Sports
Ranking the Top 24 Virginia Sports Moments of 2024
As 2024 comes to a close, it’s time to take a look back the year and recap some of the best moments for the University of Virginia athletics department. Here are our picks for the 24 best UVA sports moments of 2024.
24. Virginia wins the Commonwealth Clash… again
We’ll start with the in-state rivalry. UVA won the Commonwealth Clash over Virginia Tech for the second year in a row and fifth time overall, as the Cavaliers took down the Hokies in the all-sports competition by a score of 15-7. See a full recap of all of the events in the 2023-2024 Commonwealth Clash here. Virginia is also leading Virginia Tech 5-1 in the 2024-2025 Commonwealth Clash.
23. Virginia women’s soccer beats No. 12 Virginia Tech on the road
UVA had led Virginia Tech 23-4-2 in the all-time series in women’s soccer, but the Hokies had had the better season up until this meeting. Meredith McDermott scored in the 12th minute and Virginia proceeded to shut out the Hokies 1-0 on their home field on Halloween.
22. Gary Martin named ACC Men’s Cross County Performer of the Year
After winning the 2024 ACC Cross Country Championship men’s 8k race in record-setting fashion and finishing nearly 10 seconds ahead of the field, Gary Martin was aptly named the 2024 ACC Cross Country Men’s Performer of the Year. Martin is just the third Cavalier in program history to win the ACC Cross Country individual title.
21. Reece Beekman repeats as ACC Defensive Player of the Year
At the end of the season, which wrapped up his career at Virginia, Reece Beekman cemented himself as one of the best defenders to ever play at UVA, winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second season in a row. Beekman became just the third player to ever win the award in back-to-back seasons and was also named to the All-ACC Second Team and the ACC All-Defensive Team.
20. UVA women’s lacrosse beats Boston College in overtime
Kate Galica scored a falling goal to tie the game with two seconds left and then fellow freshman Madison Alaimo scored in overtime to give Virginia a massive 13-12 victory over the eventual national champions Boston College, one of the most significant wins in recent UVA women’s lacrosse history.
19. UVA softball posts second-highest ranked series win by upsetting No. 3 Duke
After losing a 12-inning heartbreaker 1-0 on Friday night, the Cavaliers came back and won a pair of one-run games over the third-ranked Blue Devils to sweep the Saturday doubleheader and win the series, the second-highest ranked series win in UVA softball history. Jade Hylton hit a grand slam and Madi Harris set a program record with her 10th save in the second game.
18. Virginia men’s soccer takes down No. 1 Pitt in ACC quarterfinals
Proving once again to be playing their best soccer at the most important time of year, the Cavaliers avenged a 4-1 loss to the Panthers on the same field with a 2-0 victory over top-seeded Pitt in the quarterfinals of the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship behind goals from Umberto Pela and AJ Smith that were separated by less than 30 seconds.
17. UVA women’s lacrosse beats North Carolina 13-12 in the ACC quarterfinals
Virginia earned its first victory over North Carolina in women’s lacrosse in nearly a decade. The Cavaliers also avenged a heartbreaking overtime loss from the regular season against the Tar Heels. In the rematch, Mel Josephson made 11 saves and Jenna Dinardo, Mackenzie Hoeg, and Kate Miller each had hat tricks to lead UVA to a 13-12 win over North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the ACC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament.
16. Virginia advances to match play at NCAA Men’s Golf Championships
A year after advancing to the match play stage of the NCAA Championships for the first time ever, the UVA men’s golf team did so again by placing third in stroke play, the best finish in stroke play in the history of the program. Ben James finished as the runner-up on the individual leaderboards. Virginia ultimately fell to the eventual national champions Auburn in the quarterfinals of match play.
15. Nick Hamilton named Most Outstanding Wrestler at ACC Championships
Nick Hamilton went on a fantastic run at the 2024 ACC Wrestling Championships and won the title at 165 pounds en route to becoming the first Cavalier to be named the ACC’s Most Outstanding Wrestler since 2009 and just the 10th to win the award in program history. Hamilton beat Isaias Estrade of North Carolina 14-2, then took down the top seed Derek Fields of NC State 2-1 in overtime, and then defeated Virginia Tech’s Connor Brady 7-3 in the finals to claim the title.
14. UVA women’s basketball celebrates 50th anniversary with big win over UNC
On the same day that the Cavaliers celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Virginia women’s basketball program, they extended that celebration to their play on the court, notching an 81-66 victory over No. 20 North Carolina in front of a crowd of 5,690 at John Paul Jones Arena. Kymora Johnson had 25 points and Sam Brunelle and Paris Clark scored 14 points each.
13. Virginia men’s basketball earns huge road win at Clemson
Behind 17 points from Jake Groves and 14 points apiece from Reece Beekman and Isaac McKneely, Virginia earned perhaps its strongest win of the 2023-2024 season, taking down Clemson 66-65 on the road at Littlejohn Coliseum. It was a crucial Quad 1 win for the Cavaliers over a Clemson team that wound up making it to the Elite Eight.
