Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse
| Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1904; 1925 |
| University | University of Virginia |
| Head coach | Lars Tiffany (4th season) |
| Stadium | Klöckner Stadium (capacity: 8,000) |
| Location | Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Nickname | Cavaliers |
| Colors | Orange and blue[1] |
| Pre-NCAA era championships | |
| (2) - 1952, 1970 | |
| NCAA Tournament championships | |
| (6) - 1972, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2019 | |
| NCAA Tournament Runner-Up | |
| (4) - 1980, 1986, 1994, 1996 | |
| NCAA Tournament Final Fours | |
| (23) – 1972, 1973, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2019 | |
| NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals | |
| (32) – 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2019 | |
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |
| (39) – 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 | |
| Conference Tournament championships | |
| (7) - 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2019 | |
| Conference regular season championships | |
| (25) - 1962, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2019 | |
The Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse team represents the University of Virginia in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse. The Cavaliers compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays home games at Klöckner Stadium, or occasionally Turf Field or Scott Stadium, in Charlottesville, Virginia. The team is coached by Lars Tiffany, who led the team to winning the 2019 NCAA Lacrosse Championship.
Claiming eight national titles, Virginia is one of the all-time great collegiate lacrosse programs. Virginia's 2006 team set the NCAA record for wins in a season and are the most recent undefeated national champions of the sport after finishing 17–0. Traditional rivals include Johns Hopkins, Maryland, and Syracuse.
History
University records show that Virginia fielded lacrosse teams from 1904 to 1907, although no further information from that period is available.[2] After a hiatus, lacrosse returned to Charlottesville in 1925 though the team struggled in the ensuing years. Through 1932, the Cavaliers won only one game, while they lost 30 and tied four. The team was disbanded after the 1932 season and would play sporadically until lacrosse returned for good in 1947. Two years later, Virginia won more games than it lost for the first time in school history when it posted a 7–4 record. The Cavaliers then posted an 8–3 mark in 1950 and 7–2 in 1951. The following season, they recorded an identical tally and the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) named Virginia the 1952 co-national champions.[2]
In 1970, Virginia finished the season with an 8–2 record and the USILA again awarded them as co champions with Na vy and Johns Hopkins.[3] The following season, the NCAA instituted a single-elimination tournament to determine the national championship, and the Cavaliers made an appearance but were eliminated by Navy in the first round. In 1972, Virginia again secured a tournament berth, and beat in succession Army, Cortland State, and Johns Hopkins for their first NCAA national championship. In 1978, former Army coach Jim "Ace" Adams took over as head coach, and from that season onward, Virginia has been a regular participant in the NCAA tournament. Since then, the Cavaliers have never failed to qualify in two consecutive seasons. Virginia advanced to the championship game in 1980, 1986, 1994, and 1996, each time falling to the eventual champion by one goal. In 1993, Dom Starsia became head coach, leading the Cavaliers to national titles in 1999, 2003, 2006, and 2011. Since the establishment of an ACC tournament in 1989, Virginia has won the regular-season championship ten times, more than any of the other three teams in the league.[2]
Virginia's 2006 season was remarkable as the Cavaliers became the first team in NCAA history to finish the season with a 17–0 record en route to the program's third national championship in eight years. The team won its games by an average of more than eight goals per game and drew comparisons to some of the best lacrosse teams of all time.[4] The Virginia offense led the nation in scoring (15.28), while the defense ranked 10th, allowing fewer than eight goals per game. Eight Cavaliers were named All-Americans, the most in program history, and senior attackman Matt Ward received the Tewaaraton Trophy as the best player in the nation.
In 2011, the Cavaliers posted a 9–5 regular-season record before entering the NCAA tournament, where they defeated Bucknell, Cornell, Denver, and finally Maryland 9–7 to win their fifth NCAA championship.[5] During the tournament, head coach Dom Starsia became the all-time wins leader in Division I men's lacrosse history, breaking Jack Emmer's previous mark of 326 wins.[6] Five Cavaliers were named USILA All-Americans.[7] Following the tournament, third-year attackman Steele Stanwick won the Tewaaraton Trophy as the nation's top player.[8]
Starsia left the program at the conclusion of the 2016 season after a poor run of four seasons that included two losing records – only the program's third and fourth since the NCAA championship era began in 1971 – and a 1–15 mark in ACC play. At the time, media outlets reported Starsia had been fired.[9] In a 2018 interview with The Daily Progress, Starsia recounted that then-athletic director Craig Littlepage indeed told him the day after the 2016 season concluded that the university was not extending his contract, which expired at the end of the calendar year, and gave him an opportunity to resign. Starsia countered that he retained the confidence of players and alumni and asked for a five-month extension to coach the 2017 season, after which he would resign if Littlepage remained unsatisfied with the team's results. According to Starsia, Littlepage agreed to this weeks later after heavy pressure from alumni and boosters, at which point Starsia declined it and resigned due to the perceived lack of respect.[10]
Brown head coach Lars Tiffany, who had played for Starsia at the college, was named as his replacement on June 21, 2016.[11] In his third season, Tiffany led the Cavaliers to an 11–3 regular season record, an ACC championship, and finally back to the 2019 national championship game where they defeated Yale 13–9 to claim their sixth title.
Season Results
The following is a list of Virginia's results by season as an NCAA Division I program:
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenn Thiel (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1970–1977) | |||||||||
| 1971 | Glenn Thiel | 10–2 | 2–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1972 | Glenn Thiel | 11–4 | 2–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Champion | ||||
| 1973 | Glenn Thiel | 10–4 | 2–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 1974 | Glenn Thiel | 5–4 | 2–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1975 | Glenn Thiel | 7–4 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1976 | Glenn Thiel | 5–5 | 1–2 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1977 | Glenn Thiel | 7–5 | 1–1 | T–2nd | |||||
| Glenn Thiel: | 63–30 (.677) | 15–6 (.714) | |||||||
| Jim Adams (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1978–1992) | |||||||||
| 1978 | Jim Adams | 6–5 | 2–2 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1979 | Jim Adams | 9–4 | 3–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 1980 | Jim Adams | 12–2 | 3–1 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Runner–Up | ||||
| 1981 | Jim Adams | 9–4 | 3–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 1982 | Jim Adams | 10–3 | 3–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 1983 | Jim Adams | 10–2 | 3–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1984 | Jim Adams | 10–3 | 3–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1985 | Jim Adams | 11–3 | 2–1 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 1986 | Jim Adams | 12–3 | 3–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Runner–Up | ||||
| 1987 | Jim Adams | 6–7 | 0–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1988 | Jim Adams | 9–5 | 2–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 1989 | Jim Adams | 7–5 | 1–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1990 | Jim Adams | 9–5 | 3–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 1991 | Jim Adams | 10–4 | 2–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 1992 | Jim Adams | 7–5 | 0–3 | 4th | |||||
| Jim Adams: | 137–60 (.695) | 33–17 (.660) | |||||||
| Dom Starsia (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1993–2016) | |||||||||
| 1993 | Dom Starsia | 10–5 | 3–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1994 | Dom Starsia | 13–4 | 2–1 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Runner–Up | ||||
| 1995 | Dom Starsia | 12–3 | 3–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 1996 | Dom Starsia | 12–4 | 1–2 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I Runner–Up | ||||
| 1997 | Dom Starsia | 11–3 | 3–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1998 | Dom Starsia | 8–5 | 2–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Quarterfinals | ||||
| 1999 | Dom Starsia | 13–3 | 2–1 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Champion | ||||
| 2000 | Dom Starsia | 13–2 | 3–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 2001 | Dom Starsia | 7–7 | 1–2 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2002 | Dom Starsia | 11–4 | 3–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 2003 | Dom Starsia | 15–2 | 2–1 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Champion | ||||
| 2004 | Dom Starsia | 5–8 | 1–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 2005 | Dom Starsia | 11–4 | 2–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 2006 | Dom Starsia | 17–0 | 2–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Champion | ||||
| 2007 | Dom Starsia | 12–4 | 2–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2008 | Dom Starsia | 14–4 | 1–2 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 2009 | Dom Starsia | 15–3 | 2–1 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 2010 | Dom Starsia | 16–2 | 2–1 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 2011 | Dom Starsia | 13–5 | 1–2 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Champion | ||||
| 2012 | Dom Starsia | 12–4 | 2–1 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2013 | Dom Starsia | 7–8 | 0–3 | 4th | |||||
| 2014 | Dom Starsia | 10–6 | 1–4 | 6th | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2015 | Dom Starsia | 10–5 | 0–4 | 5th | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2016 | Dom Starsia | 7–8 | 0–4 | 5th | |||||
| Dom Starsia: | 274–103 (.727) | 41–34 (.547) | |||||||
| Lars Tiffany (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2017–Present) | |||||||||
| 2017 | Lars Tiffany | 8–7 | 0–4 | 5th | |||||
| 2018 | Lars Tiffany | 12–6 | 1–3 | T–4th | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 2019 | Lars Tiffany | 17–3 | 3–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Champion | ||||
| 2020 | Lars Tiffany | 4–2 | 0–0 | † | † | ||||
| Lars Tiffany: | 41–18 (.695) | 4–8 (.333) | |||||||
| Total: | 661–372–6 (.639) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
†NCAA canceled 2020 collegiate activities due to the COVID-19 virus.
References
- ^ "Athletics Color Palette". University of Virginia Consumer Product Brand Standards (PDF). Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^ a b c Virginia Men's Lacrosse Media Guide Archived 2012-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, University of Virginia.
- ^ Since 1971, the annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament has determined the national champion in lacrosse. Prior to that, from 1934 through 1970 (the pre-NCAA era), the national champion was determined by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), who would award the Wingate Memorial Trophy to the top team, based on regular-season records. The Wingate Memorial Trophy was presented to the first two NCAA champions (1971 and 1972) and was then retired. See also: NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship (1971– ) and Wingate Memorial Trophy (1934–1970).
- ^ In Final, Virginia Lacrosse Team Has Eye on Victory and Legacy Archived 2017-07-01 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, May 29, 2006.
- ^ While Virginia Celebrates Another Title, Relief Combines With Elation Archived 2012-08-31 at the Wayback Machine, New York Times, May 30, 2011.
- ^ Starsia Breaks Wins Record as Virginia is Baltimore Bound, VirginiaSports.com, May 21, 2011.
- ^ Stanwick Headlines UVa's Five USILA All-American Selections, VirginiaSports.com, May 26, 2011.
- ^ Stanwick Takes Home College Lacrosse's Top Honor – The Tewaaraton Trophy Archived 2011-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, VirginiaSports.com, June 2, 2011.
- ^ "Virginia fires NCAA's all-time winningest coach". NBC Sports Washington. 24 May 2016.
- ^ Blum, Sam (24 March 2018). "From lacrosse to limbo: His relationship with UVa fractured, Dom Starsia struggles to live in a town he'll never leave". The Daily Progress.
- ^ Reid, Whitelaw (21 June 2016). "Virginia hires Brown's Lars Tiffany to lead men's lacrosse program". The Daily Progress.
