UVa sports updates and NBA and NHL playoffs continue

UVA SPORTS
Baseball: The Cavaliers went 2-1 in the ACC tournament, edging Clemson 3-2 and shutting out No. 1 seed Florida State 7-0, but got blown out by eventual tournament champion Georgia Tech 17-5. Still, the NCAA was impressed enough with the Hoos to award them a regional. Play begins in the Charlottesville Regional on Friday. Virginia is the No. 1 seed, Oklahoma is the No. 2 seed, Appalachian State is the No. 3 seed, and Army is the No. 4 seed. Yep, the same Oklahoma team that knocked UVa out of the Charlottesville Super Regional in 2010 is back in town this weekend. But who knows, Virginia might not even have to play the Sooners. The first game Friday is at 11 a.m. with Virginia taking on Army. Oklahoma and App. St. play following that game. Virginia will play the winner of the second game if it can beat Army and will play the loser of that game if Army beats it. The double-elimination tournament continues from there until one team stands at the end.
In last year's Charlottesville Regional, the Hoos went 3-0, beating Navy 6-0, St. John's 10-2, and East Carolina 13-1.
Army went 41-13, 18-2 in the Patriot League and won its tournament championship. UVa last faced Army in 1913. App. St. went 39-16, 21-9 in the Southern Conference and won the regular season title. UVa has never played the Mountaineers. Oklahoma went 38-22, 13-10 in the Big 12 and lost to Missouri in the tournament title contest. The Cavs are 2-2 all-time vs. Oklahoma with three of those games in the 2010 Super Regional when UVa went 1-2.
I was surprised the NCAA gave Virginia a regional. I think that speaks to the respect that the program Brian O'Connor has built now garners. In 2009, Virginia went undefeated in the ACC tournament and had 43 wins but was sent out west to Cal Irvine's regional. Virginia's record this year is 38-17-1.
Men's tennis: UVa lost to USC 4-2 in the in the NCAA final last week. It was the fourth year in a row the Hoos have been eliminated by the Trojans and second year in a row it was in the championship. Virginia just can't quite get over that hump. Something that could help is that USC's Steve Johnson is graduating and he won back-to-back singles titles and went undefeated this season. Also, Virginia's recruiting class was named the nation's best Tuesday.
Golf: The Cavaliers are currently competing in the NCAA championships at UCLA and are tied for 23rd. Virginia finished second in the ACC championships back in April. The women's team finished fourth in the NCAA championships last Friday, which was actually better than their ACC championships finish of fifth.
Rowing: The rowing team won the NCAA title for the second time in three years Sunday by finishing with 87 points. Michigan finished second with 82 points. Virginia also won the championship in 2010. The Cavs were trailing California by three points heading into the Varsity Eight grand final, the final race, but won its first ever title in that event in the NCAA championship to clinch the overall crown.
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NBA PLAYOFFS
So far, the NBA conference finals are playing out the way everyone expected. Both the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs, the top seeds left in the playoffs, are up 2-0 in their respective series. The Heat beat the Celtics 115-111 in overtime last night despite Boston's Rajon Rondo recording 44 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. LeBron James tallied 37 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists and made 18 of 24 free throws for Miami.
The Spurs were down nine to the Oklahoma City Thunder going into the fourth quarter of Game 1 of their series Sunday before scoring 39 fourth-quarter points. In between the third and fourth quarters, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich told his team, "I want some nasty!" and the phrase has sense caught on with NBA analysts and fans. The team listened and won 101-98. The Spurs, who mostly dominated Game 2 on Tuesday in besting the Thunder 120-111, have now won 20 straight games dating back to before the playoffs. Game 3 is in Oklahoma City tonight.
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STANLEY CUP FINAL
The Los Angeles Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils 2-1 last night in overtime to win Game 1 of the NHL's championship series. Incredibly, the Kings, the No. 8 seed from the Western Conference, now own a 13-2 record this postseason.

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