Dear Friends of Tribe Athletics, 

Last Saturday was full of great memories for Tribe fans!  Our Football team beat UAlbany 37-7 in a game that had a ton of special team highlights (see below for details). Still, one of the best moments came during the first quarter, when we honored Bobby Dwyer, who served as Athletics Advancement director for 34 years until his retirement in 2019.

Earlier this fall, the CAA honored Bobby by naming him the recipient of the 2025 John H. Randolph Inspiration Award, in honor of former W&M athletics director John Randolph, who lost a courageous battle with cancer in 1995. Bobby and John were close friends and after John's death, Bobby founded the John Randolph/Dr. Mark Ellis Memorial Dinner to benefit Riverside Cancer Care, and he has chaired its planning committee every year since. Today, Bobby continues to work on behalf of the Tribe and the Williamsburg community despite his battle with Parkinson's Disease.  Bobby is pictured below with his wife, Patti, and his two sons, Patrick and Peter, along with their families.
 
Previous award winners from W&M are Brannon Thomas '04 in 2004, who battled back from a brain tumor to return to play in the Soccer program, and Barbara Wetters in 1996, a Women's Basketball coach and Athletics administrator. Brannon's moment of triumph came when he headed in the game winning goal in the Tribe's 1-0 win over No. 1 Maryland. Barb was also a friend of John Randolph and received the first John H. Randolph Inspiration Award.  Well-deserved by all! 

What a Special Effort!

The entire W&M Football team was selected as the Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Players of the Week for the game-changing plays made during the win over UAlbany. Josh Miller, Stephon Hicks and Xavier Dillard each blocked punts for safeties and holder Joey Tomasso scored a touchdown on a fake field goal.  Punter Carter Boyd pinned the Great Danes inside their own 20-yard line on three different efforts, including two inside the 10 and one downed at the 1-yard line.

Josh Miller (No. 33 pictured below) kept the special teams momentum going when he was named the CAA Special Teams Player of the Week. His blocked kick led to the first safety of the game and gave the Tribe a 9-0 advantage in the first quarter vs Albany.  He also had 20 rushing yards and a six-yard reception in the game.
 
Notable

• Men's Basketball scored a "W" in its first game with a 110-63 victory over Georgian Court.  Women's Basketball tipped off the season vs. Davidson last night, losing 71-50.
• At the 2025 CAA Cross Country Championships, Perry Irons (pictured below) finished as the CAA silver medalist, and Hayes Trapp finished third at the championships for the second consecutive season. The Tribe had six All-CAA performers. On the men's side, Brendan DiStefano, Caleb Wilcox, and Eli Phillips joined Hayes in receiving honors.  Perry was also honored, and Molly Weithman was recognized for the second time on the women's side.

 

• The CAA selected the Tribe's Francesca Davis and Tilda Larsson as the conference's doubles team automatic qualifier to the ITA Conference Masters, today through Nov. 9 in San Diego.
•  In more good news, Women's Tennis wrapped up the W&M Hidden Dual vs. Morgan State, Norfolk State, and VCU with a perfect day, going 8-0 in singles and 4-0 in doubles. Over the three-day event, W&M was 12-0 in doubles action and 16-3 in singles play. 
• Field Hockey ended its season with a 3-2 win vs. LaSalle.  Anya Green (pictured below) scored her first two career goals, and Natasha Browning had the game-winner!

• Swimming earned four event victories and broke five program dual meet records at the David B. Allen Natatorium in Wilmington vs. Queens and UNCW.  Lindsay Juhlin won the 100 breast, and Sophia Heilen was victorious in the 200 breast. Julie Addison won the 100 back and with teammates Lindsay Juhlin, Lauren Klinefelter and Caroline Burgeson won the 200 medley relay.  
• In Women's Soccer, Ellie Leffler (pictured on left below) was the CAA's Rookie of the Year, and she was joined on the All-Rookie Team by Mia Abbey and Gwen Doughty.  Ivey Crain and Molly Widderich joined Mia on the All-CAA Third Team. The team's season ended with a 1-0 defeat in the CAA Championship quarterfinals.
•  In Men's Soccer, freshman defender Damen Burney (pictured on the right below) was also named to the CAA's All-Rookie Team. The Leesburg, Va. native started the final 12 matches of the season, averaging 81 minutes per game and scoring his first collegiate goal in the penultimate match.

• Eli Felty was named the CAA's Golfer of the Week after he won the individual title at the Tribe's fall finale, the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate.  The Tribe was the overall champion, toppling the 16-team field by seven shots.

Hats Off to the Champs

Once again, the Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series winners!  Did you know about the team's strong connections to the Tribe?  Longtime supporter and alum Todd Boehly '96 is a co-owner. Twin brothers Will and Jon Rhymes, both '05 grads, played baseball for the Tribe and now Will is Vice President of Player Development and Jon serves as Video Operations and Game Planning manager.
 
Fun Fashion Fact for Football Fans

If you are a female fan of any of the NFL's 32 teams, Kiya Tomlin '96 has the outfit for you!  Determined to provide women with more options than a boxy team jersey or a pink one, Kiya started designing clothes in each NFL team's official colors.  Her company sells licensed NFL apparel from her Pittsburgh headquarters, not far from where her husband, Mike Tomlin '95 is the longtime head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Featured in a recent segment of NBC's The Today Show , Kiya discusses how she decided to expand her fashionable offerings.  Kiya, a former Tribe gymnast pictured below, is another shining example of how our student-athletes graduate and become leaders in their respective fields and communities.
 
Tribe Hall of Famer Takes Reins in Advancement 

Congratulations to Michael Brown '03, a former All-American outfielder and member of W&M's Athletics Hall of Fame, who has been named Acting Senior Associate Athletics Director of Advancement .   After his professional baseball career ended, he entered philanthropy and worked at several charitable organizations in Virginia before returning home to the Tribe.  Michael bleeds Green & Gold, and he brings tremendous leadership and passion to his new position.  He is replacing Todd McFarlane, who is returning to the Boys & Girls Clubs organization as the President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Greater Charlotte Region.  We appreciate and thank Todd for all of his hard work on our behalf and wish him the best!  Please take a look at Michael's message to the Tribe community here . 

Upcoming

Basketball season is upon us. Men's Basketball is 1-0 after beating Georgian Court Monday, and is now on the road for four straight games.  Women's Basketball will play their home opener vs. Barton at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Make sure you check out our composite calendar to keep up with all of the Tribe's teams. 

I Can't Resist...

I mentioned my sons, Russell and Henry, in the last Mannuscript and how they were getting ready for Halloween.  Here's how the youngest members of the Mann family won the night. Russell is on the left and is dressed as a giraffe, while Henry is decked out as a rhinoceros.
 
Go Tribe!




Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics