Dear Friends of W&M Athletics,

As March Madness winds down, we have already started preparing for next year's men's basketball season with a new head coach calling the shots. I know this is not news for most of our fans, many of whom showed up at Brian Earl's introductory press conference or watched it online, but I think it's worth mentioning as the excitement around Coach Earl continues to grow! 

I've spent a lot of time with Brian and his family over the past couple of weeks, and while coach says he doesn't talk a lot, his approach to his team speaks volumes. Before stepping to the microphone to be officially introduced to the Tribe nation, he was in Kaplan Arena working with his team. Coach Earl is a tireless worker with a high basketball IQ, and we are excited to start the work of building a championship program!
 
 As we get closer to Peel Hawthorne's retirement as our senior associate athletic director and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA), the honors continue to roll in for her. On Monday, April 8, Peel will receive the Shirley Aceto Award, given annually to a member of the instructional or professional faculty "who demonstrates an exceptional commitment to excellence in service to the campus community." 
There's another event on the calendar to celebrate Peel's four decades at W&M. Please register here now and plan on joining us for refreshments and shared  memories of Peel on Friday, April 19 from 6-8 p.m. in Miller Hall in the Mason School of Business.

Our department, the university community and the thousands of W&M alumni who know her will congratulate Peel for every well-deserved honor and a lifetime of outstanding achievements!

Notable

• Women's freshman golfer Mary Grace Dunigan, pictured below, is the CAA Women's Golfer of the Week. She posted her second consecutive top-five finish at the Kingsmill Intercollegiate, hosted by the Tribe at Kingsmill's River Course. The team just finished its regular season this week and is preparing to compete in the CAA Championships starting April 12 in Southport, NC.

 

• After a week of giving up zero runs, striking out 11 and notching two wins, junior Nate Knowles was named the CAA's Pitcher of the Week. It was the team's fourth CAA honor this season. The Tribe just put together a three-win week on the road, including its second-straight series in league play.
• The men's golf team hosted the Golden Horseshoe tournament in Williamsburg, this past week, with junior Logan Hunter, pictured below, securing a top-10 finish and helping the team to a 5th-place showing in the 12-team field.

 

• Women's tennis has reeled off seven straight wins, led by junior Hedda Gurholt, the reigning CAA Women's Tennis Player of the Week.
• Twenty wins! That's what our track & field program posted during a dominant day at Christopher Newport's Blue & Silver Challenge. A pair of throwers in Jason Nwosu and Keeley Suzenski won two events apiece, as each took the top honors in both the hammer and discus.  Next up are the 58th Annual Colonial Relays, which are hosted at Zable Stadium starting today and running through Saturday.
• Hayes Trapp, pictured below, of men's track, set the program's freshman record in the 10k at the Raleigh Relays. He broke Keith Bechtol's record by nearly four seconds, which had stood for 20 years. The track program sent 12 student-athletes to the competition.

 

• Six members of the men's gymnastics team earned USA Gymnastics Collegiate All-America Honors. Congratulations to Samuel Smith, Ricky Pizem, Gavin Zborowski, Niko Greenly, Garrett Kasiski and Sam Lee. In addition to the All-America accolades, Aidan Cuy was honored as the USAG Collegiate Outstanding Senior Gymnast. 
• Women's gymnastics concluded its season with a fifth-place finish at the Gymnastics East Conference Championship hosted by Yale. Sarah Kuper, pictured below, highlighted the Tribe's performances and earned first-team all- conference honors on vault by tying for second with a career-high 9.825.

• Four men's and four women's swimmers were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District teams. Women's swimmers Devin Genderson, Sophia Heilen, Erin Langenburg and Sarah Rice were joined by Kent Codding, Conor Sokolowsky, Jono Bennett and Cole Younger.

Dedicating Jill Ellis Field
In just a couple of weeks, we will dedicate a wonderful new addition to the W&M campus--a completely new turf field named Jill Ellis Field, which will be installed in the new 1987 Women's Soccer Team Training Center, and will include a new scoreboard and lights, making night practices and games possible for varsity and rec sports.  
Jill Ellis is not only a W&M soccer legend, but a storied figure in US soccer and the captain of W&M's 1987 soccer team, one of the most successful in the school's history.
You are invited to join us on April 19 at 12:30 p.m., when there will be a special ceremony during which we will thank our magnificent donors and marvel at our fantastic new facilities, as we honor one of our most decorated alumnae and the very special 1987 women's soccer team.  
Please mark your calendar for what promises to be a great event!        
 
Did You Know?

Football season tickets went on sale this week and the start times for the majority of our games are now available. Remember, the season starts Thursday, Aug. 29 at home at 7 p.m. vs. VMI.  Season tickets are available here.
 
Breaking News—One Tribe One Day Totals
The results just arrived on my desk and your generosity never ceases to amaze and humble me.  Despite the fact that many who typically give on OTOD made their commitments in December to help close the All In campaign, we still ended up with the third highest overall amount in the last 10 years as more than 1,800 individuals made gifts totaling $465,500. Thank you! Our entire department appreciates the generous support out student-athletes receive from people like yourself!

Go, Tribe!

Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics