COLLEGE BASEBALL
Coaches pick UVA as ACC favorite
Virginia was named the Atlantic Coast Conference favorite in a vote of the league’s 16 head coaches. The Cavaliers got 13 first-place votes.
Florida State was second, North Carolina third and Clemson fourth. Virginia Tech was picked 12th. All 16 ACC teams will open their seasons Feb. 14.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Norfolk State predicted last in MEAC
Norfolk State was picked last among eight teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference poll, while Howard was predicted first and Morgan State second.
Morgan State’s Victoria Fletcher was named the Preseason Player of the Year, and Howard’s Julia Holt was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
GYMNASTICS
W&M athlete from Va. Beach gains national invite
William & Mary men’s standout Zachary Patrick, a senior from Virginia Beach, will compete on parallel bars at the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup in Louisville, Kentucky, from Feb. 21-23.
The Winter Cup is a qualifying event for the U.S. Gymnastics Championships. Additionally, the weekend will culminate with the selection of the Men’s Senior National Team.
Patrick is a two-time NCAA Championships individual qualifier on the parallel bars and rings. He became W&M’s first gymnast to qualify for the national meet since Michael Deitz at the 2016 Winter Cup on high bar, floor and vault.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Numerous CNU players named VaSID all-state
Christopher Newport offensive lineman Amaan Miller made the Virginia Sports Information Directors College Division all-state first team, while fellow Captain Noah Martin made the first team at safety.
The second team included seven CNU players: quarterback Connor Barry, running back Gunnar White, wide receiver Colin Hart, offensive lineman Andrew Belford, linebacker Andrew Worsham, cornerback Eli Sherfield and return specialist Trey Hayes.
The second team also included Hampden-Sydney defensive lineman Brendan Wallace of Virginia Beach.
Old Dominion Athletic Conference champion Randolph-Macon provided Coach of the Year Pedro Arruza and Special Teams Player of the Year Kyle Ihle. Other top honors went to Shenandoah quarterback Steven Hugney (Offensive Player of the Year), Washington and Lee linebacker Jalen Todd (Defensive Player of the Year), Southern Virginia receiver Alex Silvester (Offensive Rookie of the Year) and Averett cornerback Joziah Campbell (Defensive Rookie of the Year).
JMU leads nation in 2 categories
James Madison finished the year as the FBS statistical champion in both turnover margin (+1.54 per game, with 29 takeaways against nine giveaways) and fewest interceptions per pass attempt (1 per 95.5, based on four picks on 382 passes).
COLLEGE MEN’S LACROSSE
7 Cavaliers gain preseason A-A nods
Seven Virginia players were named Preseason Media All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse: McCabe Millon (attack), Griffin Schutz (midfield) and Ben Wayer (long-stick midfielder) represented the Cavaliers on the second-team list. Johnny Hackett (midfield), Joey Terenzi (short-stick defensive midfielder), Noah Chizmar (SSDM) and John Schroter (defense).
The Cavaliers were ranked sixth in the Inside Lacrosse preseason poll released Jan. 21.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S LACROSSE
W&M’s Gilbert receives CAA honorable mention
William & Mary senior Paige Gilbert was among eight players to receive Preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association honorable mention, as selected by the CAA’s nine head coaches.
Gilbert has 53 goals and 10 assists in three W&M seasons. Twelve players were on the Preseason All-CAA team.
The Tribe was picked ninth among 10 teams. Reigning champion Stony Brook, ranked 14th nationally, was named the favorite.
BASEBALL
Tides extend protective netting to foul poles
The Norfolk Tides and Diamond Baseball Holdings announced the completed renovation of extending protective netting to each foul pole. The nets previously ended at the end of each teams’ dugouts. The height of the net was also raised to increase fan safety.
GOLF
Coughlin to represent Keswick GC on tour
Keswick Golf Club in Charlottesville — which will host the 100th VSGA Women’s Amateur Championship in July — has announced that former Hickory High and Virginia standout and 2024 Solheim Cup star Lauren Coughlin will be its official touring pro. She is coming off a career year in which she won two tournaments and moved into the top 20 of the world rankings.
2 Cavaliers on Hogan Award watch list
Virginia golfers Ben James and Bryan Lee are on the 2025 Ben Hogan Award watch list. The award recognizes the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA golfer based on all collegiate, amateur and professional events over the previous 12 months.
