Rojas, Cavs head to NCAA reigonal

Local retail outlets were quick to push a Monopoly-like board game over a decade ago that highlighted the top landmarks at and around the University of Virginia.
Some marketing genius may be missing out on another instant seller: Where in the world is Steven Rojas?
A rookie on the Virginia men’s golf team, Rojas was born in Australia, grew up in Switzerland and speaks five languages fluently.
Today, Rojas will awake in Chattanooga, Tenn., with four teammates as Virginia opens play in the NCAA East Regional. It marks the Cavaliers’ first trip to the postseason since 2005.
Three years ago, Rojas was enjoying a stellar amateur career in Europe as a 19-year-old golfer, and a six-month tour of duty with the Swiss Army was looming.
Luckily for Virginia, current coach Bowen Sargent had watched the youngster play in the Czech Republic when he was 16 as an assistant coach at Tennessee. Sargent also had an Swiss player at Tennessee that continued to rave about Rojas.
“He had been telling me about Steven for a couple of years. He told me that he was a good kid with a good golf game,” Sargent said. “Obviously, I had seen him, but it had been a few years.
“It was a good find.”
The stats support Sargent’s claim — Rojas leads the team with an average round score of 73.25 and had the squad’s low round score in two of the seven events he competed in.
More importantly perhaps, Rojas, 22, has provided a big brother-like stability for the team’s younger players.
“I have noticed that some of the younger guys have looked to him for some leadership, and they have made several comments about how he doesn’t seem to be fazed by the whole process like maybe other kids, especially international kids,” Sargent said.
“He has taken it all in stride and it doesn’t seem to bother him. He’s a real meticulous person. He studies hard and he works hard on his golf game. Those are the two things that he is here for, and that’s just his personality.”
Serving in the Swiss Army meant more to Rojas than landing the pocketknife that his country remains famous for. It taught him to appreciate his everyday life more.
“When you come back you enjoy everything a lot more,” Rojas told reporters. “Your own bed, sleep and good food.”
Tracking Rojas’ whereabouts this summer will be difficult. The left-handed golfer plans to return to Switzerland and compete in tournaments throughout Europe.
That process could be delayed, however, if Virginia, the 22nd-seeded team in the regional, stuns the college golf world and finishes among the top 10 teams this weekend and secures an invitation to the NCAA championships.
Although Rojas is listed as a sophomore, the program may be able to pursue an additional year of eligibility for him in 2011, but that process will remain unsolved at this point.
“I don’t know if he will want to do it when he is 26 and hanging around a bunch of 18-year-old kids,” Sargent said. “That’s my biggest concern for him.”
“He said, ‘Lets play it by ear and we will look at it in a year or two.’”