Hartig hoping for big year

In the practices leading up to a pair of NCAA Tournament games, Jayna Hartig fluidly sprinted from one end of the court to the other.
Completely healthy, Hartig also drained her share of 3-pointers from various locations on the floor.
She would not, however, make an appearance in the two postseason games held at Old Dominion University.
In the midst of a redshirt season caused by an early-season foot injury that lingered for weeks, Hartig was merely going through the motions.
That was then.
Hartig, now considered a redshirt sophomore, is back and hopeful of contributing to the Cavaliers, who learned Saturday that they will enter the season ranked No. 15 in the country.
“It is completely different because last year was practicing with no hope of getting into a game,” Hartig said. “This year, it is all working towards something.”
As a rookie during the 2006-07 season, Hartig was behind former long-range specialist Brenna McGuire on the depth chart and played sparingly. She averaged just 2.2 points per game, but hit 11 3-pointers.
Hartig, who is 6-foot-1, could now be the program’s best 3-point shooter, but is tall enough and versatile enough to play in the paint.
“She is probably a player that can play a couple of different positions,” Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. “She is really fit this year; much more fit that she was last year.
“Jayna is doing really well. She had a hard year last year because that foot kept resurfacing on her. She’s doing very, very well.”
Hartig’s versatility should help Virginia against certain opponents, but she knows that the depth on the team is far greater thanks to the addition of the current crop of freshmen and the development of the veterans.
“We really have all the pieces and people ask us, ‘How good are you going to be this year,’ and you always want to say you are going to be really good, but we really know that we are going to do special things,” said Hartig, who is from Highlands Ranch, Colo. “You have people that can do everything. Any given day if someone doesn’t come to play you have eight other people on the bench who are ready and want that chance.”
Juggling a lineup with so much talent, including Hartig and her younger sister, Kelly, would be a double-edged challenge for most coaches. Luckily, Ryan does not anticipate dealing with larger-than-life egos.
“Everybody will know their role by [the start of the season],” Ryan said. “I think that everybody wants to win and everybody knows that they are going to play.
“It’s really case of that we have to figure out how to get everybody off the floor and rested and then back on, so we are going to be able to do that.”
Fans can catch a glimpse of Virginia and Hartig on Friday in an exhibition game at John Paul Jones Arena. The contest starts at 7 p.m.