Dear Friends of W&M Athletics,

We all love the Green & Gold, but I am now rooting for one of our student-athletes to change into red, white and blue. I'm beyond excited that William & Mary swimmer Aiden Bond will be competing in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the 50m as he tries to qualify for Paris 2024.  

Aiden capped off his phenomenal freshman season with a lifetime best 22.60 mark at the Eastern Zone Super-Sectional in Richmond, an Olympic Trial-qualifying mark. Mark your calendars for June 20 when the men's 50 Free is scheduled to take place in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Go Aiden!

  Notables

• Five field athletes participated in the NCAA East Regional Prelims in Lexington, KY. Megan Heidebrecht finished in 31st place in the triple jump. Liv Cantby finished 22nd in the javelin and Keeley Suzenski finished 41st in the hammer throw.  Chris Arias and Raiden Lafortune both competed in the javelin, with Chris finishing 18th and Raiden 24th.
• Baseball's Nate Knowles was named the CAA Pitcher of the Year and made First Team All-CAA. Teammate Carter Lovasz (pictured below) became the Tribe's all-time leader in saves with 19.

   

• Bill Duo and Albert Hansen of Men's Tennis were selected to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and be at least a sophomore. 
• Jasmine Perkins, Assistant Athletics Director, Student- Athlete Development traveled with Trenton Peazant (Men's Gym), Yaelle Vaissaud (Women's Tennis), Hollis Mathis (Football) and Talia Anderson (Track & Field) to attend the Black Student-Athlete Summit on the USC campus in Los Angeles. More than 1,000 student-athletes & professionals attended to network and learn how to leverage their athletic ability for long-term business success and to create social impact.

Update
We are currently interviewing for two new head coaches, in women's lacrosse and baseball. Our academic and athletics profiles make us attractive nationally and we are working to fill the vacancies quickly. One part of the process is for me to talk to the student-athletes to get their feedback on what they see as the most important characteristics and qualifications for a head coach. I'm struck by their insight and how much they love their teammates and their school.  I will keep you posted on our progress. 

How Are We Doing? 
We are one month away from the end of the fiscal year and each of our 23 programs is doing its best to ensure they make the yearly fundraising goals. Take a peek to see their progress, and please make a gift to support your favorite sport. We are deeply appreciative of all that you do; thank you from all of Tribe Athletics! 

Looking Ahead 
Football just received a No.17 preseason national ranking by HERO Sports. Three months from today the Tribe will open the 2024 season against VMI at Zable Stadium, making it the perfect time to buy your season tickets . W&M enters the 2024 campaign having posted three consecutive winning seasons, while this will mark the fourth straight season it has earned a top-25 national ranking.

 
Coaches Confab
Thanks to all who made their way to Richmond's Willow Oaks Country Club last week for Coaches Night.  We had a great group in attendance and they had the chance to chat with Women's Soccer Head Coach Julie Shackford and Associate Head Coach Marsha Lycan, Football Head Coach Mike London, Men's Basketball Head Coach Brian Earl, Women's Tennis Head Coach Jessica Giuggioli and Women's Field Hockey Head Coach Tess Ellis. We had a lively discussion and if you missed it this year, make sure we see you next year!

Grab Your Popcorn
Tribe Athletics has two videos (less than two minutes each) that are well worth a watch. The first is a recap of the' 23-'24 season highlights, that you can check out below and the second takes you to this year's commencement ceremony with our student-athletes . It's bittersweet to see the wrap-ups of the academic and athletics years, but both are great reminders of what W&M is all about.
 


Go, Tribe!

Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics