SVU Women Fall
In its third consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament, the Southern Virginia University women’s basketball team saw its season come to a close after an 82-47 loss to Denison on Friday evening in Granville, Ohio.
Denison (26-2), host of this portion of the bracket and a top 10 team nationally, would advance to the Sweet 16 with a 63-54 win over Trine University on Saturday.
Against SVU (21-8), Denison got the early jump on the Knights to produce a doubledigit lead after the first quarter.
The Knights found their footing in the second quarter as their seniors stepped up. Ruth Kempler notched a couple of buckets and had success getting to the free throw line. Abigail Snyder also seemed to find her groove, and collectively the Knights managed to outrebound their opponents.
Kempler led SVU with 16 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Snyder had 15 points and 10 boards. Aysia Foster grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds to go along with four points and four blocks.
Denison’s Violet Mitchell led all scorers with 21 points, while teammate Brooke Toigo scored 11 points.
The Knights will graduate Snyder, Kempler, Foster, Maria Avvun and Jocelyn Stewart, who contributed to three USA South Athletic Conference championships in the last four years, including this year. Snyder was the USA South player of the year.
SVU’s 21 wins are tied for the fourth-most in program history. The Knights are under the direction of seventh- year SVU head coach Lynette Schroeder.
For more on SVU women’s basketball, visit knightathletics. com.
Track Title Garnered
The W&L women’s indoor track and field team won their second consecutive Old Dominion Athletic Conference title, while the W&L men placed second on Feb. 28 and March 1 at Roanoke College’s Kerr-Cregger field house in Salem.
In the women’s meet, the Generals scored 195.5 points, while Lynchburg placed a distant second of 11 scoring teams with 113 points, and Bridgewater (92) finished third. Rounding out the top five were Roanoke (88) and Shenandoah (45).
Lynchburg (187.5) won the men’s title, while W&L (120.5) placed second of 10 scoring teams, and Bridgewater (90) finished third. Completing the top five were Roanoke (82) and Randolph (50).
Three W&L women have qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships, which will take place this Friday and Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. Seniors Jesma Evans, Bailey Hedgemon and Camille Gillum were all selected, marking the second-most selections for the indoor national meet in program history.
Gillum will compete in the high jump, Evans will race in the 400-meter dash, and Hedgemon will compete in the weight throw.
For the W&L men, freshman Macky Gartley qualified by posting the eighth-fastest time in the nation in the 60meter hurdles, breaking the program and ODAC record by finishing in 8.04 seconds. He’s W&L’s first rookie in program history to qualify for the national championships.
The W&L women are guided by 12th-year head coach Dana Freeman, while 18th-year head coach Brandon Uhl coaches the men.
For more on W&L track and field, visit www.generalssports. com.
Vigil Wins SoCon
Virginia Military Institute senior wrestler Ryan Vigil won the Southern Conference title at 165-pounds on Saturday afternoon at Kimmel Arena in Asheville, N.C.
Vigil, the eighth seed in his weight class, battled secondseeded Anthony Conetta of Appalachian State in the finals and used a key reversal and four near-fall points to win in a 7-2 decision. After going 4-0 in the two-day tournament that started on Friday, Vigil was named the 2026 SoCon Tournament most Outstanding Wrestler. With the individual title, Vigil punched his ticket to the NCAA Championship next Thursday, March 19 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Two VMI wrestlers placed fourth: senior Dyson Dunham (141-pounds) and junior Toby Schoffstall (197).
The Keydets placed seventh of nine scoring teams with 36 points. Appalachian State won with 94.5 points, Chattanooga (93) placed second, and Bellarmine (88.5) finished third. Rounding out the top five were The Citadel (53.5) and Davidson (42.5).
For more on VMI wrestling, visit www.vmikeydets. com.
