A school from Florida is atop the NCAA Championship leaderboard – but it isn’t the Gators.

They  finished the second round of the NCAA Championship on Wednesday in Chattanooga, Tenn., sitting in fifth place.

No. 6 Florida finished the day at 289, (+1), 14 strokes behind tournament leader and rival No. 19 Florida State.

“As a team, we played fairly well,” UF senior Tim McKenney said. “Andres Echavarria was the low guy, he shot a two under, and the rest of us were right around par. We didn’t play great, we didn’t play awful, we played well enough to still be in it.”

On the first day of the NCAA Championship, the Gators finished tied for seventh at 287, (-1) and were led by freshman Phillip Choi. Choi was playing in his first NCAA Championship and carded a 69, (-3) in the first round, finishing in a tie for third place.

“The national championship doesn’t know whether you’re a senior or a freshman,” McKenney said. “I think he treated it like any other round and he played really well. He’s played in many big events outside of college, so I’m sure this was nothing new to him.”

When the Gators came out to play Wednesday, some of the teams older players received a little motivation going into the second round, as four Gators were named to the PING All-Region Team.

Seniors McKenney and Tyson Alexander made the team for the second year in a row, and it was a first-time honor for juniors Echavarria and Bank Vongvanij.

“It shows I had a pretty good year,” McKenney said. “The award takes a look at the whole year as opposed to just one tournament. If I play well in this tournament maybe All-American may be next.”

The Gators were confident going into Wednesday, but continued a trend of posting lackluster second-round scores, forcing them to fight back in the third round.

The Gators have struggled on par-4 holes. Out of the team’s 21  bogeys, 16 of them were on par-4 holes. Also of the 10 total team bogeys Wednesday, eight of them were on par-4 holes.

“They are very important,” McKenney said. “Par-4 holes are what you play the most rather than a par-5 or a par-3. One thing that’s really important on these par-4 holes is getting the ball on the fairway off the tee. Especially out here because the rough is very difficult. So I think if we hit the ball well off the tee then we should have a better opportunity attacking the holes (in the third round).”

Going into today’s round the Gators remain poised and positive.

“The expectation (today) is to play well enough to get into the top eight, and have a chance to win the national championship” McKenney said.

When Ike Hilliard was pulling down 10 touchdown receptions and 900 receiving yards as a junior on Florida’s 1996 National Championship football team, the former All-American never thought he would one day be coaching.

But now, after retiring from the NFL in early 2009, Hilliard finds himself doing just that.

After serving as a volunteer coach for the United Football League’s Florida Tuskers during their inaugural season last year, Hilliard was hired last week as the team’s new wide receivers coach under first-year head coach Jay Gruden.

It wasn’t until his fourth year in the NFL that Hilliard realized he wanted to one day coach.

During the 2000 season, while Hilliard was starting for the New York Giants, his offensive coordinator was current New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. Under Payton’s scheme, the Giants made it to Super Bowl XXXV.

“Just his attention to detail and the way we attacked defenses on a weekly basis drew me closer and closer to wanting to become a coach,” Hilliard said.

Payton may have prompted Hilliard’s interest in the world of coaching, but he was hardly the only one to influence his ultimate career path.

Four years after Payton’s offensive genius sparked Hilliard’s interest, the former UF wide receiver found himself playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was coached by Jon Gruden, who Hilliard  described as a “great motivator” and “unbelievable teacher.”

“(Getting into coaching) was a no-brainer for me after trying to do my best to soak up all that knowledge and experience from those two,” Hilliard said.

While Hilliard points to Payton and Jon as the catalysts for his desire to coach, he credits nearly every coach he’s come across in his football career for influencing him.

And though he had no aspirations of becoming a coach during his three seasons playing for the Gators – during which he amassed 2,214 receiving yards and 29 touchdown receptions – Hilliard said he was fortunate to play for a great position coach in current Ohio Bobcats wide receivers coach Dwayne Dixon, who he said doesn’t get enough credit for the work he does with young receivers.

“That’s where it all really started,” Hilliard said. “It’s a shame I was so young that I didn’t soak up enough to really, fully understand and grasp everything he was teaching me.”

During the 2008 NFL season, Hilliard was knocked unconscious in a Sunday Night Football game that effectively ended his playing career. Even though he had hopes of being able to return to the game he loves, neck injuries prevented him from doing so.

