Three Cavaliers were recognized these week by the Atlantic Coast Conference for their outstanding performances last week. On the football front, senior tight end Joe Torchia was named offensive lineman of the week, while on the cross country front, redshirt junior Ryan Collins and redshirt senior Stephanie Garcia were named the Men's and Women's Performer of the Week, respectively.
Torchia led the Virginia offense with five receptions for 73 yards, helping UVa outgain the 16th-ranked and heavily favored Trojans in total yardage by a 340 to 329 margin. His total number of catches and total yards were both career highs. He entered his senior season with just 15 total receptions. Torchia had three catches for 47 yards during UVa's final scoring drive. We know. Tight ends aren't really "offensive linemen" per se. But in any event, that's how the league classifies him, which means that for back-to-back weeks now, Virginia has had an offensive lineman of the week. Last week, Oday Aboushi shared the honors with Georgia Tech's Sean Bedford.
Both Collins and Garcia performed well at the Lou Onesty Open that Virginia hosted last week. Collins picked up third place in the 8k race with a time of 25:13. The Cavaliers, ranked No. 22 in the country, finished second at the event, behind Norfolk State. For the women, Garcia captured her first-ever individual meet honor, winning the 5k race with a time of 17:55.25. She led the 10th-ranked Cavaliers to a perfect score to win the team title.
Congratulations to all three of this week's outstanding performers. Both Virginia Football and Cavalier Cross Country take a break from the action this week. The football team returns to action next Saturday against VMI, while cross country enjoys the break until October 1 at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, PA.