While the big story of the weekend receiving coverage was Virginia men's basketball's commanding victory at North Carolina, other Cavalier teams were busy competing around the country. Virginia Wrestling, Swimming & Diving, Track & Field, and Women's Tennis all saw action -- mostly winners -- this past weekend.
The No. 19 Virginia Wrestling team started the weekend off on rocky footing, as the team lost 25-12 to Rutgers Friday night in front of a large crowd at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway, NJ. Virginia's Derek Valenti, Chris Henrich, and Mike Salopek picked up victories in their respective weight classes, but this marks the fewest wins by UVa in a dual this season. This marks the 11th consecutive match win by Rutgers.
Moving on to Virginia Track and Field, but staying in the Northeast, Virginia's men's 4x800 m relay team won the Byron Dyce Men's College 4x800 Relay Friday night at the Millrose Games in Madison Square Garden, finishing with a time of 7:32.49 to outdistance second place New York AC (7:34.48). The Cavaliers also fielded a women's 4x800 team, which came in second with a time of 9:08.96.
The Virginia men's and women's Swimming and Diving teams rounded out Friday's competition with a 160-128 win in the dual meet at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. The women picked up victories in the 200m medley relay team, the 800 meter free (going 1-2-3), 200m free, 100m free, 100m breast, 200m breast, 100 back (again, 1-2-3), and 200m fly. On the men's side, the Cavaliers were victorious in the 200m medley relay, 800m free, 200m free, 100m back (1-2-3), 200m back (1-2-3), 100m breast, 200m breast, 50m free (1-2-3), and 100m free. Phew.
Saturday action began with the Virginia Track and Field team winning seven events at The Armory, while junior Catherine White met the NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the 3000m. Virginia won the men's 3k, shot put, weight throw, both triple jumps, and both distance medley relays. Virginia T&F will take next weekend off before returning to New York City for another meet at The Armory on Saturday, Feb. 13.
No. 19 Virginia Wrestling recovered nicely from the loss at Rutgers by crushing Princeton, winning all 10 bouts in a 42-0 road victory over the Tigers on the road. Virginia returns home on Saturday when it plays host to No. 25 Old Dominion and George Mason at Mem Gym.
In the final dual meet of the season, the Virginia Swimming and Diving teams each recordd victories over Pitt at the AFC. The women's team earned a 176-121 win, while the men's squad won 164-124. Prior to the meet, Virginia honored its 15 seniors. The teams have about 3 weeks to prepare for the ACC Championships. The Women's ACC Championships begins February 17, while the men's begins February 24.
The No. 26 Virginia Women's Tennis team suffered their first loss of the season, falling to No. 25 Florida State 4-2 on Saturday in a first round match at the Fresno ITA Regional. The team fell to 2-1 on the season and would go on to face Fresno State on Sunday in the consolation match. On Sunday, the team recovered, handling No. 15 Fresno State 5-2 in the consolation match of the Fresno ITA Regional. The fifteenth-ranked Bulldogs are the highest ranked opponent the Cavaliers have defeated this season, and the Hoos are off to a 3-1 start.
Finally, No. 20 Virginia Women's Basketball fell on the raod to Wake Forest 64-57 on Sunday afternoon. Lexie Gerson raked in a career high 15 points, while Monica Wright contributed 13 points and 7 rebounds. Virginia's record dropped to 15-6 (4-3) with the loss.The Cavs pulled within 2 points, but the Demon Deacons got a put-back lay-up with less than a minute left to make it a two-possession game and a fouling situation for the 'Hoos. Virginia faces Clemson next at John Paul Jones Arena on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.