A relationship he built with Jay during his time with the Buccaneers cleared a path for Hilliard’s career in the coaching ranks.

After he placed a call to Jay to ask him and former Tuskers head coach Jim Haslett if he could “stick his head around” practice, the two asked Hilliard to become a volunteer coach last season.

When Jay was recently promoted after Haslett was named the defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins, he offered Hilliard the position of wide receivers coach.

The Tuskers roster isn’t completely filled yet, but Hilliard is looking forward to August 16, when the team gets to begin training camp, and he gets to officially begin his first season  among the coaching ranks.

“I don’t want to disrespect the craft,” Hilliard said. “I’ve been studying my butt off, trying to learn as much as I can about the game of football from the other side, because being a player and being a coach are two completely different animals.”

Supposedly the third time is the charm.

If that adage holds true, Florida could return to Gainesville as softball’s national champion.

After reaching the Women’s College World Series and falling just short of a title in 2008 and 2009, the No. 4 Gators (48-8) will begin their quest to turn their third consecutive trip to Oklahoma City into an NCAA championship when they take on No. 5 UCLA (45-11) today at 3:30 p.m.

The 2008 WCWS semifinal loss to Texas A&M and the 2009 WCWS final loss to Washington have proven to be a motivational force for all of this season’s juniors and seniors.

“I think we all kind of had that taste still in our mouth from last year and that’s my driving factor,” junior ace Stephanie Brombacher said. “I want to get back there and just show people that we’re back and we can do this and we and coach (Tim) Walton have built a great program here.”

Florida’s previous trips to the WCWS provide much more than inspiration, as they have also supplied UF with an experience level few schools can match.

The team’s seven upperclassmen will be making their third trip to the WCWS, while Walton will be making his sixth after making three consecutive trips as an assistant with the University of Oklahoma.

“The first year here was very different,” Walton said. “It was difficult to adjust to everything that was going on but you live and learn and you just adjust as you go.”

And while past experience can be very helpful in handling the immense pressure, huge crowds and media frenzy, there are also a number of benefits that directly affect how the game is played on the diamond.

Walton specifically recalls that the field played very hard in previous years, and that the weather and the stadium structure sometimes combined to turn a routine fly ball into an adventure.

“I know the sun in right field is brutal,” Walton said. “We’ve been practicing turning the outfielders around in funny positions in practice some days and throwing balls straight into the sun and saying to them, ‘Listen, you gotta find a way to find the ball because at the College World Series this is how it is.’”

The Gators will get their first opportunity to put this experience to use today in what will likely be a slugfest against the Bruins.

Both schools are offensive powerhouses, as Florida ranks third in the NCAA in team batting average at .335 while UCLA is fourth at .333.

In addition, each school has shown it can also hit for power, as Florida ranks third in the nation with 1.88 home runs per game and UCLA is fifth with 1.68 per contest.

Without question, UCLA’s biggest threat is senior Megan Langenfeld, who was a finalist for the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award.

At the plate, Langenfled is second in the nation with a 1.018 slugging percentage, and she is 11-1 with a 1.25 ERA when she pitches.

The Gators are no strangers to big-time hitters, as they will have faced five of the nation’s top six in batting average after their matchup with Langenfeld (.500).

To this point in the season, they have held Georgia Tech’s Jen Yee (.568), Mississippi State’s Chelsea Bramlett (.536), Alabama’s Kayla Braud (.505) and Tennessee’s Raven Chavanne (.482) to a combined .458 average.

Kevin Chapman hasn’t received this much attention since high school.

The burly left-hander was a Louisville Slugger All-American at Westminster Academy where he recorded a 0.89 ERA in his junior year. In his senior season he was limited due to injury on his way to being drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 42nd round of the MLB Draft before even stepping foot onto a college campus.

Since arriving at U. Florida, the southpaw struggled to carve out a role on the team in his first three years – until now.

He opened this season as a middle reliever and ended it on the All-Southeastern Conference team as a closer.

Chapman has played a key role in a Gators bullpen that has been the catalyst to the team’s 36-0 record when leading after the sixth inning. It will look to continue that streak tonight at 7. when No. 4 Florida (42-15) begins regional play against Bethune-Cookman (35-20) in McKethan Stadium.

“Even from high school, he was always a guy that scouts coveted,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It’s not like he has come out of nowhere. It was just a matter of time — when is he going to start reaching his potential? – and I think now he is starting to do that.”

