5. Men's Lacrosse vs. Maryland: 10-9 (7 OT)
While the game was not always pretty, it certainly was memorable.
Virginia lacrosse was in a desperate situation. After defeating the Duke Blue Devils earlier in the season, Maryland was in position to deny the Cavaliers the top seed in the ACC tournament with a victory at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers were not as sharp as they had been earlier in the season, particularly on offense.
However, goalie Adam Ghitelman could not have been better for Virginia on this day.
While his teammates had trouble clearing the ball or even getting off a shot in the wet field conditions, Ghitelman was the rock that Virginia desperately needed.
With 22 saves and a key penalty that saved a sure-fire goal for the Terps, it was the goalie who allowed "Big Shot" Brian Carroll to add to his legacy of overtime winning shots.
Last season, Carroll knocked out Johns Hopkins and Syracuse but this shot helped cap off the longest game in college lacrosse history.
Virginia would go on to the Final Four where it lost to Cornell, but Cavalier fans will always remember the drama and intrigue of a seven-overtime thriller.
4. Football vs. UNC: 16-13 (OT)
The Tar Heels had not won in Charlottesville since 1981, but this appeared to be the year to turn things around.
North Carolina was coming in with a national ranking and a talented offense assembled by coach Butch Davis. Although the Tar Heels had lost in 2007, it was a failed two-point conversion which cost them a chance at overtime.
The near miss fueled them, but Virginia was not ready to lay down and die.
The Cavaliers had been left for dead by everyone after a 31-3 dismantling by Duke. However, after thumping Maryland 31-0 and a victory over media darling East Carolina, Virginia had begun to play some solid football.
Carolina came out fast with a touchdown by Ryan Houston after a nice pass by Cameron Sexton put them at the one-yard line.
Virginia's defense locked down after that and only allowed three more points in regulation.
Good thing too, because the Cavalier offense was anemic.
Through 57 minutes and 42 seconds, Virginia had amassed 168 yards of offense.
So who would have guessed inexperienced Marc Verica would lead an 82-yard drive in the final two minutes to tie the game and force overtime?
Verica simply could not miss when it mattered most and willed his team towards the endzone where Cedric Peerman put it away.
In overtime, Virginia held Carolina to three points and then a long pass from Verica to tight end John Phillips set up Peerman for the winning two-yard run.
The win did two equally important things.
First, it energized the Virginia fan base and allowed the Cavalier fans to celebrate their biggest win of the season.
Second, it demoralized a Carolina team off to its best start since 1997 and continued the Cavalier winning streak in Charlottesville.
3. Baseball vs. Florida State: 6-3
Since the arrival of coach Brian O'Connor, Virginia baseball has gone from the garbage heap to the penthouse.
O'Connor has produced one of the most consistent programs at the University.
Oh yeah, except he never won the big game.
Sure, O'Connor could get his team to the NCAA tournament, they just could never advance.
Sure, O'Connor could get his team to the ACC Championship game, he just couldn't win.
Certainly his youngest team in years that was not even ranked before the season started could not buck that trend.
Right?
Well, the Cavaliers entered the ACC baseball tournament seeded sixth. Their 19-0 start to the season had gained them attention but they had to prove they could win the big game, and particularly the close one.
Well Virginia beat Clemson 5-4 in the opener and then proceeded to proverbially punch the Carolina Tar Heels in the mouth with an 11-1 mercy rule victory.
After a comeback victory against Duke, it was on to the championship game with the Seminoles.
The Cavaliers were here last year, losing 8-4 to the Miami Hurricanes.
When the Seminoles scored two runs in the first it appeared Virginia would meet a similar fate. However, a strong relief outing by Matt Packer and Tyler Wilson held Florida State scoreless for over five innings allowed the Cavaliers to come back and tie the game at 3-3.
In the ninth, freshman John Hicks hit the biggest base hit of his life for the go-ahead run and an insurance run to boot. Hicks had not exactly shined during the tournament but his big hit was followed by another RBI for all-tournament catcher Franco Valdes giving Virginia a 6-3 lead.
The lead was more than enough for Kevin Arrico who notched the save and Virginia captured only the second ACC baseball title in school history.
The win gave Virginia six ACC titles, the most of any ACC program that year and tied for most in school history.
2. Men's Tennis vs. Georgia: 4-1
Coach Brian Boland has done just about everything at Virginia.
In 2008, Virginia tennis claimed its first national championship with an indoor title.
However, in tennis it's the outdoor title that is the standard for champions.
The Cavaliers had gone undefeated the entire season reaching the Final Four.
There they did battle with the Georgia Bulldogs.
You see, as great as Virginia has been against the rest of the country, they had never beaten the Bulldogs
In 2008, it would be no different. A hot day full of cramping and tension led to a 4-3 Georgia victory.
In 2009, Virginia once again faced Georgia. This time in the finals of the indoor national championship.
The Cavaliers were able to capture the valuable doubles point, just like they had done in their last meeting.
Without three starters from last season, including the all-time UVA great Somdev Devvarman, Virginia put on a show for the ages.
Houston Barrick took care of business quickly 6-4, 6-0 but the Bulldogs answered right back with knocking out top seeded Cavalier Dom Inglot.
In response, it was two freshman for Virginia that would clinch the match.
Steven Rooda won in straight sets and Drew Courtney responded after losing the first set 6-0 to take the match and the victory.
The win was a statement that Virginia desperately needed to make.
By getting the monkey off their back, the Cavaliers would once again enter the NCAA tournament with an undefeated record.
Though their season once again ended prematurely, this time to the USC Trojans, Virginia continues to be a program on the verge of an outdoor national championship.
If they do, expect the win over the Bulldogs to have served as the confidence needed to bring them championship glory.
1. Baseball vs. Ole Miss
Virginia baseball was already on cloud nine.
The Cavaliers had survived the "Region of Death" for their first ever appearance in the Super Regionals.
Their reward was a trip to Oxford, MS., one of the toughest places to play baseball in the country.
Virginia was kicking themselves after throwing away the first game on two costly errors that led to two runs for the Rebels.
Ole Miss was not feeling any better after game two where an error of their own in the eighth inning led to a decisive, winner-take-all contest on Sunday.
The Cavaliers had already used their two aces Danny Hultzen and Robert Morey, so coach Brian O'Connor was left to implement a pitcher-by-committee approach.
Robert Poutier began the game and recovered from a tough start where the Cavaliers gave up the opening run for the second straight game in the first.
Phil Gosselin helped tie the game by using the "small ball" gameplan that has typified Virginia baseball.
Gosselin singled and stole second without a throw before a Dan Grovatt walk and double steal.
John Hicks was able to sacrifice and let Gosselin get the key run.
Then the fifth inning turned into a comedy of errors where Virginia scored three runs off costly fielding mistakes by Ole Miss.
The pressure of having to win a regional after three straight close losses at home began to weigh on the Rebels and an insurance run in the eighth gave Virginia a 5-1 edge that they would not relinquish.
The victory gave Virginia their first ever appearance in the College World Series and gained the program and unprecedented amount of exposure and respect.
For a program that was almost eliminated in 2001, the Virginia baseball team put on a spring to remember. After the football and basketball seasons, Cavaliers needed a team to believe in and the baseball team filled the role beautifully.
Coach O'Connor took a bunch of kids that no one believed in and got them to believe in each other.
The result was the greatest season in the program's history and it culminated one fateful day in Oxford.
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