Generals' Club Brochure 2022

“IT’S NOT BY ACCIDENT.”

I overheard that comment during a game several years ago, when two loyal fans in the stands were talking about how Washington and Lee’s athletic teams, year in and year out, are extremely successful. That comment has never left me because they were absolutely right: Sustained excellence is anything but accidental.

The story of W&L athletics is all about sustained excellence. It’s easy to presume that our teams will continue to repeat their accomplishments every year, but it will likely come as no surprise to you that it isn’t easy. Our student athletes strive for excellence in their academic and athletic careers and, with the tremendous efforts of our coaches and staff, they are fully committed to doing what it takes to achieve it. Accomplishing what our student athletes, coaches and staff accomplish each year takes intention, determination, clarity of purpose, a lot of hard work and sweat, and a commitment to seeing it through from start to finish. Very little of it is stress-free and none of it is magical. These are outstanding individuals, all of them, and their commitment to excellence is purposeful. They take great pride in representing themselves, each other, and W&L at the highest level, and they dedicate themselves to making it happen. In short, sustained excellence is not accidental.

Your support of the Generals’ Club is also not accidental, and it is a critical piece of how we maintain our commitment to continued success. Training and competing at the highest level take varying types of assistance, and with your generosity, additional funding will help us continue to maintain our goals of providing the best experience for these exceptional student athletes, coaches and staff.

Join us as we work to sustain the excellence we have all come to expect and enjoy. It won’t happen by accident.

With pride and in gratitude,

Michael F. Walsh Director of Athletics

Josh Fingerhut, the ODAC Rookie of the Meet and All-ODAC First Team, helped the Generals place second at the 2022 ODAC Championship and fifth at the NCAA South Regional. COUNTRYCOUNTRY

W&L finished second at the ODAC Championship and third at the NCAA South Regional in 2022 behind the efforts of five all-region selections, including junior Carolyn Todd who finished 15th and went on to compete at the national meet.

RIDING SOCCERWOMEN’S

Senior Lexie Paxton highlighted W&L’s season with a second-place finish in the Intermediate Over Fences at the IHSA National Championship. As a team, the Generals won their third ODAC title and secured the regional crown.

W&L compiled a 13-3-2 overall record in 2022 and reached the ODAC semifinal game. Four Generals were named First Team All-ODAC, including senior Chloe Rapier who was also the ODAC Women’s Soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year.

FOOTBALL

ver the last decade, the football program has fine-tuned its approach to bulldozing past its opponents. Its surefire implementation of conditioning, fundamentals and trademark rushing attack on offense have put it on the radar as the team to beat.

Although the 2020 season was lost to the Covid-19 pandemic, W&L kept its focus on consistently pushing forward. This workman-like strategy paid off with yet another conference title and NCAA Tournament berth during the 2021 season.

W&L finished with an 8-3 overall record in 2021, extending the program’s current streak of winning seasons to six in a row. The ODAC title was also the sixth for W&L football in the last 12 years, more than any other program in the conference. The Generals ranked among the nation’s Top 10 teams in rushing offense for the 12th consecutive year, while an aggressive defense led the conference in several categories, including yards allowed, points allowed and sacks. The team also exhibited uncommon resilience, overcoming multiple injuries at several key positions to still attain its goals.

Fourth-year Head Coach Garrett LeRose produced the third winning season of his tenure, capturing ODAC Coach of the Year laurels in the process. Also, running back Josh Breece ’21 completed his career with more rushing yards than any player in program history.

VOLLEYBALL

The Generals enjoyed their second straight undefeated season in ODAC play en route to claiming the 2022 conference title. Sophomore Sydney Heifner earned the ODAC Player of the Year award, while head coach Bryan Snyder collected his 11th Coach of the Year honor.

MEN’S

BASKETBALL

W&L produced a 12-11 overall record, but went 10-6 in ODAC play to earn the No. 5 seed in the ODAC Tournament. Robert DiSibio and Jack d’Entremont led the way as All-ODAC selections.

WRESTLING BASEBALL

W&L won its second consecutive Centennial Conference title in 2022, and placed fourth at the NCAA Southeast Regional. Juniors Riley Parker and Ryan Luth advanced to Nationals and both finished on the podium, the first for a W&L wrestler since 1989.

The Generals completed the 2022 season with a 20-16 overall record and earned the No. 4 seed in the ODAC Tournament after going 12-8 in conference play. Freshman Evan Blair and Sophmore Thomas Hailer were recognized for VaSID All-State.

FIELD HOCKEY

he field hockey players overcame tough odds during its run to a program-best 18-1 overall record in the fall of 2021. After finishing a combined 18-18 record across the 2018 and 2019 seasons, seventh-year Head Coach Gina Wills laid the foundation for a program emphasizing performance and player accountability after the Covid-19 pandemic upended the 2020 field hockey season from its traditional fall schedule. W&L finished 8-2 in the spring of 2021 and advanced to the ODAC Championship game.

The momentum from that run carried over to the fall of 2021, with a particular challenge to surmount — the absence of an assistant coach. Players, led by their captains, stepped up to fill the void. The result on the field was a resounding success. W&L completed the regular season with a 15-0 record and easily won both of its conference tournament games to hoist the ODAC Championship trophy for the second time since 2017.

The Blue & White then won its second round NCAA Tournament game to advance to the regional final for the first time in program history. Wills received the ODAC Coach of the Year Award, while Tess Muneses ’23 was named the ODAC Offensive Player of the Year and Sara Amil ’22 was named the ODAC Defensive Player of the Year. Both were also named First Team All-America.

MEN’S INDOOR

TRACK&FIELD

After helping W&L place second at the ODAC indoor meet, senior Joe O’Connor went on to place second in the pole vault at the NCAA Division III Championship at a height of 5.05m (16’6.75”).

WOMEN’S INDOOR

The Generals earned a runner-up finish at the conference indoor meet, before sophomore Katelyn Gamble took sixth in the 60m at the NCAA Championship. It was the best finish for a W&L track and field athlete since 2009.

SWIMMING MEN’SSWIMMINGWOMEN’S

The Generals recaptured their place atop the ODAC by scoring a conference meet-high 957 points. Sophomore Brynn Martinson was named the Rookie and Swimmer of the Meet, and seven swimmers went on to compete at the NCAA Championship.

The Generals returned to competitive swimming and reclaimed the ODAC title after scoring 933.5 points at the conference championship. Matt Snyder was named Rookie of the Meet and Kami Gardner claimed Coach of the Year.

MEN’S

SOCCER

ighth-year Head Coach Mike Singleton’s winning philosophy is to find players who want to learn, who are adaptable, who accept feedback. That approach has made his team into one of the elite programs in Division III. Success has followed in the form of eight consecutive winning seasons, three ODAC Championships and six NCAA Tournament berths since 2014.

Men’s soccer reached new heights in 2021, with the Generals attaining the first No. 1 national ranking in program history. The Blue & White produced a 16-game unbeaten streak during the year, finishing with an 18-2-2 overall record. W&L received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Final Four for the first time in program history.

The Generals have built a multifaceted roster intent on overwhelming its opponents with superior fitness and depth. That authority is clear in the team statistics, which show 13 different players with multiple goals on the season. On the defensive end, W&L allowed an average of just 0.83 goals per game led by First Team All-American Jack Rawlins ‘22, a two-year captain and the first player in program history to be named First Team All-ODAC all four years. For his part, Singleton was named the ODAC Coach of the Year.

LACROSSE LACROSSE WOMEN’S

W&L claimed its 12th consecutive conference championship in 2022, advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the third time in program history and tying their record for wins in a season (19). Eugenie Rovegno was named the ODAC and VaSID Defensive Player of the Year, and an All-American by the IWLCA and USA Lacrosse Magazine.

MEN’S

The Generals won the ODAC regular season title for the fifth straight year and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Senior Nick Spagnoletti ranked among the best goalkeepers in the nation, earning the ODAC and Regional Defensive Player of the Year awards.

WOMEN’S OUTDOOR

TRACK&FIELD

W&L placed third at the ODAC Outdoor Championship, before Gamble went on to become just the fifth athlete in program history to earn All-America laurels at the outdoor championship. Gamble came in seventh in the 100m in a program-record time of 11.85 seconds.

Senior Joe O’Connor highlighted the Generals’ outdoor season as well, as he helped the team to a runner-up finish at the conference meet before going on to take sixth in the pole vault at the national meet.

BASKETBALLWOMEN’S

t was a season of firsts for the women’s basketball program in 2020. The Generals entered the ODAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history and set a new program record for wins in a season, going 20-7 overall. The year also marked the program’s first-ever at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.

The rise to prominence wasn’t easy but has been wholly intentional. Head Coach Christine Clancy, in her 10th season at the helm, forged a plan early on that developed player empowerment, celebrated diversity and required civic engagement. That legacy is supported through Assistant Coach Erin Hughes ’21, whose experience as a former player helps sustain the program’s goals and objectives.

This attention to her students’ holistic growth combined with a strong team ethos paved the way to seven winning seasons in the last 10 years, with five trips to the semifinals of the ODAC Tournament during that same time frame. Over the course of the 2022 season, Clancy achieved the program’s all-time wins leader with 139 victories and was named the ODAC Coach of the Year for the first time in her career after guiding W&L to its first NCAA Tournament berth in 12 years. Megan Horn ’22 was selected as the ODAC Player of the Year, and she completed her final season as an Honorable Mention All-American.

TENNIS TENNIS

Senior Taylor Garcia and sophomore Gabi Moss earned All-America status and led W&L to its 19th straight ODAC title and an NCAA Second Round appearance. Moss was named the ODAC Player of the Year, and Garcia competed at the NCAA Singles Championship for the second straight season.

ODAC Rookie of the Year Will Kistler and Coach of the Year David Detwiler led the Generals to their 12th straight ODAC championship and an appearance in the NCAA Division III Second Round.

GOLF GOLF

The Generals won the ODAC for the fourth consecutive year, twice setting the conference’s 18-hole scoring record over the three-day event. Kelsie Carralero and Laetitia Roegner were named the ODAC and VaSID Coach and Rookie of the Year, respectively.

After finishing second at the ODAC Championship, Men’s Golf tallied an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championship behind the strong play of Second Team All-American Pierce Robinson.

HELP US SUSTAIN EXCELLENCE.

The history of success in W&L Athletics is long and storied, with pride that runs deep and wide — both academically and athletically. The core of that success is us; the people — students, coaches, staff, alums, family and friends.

Join us! Membership begins at $50 and you may designate your donation to a specific sport(s), if you so choose. Twenty-five percent of your gift (up to a cap of $250) will be used to support all sports at W&L. By supporting the Generals’ Club you can help us keep writing this winning story.

Online donation form can be found at go.wlu.edu/givetothegenerals