Player 1505
Bowie Maur
As Name, Image and Likeness and recruiting restrictions continue to change amidst calls to properly compensate collegiate athletes, especially those in high-earning sports, a new law signed April 18 allows Virginia schools to compensate players for NIL rights. The University played a major role in drafting the bill, which takes effect July 1. House Bill 1505 is indeed groundbreaking and will largely shift the NIL landscape in Virginia, but Athletic Director Carla Williams should be cautious with this sudden and unprecedented change.
Today, we sit down with both the president and treasurer of the Virginia women's club basketball team to discuss everything from making free throws to recent increased viewership in women's basketball.
Team Manager/Coach: We will be looking for parents to step up and manage a group of players. There will be no practices. The basic job will be to manage the playing time and substitutions on game days and look out for the safety of the players.
Game Official: Not an official referee, but someone who can ensure that we provide a Safe, Fair and Fun environment for the players. A minimal set of rules are utilized and are posted on the Spring Season web page.
Field/Equipment Manager(s): Ensures goals and equipment (paint carts) are unlocked and available so first teams can setup fields. At the end of the day, make sure the last teams have locked up and put everything away.
CLAREMONT, Calif. - Jenna Holmes and Georgia McGovern earned first-team All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, while Audrey Sawyer captured a spot on the third team and Dede Carranza earned honorable mention distinction, the organization announced today at its awards banquet on the eve of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championships at Roberts Pavilion.
Holmes earned a spot on the first team for the second year in a row, after being named the National Player of the Year last fall. McGovern moved up to the first team after earning second-team All-America honors last year, while Sawyer made the third team after being an honorable mention selection in 2022.
Holmes became the sixth Athena to reach 1000 career kills this fall, and now stands at 1111, good for fourth in CMS history in only three seasons. She also now has 392 this season, eight away from becoming the sixth Athena to record 400 in a season, and only 18 away from tying for second place (the record of 482 set by Nicole Kerkhof in 2013 would require 30 kills in three straight matches). She had a huge weekend at MIT at regionals, hitting .478 (39-6-69), including .520 in the regional finals (14-1-25).
McGovern went from a three-rotation setter last year, splitting time with graduated senior Spencer Hagenbuch, into a six-rotation setter this fall. With the added time on the floor, McGovern crossed 1000 assists (1008) in the SCIAC Championship match, a milestone which no CMS setter has reached since Natalya Preiser did it three straight seasons from 1992-94. McGovern now has the second-highest single season total in CMS history with 1105, and leads the nation in assists per set (11.16, in a virtual tie with Hannah Joseph of Aurora). McGovern needs 152 to tie CMS record of 1257, set by Preiser in 1992.
With one season to go, Sawyer is well on her way to shattering the CMS record for hitting percentage. Sawyer is hitting .379 this season, after hitting .397 last year and .381 as a first-year in 2011, which rank second and fourth on the CMS single-season list (Brenna Bell hit .404 last year to rank first). Sawyer's current career percentage of .384 is on pace to break the Athena record of .323, held by Melanie Moore (2017-19), by over 60 points.
Carranza already ranks fourth on the CMS all-time digs list as a junior with 1505 heading into the NCAA Tournament, after earning All-Tournament honors at both the SCIAC Championship and the NCAA Regionals. She was also the 2022 SCIAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and is a two-time SCIAC Defensive Player of the Year. Her 547 digs last year ranks No. 7 on the CMS single-season list, and she will likely move into the top 10 this year as well with 497 heading into nationals (tenth place is 505).
CMS enters the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals with a 25-5 overall record, and will take on top-seeded Wisconsin-Oshkosh at 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening at Roberts Pavilion. The winner will move on to the semifinals on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against either Hope or Johns Hopkins, with the national championship match taking place on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Tickets for the NCAA Division III Championships can be purchased through Ticketleap at the following link: NCAA Tickets
With her first dig against the Rebels Friday, senior Taylor Unroe became just the second player in Florida history to eclipse 1,500 career digs. Unroe, who ranks No. 2 all-time in the Gator record books for career digs, now has 1,505 scoops while donning the Orange and Blue.
No. 6 Florida continues its final SEC road weekend at Arkansas Sunday at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville. First serve between the Gators and Razorbacks is noon ET, live on the SEC Network with Trey Bender and Dain Blanton. UF is 36-2 all-time against Arkansas, and owns a 14-1 record all-time in Fayetteville.
Chris joined FloridaGators.com in 2011 after nearly three decades as a sports reporter at newspapers in Tampa and Orlando, including 10 years covering the UF athletic program and another 10 covering the NFL.
With the graduation of Kingfisher quarterback Grant Newton, the 'Jackets are likely to lean on Nault even more, following a junior season in which he rushed for more than 2,000 yards with 31 touchdowns, averaging 7.6 yards per game.
The Bobcats have a small senior class that includes quarterback Marshawn Reid III, but juniors Jerome Smith and Milon Smith will be looked to at running back. And a pair of sophomores, Byron Williams and Ramon Jenkins, will play key roles on the offensive line.
Newcastle coach Keith Bolles is installing new offensive and defensive schemes to fit the talent of his experienced roster. Many of his 11 returning starters have been playing regular minutes over the last couple of seasons.
Having worked under some of the state's top coaches, first as a player under Carl Albert's Gary Rose and as an assistant at Midwest City for Steve Huff and Darrell Hall, Madonna feels he has a good foundational basis to design his program.
* Look for Centennial to take another step forward this year after winning three games in coach Don Willis' first season. Quarterback Malcolm Mitchell and receiver/safety Terry Davis return to lead the way.
* Senior Devion Smith enters his fourth year as a starter for John Marshall, playing everything from quarterback to receiver and defensive back. He'll be valuable in Rashaun Woods' first year as coach.
On The Line
The Boilermakers are alone in second place in the Big Ten with one game to play. Purdue trails Ohio State by one game and is a game ahead of Michigan State. Purdue still has a chance at a share of the regular season title with a win against Michigan State and a loss by Ohio State versus Penn State. A loss to Michigan State guarantees Ohio State the title and could put the Boilermakers in a three-way tie with Michigan State and Iowa (if they win). Regardless of Sunday's game results, due to tie break procedures, the Boilermakers can do no better than a No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and no worse than a No. 3 seed. In the Big Ten Tournament, the No. 2 seed plays the winner fo the No. 7 seed and No. 10 seed at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, March 6, while the No. 3 seed plays the winner of the No. 6 seed and No. 11 seed at approximately 2 p.m. ET. The first, second and third round games will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.
Scouting The Boilermakers
Purdue (20-8, 13-4 Big Ten) is coming off a 70-53 win against Michigan. The Boilermakers have their longest win streak of the season with five victories. Purdue is alone in second place in the conference, one game behind first-place Ohio State and a game ahead of the Spartans. The Boilermakers are led by Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton's 12.9 ppg and 9.2 rpg. The 6-foot-2 senior is on the watch lists for the Wade Trophy and Naismith Award. Senior guard Lakisha Freeman averages 10.9 points and freshman Brittany Rayburn contributes 8.8 points per game off the bench. Senior center Danielle Campbell is averaging 8.6 ppg and 7.7 rpg after an 18-point performance against Michigan. As of Feb. 27, the Boilermakers are ranked No. 14 nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a season average of 35.1 percent. They are 34th for scoring defense, holding opponents to 55.9 points per game. Purdue's 36.1 percent three-point field goal percentage is 29th among NCAA Division I schools. The Boilermakers' 15.8 assists per game is the nation's 23rd best mark and tops in the conference, while their assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.95 is 30th in the country.
Scouting The Spartans
Michigan State (19-9, 12-5) is currently in third place in the Big Ten and a win today would give them a tie with Purdue for at least second place. Michigan State has two players averaging double-figure points - junior Aisha Jefferson (11.1 ppg) and Allyssa DeHaan (10.5) - and four other players contribute 6.0 points or more per game. The Spartans are led in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and blocks (3.1 bpg) by the 6-foot-9 DeHaan. Michigan State is without the services of starting point guard Brittney Thomas, who tore her ACL. The Spartans have lost two consecutive games, at Wisconsin and at home versus Minnesota. Head coach Suzy Merchant is in her second year at the helm and has the Spartans averaging 64.2 points per game while holding opponents to 33.9 percent from the field and 54.9 points per game. Michigan State outrebounds its opponents by an average of 8.3 boards per game, pulling down 42.1 rebounds. MSU averages 20.4 turnovers an outing.