The University of Virginia may have had a down year in its major revenue sports, the season was far from lost.
The Cavaliers finished eighth in the Director's Cup, which is a culmination of all the different collegiate sports. They also picked up six ACC titles.
As a result, we also had some of the most compelling games in a long time.
With over 20 different men's and women's programs and so many amazing moments, it was hard to pick the top ten games of the season.
It was even harder to rank them.
After all, does the importance of the sport outweigh the game itself? What about the importance it had to the program? Was the game itself great or the situation around it?
I did my best to weigh all of these factors.
Without further ado, here's the list:
10. Men's Basketball vs. Clemson: 85-81 (OT)
With a 20-3 record and a No. 12 ranking, the Tigers appeared to be in great shape heading into Charlottesville.
Last year they embarassed the Cavaliers, winning by 30 points in their John Paul Jones arena debut.
With an eight-game losing streak, this version of the Cavaliers appeared to be no real challenge to break that trend.
The Cavaliers came out hot early and that was enough to hold an eight-point lead at half. However, Clemson responded with a 14-0 run to take a 39-33 lead and Virginia's upset bid appeared over.
Instead Virginia battled back, keeping the game close.
Using a big supporting effort by freshman guard Sammy Zeglinski and forward Mike Scott the Cavaliers were able to match the offensive prowess of the Tigers.
In the end though it was freshman sensation Sylven Landesberg. Six of his team-high 23 points came in overtime, capping off a final drive in the waning seconds that tied the game at 74-74 in regulation.
Landesberg had similarly taken over the game in Virginia's only other ACC win at that point against Georgia Tech. The freshman put on a show and was able to salvage one shining moment from a dismal season.
9. Women's Basketball vs. Tennessee: 83-82
The women's basketball program at Virginia had fallen into obscurity in recent memory.
Gone were the memories of Dawn Staley taking the Cavaliers to the championship game.
Those winning dreams were crushed by the Tennessee Volunteers. A bitter rivalry had developed between Virginia coach Debbie Ryan and Volunteer coach Pat Summitt.
However, when Virginia discontinued its series with the Connecticut Huskies, it needed a new premier program for it's non-conference schedule.
So Virginia took the short trip to Knoxville to take on a team that had lost only 18 times at home since the arena opened in 1987.
Young and inexperienced as the Volunteers may have been, no one expected Virginia to win this game. However, they forgot to inform junior guard Monica Wright of that fact.
Wright had her coming out party on a big stage, scoring a career-high 35 points.
However, the game was ultimately won by a role player named Britnee Milner.
The scrappy player converted the huge free throw with 6.4 seconds on the clock after Wright had tied the game at 82-82 to give Virginia the one-point lead.
The win may be diminished considering how Tennessee would fare the rest of the season, but it was a large statement that the Cavaliers could compete with any team in the country.
Something we would learn with No. 8.
8. Women's Basketball vs. Maryland: 89-81
Since 2001, when it came to the big three (UMD, UNC, and Duke), Virginia simply had no chance.
The Cavaliers had lost their spot on the top tier and they had no chance of getting it back unless it could finally knock off one of these perennial powers.
The best chance for that came when the Terrapins visited the JPJA in a big home contest for the Cavaliers.
Just so happened, Virginia had a big three of their own. Wright, alongside center Aisha Mohammad and the increasingly versatile Lyndra Littles provided an offensive force that few in the country could match.
The three combined for 77 of Virginia's 89 total points.
However, their biggest moment came in the second half when they were down by 13 and appeared to be on their way to another meltdown against the Big Three in the ACC.
Instead, Littles and Wright put on a show. The two helped not only erase the deficit but put up a 10-point edge of their own.
The Cavaliers shot nearly 54 percent in the second half and came away with their biggest win of the season.
The mark gave Virginia confidence that they could go toe-to-toe with any team in the ACC.
More importantly, it built a foundation for one of the strongest recruiting classes Debbie Ryan has ever assembled to work on.
7. Football vs. Georgia Tech: 24-17
As abysmal as the Virginia football program was at points last season, let's not forget that they were the No. 1 team in the coastal division standings heading into November.
That was made possible by a fateful day in October.
With the injuries to both Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor against Florida State, the Hokies appeared in trouble at 3-2 in the ACC.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers were in Atlanta facing a red hot Yellow Jacket team that flew out to an early 14-3 lead in the first quarter.
Game over? Not quite.
Virginia quarterback Marc Verica, with only a few starts under his belt, showed poise under pressure, using his skill players to get the Cavaliers back in it.
Verica connected with Kevin Ogletree in the middle of the second quarter to erase the deficit to four. Then he found Maurice Covington in the third to take the lead.
Meanwhile, the Virginia defense had tightened up brilliantly after a bad first quarter.
Georgia Tech did not help their cause either, Yellow Jacket QB Jonathan Dwyer had two fumbles in the second half. Both turnovers were in Virginia territory.
The final turnover, that was an interception by Vic Hall to seal the win.
Verica finished the game 29-of-39 for 270 yards with two touchdowns but also two interceptions, a precursor of things to come.
Virginia continued to use the ground game of Peerman as well, his game-winning score showed the grit and determination of a senior looking for a storybook ending to his career.
6. Men's Soccer vs. Wake Forest: 3-2 (2 OT)
Virginia's men soccer entered the ACC tournament as an afterthought.
The Cavaliers were seeded fourth but had terrible injury problems that had kept them from reaching their full potential.
In the semi-finals they were given the unfortunate task of taking on the undefeated Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Ranked No. 1 in the country, the Deacons had already defeated the Cavaliers one week ago 2-0.
However, none of that mattered on a rainy night in Cary, N.C.
Chase Neiken scored the go-ahead goal for the Cavaliers with less than eight minutes remaining but the Demon Deacons responded in 89th minute to force the game into overtime.
In the extra session, defender Matt Poole was given a penalty kick opportunity after Wake's Nick Courtney fouled Brian Ownby of the Cavaliers.
Poole, taking over the penalty kick spot that Yannick Reyering had left behind, took full advantage and hit the game-winning shot.
The loss knocked Wake Forest from perfection and gave Virginia a great deal of confidence heading into the postseason.
Although Virginia would lose the ACC Championship game against eventual national champion Maryland, the depleted Cavaliers posted a great win to give the program momentum heading into next season.
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