Dear Friends of W&M Athletics,
 
It's hard to believe that the countdown to the end of the semester has begun.  My friend Alexa just told me that there are 42 days until the last undergraduate classes on Dec. 9, which means it's the beginning of CAA championship season!
 
The postseason looks a little different for each sport in our league, including when it begins and how many teams are invited to participate. Our women's soccer program 'kicked off' our CAA postseason efforts by making a quarterfinals appearance at Drexel yesterday. Despite coming up short, the program continues to build towards a brighter future, as the game marked its first postseason appearance since 2017 and forward Ivey Crain earned the league's Rookie of the Year honors.
   
As you read this newsletter, our women's and men's cross-country programs are likely to have already completed their respective 'runs' at the CAA's with the starting gun sounding earlier this morning in Newark, Delaware.  Our creative team caught up with both programs prior to their departure and put this piece together for our social channel!
 
The women's volleyball and men's soccer programs are still in the hunt to join in on the postseason action as well.  Tim Doyle's volleyball squad has gotten the program off to its best start since the 2009 season, as the team has an 11-7 overall record and a 6-4 mark in CAA play.  Chris Norris' squad will be playing its final regular season game on Saturday, as the men host Monmouth in a critical CAA soccer match-up. As always, you can follow all the action by going to TribeAthletics.com. 
 
While we are talking about the CAA, how about Tribe swimmers Katie Stevenson and Sophia Heilen who were named CAA Swimmer of the Week in back-to-back weeks, respectively! Senior safety Tye Freeland joined the pair in earning the recognition, as he earned the league's Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors for his outstanding play in the football team's dominating road win at Towson last Saturday. Congratulations to all!
 
Speaking of football, we have just ended a week of preparations for what arguably can be called the biggest game of the season.  Our Tribe comes into the game with a 6-1 record and ranked as high as No.10 nationally and will be hosting a Rhode Island Rams squad that is ranked No. 17 and is currently one of four teams tied with us for second place in the league standings.  It's been great to see the students coming out in huge numbers every week, plus our community support is terrific.  Let's keep it going and give Coach Mike London and his team the ultimate home-field advantage tomorrow for the 1 pm kickoff!
 
 I want to thank all the parents, alumni and friends who came out to Joe Theismann's Restaurant in Alexandria, Va., to talk Tribe Athletics with us on Oct. 20.  We had a great time with great conversation and I'm looking forward to our upcoming trips to New York and Colorado.  I would love to see all of you there; here is where to find the details.
 
It's great fun to go on the road to meet folks who haven't made it back to campus for a while, but as a little enticement for those considering a trip to Williamsburg, there are plenty of new additions to our Athletics complex that will really rev up your Tribe pride!  The new tennis complex is nearing completion and our coaches could not be more excited to start showcasing the facility this spring! 
 
 Our student-athletes strive to become better every day, and our administrators and coaches do the same.  At our regular All Staff meetings we tackle different topics that are important to running a first-rate DI athletics program.  Last week, head and assistant coaches from our various programs got together in small groups to share ideas around successful recruiting strategies.  Coaches spend hundreds of hours identifying and recruiting academically qualified student-athletes and I was delighted to hear that one of the best strategies is arranging for recruits and their parents to meet with campus associates such as those in the Cohen Career Center, the Mason School of Business, and/or professors in their fields of interest. I am so grateful that our world-class university is such a great partner! (By the way, Dean of Students Stacey Harris was our guest at the All Staff, and she was welcomed with such an ovation that I'm sure she hasn't stopped smiling yet!)
 
Two last items of note before we get ready for an exciting weekend of Tribe sporting events.  First up, for more than 30 years our cross country/track and field teams have hosted the Massey Cancer 5K Run, which has raised more than $250,000 for cancer research and stands as the VCU Massey Cancer Center's longest-standing community partner event!  This year's run will take place on Friday, November 4th, and will start at 5:30pm inside Zable Stadium.  Please join us as we cheer on the runners and support a great cause!
 
The second "mark your calendars" item is actually a two-for-one.  On Monday, Nov. 7, women's and men's basketball teams start their respective seasons by hosting a doubleheader against Navy.  Both teams feature several newcomers, including first-year head coach Erin Dickerson Davis who will be on the sidelines for her first game at the helm of our women's basketball program. To get ready for the games, consider attending our tip-off dinner on Nov. 4.  I predict we are going to have a lot of fun, and success, this season and I encourage you to come out and be part of the action inside Kaplan!
 
 Go Tribe!
 
 

Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics