Dear Friends of Tribe Athletics, 

I hope many of you saw our message earlier this week with the great news that, thanks to our wonderful supporters, we have reached another major milestone in the Tribe Athletics success story. In case you missed it, here's the headline — $6 million to modernize Kaplan Arena and improve the W&M Athletics Complex! 

We are doing something special at W&M thanks to generous support from Jane Thompson Kaplan '56, P '92, G '17; Jill Ellis '88, L.H.D. '16, P '27; Betsy Stephenson P '27; and the late Garner Anthony '53; who are building on the transformational support from Katie Garrett Boehly '95 and Todd Boehly '96, and Jennifer Tepper Mackesy '91 and D. Scott Mackesy '91. Please join me in giving them our heartfelt thanks.  

Their significant investment in the Tribe is evident in many ways. Our student-athletes have access to training and competition facilities equipped with the latest technology, allowing them to hone and showcase their skills at the highest levels, and our fans will soon be enjoying greater amenities. Please take a few minutes to read about all the amenities and improvements, and you will be filled with Tribe pride! 

Basketball Honors
Senior Chase Lowe and junior Cassidy Geddes, pictured below, have been accorded a pair of the highest honors in the CAA.
 
Chase was the recipient of CAA's prestigious Dean Ehlers Leadership Award, which recognizes the player who "embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic and athletic achievement."

During his career, Chase tallied 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 300 assists.  In the community, he has been active with food drives, reading to local elementary school students and giving guitar lessons in his spare time. He was named to the CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll in three seasons and will earn his bachelor's degree in public policy in May. 

On the women's side, Cassidy was named the Coastal Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earned All-CAA Second Team honors .  She is a finance major with a 3.92 GPA and a consistent leader for the Tribe all season, pacing the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game, which ranked sixth in the CAA. She also ranked among the league leaders in playing time, averaging 33.9 minutes per game, the fifth-highest mark in the conference.

During the season, Cassidy reached 1,000 career points, accomplishing the milestone with a 22-point performance in a 61–60 victory at Hampton on March 7. She also scored in double figures in five consecutive games entering the conference tournament, plus in the two conference championship games.  

Congratulations, Chase and Cassidy!

An Inspiring Choice
We are so thrilled that our great friend Sue Hanna Gerdelman '76, P '07, P '13 will receive this year's Prentis Award from the University . The honor is presented annually to a person who demonstrates exemplary civic service to the University and community, and we can't think of a more deserving person.  Sue has served in numerous leadership roles at W&M, including chair of the All In campaign, which raised $57.2 million for Athletics.  She and her late husband  John Gerdelman '75, L.H.D. '19, P '07, P '13, started their association with Athletics during their college days when John played football and Sue was a member of the Mermettes synchronized swim team.  

Sue, pictured below, has been a tremendous friend both to me personally and to our department, and we are all looking forward to many more years of her inspiring leadership.  Congratulations, Sue!
 
Notable

• Our student-athletes continue to be stellar in the classroom, with 335 earning distinction on the CAA's Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.

• Oliver Hague and Gur Trakhtenberg, pictured below, of Men's Tennis, are the CAA Doubles Team of the Week. The pair received the honor for the third time in the last four weeks!

• Women's Tennis scored a similar honor when Mira Kernagis and Alexia Gonzalez-Galino were also named CAA Doubles Team of the Week. Earlier in the month Francesca Davis was named the CAA Women's Tennis Player of the Week.
• Uriah Harris, pictured below left, hit the trifecta when he was named the CAA Field Athlete of the Week after a strong performance at the Phoenix Invitational when he won the discus event with a toss of 55.83, the best mark in the US this season. Previously, he was the Field Athlete of Week twice during the indoor season.  Also at the Phoenix Invitational, Amelia Bawcombe, pictured on the right below, broke the Tribe's freshman record in the hammer throw and Kalli Knott won the trophy in the pole vault.

• Standout freshman Mila Millhouse, pictured below, was the CAA Women's Lacrosse Co-Offensive Player of the Week and the Rookie of the Week.
   
  
• Men's Gymnastics finished its home season with a victory over Simpson that saw W&M victorious in four events – floor, vault, parallel bars and high bar.  Gavin Zborowski won the title on pommel horse and Nicholas Kosarikov won on parallel bars.
• After Men's Gymnastics defeated No. 9 Navy earlier in the month, Luke Tully was selected as the Gymnast of the Week and garnered Co-Routine of the Week honors, while teammate Nicholas Kosarikov was the Rookie of the Week in the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
• Women's Gymnastics also finished its regular season with a victory, when they defeated the Alaska Seawolves in all four events.  It was the team's third consecutive victory.  Michelle Ngo won the bars title, while
• Hannah Burke and Sally Wood tied for first on floor. Ngo was also named the GEC Specialist of the Week.  Burke won the vault and floor titles at the Isla HBCU Classic and was named the Gymnastics East Conference (GEC) Specialist of the Week. Speaking of Women's Gymnastics, the program just celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a gathering this past weekend!
• After its spring game, Football announced its captains for the 2026 season: tight end Sean McElwain, defensive lineman Davin Dzidzienyo, and linebacker Harrison Johnson, who are pictured below, left to right, with head coach Mike London.

 
Thank You, Basketball Fans
Our basketball seasons are officially over, with both Men's Basketball and Women's Basketball reaching the quarterfinals of the CAA Championship, but the success of each need another round of applause, much of which is due to you!  

Women's Basketball led the CAA in average attendance for the first time in over 25 years (as far back as the CAA's website records go). Men's Basketball averaged over 3,722 fans a game, ranking it third in the CAA this season.  For the men, this was an increase of nearly 700 fans per game over last season. Our student-athletes and coaches are truly grateful for this tangible support! 

Be In the Know 
Stay up to date on all our spring sports by following the action on our composite calendar. Today, Track & Field heads to Richmond for the Fred Hardy Invitational, and both gymnastics teams are competing this weekend—our men at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championship in Colorado Springs and our women at the GEC Championship in Ithaca, NY.  

Here at home, baseball opens its first conference series against North Carolina A&T tomorrow, and Lacrosse looks to continue its winning streak as it hosts Towson in a key league matchup. Plus, our tennis teams will be in action. 

Hope to see you out there!
 
Go Tribe!




Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics