U.VA. FOOTBALL REPORT.(SPORTS) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

Byline: ED MILLER

Last year's top recruit eligible, will practice with team in spring

Spring football practice just became much more interesting at the University of Virginia.

Ahmad Brooks, the team's top recruit a year ago, has been accepted for admission and will participate in spring drills.

'Ahmad is very excited,' said Robert Prunty, Brooks' coach at Hargrave Military Academy. 'He's ready to get up there with his U.Va. teammates.'

Brooks, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound linebacker from Woodbridge, was the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year last season. He signed with Virginia last February but failed to qualify academically. He enrolled at Hargrave, where he raised his standardized test score enough to qualify under NCAA guidelines.

Brooks is expected to play inside linebacker in Virginia's 3-4 scheme.

'He ran a 4.4 the other day at the combine,' Prunty said. 'I think he's a clone of Lavar Arrington.'

Brooks could be joined on the inside by Kai Parham, who has begun practicing recently after missing most of the season with a back injury.

Parham, a freshman from Princess Anne High, was a Parade All-American last season. He redshirted this year and, like Brooks, will have four years of eligibility remaining.

Players get holiday break through this weekend

After practicing five times in four days, Virginia broke for the holidays Tuesday night. The Cavaliers will reconvene Saturday to continue preparations for the Continental Tire Bowl Dec. 28 in Charlotte.

The NCAA allows teams wide latitude in preparing for bowl games. Virginia coach Al Groh said it is 'one of the few times the NCAA allows common sense to rule.'

Some coaches abuse the privilege, using bowl practice as a mini-spring practice. Groh said he heard of one school that is practicing 17 times before its bowl.

Groh said the Cavaliers will practice no more than necessary to get ready for West Virginia.

'We're trying to structure it so we can get prepared for the opponent,' he said.

Two Charlotte natives sidelined for bowl game

In a cruel twist, U.Va.'s two best players from Charlotte - tailback Alvin Pearman and defensive end Chris Canty - won't be available to play.

Pearman suffered a season-ending knee injury against Georgia Tech. Canty is out with an elbow injury. Stan Norfleet, a linebacker who plays strictly on special teams, is the only other Cavalier from Charlotte.

Canty will be replaced by freshman Kwakou Robinson, who has missed the last three games with an illness. Justin Walker also will play defensive end.

Elsewhere on the injury front, Groh said guard Elton Brown should resume practicing when the team arrives in Charlotte on Saturday. Brown has been playing with a stress fracture in his foot.

'By the time we get to Charlotte, this'll give him three weeks to be feeling a little bit better,' Groh said.

Cavs land highly rated offensive lineman

After visiting Virginia four times in the past year, coveted offensive lineman Ian-Yates Cunningham announced Wednesday that he will sign a letter of intent with U.Va.

Cunningham, a 6-6, 300-pound offensive tackle from Plano, Texas, picked the Cavaliers over the other two schools he had visited, Georgia Tech and Nebraska.

Cunningham was born in North Carolina and his grandparents, Rudy and Becky Cunningham, live in his father's hometown of Petersburg. His second cousin is legendary tennis star Arthur Ashe.

Cunningham, rated the No. 6 offensive lineman in the country by SuperPrep before the season, said he based his decision on the relationship he had built with the U.Va. coaches and players and on academics. He has a 3.2 grade-point average and 1,000 on the SAT.

- ED MILLER

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A quick take on sports of note for Joliet-area fans - The Herald News - Joliet (IL)

Must See High school softballThe weather is supposed to be perfect, making for a heavy schedule on all fronts.

Girls soccer is in the spotlight as Lincoln-Way East visits Lincoln-Way Central in a battle between former teammates -- Lincoln-Way having been a combined program last season.

theshow

Former Joliet Catholic Academy left-hander Chris Michalak is back where he belongs -- in the major leagues.

Michalak, who opened the season at Triple-A Oklahoma despite an outstanding spring, was recalled by Texas and pitched two scoreless innings Tuesday night against Oakland, allowing two hits while striking out one.

He was in line to get the victory until John Rocker came in to pitch the ninth and blew the save opportunity.

