Top Virginia Sports Moments of 2022

As 2022 winds down, it's time to reflect on what has been another successful year for the Virginia Cavaliers across several sports. UVA added two more NCAA national championships, bringing the school's all-time total to 31 NCAA titles, and the Cavaliers also brought home four ACC championships in this calendar year.

Let's break down the top Virginia sports moments of 2022:

Virginia women's swim & dive captures second-consecutive national championship

Todd DeSorbo is building a swimming dynasty at the University of Virginia. After the Cavaliers won their third-straight ACC Championship (and 13th in the last 15 seasons), the Hoos went on to win their second-consecutive NCAA national title and they did so in dominant fashion. Virginia won national titles in 11 different events and shattered four American records along the way. Alex Walsh won six NCAA titles and Kate Douglass took home seven in arguably the greatest individual performance in the history of collegiate swimming, as she broke American records in three separate events that were each different strokes and different distances - the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, and 200-yard breaststroke.

Virginia men's tennis wins fifth NCAA national championship

The UVA men's tennis team swept Kentucky 4-0 in the championship match in Champaign, Illinois to capture the 2022 NCAA Men's Tennis National Championship. It was Virginia's first national title since completing a three-peat in 2017 and it was the fifth in program history, with all five championships coming since 2013.

The Virginia women's tennis team also advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, marking just the third time in UVA tennis history that both the Cavalier men and women advanced to the Elite Eight in the same season. The UVA women's tennis team made it to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2016 and the first time under head coach Sara O'Leary.

Virginia hires Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, or "Coach Mox" as next women's basketball head coach

Just nine months after Carla Williams announced the hiring of Amaka Agugua-Hamilton as the next UVA women's basketball head coach, "Coach Mox" has already proven to be a home-run hire. A Virginia native who understands what UVA women's basketball can be at its best, Agugua-Hamilton was a perfect fit for the Cavaliers. She came from Missouri State, where she went 74-15 in three seasons, won two Missouri Valley Conference regular season championships, and qualified for two NCAA Tournaments, including a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2021. Given her proven coaching talent and experience, it should have come as no surprise that Coach Mox has been able to turn the ship around at Virginia. But not even the most optimistic UVA fans could have expected things to go this well this quickly. After going 5-22 last season, Virginia began this season 12-0, the best start to a season since 1991, and currently sits at 13-1 and 2-1 in ACC play at the time of this article.

Both the Virginia men's and women's basketball teams had fantastic starts to the season, as the UVA men's basketball team started 8-0, including back-to-back ranked wins against Baylor and Illinois in Las Vegas, and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation. For a time, the University of Virginia was the only school in the country whose men's and women's basketball teams were both unbeaten.

Tony Elliott wins in his debut as Virginia football head coach

For all the frustration and eventually, tragedy and heartbreak, that ultimately defined the 2022 UVA football season, the day of the season-opener was a joyous one for the entire Virginia football program, as the Cavaliers celebrated the head coaching debut of Tony Elliott with a 34-17 win over Richmond.

Resurgent UVA men's soccer team earns No. 4 seed in NCAA Tournament

The Virginia men's soccer program's legendary streak of 39-consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament, the longest streak in the history of the sport, came to an end in 2020. Both the 2020 and 2021 seasons were disappointing, as the Cavaliers went below .500 and missed postseason play in consecutive years. This season, George Gelnovatch's Wahoos surged back onto the map, winning ten matches, knocking off five ranked teams, and earning the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. UVA's season ended with a heartbreaking shootout loss in the first round, but the Cavaliers have lots of young talent on the roster so the future is bright again for Virginia men's soccer.

Virginia women's soccer stages epic comeback in Chapel Hill

Trailing the No. 2-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels 2-0 in the second half on the road, things looked bleak for the visiting Virginia Cavaliers. Many teams would have rolled over and accepted defeat in the face of those circumstances, but not these Wahoos. Rebecca Jarrett and Alexa Spaanstra scored goals just six minutes apart to tie the match and then Lia Godfrey found the back of the net in the 72nd minute as Virginia pulled off a stunning comeback to upset UNC 3-2 in Chapel Hill.

Reece Beekman hits clutch buzzer-beater to take down Duke in Cameron

In their final game playing against legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski in Cameron Indoor, the Cavaliers gave Coach K a proper sendoff as Reece Beekman hit a clutch buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Virginia an exhilarating 69-68 win over No. 7 Duke.

Virginia men's lacrosse wins 19th ACC Championship

UVA went to the Carrier Dome and locked up the 2022 ACC men's lacrosse regular season championship with a 21-15 win over Syracuse. Lars Tiffany's Cavaliers captured their second ACC title in the last three seasons and their 19th in program history. Virginia finished conference play with a 5-1 record against ACC opponents in 2022.

Virginia volleyball sweeps season series against Virginia Tech

In the second season under head coach Shannon Wells, the Cavaliers accomplished what many UVA fans would consider to be the most important task for any Virginia sports team: beat Tech. Virginia took down Virginia Tech in a five-set thriller in Blacksburg and then two weeks later, swept the Hokies 25-15, 25-23, 25-22 back at Mem Gym to complete the season sweep and a clinch a point for the Cavaliers in the 2022-2023 Commonwealth Clash.

Virginia softball has best season since 2010

The Virginia softball team had a major breakthrough in 2022, winning 28 games, the most wins in a single season for the program since 2010. Among those wins was a massive upset over No. 2 Virginia Tech, as the Cavaliers knocked off the Hokies 5-3 to snap a 14-game losing streak in the series and pick up their first win in Blacksburg since 2012. UVA also notched a big-time series win against then-No. 24 Notre Dame, winning both games of a Friday double-header to clinch the series. Abby Weaver hit a walk-off three-run home run at Palmer Park to win the series opener.

Virginia baseball sets record for best start, Jake Gelof shatters hitting records

The UVA baseball team started the 2022 season 22-1, marking the first time the Cavaliers had ever won 22 of their first 23 games to start a season. Jake Gelof was a big factor in UVA's success throughout the entire season, as the third baseman slugger hit 21 home runs, the second-most in a single season in program history, and drove in a program-record 81 RBI. Virginia also set a program record with 75 home runs as a team in 2022.

UVA women's lacrosse earns 26th-consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament

Virginia just narrowly qualified for the 2022 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament, as only teams with a winning percentage of .500 or better are eligible for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and UVA entered the ACC Tournament with an 8-8 record. Sure enough, the Cavaliers knocked off No. 3 seed Syracuse 18-14 in the ACC quarterfinals to keep their season alive and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the 26th-consecutive season under head coach Julie Myers.

Virginia cross country teams finish strong at NCAAs

The Virginia men's cross country team pulled a massive upset at the NCAA Southeast Regional, finishing just ahead of the ACC Champion Wake Forest Demon Deacons to finish second and secure a spot in the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2019. Meanwhile, the UVA women's cross country team earned an at-large bid to NCAAs, marking the first time since 2015 that both the Virginia men's and women's teams made the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Cavalier women made the most of their bid, finishing 9th, which was only the fifth top ten finish in program history.

Virginia men's golf ascends to No. 1 for first time in program history

After setting a program record with a team score of 56-under 808 to win the Streamsong Invitational in September, the Virginia men's golf team was ranked No. 1 in Golfweek's collegiate rankings for the the first time in program history. Freshman sensation Ben James shot a 20-under 196, which also set a UVA record, and did not bogey a single hole in an incredible three-round performance. Virginia men's golf became the 13th different UVA sports team to earn a No. 1 ranking.

The UVA women's golf team also had a great 2022, finishing second at the Ann Arbor Regional to qualify for a spot in the NCAA Championships for the 12th time in program history.

Virginia field hockey comes back to beat Wake Forest in ACC semifinals

Virginia trailed Wake Forest 2-0 midway through the third quarter of the semifinals of the ACC Field Hockey Championship. And given the fact that the Cavaliers had yet to score a goal against the Demon Deacons in six total quarters in 2022, UVA's hopes for a comeback weren't very high. But once again, the Wahoos were resilient. Annie McDonough redirected a shot at the front of the cage for a goal to get UVA on the board and then Taryn Tkachuk did the same with less than two minutes left in regulation to tie the match. Another redirect goal, this time from Adele Iacobucci, completed the thrilling comeback in overtime as Virginia took down Wake Forest 3-2 to advance to the ACC Championship.

Virginia wins 12th-consecutive ACC Rowing title

And last, but certainly not least, pure dominance from the UVA rowing team, who brought home the ACC Championship in 2022 for the 12th-consecutive season. The Cavaliers won four of the five grand finals and captured their 20th conference title in the last 21 years.

Happy New Year, Wahoos. Here's to another year of championship moments for the Virginia Cavaliers in 2023.

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