CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW)– No. 1-seed Virginia saw its women’s soccer season end Sunday in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament. Washington, after the teams played to a 1-1 tie, edged out UVA 5-4 in penalty kicks, stunning the Cavaliers far short of their championship goal.
Virginia had advanced to face Washington by downing Penn State in the previous round.
Keeper Victoria Safradin and the Virginia backline kept another clean sheet as both Maggie Cagle and Lia Godfrey found the back of the visitors’ net, cruising to a 2-0 victory.
Men’s Soccer: The men’s soccer squad also saw their season end in defeat in their first match of the NCAA Tournament, falling to UNCG on penalties by a score of 4-3. Despite dramatic goals from AJ Smith and Nick Simmons, and a spectacular save from keeper Casper Mols during the shootout, Greensboro handed the Hoos their second defeat at the Spartans’ hands in just three meetings with them over the last two years. Their season is now over.
Volleyball: The Hoos took to the JPJ Court on Friday and Sunday to battle two more Carolina squads, North Carolina State and Wake Forest. The Wolfpack were up first on Friday night, and despite Virginia taking a two-set lead, N.C. State came back and took the victory 3-2 after Virginia failed to finish them off.
Fortunately, Virginia fared much better on Sunday against the Demon Deacons. Perhaps buoyed by pre-match senior day honors, the Hoos rallied after dropping the first set to handily dispatch the visitors 3-1 as the raucous JPJ crowd cheered. One final home match remains, and it’s coming up this Wednesday against No. 15 UNC beginning at 3 p.m.
Swimming: Virginia battled for the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge title in Knoxville on Sunday.
Both the men’s and women’s squads took on the Michigan Wolverines, with the Virginia women winning the title, while the men fell in the third-place matchup.
On the men’s side Jack Aikens, David King, and Thomas Heilmann earned race wins in the 200 back, 100 back, and 200 fly respectively. The score finished Michigan 37, Virginia 19. Multiple race wins from Claire Cruzan and Anna Moesch, as well as victories from Leah Hayes, Madi Mintenko, Katie Grimes, and several others, led UVA to triumph 40-16.
This was the last competition of 2025 for the Hoos; they return to the pool after the first of the year.
Basketball: The Virginia women took on the Longwood Lancers on Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena before heading to Destin, Florida for the Emerald Coast classic. The Lancers started strong, but once Virginia hit its groove, the visitors had little chance of getting back in the game. A Romi Levy triple-double (14 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists) buoyed the Hoos to a dominant 94-47 victory. Virginia battles Northwestern State Monday night at 8:30 p.m. from Destin and will face the winner of Nebraska and Purdue Fort Wayne in the Tuesday evening contest. Tuesday tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Meanwhile, the men’s Basketball team took down Northwestern 83-78 at the Greenbriar’s Colonial Hall in West Virginia. They did not fare as well Sunday, being handed their first loss, 80-73, by the Butler Bulldogs. The Hoos get back to action Friday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena against Queens beginning at 4 p.m.
More action: Gary Martin finished seventh overall and the Virginia Men’s Cross-Country team finished seventh as a squad at the NCAA Championships in Columbia, Missouri. Men’s and Women’s squash each went 1-1 against Columbia and Penn over the weekend. The Women’s squad blanked Columbia 8-0, while the Men handled them comfortably 6-3. Both teams fell 7-2 to Penn in Philadelphia. UVA Men’s Tennis stars Mäns Dahlberg and Dylan Dietrich brought home an NCAA title in the Doubles’ Championship in Orlando this past Saturday.