After receiving a medical redshirt because of Tommy John surgery in what would have been his sophomore season and splitting time on the mound as a starter and reliever in his other two seasons at Florida, nobody knew what to expect from Chapman in his junior year.

“He really wasn’t on the map. He was just an X-factor,” Baseball America’s Aaron Fitt said. “You wondered what you were going to get out of that guy. I didn’t expect him to be a key part of this team.”

Now, Chapman isn’t only an integral part of the squad, he owns the second-most saves in the SEC and boasts a minuscule 1.31 ERA.

For the first time since his memorable junior season at Westminster Academy, the hard-throwing left-hander is at 100 percent – and it shows.

“I think it’s a combination of me being fully healthy and having three other years under my belt,” Chapman said. “I think that’s really helped me.”

Wear and Tear

It has been a while since Chapman’s arm has felt this strong – 2005, to be exact.

The domino effect that led to Tommy John surgery began in his senior year of high school.

Tendinitis in his throwing elbow limited him during his last season at Westminster Academy. It was a year that was supposed to start his rise to the next level – Chapman earned preseason Louisville Slugger All-America honors – but instead it began a nightmarish series of events.

“(The tendinitis) was like a discomfort thing, and it probably made me change my mechanics a little bit,” he said. “Over time, with wear and tear, it probably made my ligament break.”

In other words, the minor elbow injury led to Tommy John surgery. After a mediocre freshman campaign at Florida, Chapman underwent the serious procedure for an ulnar collateral ligament (elbow) tear in March 2008.

After rehabbing from the first surgery, he was forced go under the knife a second time in September 2008 to remove a bone chip in his left elbow. He sat out that entire season and received a medical redshirt.

But his return the next season wasn’t everything he expected.

Despite only taking the mound in 11 games, the numbers were there. Chapman put up a 2.38 ERA, but he knew his arm still wasn’t at full strength. For a hurler that normally hits 94 mph on the radar gun, he was topping off at 90 mph a year removed from the surgeries.

“I was definitely healthy as far as my arm,” he said. “It just wasn’t back to 100 percent strength. I had to build up some muscle and some arm strength.”

The lack of velocity, the injuries and a string of inconsistent performances since joining the Gators left everybody with low expectations for the pitcher.

However, Chapman finally fulfilled his potential this season, and he will likely reap the benefits in this year’s MLB Draft.

“He’s been chomping at the bit,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s been wanting to go since last year. He was healthy, but he just didn’t have as many innings under his belt as he needed to. We started seeing flashes last year.”

Ready for Next Level

Pitch velocity is not the only thing that has risen this season for the Coral Springs native.

The junior’s draft stock has skyrocketed. Chapman, who will be eligible for June’s MLB Draft, could be the first college closer selected and is the top 2010 draft prospect on Florida’s roster.

According to Fitt, who has talked to numerous MLB scouts, he could be selected at the back end of the first round.

“A three-pitch lefty with that kind of velocity (mid-90s) who has put up the numbers that he has put up,” Fitt said, “he is going to appeal to scouts who are numbers-oriented, but also scouts that are tools-oriented because his tools are ridiculous.”

Although Chapman estimates he uses his overpowering fastball 90 percent of the time, his sharp slider and deceiving changeup are what make him so attractive to professional scouts.

The only thing working against the lefty is his history of elbow injuries.

But he has put some of those doubts to rest this season after appearing in 28 games, the most out of any Gators pitcher this year.

“They definitely have a right to be worried about it – (Tommy John is) a major surgery,” Chapman said. “But this season I’ve been able to throw no problem – I’ve thrown back-to-back days. I feel like I just have shown that my arm is back to 100 percent.”

Fitt said it didn’t take long for scouts to gravitate toward the closer this season. Once they heard reports that his velocity was back, they were all talking about him, he said.

He is projected to stay in the bullpen once he makes the jump to the next level, but his history as a starter – he has logged seven starts at UF – gives him the versatility to do both.

“I think at this point he has found a niche in the bullpen,” Fitt said. “He succeeds there. He has the right mentality for it. Your stuff plays up when you are in the pen, and that’s what he has been able to do. So I think that is where he will stay in pro ball.”

All at the Right Time

It is not often that a player puts together an All-SEC season in the same year he is going to be eligible for the draft and Chapman doesn’t have to look far from his own clubhouse to find proof of that.

UF center fielder Matt den Dekker, Chapman’s cousin, struggled in his junior year and hit just .296 before posting a .355 batting average this season. He attributed the down year to the pressure that came along with impressing scouts.

But that hasn’t been a problem for Chapman, who has posted his best numbers in his draft season.

“He’s just been healthy,” den Dekker said. “He battled some injuries. He has always had a good arm and he’s doing a great job this year for us.”

This season, he has put it all together. He has struck out 40 batters in 41.1 innings of work, compared to just seven walks.

However, the three-year span full of elbow issues and uncertainty not only affected Chapman then — it is still with him now.

“They always say, ‘You never really know what you have until you lose it.’ I lost it there for a little bit,” Chapman said. “It really helped me realize how fun this game is and how much I’m blessed.”

Major League Baseball lost out on a historic moment Wednesday night.

Armando Galaraga, a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, was perfect through eight-and-two-thirds-innings. He had one man left to retire.

Galaraga winds up and delivers.
The batter hits a ground ball to the right side. The first baseman picks it up, throws to Gallaraga, Galaraga steps on the bag and the umpire makes the call:

“Safe!”

The stadium exploded with boos.

A replay clearly showed that Galaraga had beaten the batter to the bag. Joyce had stolen a perfect game away from Galaraga.
How could this happen? A third perfect game in three months is broken up not by a blooper to left, an infield single or an error by the rookie outfielder but by, of all people, the first base umpire.

History would have been made.

Granted, it was a close play but it could have easily been avoided.

This has got to be the final straw for the MLB. Instant replay must be implemented for such calls. How can Commissioner Bud Selig stand for such a ridiculously bad blown call?
The argument against expanding instant replay is that it will make the already lengthy games even longer. Games are long, but that’s baseball. It’s part of the game.
When I go to the ballpark, I plan on spending hours there reveling in the experience.

So what? How is that even relevant after Wednesday’s epic failure?

With today’s HD TVs and related technology how can looking at a replay of a play like Wednesday night’s take longer than 10 seconds?

If necessary, give managers the ability to challenge only two blown calls a night. That would stop teams from challenging every call that’s within a step.

Baseball needs to quit worrying about the length of games and start worrying about the quality and integrity of umpires.

Instant replay expansions would help umpires to control the game better.

Umpires could make the correct calls and do a better job of satiating the wrath of managers after a close call.

Baseball must do something.

This cannot go without consequence or reparation.

I cannot imagine what Galaraga feels like after last night’s game. He was one out away from being the 21st pitcher to reach perfection. He was about to make history.

Next time Bud Selig thinks about expanding instant replay he needs to think about one thing:

What would Galaraga do?

Eastern Illinois U. communication studies majors and professors from the department will embark on an adventure filled with koalas, crocodiles, and snakes.

They will travel to Australia and New Zealand for a month this June and will be staying in hotels throughout the two countries.

Claire Dau, a junior communication studies major, said this opportunity could not have been handed to her at a better time because of her busy schedule during the school year.

“I really enjoy traveling and I’ve always wanted to study abroad,” she said.

Dau said this is a perfect time to take this trip because she has more time in the summer.

Excited to visit a number of places in New Zealand and Australia, Dau said she wants to see major cities, museums and hike on glaciers.

“I would love to see kangaroos and koalas and dingoes,” she said. “It’d also be fun to see some crocodiles or snakes…but only in a controlled environment.”

Nathan Schwalm, a senior communications studies major, said he has never studied abroad.

Schwalm said he is excited because the trip seems like an adventure.

“To me overall, this is like an adventure of a lifetime. It’s the time in my life to take advantage of this opportunity,” he said.

Schwalm also said he does not feel nervous jumping into a different culture because he is open to learn about new places and people.

“It’s like anthropology: we’re very influential to their cultures, but both are also dominated by a number of (other) nationalities,” he said.

Along with traveling, the students will be taking classes.

Sara Boro, a senior communication studies major, said she has studied abroad a number of times.

Boro said her class schedule usually consists of six credit hours, three for Intercultural Communication and three for an independent study.

“I am trying to keep my mind open and try as many things as I can while I am there,” she said.

Alphonso DiPietro, a mathematics professor at Eastern for 50 years, died on May 31 at Meadowbrook Health Center at Clark-Lindsey Village in Urbana, Ill.

