How can we forget the kid leaning over the brick at Scott Stadium? All UVA needed to do was stop Notre Dame at midfield in the final seconds to score the huge upset.
You know what happened next. Maurice Canady bit on a double move, and backup quarterback Deshone Kizer connected with Will Fuller on a 39-yard TD pass with 12 seconds left.
Ballgame, of course, and the 34-27 loss started the Cavs on their way to a 4-8 finish that concluded with a pair of blown fourth-quarter leads at home to rival Virginia Tech as Mike London closed out his mediocre six-year tenure.
Fast forward to hoops season, and things went a lot better there, until …
Well, first things first. The two teams who would eventually play for the national title, Villanova and North Carolina, both lost at JPJ.
The Cavs would stay in the ACC title race until the final day of the regular season, have a late lead in the ACC Tournament championship, and be up 15 with 10 minutes to go in an Elite Eight matchup with Syracuse.
A full-court press late, and the Orange had stunned us all in a 68-62 win that, admit it, you’re not over yet, and may never be.
Which brings us to baseball. Defending national champs after that improbable run from a three seed to the title last summer.
After a middling start that had Virginia at 20-14 midway through, the team got hot, playing its way to another gig hosting a regional.
And then there was Saturday night. Ace Connor Jones labored, but the ‘Hoos were on top in the ninth, 6-3, with closer Tommy Doyle needing to get three outs to get into a regional final.
The Pirates stormed back with a five-spot, winning on a three-run walkoff homer by Travis Watkins, and Doyle would be snakebitten again on Sunday, giving up a homer to William & Mary’s Charles Ameer in the seventh in a 5-4 loss that ends it all.
Men’s lacrosse didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, and legendary coach Dom Starsia was forced out. Men’s tennis won another national championship, so there is that.
UVA fans won’t remember 2015-2016 for men’s tennis, of course.
What we’ll remember is the kid leaning over the brick wall, things escalating quickly in Chicago, and the ninth-inning blitzkrieg at Davenport.
Column by Chris Graham
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