Charlottesville, VA (cvillerightnow.com): Snow cannot stop winter sports!  Hopefully you caught as much Virginia Athletics action as possible while you were stuck at home, but if you didn’t, we have you covered!  Here’s your Wahoo Rundown for the week of January sixth!   

The week began on the West Coast for the UVA Men’s Basketball team.  The road trip took them to the golden state to face the two west-coast ACC squads, California and Stanford.  Despite a few exciting non-conferences victories on the season, Ron Sanchez and the Hoos have had middling to poor results against their conferences foes.  These two games would be no exception.  The Hoos faced the Golden Bears on Wednesday night at 8pm PST, and the hosts handled Virginia comfortably 75-61.  Despite UVA matching up well with California, and both teams needing a win to find some momentum in the conference, the Bears owned the boards, shot well from the field, and kept the Hoos slow, predictable attack quiet.  Jay James full report on the game can be found HERE.    On Saturday, the Cardinal also had little trouble dispatching the Hoos.  Despite Issac McKneely putting up 22 points, the rest of the team could not rally behind him.  46% from the field and 47% from three-point range may win certain Basketball games, but the Stanford offense ran all over UVA, again dominating the Hoos on the boards to win 88-65.   They will have to put these defeats out of sight and mind as UVA returns home to welcome SMU on Wednesday night for a 9pm tip-off.  The Mustangs are 12-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play, winning 93-71 last time against Georgia Tech.  Listen along right here on Cvillerightnow.com, or watch it on the ACC network.   

The Virginia Women’s Basketball team has told a very different story to begin 2025.  They started the year with a victory at home against Wake Forest and looked to continue their momentum on the road at Clemson on Thursday night.  Much to the surprise and delight of Virginia media, Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton’s squad took the potent Clemson offense and completely shut them down, dominating on offense to fly away to victory, 67-60.  Kymora Johnson’s 28 points capped a thrilling team display you can read about in Jaclyn Piermarini’s report HERE.   Returning home, the Cavalier Women stared down a monumental task on Sunday afternoon, upsetting a Duke Blue Devils team ranked #14 in the country.  Undeterred, the Hoos again came out swinging from the locker room.  With recent benefactor Alexis Ohanian in attendance, the Wahoo offense put up 29 points in front of a raucous crowd to end the first half with nine-point lead at the interval, 29-20.    The Devils regrouped in the locker room though, adjusted to the zone defense the Hoos were playing, and put up 40 points in the second half as UVA began to slow down and tire.  In the dying moments, Duke took the lead and did not relinquish it, surviving the scare 60-55.   Despite the heartbreak, there’s much to be proud of for the Hoos.  They’ve improved on much of what needed improving at the end of 2024 and will carry sizable momentum into Blacksburg as they take on the Virginia Tech Hokies this Thursday night at Cassel Coliseum at 6pm.  The Hokies are 3-2 in conference play and 12-4 on the year, winning 64-51 over Wake Forest last time out.  Listen along here at Cvillerightnow.com or watch it on ACCNX.    

Finally, the vaunted UVA Women’s Swimming and Diving team comfortably handled the visiting Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday in a dual meet, 215-85.  Senior Day treated Gretchen Walsh quite well, setting pool records in the 50 and 100 freestyle, along with setting the fastest 50 split ever in the 200-medley relay (20.87).  Exciting young freshman Katie Grimes chipped in with three race wins including the 200 fly and 200 IM on her collegiate debut.  Senior diver Lizzy Kaye also took the victories in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events to secure the team win.   As for the #17 ranked Cavalier men, they managed two event wins over the Hokies, but the visitors handled the Hoos without much trouble, 190-102.  Both the Women’s and Men’s teams head for the Texas Duals next week in Austin.   

That wraps up the action, but there are some quick facts remaining that you need to know.  #6 Women’s Squash heads to Stanford for a battle with the #5 Cardinal tonight, who are undefeated at time of writing. Lastly, Senior golf standout Paul Chang competed at the Jones Cup Invite in Georgia this weekend, finishing in a tie for sixth place.   

So ends your Wahoo Rundown for the week of January 13th, see you next week and Go Hoos!