His visitation will be held this Friday at 4:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 921 Madison Ave.

His funeral will also be at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

DiPietro, who was 88, started teaching at Eastern in 1959, and later became the chair of the mathematics department for 20 years.

He retired in 1987, but shortly after his wife, Luisa passed away in 1992, he started teaching at Eastern again part-time.

Peter Andrews, chair of the mathematics department, said DiPietro was a rather amazing person.

“Full of life, and energy, and loved people,” Andrews said.

DiPietro was well known for the stories he would tell to his students during his classes. One story, Andrews recollected, was about his bow tie.

“He told me once that he started wearing bow ties because when he first started teaching, most faculty members wore a jacket and tie, but he was so short that his tie kept dragging on the chalk board,” Andrews said.
“He wore them ever since. He would love to tell you stories like that.”

DiPietro had been teaching at Eastern until Spring 2009, when he fell in his apartment and broke his hip. Because of this, he had to miss the last class of the semester.

He was brought to a nursing home in Champaign and was expected to leave and return to classes this upcoming fall.

“I thought of him as a good friend and confidant,” Andrews said. “Whenever you saw him, he always perked up a little bit like he was happy to see you. He was the special one; he was a very special person.”

A nine-car accident on I-57 Monday caused by a Louisiana man driving a semi-truck, resulted in the deaths of three Mississippi women, according to Illinois State Police.

Coles County Coroner, Ed Schniers, released the names of the women killed on Tuesday.
The deceased are Sheila H. Douglas, 61, of Batesville, Miss.; Doris Hamblin-Mayo, 68, of Sarah, Miss.; and Juanita Hall, 80, also of Sarah, Miss.

The Illinois State Police Capt. Stuart Shaver said 12 others were injured Monday in the collision, which was north of Mattoon.

Officers tested the blood and urine of the semi’s driver, 55-year-old Everett Van Duzee of New Iberia, La., but there was no trace of drugs or alcohol.

Shaver said the crash was likely caused by driver inattention.

The investigation indicates the motorists were preparing to switch lanes for one-lane traffic in a construction zone a few miles north of Mattoon, Sgt. Bill Emery of the Illinois, he said.

Shaver said the crash accident is still under investigation.

Sean Junge, Captain Paramedic of the Mattoon Fire Department, was the Incident Command Officer.

“My guys did a tremendous job,” Junge said.
“Obviously with that amount of cars and people involved and they worked there rear ends off. We want to thank the other agencies that helped.”

The resulting crash scene and debris forced the closure of the I-57 northbound lanes for more than seven hours, reopening at 1 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Deputy Coroner Michael Bennett is unsure about the details of memorial arrangements.
Bennett said the deceased’s times of death are unknown.

Relatives seeking information on loved ones involved in the accident can contact the Illinois State Police District 10 headquarters at 217-265-0050.

They came with sticks.

Whether set across the tops of strollers in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor or swinging in the arms of 11-year-olds in hotel parking lots, lacrosse fans brought their sticks and spirit to the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship games this weekend. A total of 116,289 fans sat in the blue seats of the city’s M&T Bank stadium during the three matches. Many cheered for the Blue Devils.

Trevor Willis, 12, and his four lacrosse teammates from West Islip, New York—the hometown of midfielder Justin Turri—said people carry their sticks to throw the ball around while they wait for the game to start.

“We can practice our laxing,” Willis said. “Lacrosse is an adrenaline rushing sport.”

Lacrosse is 10 times better than basketball, according to Willis’ teammate, Cameron Crazie tee-clad Conor Smith, 12, whose father, Sean served on Duke’s head coach John Danowski’s staff from 1998 to 2006. Smith has attended the NCAA lacrosse championship games since he was one year old.

Jean Waagbo, 52, from Ellicott City, Maryland, said she brings her son, Justin, to the finals every year for his birthday. The tradition started when he was 10; he turned 27 Monday and is now a lacrosse coach. Waagbo’s daughter, Kristen, Trinity ’07 was chosen for Inside Lacrosse’s All-American team her senior year at Duke.

John Koskinen, Trinity ’61, who supported Duke’s Koskinen Stadium with his wife Patricia, said he loves the sport because of its constant motion. “It requires a lot of skill,” Koskinen said. Lacrosse fans are as spirited as those of other sports, but at lacrosse matches, adult fans stand up to cheer as much as students do he noted.

