COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL

CNU rises to No. 8 amid Hollenbeck’s honor

Christopher Newport (18-3) climbed four spots to No. 8 in the d3hoops.com Top 25 after its 86-77 victory Wednesday over Mary Washington. The Eagles, who were a program-record No. 2 before coming to Newport News, fell to No. 11 after losing that game and Saturday’s to Randolph-Macon, which rose from sixth to second Monday.

Meanwhile, CNU junior Toa Hollenbeck, a Grassfield High graduate, was named the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week after his Freeman Center-record 43-point outburst Wednesday in the victory against Mary Washington.

UVA jumps to No. 15

Virginia climbed three spots to No. 15 in an Associated Press Top 25 still ruled by Arizona (23-0), the unanimous No. 1 choice of all 59 voters. Michigan (22-1) held the second spot, though major analytics sites KenPom, Evan Miyakawa and Bart Torvik all rank the Wolverines ahead of the Wildcats.

Duke held at No. 4 despite its dramatic 71-68 defeat at North Carolina, which rose three spots to No. 11. No. 20 Clemson, a new entry to the poll, and holdover No. 24 Louisville give the Atlantic Coast Conference five spots in the poll.

Liberty’s Cleveland honored by CUSA

After recording his first college triple-double in Saturday’s 79-76 win over Missouri State, Liberty senior Zach Cleveland was named the Conference USA Player of the Week for the second time this season. He had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Flames, who are 20-3, 12-0 in Conference USA and 12-0 at home.

COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

ACC-leading Duke leaps to No. 11

Duke, riding a 15-game winning streak, climbed to No. 11 in the new AP poll. They won by one point at Louisville to take sole possession of the ACC lead, and the Cardinals dropped to No. 9.

The great majority of ACC teams (in almost every sport) have a better winning percentage out of conference than inside it, but the improved Blue Devils are 5-6 out of the league and 13-0 in the ACC.

UConn (25-0) was the unanimous choice of 31 voters, followed by UCLA and South Carolina. No. 21 North Carolina is the only ranked ACC team besides Duke and Louisville, but the Atlantic 10’s Richmond received five votes below the top 25.

VWU’s Long captures ODAC award

Virginia Wesleyan’s Brianna Long was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week. She totaled 50 points and 20 rebounds in two games, a loss at Shenandoah and a victory at Randolph. She’s fourth in the conference in scoring (17.4), second in rebounding (12.7) and first in field-goal percentage (60.3), which rankes fourth in Division III.

Longwood, Radford players earn Big South honors

Longwood forward Frances Ulysse was named the Big South Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, while Radford forward Georgia Simonsen is the Freshmen of the Week.

Ulysse, from Montreal, totaled 34 points and 18 rebounds as the Lancers beat Radford and UNC Asheville. She was 5 of 8 from the field in each game. Simonsen, from Fairfax, had 36 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals, combining an overtime loss to Longwood and a victory over High Point that was the Panthers’ first Big South defeat of the season.

Liberty freshman Nwaobi takes CUSA honor

After averaging a double-double during Liberty’s 1-1 road swing, Ify Nwaobi was named the CUSA Freshman of the Week for the first time. She totaled 24 points, 26 rebounds and six blocks during a 60-55 victory at Jacksonville State on Thursday and a 64-58 loss at Kennesaw State on Saturday.

COLLEGE WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

Captains’ Mudd races to C2C honor

CNU’s Courtney Mudd was named the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Women’s Track Athlete of the Week. She ran the opening leg of CNU’s school-record-setting distance medley relay, joining Danielle Hollington, Ellie Nuckols and Sarah Bland to take first place in 12 minutes, 21.01 seconds at the Camel City festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Sunday in the Vince Brown Invitational at CNU, she won the 800 meters in 2:22.38 and was the 3,000 runner-up in a personal-best 10:53.35.

COLLEGE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Honor reflects ODAC dominance of VWU’s Wills

Virginia Wesleyan’s JaMarhe Wills, a junior Warwick High graduate, was honored as the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week. He averaged 7.13 points and 6.63 kills per set in helping the Marlins post 3-1 victories over Eastern (of Pennsylvania) and Marymount.

Wills leads the ODAC in kills (135), kills per set (4.82) and attack percentage (.474), among other categories.

COLLEGE MEN’S GOLF

UVA sets school record with 22-under team round

Led by a pair of 66s from Paul Chang and Bryan Lee, all six players competing for top-ranked Virginia shot under par on the first day of the Puerto Rico Classic. The Cavaliers combined to shoot a 22-under 266 to break the program’s 18-hole scoring record and currently lead the 15-team field after the first round of three in Rio Grande.

Chang and Lee were in a six-way tie for second place on the individual leaderboard, trailing Ohio State’s Vaughn Haber by one stroke. The Cavaliers held a one-stroke lead over the Buckeyes and an eight-stroke edge over No. 2-ranked LSU.

UVA’s Josh Duangmanee, Ben James and Michael Lee all shot 67. Sophomore Maxi Puregger fired a 70.

COLLEGE MEN’S LACROSSE

CNU goalie captures Coastal defensive award

Christopher Newport senior goalkeeper Mason Bellinger was named the Coastal Lacrosse Conference Defensive Player of the Week. In two victories, the reigning third-team Division III All-American posted 20 saves, a .645 save percentage, 5.90 goals-against average, five ground balls and three caused turnovers for the third-ranked Captains.

COLLEGE WOMEN’S LACROSSE

UVA 12th, JMU 21st in coaches’ poll

Virginia dropped two spots to 12th and James Madison fell two places to 21st in Monday’s coaches’ poll. Defending NCAA champion North Carolina, which won 19-11 Friday at JMU in a season opener, remained No. 1.

HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING

Cape Henry rules TCIS

Cape Henry Collegiate won several individual championships on its way to taking the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools team meet championship over the weekend: Teddy Van Gilder (126), Luke Feldman (150), TCIS Wrestler of the Year Townsend Winans (190), Grayson Davis (106), Malik Peralta (144) and Max Salomonsky (215).

https://www.dailypress.com/2026/02/09/cnu-mens-basketball-team-climbs-to-no-8-in-country/