2 Inside Hokie Sports A WORD FROM WHIT Dear Hokie Nation, We hope your new year has gotten off to a tremendous start and that you are enjoying the exciting close to the winter sports season. This year is filled with optimism for our 22 varsity programs, and we are excited to have you along with us for our promising future. The spring sports season is finally here! Baseball and softball begin their seasons ranked in the top 25 nationally. Coaches John Szefc and Pete D’Amour are reigning ACC Coaches of the Year, and we are excited to see what their squads can bring to their respective diamonds this year. At Thompson Field, coach Kristen Skiera is equipped for a successful second season at the helm of our lacrosse program. They turned some heads nationally with big wins over JMU and Notre Dame a season ago, and we are confident they can achieve even more in 2023. Over at Rector Field House, coach Dave Cianelli and track & field are ready to turn another successful indoor season into a triumphant outdoor campaign. Finally, at Burrows-Burleson, Terry Ann Zawacki-Holdren and Jim Thompson have their tennis teams primed for another year of competition. Their rosters are filled with student-athletes with the potential to develop into top ACC talent. We are also concluding another successful year of fundraising, backed by the incredible passion of Hokie Nation. While the final numbers are being crunched, we will once again surpass 25,000 donors for the second consecutive year. This is a testament to the commitment of our fans to advancing the future of our department and ensuring the best possible experience for over 600 studentathletes in Blacksburg. On that same token, football and basketball season ticket renewal rates have been extremely promising. Cassell and Lane will continue to be challenging places to play in 2023 and 2024 with the help of the loudest fans in collegiate athletics! We hope to see you at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park, Tech Softball Park, Thompson Field, and Burrows-Burleson as the weather continues to heat up for spring 2023. In the meantime, let’s close out the winter sports seasons on a strong note! Go Hokies! Whit Babcock Director of Athletics
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