 record

UVA wrestling has never really been a big deal. The last ACC championship was in 1977; the last time they'd done this well at the NCAAs was in 1957. Led by Chris Henrich, that changed this year. Henrich, a junior, has qualified for the NCAAs in every year of his UVA career, and only an exceedingly close decision kept him from wrestling in the championship match at the national tournament.

Henrich's 174-lb. championship at the ACCs was his second in a row, and the championship match was no contest at all. I don't know how you score points in wrestling, but I know this: in any sport, a 20-5 win is domination, and in this case it was far and away the widest decision of the meet. He was similarly dominant during the regular season, losing just two matches (one of them to the #1-ranked wrestler in the country and the other by just one point) and none to an ACC opponent. You could hardly find a more natural choice for a COTY nomination than one putting his team back on the national map after a long hiatus.

it's a party and you're all invited

One week from today is a Very Special Day. No, it's not the day your propeller beanie finally comes in the mail. It's my birthday, wheee! Or to get all technically correct about it, it's the birthday of this blog, which dates its founding to June 10, 2008. That means FOV is turning two years old.

It certainly has been an interesting two years, full of triumph, tragedy, and heartbreak. UVA is the most successful ACC athletic department since expansion, and that is awesome, and nearly half those ACC titles have come in the last two years. On the other hand, the last two seasons have both seen major coach firings. Al Groh and Dave Leitao were the big-cheese coaches when this blog began; they've been replaced by Mike London and Tony Bennett. (This also necessitates a change of banners, which I'm working on. My limited graphic design skills are combining forces with my limited software to produce a bunch of stuff I hate. Getting there, though.)

Interesting times for the blog itself, too. I've been so idiotically wrong at times, and prophetic at others. (It counts even if that foresight was the result of a visit to Emo Myspace Land.) I've been quoted at Yahoo and won interesting awards, the latter of which I'd like to think is for being bloody damn right.

Anyway, just like last year, birthday party means it's time to recognize the athletes that are out at the forefront, wearing the colors and representing the school. The 2nd annual FOV Cavalier of the Year Award, which is basically the prestige equivalent of a Nobel Athletics Prize and therefore only Hoos are eligible, is hereby announced. Last year's winner was baseball's Danny Hultzen, a worthy awardee, and he returns as a nominee this year as well. The twelve nominees, in alphabetical order, are:

Robby Andrews (track)
Ken Clausen (lacrosse)
Drew Courtney/Michael Shabaz (tennis)
Chris Henrich (wrestling)
Danny Hultzen (baseball)
Brittany Kalkstein (lacrosse)
Lauren Perdue (swimming)
Diego Restrepo (soccer)
Scot Robison (swimming)
Paige Selenski (field hockey)
Sarah Tacke (softball)
Monica Wright (basketball)

Here's the format: over the next couple weeks, I'll be profiling these standout athletes for you with a summary of their accomplishments this season, two at a time and in a random order. Just about every one of them has earned some kind of hardware or individual recognition for their exploits. When I'm done with the summaries, a poll will go up on the right-hand side. I determine the nominees, but you the readers determine the winner. Hultzen was indeed the people's choice last year, and I must say you chose wisely. The power will again be in your hands; do not use it for evil.

FOV Cavalier of the Year, #3/#4

The official From Old Virginia Birthday is June 10, at which time this blog marks its first year of publication. For the birthday celebration, we - that is, me, and you the readers - will name the FOV Cavalier of the Year. My job is to pick the twelve finalists and write a few words about each that tell you all about their accomplishments. Your job is easier: to vote in the poll that will run once all twelve are finished.

Two of the finalists will be highlighted each day this week, today through Saturday. They're in random order with no rhyme or reason implied or intended. Today: Eugene Monroe and Dominic Inglot/Michael Shabaz.

Eugene Monroe - Football - Left tackle













Team accomplishments:

- Beat two ranked ACC teams, and Maryland by 31.
- Um.....that's about it.

Personal accomplishments:

- Selected 8th overall in the NFL draft.
- Winner of ACC's Jacobs Blocking Trophy as league's best blocker.
- First-team all-ACC selection with third-most votes overall.
- ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week following win over ECU.

It's pretty clear by the inclusion of team accomplishments in these lists that I sort of intend them to be taken into account in the voting, and the football team is one of the few UVA teams that had a lousy year. That said, it's not as if there weren't bright spots, and Eugene Monroe was the brightest. He established himself as the ACC's premier offensive lineman and one of the clear best in the country, rewarded for a fine season with an invite to sit in the green room at the NFL Draft and come out on stage to pose with the commish when his name was called with the 8th overall pick. He was the third ACC player taken, but the second one taken that nobody said "WTF???" after. He came to UVA as a top-ten prospect nationally and left the same way - the only one in that group that can claim that.

Dominic Inglot/Michael Shabaz - Men's tennis - Doubles














Team accomplishments:

- Third consecutive ACC championship
- Won NCAA regional
- Made NCAA quarterfinals
- Undefeated regular season
- Extended streak of consecutive matches won against ACC to 45

Personal accomplishments:

- Won national doubles championship
- That's "National. Championship."
- Defeated #1 pairing in the nation in the first round of NCAA doubles tournament
- Won 10 of 13 sets in NCAA doubles tournament
- 41-8 record as a doubles pairing

Unlike yesterday's women's basketball pairing, Inglot and Shabaz are here specifically as a pair. When you bring home a national championship, I don't care if it is in an under-the-radar sport like tennis, finalist status for CotY is guaranteed. Even had they lost every single other point they played all year. But they didn't, mind you - they won an incredible 84% of their matches, finished the year as the #1 doubles pairing after starting off as #2, and roared through an NCAA field (playing three higher-seeded pairings on the way) to bring home the only national championship that UVA has seen this season. (So far. Keeping my fingers crossed for the baseball team.)