12. UVA football knocks off No. 23 Pittsburgh on the road
The best win of the 2024 Virginia football season came on the road at then-No. 23 Pittsburgh, as Jonas Sanker blocked a field goal and recorded an interception to spark the Cavaliers to a huge 24-19 victory over the Panthers. It was just the second time UVA had ever won at Pitt and the second road ranked win for the Hoos in the Tony Elliott era.
11. Virginia baseball beats Mississippi State to win Charlottesville Regional
It pales in comparison to punching your ticket to Omaha, but in order to win a Super Regional, you have to win a regional first and many had Mississippi State picked to emerge from the Charlottesville Regional. Instead, the Cavaliers held off Mississippi State 5-4 and then Jay Woolfolk delivered the best pitching performance of his career to lead Virginia to a 9-2 victory to clinch the regional.
10. UVA women’s basketball beats Virginia Tech in epic regular season finale
In front of the largest crowd (11,975) to ever attend a women’s basketball game in the state of Virginia, the Cavaliers outlasted No. 5 Virginia Tech 80-75 in an electric regular season finale at John Paul Jones Arena. Kymora Johnson recorded 21 points and eight assists and Camryn Taylor had 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the Hoos over the Hokies.
9. Virginia volleyball reaches postseason for first time since 1999
Shannon Wells and the Cavaliers delivered one of the strongest seasons of UVA volleyball in a quarter century, reaching the postseason for the first time since 1999 and just the third time in the 45-year history of the program. Virginia went 21-11 in the regular season and 11-9 in ACC play, increasing its win total by 10 games and its conference win total by seven games. UVA fell just short of making the NCAA Tournament, but qualified for the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
8. UVA softball makes second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance
Virginia qualified for the NCAA Softball Tournament for the first time since 2010 and just the second time in program history, winning 32 games and finishing fourth in the ACC. The Cavaliers won two games at the Knoxville Regional, reaching an NCAA Regional final for the first time ever. UVA finished the season with 34 wins, most since 2004.
7. Virginia tennis teams sweep ACC regular season titles
UVA men’s tennis completed the 2024 ACC regular season undefeated for the fourth year in a row, claiming its 17th ACC regular season title in the process, and Virginia women’s tennis finished tied for first place in the final standings with North Carolina, earning a share of the ACC regular season title for just the second time in program history.
6. UVA swim & dive wins fifth-straight ACC Championship
Often overshadowed by the program’s success at a national and international level, Virginia continued its dominance of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the pool by winning its fifth-consecutive ACC Women’s Swim & Dive Championship and 20th in program history. The Cavaliers left no doubt, winning 17 of the 18 events and scoring more points than any ACC Champion in history.
5. Virginia wins ACC Outdoor Men’s Track & Field Championship
15 years after sharing the conference title, Virginia won its first outright ACC Outdoor Men’s Track & Field Championship, holding off rival Virginia Tech by 4.67 points as the meet came down to the final event. The UVA women also finished on the podium, taking third place in the final team standings. Both the Virginia men and women, who combined for 24 All-ACC performances at the ACC Championships, finished above Virginia Tech to earn two points in the Commonwealth Clash. Nate Mountain (3000m steeplechase) and Margot Appleton (1500m) won individual ACC titles.
4. Elaine Chervinsky and Melodie Collard win NCAA Doubles Championship
For the first time, the NCAA individual tennis championships were held in the fall instead of the spring. Elaine Chervinsky and Melodie Collard are both in favor of that change and showed as much by winning the first NCAA doubles championship in the history of the UVA women’s tennis program. Chervinsky and Collard won all five of their matches in three sets, with each match requiring them to win a 10-point super tiebreaker.
3. Virginia baseball beats Kansas State to return to Omaha
Brian O’Connor and the Cavaliers booked their ticket to the College World Series for the second year in a row, third time in the last four seasons, and seventh time in program history with a 10-4 victory over Kansas State in the NCAA Super Regionals. The win also capped a perfect 5-0 run at home for Virginia in the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Disharoon Park.
2. UVA men’s lacrosse takes down Johns Hopkins in overtime to reach the Final Four
It was the final NCAA Tournament run for Mr. May himself and Connor Shellenberger made sure that last dance included a trip to Championship Weekend. The Charlottesville native scored the game-winning goal in double overtime to give Virginia an 11-10 victory over Johns Hopkins in the quarterfinals, sending the Cavaliers to their second-straight Final Four and fourth in the last five postseasons.
1. Virginia swim & dive wins fourth-straight national championship
The Cavaliers continued their dynasty in the pool by winning their fourth-consecutive NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving National Championship. Powered by a legendary meet from Gretchen Walsh, who broke three American records and won three individual titles and three relay titles, Virginia won 11 event titles en route to the championship. Alex Walsh also won three individual NCA titles and swam as part of four relay title-winning teams.
And although it’s not technically a UVA sporting event, we have to shout out the Virginia swimmers who went to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh won two gold medals and two silver medals each, Paige Madden won a silver and a bronze, and Emma Weber won a gold medal.
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