Dear Friends of Tribe Athletics, 

Athletics found a stellar way to "ring" in Homecoming & Reunion Weekend.  Apologies for the wordplay, and I know I've mentioned it before, but the excellent ring and banner ceremony on Homecoming Saturday for our CAA Championship Women's Basketball team deserves just a bit more attention.  Thanks go to the hundreds of friends, family and fans who joined us in Kaplan to honor the team for its great CAA run and NCAA tournament victory.  The rings are stunning (see photo below), and they serve as a great tribute to the team and coaches. We made a hype video to celebrate last year's great victories and inspire us for the year ahead. Check out the video HERE for a great look at the new championship accessory!
 
NIL Next Steps

As the landscape in intercollegiate athletics continues to change, thanks to the House vs. NCAA settlement, W&M is working hard to build systems that serve our student-athletes well and align with the mission and values of the university.  Just today we announced new opportunities for supporters to make charitable contributions through new NIL enhancement funds, known as Green & Gold Funds,  to promote student-athlete success and competitive excellence within a compliant and sustainable framework. Gifts can be directed to a specific sport, allowing supporters to invest in the continued growth and success of those programs.  For more information, click here.

Notable

• It was a terrific week for Women's Soccer as the team earned a spot in CAA postseason play and two players won league awards.  Nora Green-Orset was CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week and Ellie Leffler (pictured below) was Rookie of the Week. On Sunday, the team hosts Hampton in its final game of the regular season, and a victory will secure home-field advantage for the first round of the CAA Championships. You can follow the action here.

• It was a trifecta for Cross Country when, for the third time this season, our runners took home both the CAA Men's and Women's Runner of the Week awards. Perry Irons won her third honor and Hayes Trapp his second.  Both runners had strong showings at the Princeton Fall Classic last week, with Perry earning a Top 10 finish and Hayes finishing 14th.  The women's program finished 12 out of 25, and the men finished 19 out of 31.
• It was a huge Homecoming win for Tribe Football as we defeated Elon 26-21.  Helping secure the victory were the efforts of defensive lineman Justin Krueger, who earned the CAA Rookie of the Week honor.  Justin (pictured below) tallied a career-high seven tackles, 1.5 TFLs, a sack and a quarterback hurry.

• After advancing to the quarterfinals of the ITA Atlantic Region Championship, the Tribe doubles team of Sia Chaudry and Mira Kernagis ended their run with an 8-7 tiebreaker loss to the No. 5-seeded Virginia team.
•  Men's Golf turned in a solid effort at VSGA Intercollegiate hosted by Lake Chesdin Golf Club in Chesterfield, led by top 10 finishes from Luke Walmet (#4) and Davis Adams (#10).  Earlier in the month, the team finished third of 11 at the Georgetown Intercollegiate at Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield, N.J. and Preston Burton was third individually. The team finished in the top five in its first four tournaments. Luke is pictured below.

• Women's Swimming had 13 event victories against UMBC and Navy in the UMBC Tri-Meet.  The 200 medley relay squad of Julie Addison, Lindsay Juhlin, Sophie Heilen, and Caroline Burgeson set a pool record in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:43.61, breaking the previous facility record by 0.19 seconds.
• Volleyball alumna Amy Schwem '25 was named an honoree of the AVCA-USMC Battles Won Award, which recognizes volleyball players and coaches who overcome obstacles as they pursue their sport.  Amy, who sustained numerous injuries during her career and also has an autoimmune disease, had a standout career at W&M and is one of seven players to reach the 2,000-assist plateau, ranking in the Top 10 in career service aces and digs.

Going Gold

Our annual Gold Rush Weekend is officially set!  The exciting weekend of Tribe hoops tips off with the men's 11th annual Gold Rush Game on Saturday, Jan. 31, at noon, with the matchup vs. CAA foe Campbell being televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.  The next day at 1 p.m., Women's Basketball hosts UNCW, which will be shown on MASN.  We're asking our fans to wear gold and #PakTheKap!
Now that we're talking and thinking basketball, it's a good time to purchase your season or single-game tickets as the men start its season at home vs. Georgian Court on Nov. 3. The women's first home tilt will come vs. Barton on Nov. 9.  We have lots of plans to fit your individual needs, so please either visit TribeAthletics.com or give us a call at 757-221-3340. We will match you with a plan that best meets your needs. 
 
And if you love basketball as much as I do, here are a few ways to keep up with our teams:  Men's Basketball—on X (@WMTribeMBB), Facebook (WMTribeMBB) and Instagram (WMTribeMBB); and Women's Basketball is on X ( @WMTribeWBB), Facebook (WMTribeWBB), and Instagram (WMTribeWBB).

Best of the Tribe  

If you have a favorite W&M student-athlete who had a fantastic career or a team that had a standout record, now is the time to nominate them for inclusion in the W&M Athletics Hall of Fame.  We are taking nominations for the new class, and the deadline is Nov. 21.  Please check out the Hall of Fame website for the criteria for membership.  Email your nomination to Pete Clawson at pmclaw@wm.edu, or reach out to him for any further questions.

Looking Ahead

As usual, there's a full complement of games in the next couple of weeks, with many having postseason implications! Also, next week brings one of America's favorite holidays—Halloween.  Please enjoy it safely and with bountiful amounts of treats.  My boys, Henry and Russell, are excited to dress up for Halloween and have promised to share (somewhat reluctantly) with Hilary and me. Hopefully, you have a generous friend or family member, too!

Go Tribe!




Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics