Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 14 No. 3 | December 2021

inside.hokiesports.com 27 VOLLEYBALL – TAILGATING RETURNS TO TECH! Michelle Ames Hall (’92) Tailgating! It returned this past fall and how fun it has been! I have been lucky enough to host two tailgates as a Board Member of the Monogram Club. I hosted the tailgate for the Notre Dame game, as well as the homecoming game against Pitt. Both were great experiences and I look forward to more in the future! I joined the Monogram Club ~four years ago as Director for Women’s Volleyball. I have lived in nearby Radford for many years, but with working full time as an elementary school teacher and raising three active children, I had been somewhat preoccupied with those important responsibilities and not Virginia Tech Athletics and tailgating. When I had the chance to join the Board of Directors, I jumped at the opportunity. Like most athletes that I know from VT, I loved all aspects of my volleyball career and returning to VT Athletics on the Monogram Club Board was a welcomed return and a way to give back to the school I love! Much discussion in Board meetings has been how to reconnect with former athletes and friends from our special times at VT. After some requests and continued patience, we were able to secure a tailgate spot in Lot 1; what a difference this opportunity has made for our board members, the Club, and growing alumni connections! The spot was secured right before significant Covid issues hit us in 2020, so this past fall was really the first time our spot was in great use! I was able to host the ND game and was set up with food, drink, tent, tables, and Club signs by 3:00 p.m.—hours before the game! I had several former athletes stop and I loved meeting them all. Also, as we began our clean- up, a few red-shirted football players stopped by, had some food and chatted about their excitement of playing for VT! My second tailgating experience was hosting the Pitt game at Homecoming! This tailgating event was even more popular with 80- plus alumni athletes stopping by to say hi, enjoy food and drinks, grab their Monogram Club Homecoming gift (a nice maroon Monogram Club beanie hat) and prepare to head to Lane to line the tunnel entrance as a privileged member of the Club. I met a large group of alumni from many decades, ranging from the 60’s all the way up to the last few years. These tailgates have encouraged me to continue to stay fully connected with the Club, and I look forward to more alumni events as we grow each year. Let the Club know if you wish to have your team or reunion-group spearhead a Tailgate in Fall ’22! Connect with Volleyball alumni athletes via Michelle Hall ’92 (mhall@rcps.org). SPIRIT Did you ever wonder what happens to our Cheerleaders and HighTechs after they leave VT? Over the next few issues, we will be highlighting some of the Spirit Squad members who have gone Pro in their post-college experiences (Spirit representative: Mary-Catherine Steigerwald ’10 ; mhutc06@vt.edu). Dana Felder Hargrove ’09 (BS-Industrial & Systems Engineering), a ’05-09 cheerleader said, “I was blessed enough to make the cheerleading team at Tech my freshman year and cheered every year until I graduated. Cheerleading at Tech was my absolute favorite memory from college! I knew in high school that I wanted to go to a college with a large athletic program, but I never dreamed the experience would be as good as it is in Blacksburg, Va. Gameday specifically is something I’ll never forget; and not even the traditionally exciting parts of gameday. It was the sounds of the marching band making their way across campus in the morning, the smell of the turkey legs being roasted, the crisp mountain air and bright sun in the morning as we arrived at Cassell, the extremely friendly Hokie fans already setting up tailgates in every lot surrounding the stadium. Nothing compares! And that doesn’t even touch on being on the field, in the center of 66,233 fans screaming, ‘LET’S GO!!!!’, ‘HOKIES!!!’” Dana moved to Northern Virginia after VT and worked for a government defense contractor, but she quickly realized her time in cheerleading wasn’t over. Dana said: “I did a little bit of coaching, but that didn’t quite fit the bill, so I tried out for the Baltimore Ravens cheerleading team. At the time, the Ravens were the only team in the NFL with a coed squad (meaning men were on the team) and they did collegiate/professional-level stunting and tumbling. I loved it because it became an extension of my cheer career at Tech. I cheered for the Ravens for 6 years and had the honor of representing them in the Pro Bowl in 2017.” Dana now lives in Maryland with her husband and sweet baby boy and cannot wait to take her son to Blacksburg and show him where he’ll be going to college one day! BASEBALL Former Virginia Tech right-handed pitcher Jeff Landing- ’09 (jefflanding@gmail.com) played in ’02-04 before being drafted by the New York Mets. Baseball Director Chip Runyon- ’02 (chip.runyon@ beaconharborwealth.com) recently caught up with Jeff and here are some interview outtakes. You had a successful prep career in North Carolina and were recruited by several schools. What ultimately made you want to leave your home state and play for Virginia Tech? Yes, I had D1 schools that were recruiting me in-state, until Coach Jon Hartness came down to see me pitch out of Southwest Guilford HS. It was late in my senior year, but he said he would love to get me back on campus in Blacksburg and meet some of the guys. It was very clear to me early on during the visit that VT is where I wanted to be! No other school could compare in my mind to the opportunity to play here. The campus is amazing with the Hokie Stone, VT football was huge with Michael Vick and Coach Beamer, and who doesn’t want to play for, or talk baseball with Coach Hartman, and at that time, be a part of the Big East Conference. You had 14 appearances and six starts as a freshman…did that surprise you? What was the biggest transition for you coming into a college program? Yes, I was able to get a lot of experience my freshman year, much of this was through midweek starts versus non-conference opponents and then a little bit in relief on the weekends. The coaching staff was very honest with me through the recruiting process that I would have the opportunity to pitch early on. As far as the transition to VT out of high school, I was focused on learning how to pitch and not just throw. There is a difference and understanding situational pitching, advanced scouting, mechanical adjustments, different workout regimes, etc. was important. I had tremendous faith in the upperclassmen on the pitching staff. There were so many guys that I could learn from including Joe Saunders (’03) , Chip Runyon (’02) , Matt Dalton (’03) , Jason Bush (’02) , and others that helped me during this period. We ended up that season finishing tied with Notre Dame as Big East regular-season champions! You are now a Neuroscience Sales Specialist after being drafted by the New York Mets in the 12th round and playing professional baseball. How did you end up in the pharmaceutical industry? I attended the Pamplin School of Business and received my degree in Business Management. After playing four years of minor league baseball, I returned to VT in 2008 to complete my last year of school. After graduation, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but decided to join the Management Training program with Enterprise Car Rental. The program gave me a solid foundation of customer service and sales, so I used that experience to get into Pharmaceutical Sales. I work now for a top bio-tech company, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, and we are helping patients who deal with debilitating migraine headaches. Next year, will be year 10 for me in pharma. I find this style of job and being Continued on page 28