U.Va. coach Tony Bennett, seen during his tenure with Washington State, will stress “tough, hard-nosed basketball.“ CHARLOTTESVILLE On the final day of March, Tony Bennett accepted an offer to become men’s basketball coach at the University of Virginia. He’s been in almost perpetual motion since. The latest evaluation period in the recruiting calendar closed Wednesday night, though, and Bennett sat down with Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter Jeff White yesterday at John Paul Jones Arena.

Their younger teammates haven’t seen the last of Duke. For Danny Glading and the other seniors on the University of Virginia men’s lacrosse team, though, tonight is it, barring an encounter with the Blue Devils in next month’s NCAA tournament. No current Virginia player has beaten Duke. The second-seeded Devils (10-3) will be seeking their seventh straight win in the series when they meet third-seeded U.Va. (13-1) at 7:30 p.m. in an ACC tournament semifinal in Chapel Hill, N.C.

A year ago, on the same field, Matt Snyder had a 42-yard reception, the longest in the University of Virginia football team’s spring game. That was it for his 2008 highlight tape. Snyder, a walk-on wide receiver from Deep Run High, appeared in no games for the Cavaliers. But don’t expect his profile to be low this season. “This isn’t the last time his uniform will be dirty,“ U.Va. coach Al Groh said yesterday after a spring game witnessed by 7,954 fans on a splendid afternoon.

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Virginia closed the regular season by rallying for a 13-6 victory over Dartmouth. The Big Green (4-9) took a 6-5 lead early in the fourth quarter, but the second-ranked Cavaliers (13-1) responded with a barrage of goals to win going away before 4,080. Junior midfielder Brian Carroll had three goals and two assists to lead U.Va. Senior attackman Garrett Billings and senior middie Steve Giannone also scored three goals apiece.

The defensive players donned blue jerseys for yesterday’s spring football game at Scott Stadium. The offensive players wore white jerseys, except for the quarterbacks, who were in orange. That meant the QBs couldn’t be tackled, and that had a significant impact on the scrimmage. To be credited with a sack, all a defender had to do was touch the quarterback in the backfield. Officially, U.Va.‘s defense recorded six sacks, but most came on plays in which the quarterback would have scrambled into the open field to run or throw.

It’s not an official game. That won’t come until Sept. 5, when the University of Virginia opens against William and Mary. Still, for Jameel Sewell, today’s spring game will be an emotional release. Every time the quarterback drives by Scott Stadium—and he does so every day—the former Hermitage High star looks down at the field and gets chills.

CHARLOTTESVILLE The man who coached Vic Hall at Gretna High keeps up with his former pupil, but Rob Senseney did not travel to Blacksburg for last year’s Virginia Tech-University of Virginia football game.

Starting this summer, there will be two Snyders on the Virginia football team. For now, though, Matt Snyder is the family’s representative at U.Va., and he has impressed this spring. A 6-4, 205-pound rising sophomore from Deep Run High, Snyder came to Virginia as a walk-on. He’s moved into the rotation at wideout in the spread offense, as well as on special teams.

The University of Virginia’s nemesis in men’s lacrosse - ACC rival Duke - spoiled the Cavaliers’ perfect season yesterday in Durham, N.C. The game was shown on ESPN2, and viewers who didn’t know U.Va. was ranked No. 1 nationally never would have guessed that. The No. 8 Blue Devils didn’t trail in their 15-10 romp at Koskinen Stadium. The loss was the Cavaliers’ most one-sided since a year ago today, when Duke humbled them 19-9 at Klockner Stadium.

CHARLOTTESVILLE—Former University of Virginia basketball standout Jason Williford is returning to his alma mater. Williford, a Richmond native, yesterday accepted an offer from Tony Bennett to become an assistant coach at U.Va., the Richmond Times-Dispatch learned. It’s not known when an official announcement from Virginia will come.

The on-court chemistry between Erick Green and Tristan Spurlock was impossible to miss Thursday night at American University’s Bender Arena. Here was Spurlock feeding Green for a midrange jump shot. There was Green lobbing an alley-oop pass to Spurlock for a behind-the-head dunk. Ninety seconds later, there was Green stealing the ball and passing ahead to Spurlock for a breakaway slam.

This is the ninth year the football team has gone through spring drills under Al Groh. He’s always opened a few spring practices to fans and the media, but that may not happen this year. U.Va.‘s spring practice started March 21. It concludes April 18 with the spring game at Scott Stadium. No practices have been open thus far, and April 18 may be the first and last time for those outside the program to see the team this spring.

Have you lost your mind? Maybe Ritchie McKay hasn’t heard those exact words, but he knows the decision he made last week puzzled many of his peers. “In our profession, not many people go from head coach to assistant voluntarily,“ McKay said. Yet that’s exactly what McKay, 43, has done. He left Liberty University, where he went 39-28 in two seasons as head man, for the University of Virginia, where he’ll be associate head coach under his friend Tony Bennett.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Top-ranked Virginia rallied from four goals down to secure an 11-10 ACC men’s lacrosse win over No. 10 North Carolina at Giants Stadium yesterday in the inaugural Big City Classic. The Cavs have now won three straight one-goal decisions for the first time in team history. Shamel Bratton and Danny Glading had three goals each for the Cavaliers (12-0), including one apiece in the first three minutes of play. Garrett Billings and Brian Carroll each added two for U.Va.

Al Groh has coached 100 games at the University of Virginia. In the large majority, he’s started a future NFL first-round pick at left offensive tackle. D’Brickashaw Ferguson, now a New York Jet, manned that spot in 2002, ‘03, ‘04 and ‘05. Eugene Monroe took over as a sophomore in 2006, and he’s expected to be among the first tackles taken in this month’s NFL draft.