Dear Friends of William & Mary Athletics,

It's good practice to consistently update your software, but how about your hardware? Well, our Tribe field hockey team did just that earlier this week when they won the CAA Championship trophy in dramatic fashion. The tournament's Most Outstanding Player, our own Lauren Curran, concluded her hat trick in double overtime to secure the win vs. Monmouth!

Lauren was also named National Offensive Player of the Week, and teammates Maddie George, Allison Goodwin and Jayden Moon joined her on the CAA All-Tournament Team. The team's efforts earned them a spot to face off against Sacred Heart on Wednesday in the first round of the NCAA's 2023 D1 Field Hockey Championship in Chapel Hill, N.C.

When the whistle blew at the end of the fourth quarter the Tribe had won again, 4-0; notching their second all-time victory in the NCAA tournament! Goals by Curran, Lonica McKinney, Mollie Schuma and Pyper Friedman helped clinch the victory. The team's next contest will be at noon tomorrow (Nov. 10) vs. overall #1 seed North Carolina. If you can't be there in person, join us virtually by tuning into ESPN+!
 
Honoring the Hawthornes
William & Mary alums Randy '67, J.D. '70, M.L.T. '71 and Shelby Hawthorne '67, M.A.Ed. '75 received the CAA Cares Community Award at the 2023 CAA Cross Country Championships on Oct. 27. They are pictured below with CAA Commissioner Joey D'Antonio.  For over five decades, the Hawthornes have dedicated much of their time, effort and energy to supporting William & Mary, the athletics department and the track & field and cross country programs. Thank you both for your unwavering support of the Green & Gold!
 
Highlights and Tributes

• William & Mary men's cross country produced four All-CAA performers in garnering third as a team at the 2023 CAA Championships. Graduate student Patrick North led the way for W&M, earning All-CAA honors for the second time in his career. Freshman Hayes Trapp, junior Nate Jennings and sophomore Peyton Golden all earned All-CAA honors for the first time.
• The women's cross country team placed three runners among the top 11 on the way to finishing fourth at the CAA Championships. Junior Arianna DeBoer and sophomore Sofia Istnick earned All-CAA honors for the second-straight season and sophomore Catherine Garrison earned her first all-league honor.
   
  
• Women's soccer wrapped up the year with a thrilling shootout victory over Northeastern before falling 1-0 in the semifinals to #1 seed Towson in the CAA Championship, finishing the year at 9-4-7
• Lucas Caldas was named to the All-CAA Men's Soccer Second Team, while Alfredo Bozalongo was named All-CAA Third Team. Aidan Morrison was named to the all-rookie team.
• Men's golf charged up the leaderboard on the final day of the Bryan National Collegiate to finish in third place. Charlie Bundy and Preston Burton both posted top 10 finishes for the Tribe.
• Redshirt freshman tight end Sean McElwain was selected the CAA Rookie of the Week on Oct. 30. McElwain led the Tribe's air attack in the Oct. 28 victory vs. Monmouth, as he posted career highs in receptions (6) and receiving yards (113) while averaging 18.8 yards per catch. 
• Women's swimming stayed undefeated with a win over Loyola Maryland. With her three wins in the meet, Sophia Heilen was a CAA Co-Women's Swimmer of the Week; her second CAA honor this season. Both swimming programs will participate in the West Virginia Invitational No. 16-18.
   
  

Sights and Sounds
Did you notice that former Tribe football star Colby Sorsdal made his first career start for the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football?  Way to go Colby!  

Please take a few minutes and watch this great video of women's gymnastics alumna Keaghan Schafer '23, shown during the annual Scholarships Luncheon, which brings together donors and scholarship recipients. I was thrilled to watch the video with nearly 400 others and see yet again how much our campus partners value Athletics.

Athletics Advancement Update
Jarrad Turner, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Advancement, has resigned. During his tenure at W&M, Jarrad helped us make progress toward the completion of our $55 million All In campaign.  We are grateful for all his efforts on behalf of the Tribe and we wish him the best. W&M will begin a national search for his replacement right away, and in the interim I will be taking a more active role in development efforts for Athletics. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at wmaf@wm.edu.

Watch List
Volleyball triumphed over Northeastern on Senior Day, setting up a match with UNCW on Nov. 11 and 12 that will be pivotal to the Tribe's postseason hopes. Follow along and cheer loudly!

Our basketball teams opened the season on Monday and the women's squad lost a nail-biter to Norfolk State, 66-64. They will be back in action tomorrow vs. VCU. Meanwhile, the men's team ran away from Regent, 84-29, and they return to the court tonight against American.

A great way to ensure you don't miss a game is to download a team's schedule to your phone or other device.

I also want to get the 2023 Lord Botetourt Affair on your calendars. Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024 will be the 35th anniversary of the event, which is a mainstay of support for W&M Athletics.
 
New York Here We Come!
Just a quick reminder we will be at the New York Athletic Club on Nov. 15. The event is free and a great opportunity to meet with members of the Tribe Athletics community.  If you can make it, please RSVP to jbeattie01@wm.edu.  I'm looking forward to the opportunity to talk about all things Green & Gold.
 
Go Tribe!

 Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics