From Ralph to Tiki, from lacrosse dynasties to swimming dominance to hoops redemption...
Check out our list of the 25 greatest moments in UVA sports history.
And give UVA Flashback a follow for daily posts that celebrate the memories and excitement that have shaped the Hoos' rich athletic past!! π§‘βοΈ π
https://t.co/Qy3hy5hDYW
#GoHoos
Happy Birthday to Daryl Dike! π
Dike played two seasons for @UVAMenSoccer, 2018 and 2019, scoring 15 goals in 36 games. He was selected fifth overall in the MLS Draft in January 2020, and went on to play in the UK. He currently plays for West Bromwich Albion.
π·β½οΈπΆ
Happy Birthday to legendary UVA basketball coach Tony Bennett! π
Bennett coached exactly 500 games for @UVAMensHoops, compiling a 364-136 record. During his tenure Virginia basketball won two ACC Tournament titles and one National Title.
In the 104 seasons before Bennett arrived, the Hoos had won 25+ games 4 times. In the 15 seasons he led the Hoos, they did it 6 times.
πΆππ·
On This Date in UVA Sports History...
May 31, 1999: Virginia Lacrosse wins their second NCAA championship with a 12-10 victory over Syracuse at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Maryland.
Virginia had lost in overtime each of the last four times it made the championship game. This time, they held a 10-4 lead before Syracuse came storming back to make it 10-9 with 3.5 minutes left, threatening another OT finish. But the Cavaliers struck back with two goals 21-seconds apart to pull away and secure their first championship since 1972.
π·οΏ½οΏ½πΆ
On This Date in UVA Sports History...
May 30, 2011: Virginia Lacrosse wins their 5th NCAA championship with an 9-7 victory over Maryland at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Colin Briggs scored five of the Cavaliersβ nine goals and was named Most Outstanding Player.
πΆππ·
On This Date in UVA Sports History...
May 29, 2006: Twenty years ago today, @UVAMensLAX capped off a perfect 17-0 season and won their fourth NCAA championship with a 15-7 victory over Massachusetts.
Matt Ward had five goals for the Cavaliers and won the tournamentβs Most Outstanding Player award.
The game was played in front of 47,062 fans, a larger crowd than at that season's Final Four men's basketball final (43,168).
πΆπ₯π·
Happy birthday to Mike Fisher! π
Fisher led the @UVAMensSoccer team in points in both 1995 and 1996, and won the Hermann Trophy in both of those years. The 55 assists and 167 points that he amassed during his career are still Virginia school records.
π·β½οΈπΆ
On This Date in UVA Sports History...
May 26, 2003: @UVAMensLAX wins their third NCAA championship with a 9-7 victory over Johns Hopkins at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. A.J. Shannon scored four goals but the star of the game was Cavalier goalie Tillman Johnson who made 13 saves, including a three straight in a frantic fourth quarter that saved the victory.
πΆπ₯π·
On This Date in UVA Sports History...
May 23, 2017: @UVAMensTennis wins its third straight NCAA Championship, and fourth in five years, with a 4-2 victory over North Carolina. J.C. Aragone and Collin Altamirano were named to the all-tournament team.
The victory was the last at UVA for head coach Brian Boland, who went on to a position with the US Tennis Association after the season.
πΆππ·
On This Date in UVA Sports History...
May 22, 2010: Melanie Mitchell wins her 27th game of the year, and 34th complete game, as @UVASoftball defeats Louisville 1-0 in the first game of the NCAA tournament.
27 wins is still tied for the most ever in one season for a UVA pitcher (with Lisa Palmer), and the 34 complete games is still a school record.
π·π₯πΆ
On This Date in UVA Sports History...
May 20, 2013: @UVAMensTennis wins its first National Championship with a 4-3 victory over UCLA. The Cavaliers were led by @JarmereJenkins and @MitchellHFrank, who came back from the brink of defeat to win a thrilling final match and clinch the championship. The victory capped off an undefeated 30-0 season for Virginia.
πΆπΎπ·
Happy birthday to Dave Leitao! π
Leitao was coach of @UVAMensHoops for four years from 2005-2009. Over an eighteen year stretch from 1996 to 2013, Virginia won only one NCAA tournament game. That game, a first-round matchup against Albany, was won by Leitaoβs 2007 squad.
π·ππΆ
On This Date in UVA Sports History...
May 16, 1970: @UVAMensLAX caps off their season with a 14-3 victory over Hofstra in Charlottesville to bring their record to 8-2. Virginia is named co-National Champions (with Johns Hopkins and Navy) by the USILA after the season ends. The following year the NCAA began a tournament to determine a single national champion.
πΆπ₯π·
On This Date in UVA Sports History...
May 15, 2024: @UVAMensGolf advanced to NCAA championship by finishing second in Baton Rouge Regional at 13-under par.
Bryan Lee led Virginia at 4-under, while Ben James finished at 3-under and George Duangmanee at 1-under.
π·ποΈββοΈπΆ
On This Date in UVA Sports History...
May 14, 1955: @UVALacrosse was shut out, 18-0, by Maryland.
This game is the last time Virginia has been shut out in Lacrosse, a stretch of over seventy years.
πΆπ₯π·
On This Date in UVA Sports History...
May 10, 1952: @VirginiaMensLAX wins their first-ever national championship when they win their 7th straight game to end the season, a 16-6 victory over Washington College.
π·ππΆ
Happy birthday to Barry Parkhill! π
Parkhill, an All-American for @UVAMensHoops in both 1972 and 1973, led the 1971-72 team to a 21-7 record and its first ever Top-10 ranking.
Parkhill still holds the record for most points scored in a game by a UVA player with 51 against Baldwin-Wallace College on December 11, 1971.
πΆππ·
Happy birthday to @RasIDowling! π
Dowling was an anchor of the defense of the 2008 and 2009 @UVAFootball teams under Al Groh. Dowling intercepted 8 passes over his career and accounted for 160 tackles. He is currently the Defensive Backs coach for William & Mary.
π·ππΆ
Happy Birthday Melanie (Valerio) Thomas! π
Melanie was the first @UVASwimDive swimmer to win Gold in an Olympics, doing so in the 4X100 Free Relay in the 1996 Atlanta games.
πΆπββοΈπ·
Happy Birthday @DawnStaley! π
The best player ever to wear a @UVAWomensHoops uniform, Staley was a two-time Naismith Winner and led the Cavaliers to three Final Fours. Playing for Virginia from 1988 to 1992, Staley set the NCAA record for steals and the UVA record for points. Staleyβs 235 assists in the 1991 season is still the all-time UVA record.
Her #24 was retired in 1993, the season after she graduated.
#GOAT π·ππΆ
Happy birthday to Bruce McGonnigal! π
@bmcgonnigal was the leading tight end on the late-80s/1990 powerhouse @UVAFootball teams, leading the team in receiving yards in 1988 and number of receptions in 1989.
He finished his career averaging 15.1 yards per reception, setting a then-school record of 1556 yards as a tight end.
πΆππ·