Dear Friends of William & Mary Athletics,

This week's Mannuscript starts by highlighting two individuals, one a current student-athlete and the other an alumnus, whose contributions to the Tribe are extraordinary.

Above and Beyond
Charles Grant, a standout senior tackle on our football team who earned postseason All-American honors from five organizations, is a finalist for the Wells Fargo Advisors Humanitarian Award annually presented by the Touchdown Club of Richmond. Charles was recognized for his decision to become a bone marrow donor as part of his team's annual Be The Match drive and he underwent a seven-hour non-surgical procedure to hopefully save the life of a stranger. Of the nine million names on the Be The Match registry, only 630,000 (7%) are African American, making the odds of an African American finding a match only 29%. Congratulations to an exemplary young man!

All In at the Finish
As the All In fundraising campaign was drawing to a close, Richard "Rick" A. Platt '72 made a $2.3 million gift that will help transform our athletics facilities. The donation jumpstarts the $3 million-plus renovation of the women's and men's cross country and track & field locker rooms in Zable Stadium. Passionate about Tribe Athletics since his student-athlete days as a member of the cross country, track & field and swimming teams, Rick is a lifelong runner and longtime Williamsburg resident. Thank you, Rick, for generously supporting your alma mater and for helping to inspire others to give to this critically important project!

It's a Wrap
We had a terrific turnout to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of our Lord Botetourt Auction last weekend.  While we are still calculating the final numbers, we know we raised over $400,000 for our student-athletes! This includes a record-setting $57,000 committed during the Noble Cause portion of the event, which will go directly towards supporting scholarships. A HUGE thank you to the many dedicated individuals who volunteered their time and talents so generously to make this event a success!   

Our fans also had a treat on the basketball court on back-to-back days, with both men's and women's programs playing their Gold Rush games and welcoming back alumni.  More than 5,000 fans cheered on the men's team that lost a heartbreaker to reigning CAA champ Charleston 84-83 on Saturday, though a buzzer-beater at the half brought the crowd to its feet (click the photo below for video).

The next day our women's team was cheered on by another large and enthusiastic crowd as they improved their league record to 6-3 with a hot shooting 75-62 victory over Drexel. 

Fun Fact: Our women's program currently has the league's second-best average attendance, while our men rank third! Yet another reason for us to thank our great community for supporting our student-athletes. 

Noteworthy Performances

• Women's tennis started its dual match season with two winning days, beating both Longwood and Georgetown. Men's tennis snared their first victory of the season by upending in-state foe JMU.
• The men's and women's Indoor track & field teams had a strong outing at the Doc Hale VT Meet. Jacob Robinson broke his freshman record in the men's 200m dash and Jackson Cooley was third in the 60m dash. Megan Heidebrecht tied the eighth-best mark in W&M history with a personal record in the triple jump.
• Freshman Lauren Tucker was named CAA Women's Swimmer of the Week for the second time this season following a dominant performance in the Tribe's 164.5-97.5 victory over Georgetown.
• A total of 368 student-athletes were named to the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll for the fall semester.

• Our women's gymnastics team earned its season-high team score en route to a third-place finish at a quad meet hosted by Penn. Check out this video about the program's trip to Philadelphia and cue the Rocky theme!
• Former W&M soccer standout Chris Albiston '15 has been selected as one of 12 players to represent the United States in the 2024 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Dubai.

Athletics Leadership Team
Our beloved and respected colleague Peel Hawthorne, whose W&M career has taken her from student-athlete to coach to Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA), is retiring this spring.  With her departure and the addition of two new administrative leaders in Todd McFarlane, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Advancement, and Richard "Whit" Whitmore as Deputy Athletics Director, I thought it was an opportune time to review the department's overall structure.

As a result, Karai Lockley and Ricky Ray will assume new roles and responsibilities within the administrative team.  In recognition of these new roles, and outstanding service already rendered to the department, Karai will become Executive Associate Athletics Director, Internal Operations, and she will take on the duties of Senior Woman Administrator (SWA). Ricky will become Executive Associate Athletics Director, External Operations.  These changes will go into effect on April 1 and I am excited about what this means for the future of our department.

Tribe Athletics is fortunate to have this dedicated and talented group working on behalf of the Green & Gold community.  We are looking forward to welcoming Todd and Whit, and I hope you take the time to congratulate Karai and Ricky!  I know we will all look to express our gratitude to Peel for her tireless commitment to William & Mary!

Looking Ahead
This month the calendar is bursting with competitions including men's basketball at Monmouth tonight and lacrosse, baseball and men's and women's golf all starting later this month to add to the fun!

At the end of the month, women's and men's indoor track & field will be competing in the CAA Championship in New York, and men's and women's swimming will be at the CAA Championships in Hampton, VA. A comprehensive schedule of all the Tribe events can be found here.

And just in…early football!  Our first game of the season has been moved to Aug. 29 vs. VMI.  What a way to start a long Labor Day weekend!  We hope to have a full Zable Stadium so please get your tickets now.

Finally, our great university celebrates Charter Day tomorrow, which is the 331st anniversary of the awarding of the Royal Charter from King William III and Queen Mary II of England. 
Hope to see you all soon at one of these exciting events!

Go Tribe!

Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics