On Monday, the NCAA voted to grant an extra year of eligibility to all athletes in spring sports. This means that not only will seniors get an opportunity to return to their respective fields to cap their careers, but others will also get an additional year.
This is great news for all of those players, especially the seniors, of course. Nobody wanted to end their collegiate careers on a blank page, and now they won’t have to.
In addition, each team will have extended space for those returning seniors as well as incoming freshmen. This unprecedented circumstance will bring about some interesting rosters. There’s a big opportunity for improved teams as talented freshmen meet with experienced seniors.
With that said, let’s take a look at who will get an extra year on every Virginia spring sports team, and what that will mean.
Men’s Lacrosse
Returning seniors: Michael Kraus, Dox Aitken, Griffin Thompson, Jared Conners, Justin Schwenk, Mitch Gordon, Ryan Lamb, Theo Dol, Luke Brugel, Wade Maloney.
Wahoo lax didn’t exactly get off to the start of the season that they wanted this year. They were 4-2 when the NCAA dropped the hammer on the season, and had fallen from second to ninth in the national rankings. But they were still a very good team that had a lot of potential to grow as the season wore on. Michael Kraus and Dox Aitken—both nationally recognized players—will get another crack at it, and another top recruiting class will strengthen an already-incredible team. The Hoos are still national champs at the moment, and with the talent that will return again, could still be 14 months from now.
Women’s Lacrosse
Returning seniors: Sammy Mueller, Nora Bowen, Megan Plain, Ashley Stilo, Lauren Martin, Anna Hauser.
A very solid team again, ladies lacrosse started off their 2020 season with four road wins, three of which were impressive victories over ranked opponents. They ended up losing three of their following four though, getting walloped by Duke and UNC in two of them. They’ll return a very good team again, and should use those seniors to stay near the top of the rankings, as they have done in recent years.
Baseball
Returning seniors: Logan Michaels, Chesdin Harrington, Paul Kosanovich, Evan Sperling, Stephen Schoch.
Virginia baseball was looking very good just before their season came to an abrupt halt. They were 14-5 in their opening 19 games, and were coming off of a series win over #7 NC State. That vaulted them back into the rankings just in time to have their season canceled. Regardless, they return a few quality players with the NCAA’s ruling. It will also give their numerous underclassmen more time to develop as they try and return UVa baseball to the glory days of just a few years ago.
Softball
Returning seniors: Riley Wilkinson.
A graduate student, Wilkinson was the only player that would have been exiting UVa after the season. But now she won’t have to. The beautiful new softball facilities had just been unveiled when the news struck. Hopefully, they can urge in a new era for this program, as they were 10-12 and not looking so great before the cancellation.
Men’s Tennis
Returning seniors: Ammar Alhaqbani, Carl Soderlund.
Wahoo tennis has been nothing short of extraordinary in the last decade. In the last seven years, they have four national titles to their name. So their slight struggles this year were a little bit of a surprise. They were still very good though, tallying an 11-4 record in the short time they had for their 2020 season. The main factor in their struggles was probably young age, so they should be coming back as a team that lives up to the success of its predecessors.
Women’s Tennis
Returning seniors: Hunter Bleser, Camille Favero, Chloe Gullickson.
The 10-5 record that the women’s tennis team put up in the start of the season wasn’t really indicative of what they could accomplish. They had a host of high profile wins, and close losses to other top teams. None of the three seniors that get another crack at it are amazing, though all are solid and the rising underclassmen will help propel the team forwards.
Men’s Golf
Returning seniors: Nathan Chuwait, Andrew Orischak, Christopher White.
Virginia men’s golf was limping through the season when it was eventually canceled. They had shown potential on more than a few occasions, but never seemed to get it done. That said, Andrew Orischak returning for another year is a huge boost. He led the Hoos in average strokes per round this season, and was named to the PING all-east region team last year. His return could bolster the Hoos.
Women’s Golf
Returning seniors: Julia Ford, Kate Harper.
Like their male counterparts, the women’s golf team had their moments this year. And when they did, they were quite a lot bigger. They nearly won tournaments on a couple of occasions, and placed high on the leaderboard in others. The two seniors that return didn’t have much of an impact, but the players coming up behind will get an extra year to develop their talent.
Women’s Rowing
Returning seniors: Sara Cliborne, Katy Flynn, Eva Gobourne, Kate Hastings, Lauren Poland, Lizzie Trull, Reilly White, To Wiersma.
The spring season for rowing didn’t even start before it was all over. That means that the Hoos can kick back on their throne for another year with the trophies of ten consecutive ACC championships sprawling beneath them. The program has been completely dominant, and the NCAA’s ruling can only do good for it.
XC/Track and Field
Returning seniors (men): Alex Corbett, Spencer Dodds, AJ Ernst, Brenton Foster, Ari Klau, Randy Neish, Matthew Novak, Jordan Scott, Ryan Singer, Sam Teller, Noah Toney, Sam Young.
Returning seniors (women): Marija Bogavac, Tedi Demaria, Anna Jefferson, Andrenette Knight, Maryanna Lansing, Alexis Woodley, Haley Yost.
Neither team got to even participate in the spring portion of track and field or cross country. The season was slated to begin on March 21st, and never got underway. But the Hoos looked good in the winter, and should return that same great team next year.
All of these teams are set to have great players back for their next season, and most are poised for ACC or National Title runs. So while we wait for the next season of sports to roll around, at least we can try to console ourselves with the fact that Virginia spring sports are in good shape.