‘Year of the Hoo’: Recapping Remarkable Sports Achievements from 2019

December 18, 2019
Illustration with a basketball player hanging from the rim of a basketball hoop

UVA outdistanced Stanford, Texas Tech, Maryland and Vanderbilt to win this year’s Capital Cup for men’s sports. (Photo illustration by Alexandra Angelich, photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)

The gift season came early this year for University of Virginia sports fans – often in spectacular fashion.

From dramatic, record-setting plays to thrilling, unexpected victories, 2019 was – to borrow a title from an ACC Network documentary popular in these parts – “Unbelievable.”

For the fourth time in school history, UVA won two NCAA team championships in the same calendar year (and came within whiskers of winning a third).

With the twin titles, UVA won the 2018-19 Capital Cup for men’s sports – given to the top overall athletics programs, based on their postseason accomplishments. UVA edged out Stanford University and others, and increased its all-time championships in men’s sports to 20, the most of any Atlantic Coast Conference school. In all, UVA now holds 27 national titles across all sports.

Here’s a look back at what can best be summed up as “The Year of the Hoo.”

Men’s Basketball

“Unbelievable” was the title of the ACC Network’s documentary on the 2018-19 UVA men’s basketball team that debuted in the fall. It couldn’t have been more fitting.

After a shocking loss to No. 16 seed University Maryland-Baltimore County in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the UVA team rebounded in 2019 to win the program’s first NCAA championship on April 8. The wins came in a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat fashion that no Cavalier fan will ever forget.

Blue-and-orange confetti raining down on a stage with the UVA basketball team on it with a podium that reads NCAA the Final four

Blue-and-orange confetti rained in Minneapolis after the Hoos defeated Texas Tech University in the national title game in April. (Photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)

Especially memorable was the win over Purdue University in the Elite Eight, when Kihei Clarke chased down a loose ball in the backcourt and quickly passed it to Mamadi Diakite, who hit the game-tying shot at the end of regulation as Hoos around the world lost their mind. UVA then won the game in overtime.

(Do you remember where you were when that shot splashed through the net? These Hoos do.)

UVA went on to beat Auburn University and Texas Tech University in the Final Four – both victories also coming in heart-stopping fashion.

Women’s Swimming and Diving

The Hoos finished sixth at the NCAA Championships, their third-best finish ever (UVA placed fifth overall in 2015 and 2016). The team recorded All-America honors in 16 swims, 12 of which were individual performances.

Wrestling

Wrestler Jack Mueller was runner-up to Iowa University’s Spencer Lee in the 125-pound weight class at the 2019 NCAA Championships in March, becoming just the fourth wrestler in program history to advance so far. Mueller finished the year with a 21-1 record and an ACC championship.

He also won the UVA Athletic Department Distinguished Scholar-Athlete Award for 2019.

Women’s Golf

Anna Redding played in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur, held in the week before the Master’s last spring. She made the cut to play in the final round and finished tied for 26th place.

By virtue of her seeding and tee time, Redding holds the distinction of being the first woman to tee off during a competitive round at the storied Augusta National Golf Course.

Check out this 2018 video feature on Redding to learn more about her dreams of playing professionally.

Women’s Rowing

UVA women’s rowing team

UVA women’s rowing captain Heidi Long hopes to represent Great Britain in the Olympics someday. (Photo by Matt Riley, UVA Athletics)

Head coach Kevin Sauer’s squad won its 10th straight ACC title in May and placed 10th at the NCAA championships. The UVA squad landed 11 student-athletes on the All-ACC Academic team, the most since 2008. Heidi Long was named ACC Rowing Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Men’s Track and Field

The UVA men’s track and field team won six Atlantic Coast Conference individual titles at the ACC Outdoor Championships, the most in program history.

The winners were: Jordan Scott (triple jump, long jump), Ethan Dabbs (javelin), Hilmar Jonsson (hammer), Oghenakpobo Efekoro (shot put) and Brenton Foster (high jump).

At the NCAA Championships, Scott became the first ACC male competitor to win the indoor national title in the triple jump.

Jonsson recorded the best hammer throw in program history at the NCAA championships to earn first-team All-America honors.

Men’s Lacrosse

The UVA men’s lacrosse team celebrate on the field with a team photo while holding the NCAA trophy

The UVA men’s lacrosse team celebrated their NCAA championship victory over Yale in Philadelphia last May. (Photo by Matt Riley, UVA Athletics)

Also in May, UVA captured the program's sixth NCAA title with a 13-9 triumph over Yale University at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, thwarting the Bulldogs' quest for back-to-back championships. It was the Hoos’ first NCAA title since 2011 and fifth since 1999.

The victory came on the heels of a thrilling double-overtime over Duke University in the semifinals.

Women’s Lacrosse

Sammy Mueller matched a career-high with eight points on six goals and two assists as the Hoos beat Navy, 15-12, to advance to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2014. Six different players scored for UVA.

Men’s Tennis

For the 14th time in 15 years, UVA advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, defeating Stanford University in exciting, come-from-behind fashion in a match that started outdoors before moving indoors due to weather. Carl Soderlund won the clinching match.

Field Hockey

For the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2010, the Hoos advanced to the NCAA Final Four this fall, defeating an old ACC foe, the University of Maryland, in overtime after Annie McDonough deflected in a shot from teammate Rachel Robinson for the lone goal of the game.

Women’s Soccer 

UVA's womens soccer teammate jumps into the arms of another teammate during the game

At one point in the fall, both UVA’s men’s and women’s soccer teams held the No. 1 ranking. (Photo courtesy UVA Athletics)

UVA spent eight weeks as the No. 1 team in the country before falling to rival University of North Carolina in the ACC Tournament. The Hoos finished the year with an impressive 17-2-3 record after losing to Washington State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Men’s Soccer

A game-winning goal by Joe Bell off a rebound of his own penalty kick attempt gave top-seeded UVA a 3-2 overtime win over Southern Methodist University and moved the Cavaliers into their first College Cup appearance since 2014.

In Cary, North Carolina, the Hoos beat Wake Forest University in the semifinals before falling on penalty kicks to Georgetown University, 7-6, in Sunday’s NCAA championship game.

Football

The streak is over.

UVA beat Virginia Tech, 39-30, in Scott Stadium to snap a 15-year losing streak to its rival, win the Commonwealth Cup and capture the ACC Coastal Division championship.

Up next for the Hoos: the Orange Bowl!

 

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December 18, 2019

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