Mark Lefkowitz, 44, who came down from New Jersey for the tournament with his 13-year-old son Adam, said he thinks lacrosse fans are especially passionate about their sport, because they often play it.

“It’s not like basketball or football,” he said. “Everyone’s here because they love playing lacrosse.”

In a parking lot surrounded on all sides by highway overpasses—good for shade in the 91-degree heat—Duke fans tailgated Monday afternoon before the final game against Notre Dame. Amid trunk-open mini vans, pretzel stick jars and charcoal-coated watermelon rinds on concrete, was a familiar face.

Herb Neubauer, known by most Duke fans as the “Crazy Towel Guy,” had left Durham at 7 a.m. Monday morning to watch his first NCAA lacrosse championship game live in Baltimore. Neubauer said he has seen Duke win five national championships and does not want to miss this one.

“It’s always tough watching it on T.V. because you feel like you’re missing,” he said.

Richard Witmer, a graduate of Middlebury College, attended tailgate and the finals with his high school lacrosse teammates—one of whom is attacker Tucker Virtue’s brother.

Witmer described lacrosse fans as a small, close fraternity.

“If you’re a lax fan, and you meet another lax fan, that’s an instant talking point,” he said.

Henrique Cunha and Reid Carleton embarked upon a brilliant run in their first season as doubles partners, rising all the way to the top of the rankings toward the end of conference play.

But despite being the No. 1 tandem in the NCAA doubles championship, the pair couldn’t overcome Virginia’s top doubles team Saturday, falling 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 to the Cavaliers’ Michael Shabaz and Drew Courtney, the eventual champions of the doubles tournament. The pair of Cunha and Carleton ended the season with a 41-6 record, including an impressive 22-2 mark in dual matches.

“Anytime you lose, it is tough, but when you look at the full body of work for those guys it is pretty amazing,” head coach Ramsey Smith said. “They had a great run in the NCAA Tournament and even though it ended earlier than they hoped they were playing great tennis.”

Cunha and Carleton had played the Cavaliers’ No. 1 doubles team three times prior during ACC play and the postseason. Duke won the first match 8-6, and the ACC and NCAA tournament matches were abandoned when Virginia clinched the doubles point, although both were headed to or already in tiebreaks. The fourth meeting between the two pairings proved to be equally tightly contested.

Virginia went up a break on Cunha’s serve at 2-2 in the first set after an hour-long rain delay. The Cavaliers took adavantage and held serve to take a 4-2 lead. The two teams traded serve the rest of the set, giving the Cavaliers a 1-0 advantage.

The Blue Devils came back stronger in the second set, but again failed to break the Cavaliers’ service, leading to a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Virginia seemed poised for a straight-set victory, with double match point at 6-4, but Cunha and Carleton fought back to win four consecutive points and tie the match up at one set apiece.

“Virginia served really well and got up a set,” Smith said. “We didn’t break in the second but forced a tiebreaker, and after UVA played great to get up 6-4 in the tiebreaker our guys played two amazing points to save match points. They gave themselves a chance by winning the second set.”

In the decisive set, Shabaz and Courtney once again broke Cunha’s serve to go up 3-1. The Blue Devils were on the verge of breaking back in the next game, up 40-love, but the Cavaliers reeled off five consecutive points to hold serve and carried that momentum to break Carleton in the next game and take a commanding 5-1 lead in the third set. Duke then broke Courtney for the first time to extend the match, but Shabaz held serve for the win.

Cunha, the overall No. 1 seed in the individual tournament, failed to recover from the defeat, also bowing out in the singles semifinals the next day to the eventual champion, Stanford’s Bradley Klahn. The 6-2, 6-2 loss ended the freshman’s 24-match winning streak and prevented a storybook ending to a record-setting season in which Cunha captured ACC and National Rookie of the Year honors as well as ACC Player of the Year.

Cunha never found a rhythm in the semifinals. He led 1-0 and had break point on Klahn—the 2009 National Rookie of the Year—in the first set, but play stopped due to weather. When the match resumed, Klahn took control of his serve and broke Cunha twice to win the first set. The second set was more of same as the Cardinal sophomore broke Cunha twice more to punch his ticket to the final.

The Brazilian freshman ended the season with 39 wins, the most in school history.