W&L’s Schleusner Receives Accolades
For the second consecutive season, Washington and Lee junior women's basketball player Mary Schleusner was named the D3hoops.com Region 6 Player of the Year, a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American and a D3hoops.com First Team All-American.
Also making her second straight appearance on the D3hoops.com All-Region 6 First Team, Schleusner turned in yet another eye-popping season for the Generals, as she averaged 21.6 points and 19.0 rebounds per game on her way to a second straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference Player of the Year award and third consecutive ODAC Defensive Player of the Year award. With just three total games remaining in the Division III season as of last Saturday, Schleusner was the national leader in rebounding average and double-doubles (28), plus the 14th-best scoring average. The 6-foot-1-inch Schleusner plays at the center, forward and guard positions.
Among other awards, Schleusner earned eight total ODAC Player of the Week awards throughout the season, five offensive and three defensive, in addition to four D3hoops.com Team of the Week honors and three Division III National Player of the Week accolades from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Not only did Schleusner have another impressive statistical season, she also became the program's all-time leader in points scored (1,826), total rebounds (1,464), blocked shots (282) and field goals made (733). Schleusner also set the program single-season record for total rebounds (569) for a third consecutive season, on her way to breaking the ODAC record for career rebounds. Schleusner will enter her senior season ranking eighth in Division III history for total rebounds.
With Schleusner's help, the Generals went 25-5 overall this season, the second-most wins in a season in program history, en route to the program's third-straight ODAC title game appearance and fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III tournament. In the tournament, the Generals overcame U.S. Merchant Marine Academy 63-53 in the first round before falling to No. 7 Baldwin Wallace University 75-71 in the second round.
W&L Men’s Swimmers 19th At Nationals
The W&L men’s swimming team placed 19th the NCAA Division III swimming and diving national championships last Wednesday through Saturday in Greensboro, N.C.
Junior Dalton Jobe had the top performance on day one for the Generals, placing 18th in the 200-yard individual medley in a program-record time of 1:48.94.
On day two, Jobe placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:37.17 to earn First Team All-America honors. Senior teammate Luke Nagel finished 14th in the event in 1:38.64 to earn Second Team All-America honors. In the 100-yard butterfly, W&L senior Matt Fritz earned First Team All-America honors by placing fifth in 47.25 seconds, after clocking a new program record of 47.21 seconds in the preliminaries.
On Friday, the W&L men’s 800-yard freestyle relay team earned First Team All-America honors by placing fourth in 6:32.91. Team members were Jobe, Nagel, sophomore Leighton Chapman and junior Charles Byars.
The same four Generals wrapped up the meet with a Second Team All-America performance on Saturday, as the 400-yard freestyle relay team placed 10th in 2:48.4.
The W&L men scored 75 points as a team, and their 19th-place finish was their highest at the national meet since 2018, when they placed 13th at the national meet.
For the W&L women, senior Bella Tarbet swam individually, and several relay teams competed at the meet, but none earned All-America honors.
Guided by 17th-year head coach Kami Gardner, the W&L men’s and women’s swimming teams won ODAC titles this season.
For more on W&L swimming, visit www.generalssports.com.
RC Grad Pfaff Helps Duke Break Record
Duke University sophomore Ali Pfaff, a 2023 Rockbridge County High School graduate, and her teammates broke the program record in the 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division I swimming and diving championships on Saturday in Federal Way, Wash.
Pfaff joined forces with KyAnh Truong, Tatum Wall and Claire Logan to finish in 1:28.26. The relay team did not earn All-America honors.
During her high school career, Pfaff won four individual state titles. Last summer, Pfaff competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke races, placing 17th in the 100 to finish one place shy of advancing to the semifinals.
For more on Pfaff’s career with Duke, visit https://goduke.com/sports/swimming-and-diving.
