By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

With plenty of success, both at the individual and (most important) team level, William & Mary had another productive athletic season in 2022-23.

For the second consecutive year, the Tribe won two Colonial Athletic Association championships — football in the fall, women's tennis in the spring. Here's a look back with 10 storylines — not necessarily the top 10 storylines, and not necessarily in order.

Tribe football takes a historic ride
In its 129^th football season, William & Mary set a program record with 10 victories in the regular season. The Tribe added another win in the FCS playoffs to finish 11-2, which by percentage (.846) is its best finish since a 9-1-1 record in 1942.

W&M matched a school record with seven conference wins and won its sixth CAA championship. The Tribe made its 12^th NCAA playoff appearance and advanced to the quarterfinals for the fifth time in program history.

Mike London's team set school rushing records in yards (3,455), yards per game (265.7) and yards per carry (5.9). Bronson Yoder led the Tribe with 1,255 yards (eighth in program history) and 13 touchdowns (fifth).

W&M has eight starters returning on each side of the ball and was picked fourth nationally in Athlon's preseason top 25.

Women's tennis goes back-to-back
The Tribe repeated its 2022 CAA championship with a 4-0 win over UNC Wilmington at the newly renovated Mackesy Tennis Center.

W&M dominated the regular season with a 5-0 record (by a collective score of 30-5) against conference teams and a three-match sweep in the tournament. The only drama came in the semifinals when the Tribe rallied from down 3-1 to defeat Elon 4-3.

It was the second championship in two seasons for head coach Jessica Giuggioli.

No. 1 Hedda Gurholt, No. 3 Sofiya Kuzina, No. 4 Emma Fernald and No. 6 Emma Pell didn't drop a set during the tournament. Kuzina rallied from a 5-2 hole in the first set to clinch the win over Elon. Pell, a freshman, won each of her five completed sets 6-3 or better.

W&M athletes continue making the grade
In the latest Academic Progress Rate numbers released by the NCAA last month, William & Mary scored a 996 for the 2021-22 year. The program's multi-year APR was 994, 10 points above the national average.

Eighteen of W&M's programs achieved perfect APR scores. Twelve had perfect APRs for the four-year span that began in 2018-19, the most in the country among public schools.

An NCAA report in November listed William & Mary as having the highest Federal Graduation Rate among all Division I public schools — for the 17^th time in 18 years, no less.

The Tribe had a graduation rate of 88%, nearly 20 points higher than the national average. Overall, among public and private schools at the D-I level, W&M was 10^th.

In the NCAA's Graduation Success Rate, which includes student-athletes who transfer in and exclude those who transfer out in good academic standing, W&M scored at 94%.

Individual honors
With all the team success this season, there was bound to be some honored standouts. And there were.

In football, linebacker John Pius was named the CAA's Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named a consensus All-American and runner-up for national Defensive Player Of the Year.

Mike London, who led the Tribe to its first conference championship since 2015, was selected Bobby Ross Coach of the Year and was fourth in the voting for the Eddie Robinson Award (FCS coach of the year).

Katie Stevenson, who set a conference record in the 100 free at 48.37 seconds, was named the CAA Women's Swimmer of the Year.

Scoring machine Riley Casey was named the CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in women's basketball.

Hedda Gurholt was named Most Outstanding Player of the CAA women's tennis championship and the Player of the Year. Jessica Giuggioli was voted Coach of the Year.

Tribe third baseman Ben Williamson, who batted .390 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI, was named CAA Baseball Player of the Year.

The Tribe had four athletes make CAA Freshman/Rookie of the Year: Jalen Jones (football, defensive), Ivey Crain (women's soccer), Sophia Heilen (women's swimming) and Sofia Istnick (women's cross country).

Christian Marsh was named USA Gymnastics Collegiate Senior Athlete of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Nissen Emery Award, which goes to the nation's top senior gymnast.

And Jason Nwosu was named Most Outstanding Field Performer in the CAA championships after winning the shot put (16.61m).

Women's basketball ties mark with 12 CAA wins
The hiring of Erin Dickerson Davis as the sixth head coach of W&M's D-I era looked to be a home run from the start. Her first season in Williamsburg did nothing to alter that thought.

The Tribe won 18 games, its most ever in a coach's first season. After a 1-3 start in conference play, W&M won 11 of its final 14 regular-season games to earn the No. 4 seed in the CAA tournament. The Tribe advanced to the semifinals for only the second time since 2001.

Casey finished the year with 559 points, second on the school's all-time single-season chart. She set a program record by breaking 30 points six times in the same season. Sydney Wagner finished her career with 1,398 points and 213 3-pointers, seventh and third (respectively) on the all-time list.

Colby Sorsdal chosen in the fifth round of NFL Draft
Heading into the draft, Tribe offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal was projected a late-round pick. Which translated to the seventh, maybe late sixth. Instead, Sorsdal was taken by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round — 152^nd overall.

A consensus All-American, Sorsdal started all 13 games last season at right tackle. His 46 career starts are the second-most by a Tribe offensive lineman.

Sorsdal was William & Mary's first draft selection since 2016, its earliest since 2013. The last Tribe lineman to be selected earlier than 152^nd overall was T.W. Alley in 1964.

Last month, Sorsdal signed a four-year contract worth $4.16 million, which doesn't include a $320,084 signing bonus. He has his versatility to thank for that. So far, he's been working at right guard for the Lions.

Black Student-Athlete Alliance is formed at William & Mary
On the first day of February, as Black History Month began, W&M's newly formed Black Student-Athlete Alliance had its first meeting.

Two and a half months later, three of its members — Kayla Beckwith (women's basketball), Quinn Osborne (football) and Jaylin Locke (lacrosse) — joined Assistant Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Development Jasmine Perkins at the Black Student-Athlete Summit in Los Angeles.

Of the 520 student-athletes for the 2022-23 academic year, 16% were African American. Not counting football, whose roster last fall was about 46% Black, maybe one in 10 Tribe athletes are African American.

The BSAA's mission is to give Black student-athletes a safe space to discuss their experiences both in athletes and on campus. Its members also plan to get out in the community for service.

History-making season for track
Led by an experienced and talented group of sprinters, the track and field program broke a combined 14 school records in the indoor and outdoor seasons.

On the women's side, individual marks were set by Melissa Cunningham (60m, 7.68), Amaya Johnson (100m, 11.96), Emily Ervin (200m, 23.91), Lizzy Gregory (400m, 54.20), Keeley Suzenski (shot put, 49-03.5) and Liv Cantby (javelin, 153-06). The Tribe also set new records in the 4x100 with Johnson, Gregory, Anna Kessler and Cunningham (45.94) and the 4x400 with Johnson, Gregory, Carly Swierbut and Ervin (3:35.97).

For the men, superlatives were set by Daniel Layton (60m hurdles, 8.17; heptathlon, 4,967; heptathlon 60m hurdles, 8.35, decathlon 110m hurdles, 14.75) and Jackson Cooley (100m, 10.49; 200m, 21.12).

The Tribe had seven athletes qualify for the East First Round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships — Cantby, Catherine Garrison in the 3,000m steeplechase and the 4x400 relay team from the women, and Chris Arias in the javelin from the men.

Plenty of accomplishments and honors for the alums
It wasn't just a successful year for current Tribe athletes. Here are four examples of Tribe alums making good:

Jill Ellis '88, who coached the United States Women's National Team to FIFA World Cup championships in 2015 and '19, was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. She was joined at the ceremony by former teammates Julie Cunningham (now Shackford) '88, Nancy Reinisch (now O'Toole) '88 and Marsha Fishburne (now Lycan) '87.

Also honored this year was former Tribe men's soccer player and coach Al Albert '69, who is now W&M's associate director of athletics advancement. He was inducted into the United Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame in Philadelphia.

There's Tad Geschickter '86, a former catcher on the Tribe's baseball team. A co-owner of JTG Daugherty Racing, his No. 47 car, driven by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., won the Daytona 500. It reminded him of W&M's conference championship and first NCAA appearance in '83.

Jeremy Wells '13, a teaching pro from Fort Myers, Fla., qualified for his first PGA Tour event — the PGA Championship, one of the four majors. All considered, he shot a respectable 12-over to finish seventh among the 20 club pros in the field.

Athletic Complex project plugging along
It was May of 2022 when ground was officially broken on the William & Mary Athletic Complex. The 2022-23 academic year saw plenty of progress.
 
The Mackesy Tennis Center has been completely renovated and now features new courts, elevated seating platforms, a fresh set of bleachers along Brooks Street and a new scoreboard. The women's team broke it in with a three-match sweep in the CAA tournament, its second consecutive championship and 28^th overall.
 
The focus for the summer is on the inside of Kaplan in an effort to not disrupt the fall when student-athletes are on campus. By the time Volleyball plays its first home match of the year in September, several of the locker rooms on the lower level will be renovated. Inside the arena, the upgrades will include a new videoboard, sound system and lighting, all in the interest of enhancing the game-day experience.
 
Also, on the list this summer is renovating the Montgomery Strength and Conditioning Center on the lower level of Kaplan.
 
Prep work has gone into the Mackesy Sports Performance Center with the clearing and leveling of the land. Recently, work started on bringing utility lines to the location so construction can begin once the summer projects on the interior are complete.

Other noteworthy accomplishments …
Men's soccer defeated No. 10 Wake Forest 2-1 for its first win over a top-10 team since 2015. … Jayden Moon and Pyper Friedman made to the U21 Women's Field Hockey National Team. Moon was a Junior Pan American Games reserve for Team USA. … Aidan Cuy won the USA Gymnastics Collegiate national title in all-around. …
Eleven men's gymnasts qualified for the NCAA Championships. … Katie Stevenson competed in the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. … Matthew Feinstein won the VCU Shootout with a program-record score of 15-under. … Lacrosse finished with its best overall and conference record since 2011. …
There's undoubtedly more, but sooner or later even the Internet runs out of sp-