The A's wound up winning 5-4 in 11 innings.

illinihoops

The University of Illinois men's basketball recruiting class that includes Lincoln-Way High School senior James Augustine got even stronger Wednesday as the Illini signed Aaron Spears, a 6-9, 240- pound center who averaged 27 points and 15 rebounds for Chicago Dunbar.

He originally committed to Ohio State but reconsidered after visiting the Illinois campus.

Spears joins the 6-10 Augustine and three other signees: Dee Brown, a 6-0 guard from Proviso East; Deron Williams, a 6-3 guard from The Colony, Texas, and 6-8 forward Kyle Wilson of Plano, Texas.

contestcorner

Mary Krause of West Marion St. in Joliet was The Herald News $400 first-place winner in the World's Largest Office Pool on the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

She finished with 1,500 and beat two others on the tiebreaker.

fourscores NHL

Blackhawks xx Detroit xx

Toronto xx N.Y. Rangers xx

Philadelphia xx New Jersey xx

Vancouver xx Colorado xx

ontheair

Friday's scores.(Sports) - Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)

Friday's scores

Benet 34, Oswego East 0

Bolingbrook 28,

Downers Grove South 21

Conant 27, Lake Park 14

Glenbard East 21, Willowbrook 18

Glenbard North 12, Oak Park 6

Joliet Catholic 21, Montini 7

Leyden 9, Fenton 7

Lockport 42, Downers North 20

Immaculate Conception 28,

Ridgewood 7

Naperville Central 17,

Waubonsie Valley 10

Naperville N. 29, Neuqua Valley 28

Plainfield East 27, Metea Valley 26

Plano 30, Lisle 13

St. Francis 34, Riverside-B. 7

W. Chicago 7, Plainfield N. 6, 2 OT

Wheaton Academy 28,

Westminster Christian (Mo.) 6

Wheaton North 31, Addison Trail 0

WW South 28, Hinsdale Central 7

York 34, Prospect 21

Today's games

Glenbard South at Glenbard West,

1:30 p.m.

Romeoville vs. Hinsdale South at

With logjam at QB, Smalls aims to come up big at receiver.(Sports) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

By Doug Doughty

The Roanake Times

CHARLOTTESVILLE

When you've been coaching for more than 40 years, every move has a precedent.

That's how Virginia football coach Al Groh was able to sell redshirt freshman quarterback Riko Smalls on a switch to wide receiver.

'When coach presented me with the idea, he also told me that Marques Hagans was a receiver until Matt Schaub left,' Smalls said. 'After that, Marques Hagans took over the quarterback job.

'If it's better for the team that I play receiver this year, then that's what I'm going to do.'

Smalls could do worse than have a Hagans-like career. After Hagans caught 28 passes as a sophomore in 2003, he moved to quarterback and passed for more than 2,000 yards in each of his final two seasons.

Like Hagans, Smalls (6 feet, 200 pounds) played quarterback almost exclusively before coming to Charlottesville. He was Virginia's No. 3 quarterback for much of the 2008 season, but the Cavaliers held him out of action and preserved his redshirt year.

The return of 2007 starter Jameel Sewell after a year's academic suspension only added to a logjam at quarterback that included Vic Hall and 2008 passing leader Marc Verica.

Sewell and Hall, a former cornerback who started at quarterback in the 2008 finale, are in their final seasons of eligibility. Verica is a fourth-year junior

'We have a lot of depth at quarterback this year and a lot of experience as well,' said Smalls, who passed for 2,985 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2007 as a senior at Plano (Texas) East High School. 'We're not as deep at receiver as we are at quarterback.'

Smalls, lining up in the slot Friday, showed sure hands as Virginia worked on its spread offense against a veteran secondary.

But the Cavaliers' defensive backs had the best of that match-up. Cornerback Chris Cook returned an interception for a touchdown, safety Corey Mosley picked up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown and safety Brandon Woods returned an interception to the 2-yard line.

On virtually every big play by the defensive backs, new secondary coach Anthony Poindexter gleefully ran after his players. Poindexter, a former All-America safety for the Cavaliers, coached the running backs until assignments were changed following the 2008 season.

Smalls never had played receiver in an organized setting until Groh floated the idea three weeks ago, but Smalls was comfortable with the routes from his spring work at quarterback.

'My dad played receiver when he was in school,' Smalls added. 'I've grown up always catching the ball and throwing the ball.'

Notes U.Va. released a revised 105-player roster that did not include 2009 signee, Cody Wallace, an offensive lineman from Moorestown, N.J. Wallace was enrolled in the first session of summer school but didn't return for the start of preseason workouts for what U.Va. described as 'personal reasons.' ... Another 2009 signee, Parade All-America offensive tackle Morgan Moses,, did not meet NCAA guidelines for initial eligibility and said Thursday he will enroll at either Fork Union Military Academy or Hargrave Military Academy.

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Hill Country sports news in brief. - Kerrville Daily Times (Kerrville, TX)

Sep. 23--TIVY STILL A FEW SPOTS SHY OF TOP 10: Despite being idle this past week, the Tivy High School football team received a little more love as the Antlers gained a single vote in The Associated Press prep poll released Monday.

But even with four votes, the Antlers remained at No. 17 in Class 4A, a few votes behind District 27 rivals Schertz Clemens (No. 14) and Schertz Steele (No. 11) and trailing No. 1 Lake Travis, still the undisputed top team in 4A with 190 votes including all 19 first place votes.

Leading the way in Class 5A with 189 votes and 18 of the 19 possible first place votes is Euless Trinity, which is followed closely by No. 2 Plano, which earned the only other first-place vote in 5A.

Liberty Hill is leading the Class 3A standings, Cisco is ahead in Class 2A, and Canadian is the top team in Class 1A.

ANTLERS BEAT NEW BRAUNFELS CANYON IN TENNIS: The Tivy High School tennis team beat District 27 opponent New Braunfels Canyon 10-5 on Friday for its first district victory of the season.

Behind more strong performances from the Lady Antlers, who saw singles victories from Kolbie Kiefer (6-0, 6-2), Hayden Henderson (6-2, 6-3), Alex Moos (6-3, 6-4) and Andi Underwood (6-4, 6-3), Tivy improved its record to 6-5 overall and 1-1 in district play.

Kiefer and Henderson (6-2, 6-0) also won their doubles match along with the teams of Underwood and Elizabeth Allen (6-7, 6-2, 10-4) and Clarke Henderson and Moos (6-3, 6-1).

In mixed doubles, Jordan Hamilton and Jack Porter won their match (6-1, 7-6) while the team of Collin Dill and Ian Lemmon (6-2, 6-0) won their doubles match for the boys. Jacob Woods had the Antlers' only singles victory (6-4, 6-4).

LADYHORNS WIN AGAINST SA BROOKS ACADEMY: With a team-high 11 kills from junior Amelia Herring and 17 assists from her twin sister, Amanda, the Harper High School volleyball team rolled to a 25-12, 25-14, 25-12 victory over district opponent San Antonio Brooks Academy on Saturday.

Leading the Ladyhorns (13-11, 3-0) through their District 27-2A competition, Amanda also added seven digs the effort while Autumn Davis had five kills, five digs and went 12-of-12 in service opportunities.

KERRVILLE RACER WINS MODIFIED RACE: After competing in the IMCA Super Nationals in Iowa, Kerrville's own Greg Dinsmore added to his season win total by taking the main modified race at the I-37 Raceway on Friday in Pleasanton.

Moe VanKirk, also from Kerrville, took first place in the Super Stock feature race.

To see more of the Kerrville Daily Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, visit http://www.dailytimes.com/.

Copyright (c) 2008, Kerrville Daily Times, Texas

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Indians end suspense in 4A.(Sports) - Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

Byline: Tracy Renck, Special To The Rocky

PUEBLO -- Watching Kent Denver and Mullen bask in state glory recently didn't sit well with the storied Cheyenne Mountain girls tennis program.

The past five seasons, Kent Denver won state four times and Mullen once, while Cheyenne Mountain finished an agonizing second each time.

'We weren't going to finish second again, there was no way we were going to let that happen,' said Alana Humpal, Cheyenne Mountain's No. 3 singles player.

The Indians made sure of that by taking care of business Friday in the semifinals.

The Indians, who were competing in each of the seven brackets, advanced players from six of those matches into the finals, which begin at 9 a.m. today. Cheyenne Mountain's No. 4 doubles team will be playing for third place.

Because of that impressive performance, the Indians clinched the state title with 66 points. Greeley West was second through Friday, with 46 points, but even if the Spartans won all their matches today, they could total only 59 points.

'People will look and see what we did (Friday) and they will think that we dominated, but that wasn't the case,' Cheyenne Mountain coach Dave Adams said. 'We had a ton of close matches and we just snuck them out. It feels great to win state, and I am especially happy for the seven seniors on the team.'

Cheyenne Mountain has won 13 girls state championships and it has placed no worse than third since 1984. Overall, it is the 26th state tennis championship for Cheyenne Mountain. The boys program also has won 13 state crowns, including the past two.

Adams is in his first season coaching the girls, but he has led the boys program since 1987.

'We worked hard in practice since the start of the season and the girls responded to the expectations we placed on them,' Adams said.

Mary Russell, the Indians' No. 2 singles player, is trying to repeat as a state champion. Russell, a junior, won a year ago at No. 3 singles.

Cheyenne Mountain's No. 3 doubles senior tandem of Alison Seiler and Kristen Boe also is aiming for consecutive championships. Seiler and Boe won state at No. 2 doubles last season.

'I just want to stay focused and be consistent (today) and stay in my zone,' said Russell, whose family is moving to Plano, Texas, after the school year.

Greeley West could have made matters interesting today since it had five brackets - No. 1 singles, No. 3 singles and No. 2 through No. 4 doubles - alive in the semifinals, but only Mattison Sperry (No. 1 singles), Jennah Kitchell (No. 3 singles) and Lexi Graham and Christine Kato (No. 2 doubles) made it through to the finals.

'We definitely wanted to win the team championship, but that didn't happen,' said Sperry, a 5-foot freshman. 'I just want to play well (today) and mix up my shots.'

Sperry will clash with Casey Wetzig, a senior from Cheyenne Mountain.

'I just need to play every point and stay focused,' said Wetzig, who won state at No. 3 singles as a freshman and sophomore. 'I know I will be a lot more relaxed since we have wrapped up the team title.'

CLASS 4A STATE TENNIS

at the City Park Complex in Pueblo

Team scores: 1. Cheyenne Mountain 66. 2. Greeley West 46. 3. Steamboat Springs 33. 4. Niwot 31. 5. Ralston Valley 16. 6. Mullen 12. 7. Pueblo South 10. 8, tie, Broomfield, Fountain Valley 9. 10. Regis 8.

11. Kent Denver 6. 12, tie, Colorado Academy, Fossil Ridge, Pueblo West 3. 15, tie, Montrose, Aspen, Pueblo Centennial 2. 18, tie, Pueblo County, Rock Canyon 1.

SEMIFINALS

No. 1 singles: Casey Wetzig, Cheyenne Mountain def. Clarke Tatje, Fountain Valley, 6-0, 6-1; Mattison Sperry, Greeley West def. Lisa Floyd, Steamboat Springs, 6-4, 6-0.

No. 2 singles: Mary Russell, Cheyenne Mountain def. Claire Runge, Niwot, 6-1, 6-0; Breanne Murray, Steamboat Springs def. Cari Hudson, Mullen, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2.

No. 3 singles: Jennah Kitchell, Greeley West def. Kristin Erickson, Broomfield, 6-0, 6-2; Alana Humpal, Cheyenne Mountain def. Kelly Sweeney, Mullen, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

No. 1 doubles: Meha Semwal/Kristina Barber, Cheyenne Mountain def. Molly Weiss/Kristin Toy, Steamboat Springs, 6-4, 7-5; Katie Anselmo/Molly Doyle, Ralston Valley def. Kara Combs/Brooke Simecka, Fossil Ridge, 6-0, 6-3.

No. 2 doubles: Lexi Graham/Christine Kato, Greeley West def. Maggie Pinnick/Taylor Oliver, Niwot, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5; Kelli Sylvester/Jen Marquit, Cheyenne Mountain def. Kelly Nightengale/Kimber Robbins, Mullen, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

No. 3 doubles: Alison Seiler/Kristen Boe, Cheyenne Mountain def. Candice Krammer/Alexandra Lehnert, Greeley West, 6-1, 6-1; Alex Forke/Whitney Fredericks, Niwot def. Kira Eck/Shelby Shriver, Ralston Valley, 6-1, 6-4.

No. 4 doubles: Erin McNary/Jenna Cavalli, Broomfield def. Megan Esser/Colleen Fisher, Colorado Academy, 6-2, 6-4; Nicole Ferguson/Baylee Thenell, Regis def. Mary Mekeal/Alyson Wolach, Greeley West, 6-3, 6-4.

INFOBOX

Class 4A championship pairings * No. 1 singles: Casey Wetzig, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr. (18-2) vs. Mattison Sperry, Greeley West, Fr. (18-2). * No. 2 singles: Mary Russell, Cheyenne Mountain, Jr. (18-3) vs. Breanne Murray, Steamboat Springs, Sr. (15-1). * No. 3 singles: Jennah Kitchell, Greeley West, Sr. (20-0) vs. Alana Humpal, Cheyenne Mountain, Sr. (18-4). * No. 1 doubles: Meha Semwal/Kristina Barber, Cheyenne Mountain (17-4) vs. Katie Anselmo/Molly Doyle, Ralston Valley (18-4). * No. 2 doubles: Kelli Sylvester/Jennifer Marquit, Cheyenne Mountain (20-2) vs. Lexi Graham/Christine Kato, Greeley West (20-2). * No. 3 doubles: Alison Seiler/Kristen Boe, Cheyenne Mountain (18-2) vs. Alex Forke/Whitney Fredericks, Niwot (18-2). * No. 4 doubles: Erin McNary/Jenna Cavalli, Broomfield (19-0) vs. Nicole Ferguson/Baylee Thenell, Regis (15-1).

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REGIONAL SCENE.(Sports) - Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

Drossin secures fourth title

Thinking about her cancer-stricken mother for the entire course, Deena Drossin of Alamosa pulled away from the field to easily win her fourth consecutive U.S. cross country title Saturday in Vancouver, Wash., then broke down in tears after the finish line.

``This is the first race that she's missed in many years, so I was running with her spirit out there today,'' Drossin said. ``Even though she wasn't there screaming at the top of her lungs, I could hear her out there anyway.''

Drossin, who competed in Sydney as the top-ranked American woman in the 10,000 meters, also was recovering from an Achilles' tendon injury that forced her to take two months off after the Olympics. She didn't start training full-time until last month.

Her mother, Heleana, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and underwent two operations around Thanksgiving. She had her last chemotherapy treatment on Tuesday and is doing ``wonderfully,'' Drossin said.

Drossin's winning time was 26 minutes, 14 seconds. Jen Rhines of Adidas was second in 26:43.8, followed by Kristin Chisum of Reebok in 26:58.4.

Elsewhere in track and field:

* Wyoming's Quincy Howe solidified his status as one of the nation's top collegiate triple jumpers by automatically qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a jump of 53 feet, 5 3/4 inches at the Robert Shine Invitational in Laramie.

Tigers tumble in Minnesota

Troy Riddle scored two goals and Grant Potulny scored his 14th power-play goal - tops in the nation - as Minnesota beat Colorado College 4-1 to complete a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association sweep in Minneapolis.

The Gophers (23-7-2, 17-5-2 WCHA) won 6-1 on Friday when they chased CC goalie Colin Zulianello, the league leader in goals-against average and saves percentage with three goals in the first 6:08.

Minnesota beat Colorado College (20-9-1, 15-9-0) 6-1 on Friday night.

* Alabama-Huntsville completed a College Hockey America sweep of the Air Force Academy 4-2 Saturday night at the Cadet Ice Arena. Huntsville won the opener 5-4 in overtime on Friday night.

DU wades into third place

The University of Denver women's swimming and diving team finished third in the Sun Belt Conference championships in Little Rock, Ark.

On the final day, juniors Sarah Corcoran and Erin McConaughy finished 1-2 in the 100-yard freestyle, junior Erin Moir was third in 200 breaststroke, and junior Erin Lundy was third in the 200 backstroke.

Elsewhere in swimming:

* Wyoming sophomore Damian Storz won the men's 400 individual medley at the Mountain West Conference championships in Oklahoma City for the second consecutive year. Storz won in 3:55.78.

Et cetera