Dear Friends of Tribe Athletics,

Thankfully, the weather is warming up here in Williamsburg this week, but it's not as hot as the Tribe's start to the spring semester in basketball, swimming, gymnastics, or track and field!

What a Rush!

Let's start with our basketball teams, which combined to play four home games, including the 10th annual Gold Rush weekend. Our basketball teams aimed to please the big crowds in Kaplan and completed the four-game sweep! During the men's Gold Rush game, we welcomed back a large group of basketball alums and celebrated beloved former head coach Tony Shaver in front of an incredible crowd that included more than 1,000 students. The men rallied for a 78-73 win over Monmouth on Saturday afternoon and the women beat Towson, 58-47, on Sunday for the program's fourth straight victory. Tribe Scribe Dave Johnson has a great recap of all the action.
 
Grand Careers
Women's Basketball's Bella Nascimento, pictured below, led the Tribe in its win over Towson, by rolling to a game-high 24 points. The effort gave her 1,000 points for her career. 
Just a few days before Bella's milestone, Gabe Dorsey, pictured below, erupted for a career-high 30 points in leading the W&M men to a 94-83 win over Hampton, and in the process, he also eclipsed the career 1,000-point mark.

What a week for these student-athletes! Congratulations to them and their teammates!
 
Notable

• Track & Field posted several noteworthy individual performances at the Brant Tolsma Invitational, notching seven top 10 performances, including four from sprinters, and multiple event winners, including Catherine Garrison in the 5000m, Hayes Trapp in the men's 5000m, Kyra Holland in the women's mile and Amberson Bauer in the men's 1000m. The teams look to continue their strong season tomorrow at the Penn State National Open.
• This week, Women's Gymnastics' Sarah Wozniak, pictured below, tied for first on bars and Hannah Burke tied for first in floor exercise during the team's home opener with Temple.

• Bolstered by several impressive performances, the Men's Gymnastics team won the Navy Open earlier this month, marking the first time an ECAC team defeated Navy since W&M topped the Midshipmen at the 2018 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championship.
• After an outstanding performance in the men's gymnastics team's dual meet at No. 6 Penn State, freshman standout Luke Tully was selected as the Eastern College Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week
• Swimming turned in a pair of victories: the first vs. Davidson on Senior Day, with the men winning 147-115 and the women dominating 202-60. The following weekend our programs combined to win 20 of 28 events enroute to a sweep of Georgetown. The Tribe women's team outscored the Hoyas 178-84 while the men pulled out a thrilling 133-129 victory.
• As a result of three first-place finishes vs. Georgetown, including two individual wins and one relay victory, Ellie Scherer, pictured below, was named the CAA Women's Swimmer of the Week.

• Aiden Bond is the CAA Men's Swimmer of the Week. The honor comes on the heels of two first-place individual and relay finishes against Davidson.
• Isaiah Mbeng, pictured below, of men's basketball is on a roll. He was named the CAA Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. Mbeng averaged 7.3 points, 4.3 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game during the week that ended with a pair of Tribe wins.

Athlete to Entrepreneur
During her playing days as a guard on the Tribe's women's basketball team, Nyla Pollard '21 was a keen student of both the game and the classes she took toward a sociology degree. She was also studying how to prepare a business plan for an idea that was slowly taking shape. 

Fast-forward to today and Nyla is set to officially launch Ballin AI, a sports tech company that offers artificial intelligence-powered tools to help basketball players and coaches improve their skills. She is the founder and CEO and has a staff of 13, including former Tribe players Bianca Boggs and Dani McTeer.

Last month, she was invited to speak with student-athletes at her alma mater. The Tribe Scribe has a story on the program and Nyla's perspective as an innovator and the head of a Black woman-owned company in sports software technology.


Looking Ahead

A huge game looms for our Tribe Men's Basketball team on Monday evening, as we will host the College of Charleston for a nationally televised game on Monday, Feb. 3. The game will tip at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network and feature two of the top teams in the league. I'm ready for a great matchup and look forward to seeing another big crowd in Kaplan.

Our women's team will host Campbell on Sunday, with a 1 p.m. tip, while the Women's Tennis team will kick off its dual season by hosting matches on Saturday and Sunday in the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.

The university will celebrate a significant anniversary, the 332nd, of the awarding of the Royal Charter from King William III and Queen Mary II of England during the Charter Day Ceremony on Feb. 7. You can participate by clicking here. 

Our baseball season opens Feb. 14, so what about taking your Valentine to Plumeri Park for the inaugural game of the 2025 season? There are many ways you can enjoy the season, but none better than coming out and enjoying that games at Plumeri (Full Schedule/ Season Tickets).
 
If you love the Tribe (and who doesn't), consider attending the Lord Botetourt Affair on Feb. 15, either in person or virtually, by bidding on an item that has caught your eye. The weekend provides an opportunity for watching plenty of sports, including Women's Lacrosse, Women's Tennis, Men's Basketball and Baseball, buying cool items and helping provide much-needed financial support to the Green & Gold. I will be there, and I can't wait to see you!

Go, Tribe!

Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics