Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 4 | March 2018

36 Inside Hokie Sports rguably the best player on the Virginia Tech lacrosse team plans to return to her home outside of Philadelphia after she graduates in May. And yes, her future career entered deeply into her thought process when she made that decision. But Tristan McGinley readily admits that other factors of great importance went into that decision as well. “It’s a place where I can be a loud and bold Eagles fan,” she revealed, laughing. For sure, no one on the planet expressed more outright joy at the Philadelphia Eagles’ 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl than McGinley, an Eagles fan since birth. The Super Bowl win marked the Eagles’ first and the organization’s first championship since 1960, which pre-dates the Super Bowl era. McGinley, who calls Moorestown, New Jersey home, hopes some of that magic transfers to the Tech lacrosse team, which is coming off an outstanding 2017 campaign in which the Hokies tied a program record for wins under first-year head coach John Sung. In addition, they snapped a 27-game ACC losing skid, and not only did they win a bunch, they were also fun to watch, setting school records for goals (253) and points (326). Of course, McGinley played a rather prominent role in the turnaround, scoring 50 goals, setting a Tech record for draw controls (95) and becoming the program’s first Tewaaraton Award watch list nominee—the Heisman Trophy of college lacrosse. In short, she made the transition a rather smooth one for Sung, who came to Blacksburg from Winthrop in 2016. “She is definitely a great fit for what we like to do,” Sung said. “Obviously, she brings a tremendous about of power. She’s one of those kids that you’re so glad you’re able to coach them, but when they graduate and leave, obviously they leave a pretty big hole.” That McGinley has become quite the lacrosse player comes as no surprise. She stands 6-foot-1, a relative giant in front of the net, with long arms and a keen understanding of the game. She also possesses quick feet, with the ability to re-direct with ease, and sufficient speed—a necessity in this game. That speed is part genetic, of course. And also part learned. After all, when you’re the fifth of seven children, you learn quickly to hustle to the dinner table to grab the largest portions. McGinley just turned 22 in early March. The ages of the rest of Bill and Deb McGinley’s children range from 35 to 11, with the 11-year-old, a girl, having been adopted from Russia. The breakdown consists of five girls and two boys, meaning that the girls often shared—rooms, bathrooms, clothes, toys, etc.—and thus solitude became a precious and rare commodity. “Privacy didn’t really exist at all, but I think we were fine with that,” McGinley admitted. “My sisters are my best friends, so anything that was private to me, I probably would have ended up telling them anyways. The same with my parents. We don’t have too many secrets.” Such a comment reveals a rather strong family dynamic, and for sure, Bill and Deb McGinley were first-team all-conference in parenting. They shepherded their children through the turbulent teenage years (except the youngest), and for the most part, the kids excelled academically and athletically. Four of them graduated from college—two from Liberty, one from Rutgers and one from Virginia Tech—and Tristan graduates in May. Their youngest son is working on his degree at Samford. Each of the McGinleys, both parents and children, would credit the family’s successes to their religious faith. They believe in the importance of church, and the family attends nearly every Sunday. They hold each other accountable, living those values and reinforcing Biblical beliefs. Of course, Sunday morning services also allowed them to multi- task, as they caught up on Eagles’ news, too. Eagles head coach Doug Pederson lives in Moorestown as well, and he, wife Jeannie and their three sons attend the same church. One of their sons and Tristan’s younger brother are close friends. Certainly, Pederson is viewed as God in Philadelphia these days after leading the Eagles to their first title in 58 years. But theMcGinleys know the real God, especially Tristan, who credits her faith with helping her navigate some first-year difficulties at Tech. “Definitely throughout college, it’s been my go-to,” she said of her faith. “My freshman year was tough, but that was the one thing—my faith pushed me and got me through. I think that’s why I find so much joy in the people and this school and my team. I love them so much. “My joy is in the Lord and not the circumstances of this world. I’m really involved in FCA [Fellowship of Christian Athletes] and other stuff, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s tough to get out of the athlete ‘bubble’ once you’re in it, but with that [FCA], I’ve met a lot more people.” Her passion for Virginia Tech easily reveals itself in any conversation, but she’ll also be the first to admit that she never wanted to come to Blacksburg. In fact, she wanted no part of Tech, primarily because one of her older sisters attended here, and she wanted to do something different than the rest of her siblings. McGinley expressed an interest in Ohio State and took a visit there. But her mom emailed then-Tech head coach Megan Burker in an attempt to push the recruiting process south. “Tristan, you just need to check it out,” Deb McGinley told her daughter. “No, I want no part of it,” Tristan said, stubbornly. Parent-daughter negotiations ended with Tristan agreeing to a visit. She made her first visit to Blacksburg, attended a night football game against Georgia Tech and got to walk on the field with her sister before the game. There were fireworks and “Enter Sandman” and jumping, and the Hokies won a breath-taking affair in overtime. Days later, Burker called to offer a scholarship. McGinley told her that she would get back to her, and then went downstairs to tell her parents. “Go back upstairs and call her and tell her you’re ready for this,” Bill McGinley said. She ran back upstairs, grabbed the phone and hid in her closet. Then she tentatively made the call, accepting the offer—and the subsequent life change that came with it. “It was a whirlwind,” McGinley said. “It happened so fast, but I didn’t feel the way I felt here at any other school I visited, and I had visited big schools and small schools and city schools because I wanted to know what I liked. I really had no idea. “But I walked on this campus, and I was like, ‘This is the school I need to come to,’ and I’ve never regretted it. I think it every day—I’m at the coolest place in the whole world.” McGinley became one of nine seniors off her Moorestown High lacrosse team to land at a Division I school, including one whom she annually sees in competition—North Carolina’s Marie McCool. The group led Moorestown to three consecutive state championships and never lost a game. But the transition to Virginia Tech wasn’t as easy for McGinley. She had wanted independence. She had wanted to be her own person after years of being influenced by her siblings. Yet she became terribly homesick and missed her large family despite having 30,000-plus friends on campus around her every day. “Academics, I was not getting the hang of,” she said. “The social “ ” I walked on this campus, and I was like, ‘This is the school I need to come to,’ and I’ve never regretted it. I think it every day — I’m at the coolest place in the whole world. Tristan McGinley on coming to Virginia Tech Continued on page 3 8 A