Month: May 2010

A funeral service for UVA lacrosse player and fourth-year student Yeardley Love will be held Saturday, May 8, at 10am at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland.

According to several reports, a memorial fund and a scholarship have been set up in honor of the UVA senior and student-athlete. Those who wish to make contributions may send them to the following addresses:

The Yeardley Love Memorial Fund
Notre Dame Prep School
815 Hampton Lane
Towson, MD 21286
Phone: 410-825-6202

The Yeardley Love Women’s Lacrosse Scholarship Fund
Virginia Athletics Foundation
P.O. Box 400833
Charlottesville, VA 22904
Phone: 434-982-5555 or 800-626-8723

On behalf of Notre Dame Preparatory School, Sister Patricia McCarron, the school’s headmistress, released a statement on Love’s death:

“The entire Notre Dame Preparatory School community deeply mourns the loss of Yeardley Love, a graduate from the Class of 2006. Yeardley was an outstanding young lady, delightful, friendly and happy. She readily shared her many talents with our community, as a student in the classroom, and as a standout athlete in the field hockey and lacrosse fields, as a caring citizen through her service work. Yeardley was, is, and always will be one of ‘our girls.’”

Love’s family was not available to comment to C-VILLE.

Ever hear about the kid who believed that buying a pair of shoes that once belonged to Michael Jordan would make him a better basketball player? Now you can see if owning recently deceased, dearly missed pianist George Melvin’s grand piano will help your ivory tickling skills. The Yamaha C-6 Grand Piano, which lived for many years at Keswick Hall, will be all "sparkled up" and on sale starting tomorrow at Charlottesville Piano Company.

Melvin’s wife, Alfreda Melvin, said in an e-mail that store owner Tom Shaw has invited Melvin’s friends to come by and share their favorite "George stories" and play the piano.

From Alfreda:

"We are asking all of George’s extended circles to please do the ‘viral email thing’ to anyone who knew George, asking them to also email, and so on…with the hope that the piano might be sold to someone who loved this man’s wonderful musical gifts and would especially appreciate owning his piano."

Last November at the Fry’s Spring Beach Club, bands came together at the Jazz-in for George to raise funds for a kidney transplant for Melvin, who did not have health insurance. He passed away last month at the age of 63 after a distinguished career, first as a session musician, and later as a jazz performer at various venues around town.

No. 1 Virginia Baseball Takes 11th Straight, Downs VCU, 10-5
Virginia heads into exam break with 40 wins

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 1-ranked Virginia baseball team defeated VCU, 10-5, Tuesday night at Davenport Field, running its winning streak to 11 games as it enters a nine-day break for final exams. Virginia upped its record to 40-9, marking the earliest the Cavaliers have hit the 40-win plateau.

Virginia’s offense continued to click as the Cavaliers scored in double figures for the fifth straight game and the ninth time during the 11-game win streak. Jarrett Parker (Jr., Stafford, Va.) homered, tripled and drove in three, while Phil Gosselin (Jr., West Chester, Pa.) and Steven Proscia (So., Suffern, N.Y.) each had two hits.

Branden Kline (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) overcame a rocky second inning to pitch a career-best six innings and earn the win for UVa. Kline (4-0) allowed four runs and five hits in the second inning, but retired the final 13 batters he faced from that point. He walked one and struck out five.

Michael Graham (4-4) took the loss for VCU after giving up seven earned runs and seven hits in three innings.

Virginia got off to a hot start with a three-run first inning. Gosselin led off with a home run – his sixth homer of the season and his first to lead off a game. With two outs, Proscia singled to center, and he scored when Parker tripled off the Blue Monster in center field. It marked his sixth triple of the year and his school-record 16th career triple, which also ranks 15th in ACC history. John Hicks (So., Sandy Hook, Va.) then doubled just inside the third-baseline to bring Parker around and give UVa a 3-0 lead.

VCU (23-20-1) responded with four runs in the second inning, with all the damage coming after two were out. Brent Mikonis hit a solo home run to left field to start the rally. Paul Nice then singled and Nathan Furry drew a walk, and both advanced on a Kline balk. M.L. Morgan singled in both runners and moved to second on the throw to the plate, and he scored on a single to center by Matt Leskiw.

The Cavaliers used a two-out rally of their own to forge ahead in the third inning. With two out Proscia legged out an infield single, and Parker followed with a long home run to right-center for his seventh home run of the season.

Virginia tacked on four runs in the fourth inning. John Barr (Jr., Ivyland, Pa.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and moved to second on a Kenny Swab (Jr., Kernersville, N.C.) single. Both runners advanced on a passed ball and scored on a Stephen Bruno (Fr., Audubon, N.J.) double to left. After Gosselin advanced Bruno with a groundout to second, Tyler Cannon (Sr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) drew a walk. Dan Grovatt (Jr., Tabernacle, N.J.) singled to score Bruno and move Cannon to third, and Proscia hit a sacrifice fly to center to complete the four-run frame and open the lead to 9-4.

VCU got its final run in the eighth inning on a solo home run by Morgan. The Cavaliers tacked on their final score in the bottom of the eighth when Cannon singled to plate Gosselin.

After the nine-day exam break, the Cavaliers will play host to No. 24 North Carolina May 14-16 at Davenport Field.

~UVA SID Release

Every year, when the asparagus comes in at our CSA, we mightily rejoice. It’s too early for our weekly bags of produce to begin, but the asparagus is a spring treat that seems to create its own holiday. The folks at the farm send out an e-mail letting us know it’s ready, and we bring it home with a sense of awe and hooray-ness: Spring is really, really here! Summer is weeks away! Here comes the FOOD!

Naturally, we feel like we need to do something special with this stuff (and we’re not talking about a wan little bundle like you get in the store; this is a pound and a half of strong, thick spears). One year we made risotto with it; one year we steamed it and served it with homemade pierogies and roasted fennel; we’ve also pickled it, though the results earned mixed reviews.

This year, we made this:

The Great Asparagus Meal of 2010

On the left, may I present Asparagus Soup, topped with extra asparagus spears, toasted baguette from Albemarle Baking Co. and one fried egg from you-know-who. On the right, please welcome the salad: lettuce from our garden, with carrots, cashews and a mixed pickle that I made last summer.

Something about eating local makes us terribly self-congratulatory. It’s sort of obnoxious, but we really do feel good about a meal like this, where nearly all the major ingredients come from our backyard or our community.

What local stuff are you eating right now? Let’s get some more deliciousness in the comments, people!

Six days after a violin performance postponed a plea hearing for Western Albemarle High School student Patrick Crider, accused of threatening WAHS classmates, a rescheduled hearing at the Albemarle County Circuit Court was also deferred. The cause? Heat:

Notice posted on the door of the Albemarle County Circuit Court

A letter posted on the door of the courthouse reads that temperatures in the court yesterday "constituted a threat to health based upon the heat and the temperature of the courtroom." The letter also says that there is no identifiable problem with the air conditioning of the courthouse. Crider’s first appearance was postponed when a three-minute violin performance confirmed a conflict of interest for Chief Judge Cheryl Higgins.

Today’s press conference at the UVA Library was the very first time that Virginia President John Casteen has answered questions from the media about the tragic murder of Yeardley Love. In the press conference, we learned that Coach Dom Starsia was not aware of the 2008 Lexington, Virginia arrest of former Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely. Also, John Casteen, Allen Groves, and Craig Littlepage made statements that they were also not aware of the 2008 arrest.

UVA Dean of Students Allen Groves mentioned in the press conference that the University needs to make it easier for students to come forward with information that could help prevent a situation like what transpired Sunday morning from happening again.

One of the questions that was asked of Craig Littlepage was what Yeardley Love’s parents said regarding the playing of the two lacrosse seasons, and Littlepage said they were very supportive of both seasons continuing. Craig Littlepage also mentioned that Yeardley’s parents decision was indeed a very important component in the decision to play in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Stay tuned to C-Ville Weekly online for more information on this case as it unfolds.

MEDIA ALERT
Press Conference Will be Held TODAY at 6 p.m.

May 5, 2010 — University of Virginia officials will hold a press conference from 6 to 7 p.m. TODAY in the auditorium of the Harrison Institute/Small Special Collections Library.

Speakers are to include President John T. Casteen III; Patricia Lampkin, vice president and chief student affairs officer; Allen Groves, dean of students; Mike Gibson, chief of University Police; and Craig Littlepage, athletics director.

President Casteen will make a brief statement, followed by a question-and-answer period. None of the participants will be available for one-on-one interviews because of the vigil at 8 p.m.

An hour after fielding questions ranging from knowledge of the prior arrest of UVA lacrosse player George Huguely to the university’s counseling services, President John Casteen joined student representatives, musical groups and hundreds of UVA students for a candlelight vigil in honor of 22-year-old student Yeardley Love. During brief remarks which frequently left him choked up, Casteen urged UVA students to "take something away from this tonight"—namely, comfort from one another, and shelter from harmful situations.

"Seek the support that belongs to you," he told the crowd, who filled the UVA Amphitheatre and held white candles. "Because you belong to us." Photos of the event follow. Ongoing coverage may be found here.

John Casteen, left, joind by Dean of Students Allen Groves, Chief Student Affairs Officer Patricia Lampkin, and Athletic Director Craig Littlepage during today’s press conference

 The crowd at the UVA Amphitheatre heard musical performances by the Virginia Belles and Virginia Gentlemen a caplla groups

Before Student Council President Colin Hood, Casteen, and Fourth-Year Class President Sarah Hart spoke, many students moved to sit on the grass before the stage

White candles were lit and held aloft, or placed along the concrete railings at the front of the amphitheatre