PANDEMIC COULDN’T SPOIL MEMORABLE HOKIES MOMENTS
Looking back at 10 Virginia Tech highlights in 2019-20.
Never has the college sports calendar been interrupted in such an abrupt manner before this spring’s coronavirus pandemic brought everything to a halt. But even without the benefit of the final three months of athletics, Virginia Tech still had a strong collection of 2019-20 highlights.
A riveting marathon football victory. A breakthrough women’s track and field performance. A promising neutral-court men’s basketball win against a national power.
Here’s a look at a collection of Tech’s 10 best athletic moments from the 2019-20 academic year:
Women’s track and field wins ACC indoor championship: After entering the final day of competition in fifth place, Tech’s women’s track and field team saved its best efforts for the Feb. 29 conclusion of the meet, winning its first ACC indoor title since 2008 by a comfortable 32.5 points over runner-up Miami. Tech’s men finished second.
Football, Virginia Tech 43, North Carolina 41, six overtimes: Neither team was ranked, and Virginia Tech was still trying to build momentum after a 2-2 start, but nothing could top this Oct. 19 nail-biter for edge-of-yourseat appeal. The victory pushed Tech’s win streak to three games, boosted backup quarterback Quincy Patterson’s confidence (122 rushing yards) with his heroics in the fourth quarter and overtimes, and represented the longest game by overtime periods in ACC history.
Men’s basketball, Virginia Tech 71, No. 3 Michigan State 66: Though there wouldn’t be many memorable moments in ACC play for Tech, Hokies first-year coach Mike Young got off to a 6-0 start, highlighted by a surprising victory Nov. 25 in the Maui Invitational. Tech redshirt freshman Landers Nolley scored 22 points, and the Hokies forced the Spartans to commit 16 turnovers and shoot 40.7% from the floor.
Wrestler Hunter Bolen beats North Carolina State’s Trent Hidlay 2-1 to win his first ACC championship: In one of the premier matchups March 8 at the ACC wrestling championships, Bolen came into the 184-pound final ranked No. 1 in the nation as a redshirt sophomore and took out No. 3 Hidlay to capture the crown.
Football, Virginia Tech 36, No. 22 Wake Forest 17: Plagued by a ninegame losing streak at home against ranked opponents dating back to 2009, Tech couldn’t have picked a better time to snap out of it, honoring longtime defensive coordinator Bud Foster with a dominant effort Nov. 9 in his penultimate game coaching at Lane Stadium.
Women’s basketball, Virginia Tech 70, Duke 56: While Tech was coming off a demoralizing 10-point home loss against sub-.500 rival Virginia, Duke was riding a six-game winning streak and three days earlier had won at No. 8 North Carolina State. Tech got headed the right direction Feb. 27 with a victory against a Duke team that would finish 12-6 in the ACC (third) — just the Hokies’ second victory in their past 27 games against the Blue Devils.
Wrestling, Virginia Tech 21, No. 3 Ohio State 15: A season that featured five dual-meet victories against opponents ranked in the top 30 hit its high note Nov. 17 when No. 11 Tech captured arguably its biggest road win in the program’s history. Tech won six of 10 matches.
Peter Seufer finishes fourth at NCAA cross country championships: Wrapping up a redshirt senior season that saw him win the ACC meet for a second straight year and finish first in the NCAA Southeast Region meet, Seufer posted the best NCAA championship-meet showing in Tech men’s cross country history Nov. 23 with a time of 30 minutes, 40.1 seconds in soggy conditions in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Softball, Virginia Tech 2, No. 14 Minnesota 1: Starting a seven-game winning streak that would continue through the premature conclusion of the season because of the coronavirus outbreak, Tech recorded its second of three wins against ranked opponents in three days Feb. 15 at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational in Clearwater, Florida. Warhill High graduate Keely Rochard, a first-team All-America pitcher, gained the save. Minnesota was the highest-ranked team Tech beat in 25 games.
Volleyball, Virginia Tech 3, No. 23 Louisville 1: Despite finishing with a disappointing 11-20 overall record, Tech’s women did get their first win Oct. 20 against a ranked opponent since 2015 (a 3-1 win at No. 19 Michigan State) and snapped an 11-match skid against Louisville dating back to 1992.