Monday Motivation: Basketball, swimming, and tennis...oh my!

We are starting to shift away from the winter sports and enter the spring sport realm as tennis has begun and lacrosse and baseball are right around the corner. Let’s see how the Hoos fared this week.

Rapid Fire

-Taquan “Smoke” Mizzell competed in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl on Saturday and did the Wahoos proud. Mizzell finished with 10 carries for 93 yards (a new NFLPA Collegiate Bowl record) and a touchdown.

-Congratulations to the Falcons’ Matt Schaub and LaRoy Reynolds and the Patriots’ Chris Long who will be facing off in the Super Bowl! Either way a Wahoo (or two!) is getting a ring.

-Men’s Basketball cruised to two victories this week, downing Boston College 74-51 on the road before defeating Georgia Tech 62-49.

Against Boston College, Devon Hall (13 points), Isaiah Wilkins (11), and Darius Thompson (10) all scored in double figures for the Hoos. Virginia assisted 22 of 27 made baskets, led by Hall’s six assists, Ty Jerome’s five, and Perrantes and Thompson with four each. The Hoos held the Eagles to 38% shooting from the field (5-for-20 from three). Boston College’s Jerome Robinson - who came into the matchup averaging over 20 points per game - scored just nine points against the Hoos. After giving up a lot of sloppy turnovers to Clemson, Virginia had just five TOs (and 12 steals!) against BC.

Saturday, Virginia welcomed the Yellow Jackets to JPJ. Georgia Tech started conference play with a 12 point victory over UNC, but they didn’t fare as well against the Hoos. Perrantes got off to a hot start with 11 points in the first seven minutes as he drilled threes from downtown and took the ball into the lane to initiate contact. With a driving layup early in the first half, London joined an elite group as he recorded his 1,000th point to go with his 500+ assists. Only John Crotty, Sean Singletary, and Donald Hand have achieved the same milestones for the Wahoos.

Marial Shayok continued his hot streak as he set a new career high in points with 19 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Although the Hoos struggled from three, making just five of their 22 attempts, Virginia never trailed against the Yellow Jackets.

Next up, Virginia starts the most brutal stretch in the history of all college basketball stretches (don’t fact check that) as they head on the road to league-leading Notre Dame before traveling to reigning national champs Villanova on Sunday. Tony, your schedule. Woof.

-Both the #13 Men’s and the #5 Women’s Swimming and Diving teams defeated North Carolina, winning 21 events at the meet. The women are now 6-0 on the season, while the men are 5-1 with their first win over UNC since 2013. Next up, the Hoos head to NC State.

Malcolm Brogdon Tip of the Week

Welcome to a new segment! Without further ado:

Wahoo of the Week

This was tough. I’m not going to lie. As mentioned above, Marial Shayok’s career day an London’s joining the 1000/500 club were both very impressive. However, I’m the boss-lady round these Monday Motivation parts, and Jack Salt’s performance against Georgia Tech has earned him his first ever StLMMWotW award.

Salt earned the unenviable task of guarding Georgia Tech’s 6-11, 227 pound big man Ben Lammers. Lammers entered Saturday’s game averaging 14.7 points per game (best on the team) and 9.7 rebounds per game. THEN HE GOT A-SALT-TED. Salt played a career-high 35 minutes against GT, holding Lammers to just seven points (on 3-for-12 shooting) and seven rebounds. In fact, Lammers didn’t record a bucket against Salt until there was just 8:11 remaining IN THE SECOND HALF (his first score came against Jarred Reuter as Jack was briefly on the bench in the first). On top of all that, Salt did all of it on his own as Coach Bennett trusted everyone’s favorite Kiwi to take him one-on-one and didn’t use the double.

Offensively, Salt contributed five points and six rebounds. Throw in a steal, a block, and only two fouls...and you’ve got Salt’s best game as a Hoo.

Team of the Week

The #23 Women’s Tennis team kicked off their 2017 campaign with a win over the visiting Eagles from Boston College. Virginia squeaked out a win over their ACC foe, 4-3, following first year Hunter Bleser securing the victory on court six. After picking up the doubles point, the Hoos got singles victories from Bleser, Cassie Mercer, and Meghan Kelley.

Next up, the Hoos welcome #19 LSU, Ole Miss, and Wake Forest to Boar’s Head for the ITA Kickoff Weekend.

Go Hoos!