And so another year is just about over, other than baseball. Good time to grade W&M's athletic teams...at least one man's opinion:

BASEBALL: This final grade still to come as team prepares for the upcoming CAA Playoffs. Team's pitching has markedly improved as year has developed, going from horrendous to decent as starters have jave gotten much better. The hitting has been ok and we have a couple of young hiutters, but recently the guys look tired. There is almost no quality pitching if starters out early unless we get to the ninth inning. Doubtful we can knock off UNCW in tourney...
Right now I grade the season as "C-" at best. Supossedly we have outstanding freshmen coming in...lets hope several are pitchers.

FOOTBALL: B+...Very good team to watch...this might have been a
great season if the team could have defeated Richmond. Prospects are excellent for 2016. Team should score lots of points and ultimate level of success next fall depends on replacing several defensive stalwarts.

X-COUNTRY (both men & women): A-...again the best by far in the CAA
but now up to past seasons where teams finished in top fifteen nationally.
Not as much depth.

SOCCER-MEN: C...no consistency despite several solid wins as team had trouble scoring. No dominant players this year although a couple of the freshmen had good seasons look like future big-time players. Word is we have another great group of freshmen coming in.

SOCCER-WOMEN: C...not up to the great W&M women's tradition.
Problems all year scoring and lost ground in CAA. Need an influx of outstnding frosh to get team back towards past national stature.

FIELD HOCKEY: D...poor season, but we had a new coach and she has recruited an outstanding group of frosh coming in next fall, including three All-American high school players.

BASKETBALL-MEN: B+...very exciting team to watch with some very talented players that competed well at all levels. Third consecutive
20 win season a real achievement. Some inconsistency in a few games cost this team the NCAA bid. Team has solid chance to again win 20 next year despite losses of Tarpey and Sheldon with outstanding nucleus pf players back and addition of two outstanding frosh.

BAKETBALL-WOMENS: B+...team continued major upward growth in quality...key injury cost team 4-5 games. Very entertaining to watch and some very good talent on the team. Before injury this team beat ODU and JMU and would have had a solid winning season instead of a .500 one had fate not stepped in.

Men's Gymnastics: B... Another good year in this sport although no eastern championship. One NCC national competitor but no national top-level gymnasts as in past seasons.

Women's Gymnastics: C..Decent success but no championship nor any top performers.

Men & Women's Swimming: A+...Both teams, with little scholarship assistance and no divers won CAA championships, a remarkable achievement. We have an outstanding coach who recruits top talent despite lack of money and scholarships. Many of the swimmers return next season and he has some very goood frosh coming in.

Volleyball: F...Despite nine (yes, NINE) scholarships, many expensive ones to athletes outside the state, this team continued to perform poorly and beat nobody of any note and were last in CAA again. New coach hired after season to get this program going.

Men's Track:C+...This usually top-notch program slipped, with little depth
and lack of usual outstanding middle and long distance runners. Strong in some field events, but no CAA Championships and no runnng stars. Needs a strong recruiting class to get back to our history of excellence
and national championship runners.

WOMEN's TRACK: B-...Injuries hurt the team and, despite one great 5000/10000 meter runner and several other decent runners this year's team had little depth and gaps in several events and failed to win CAA crown. LIke the men, we need strong recruiting class.

LACROSSE: F..Team was among worst in CAA and had no depth and few strong players. Will take a couple of strong freshman classes to get the team competitive again.

I have to disagree on Women's Soccer. That's a team that finished 14-5-3 and 1st in the CAA, CAA tournament runner up, made the NCAA College Cup and got a win there over Tulsa.

You forgot golf. Or was that on purpose?

Sorry...my computer somehow didn't paste my golf & tennis scorecard...here they are:

MEN'S GOLF: D...we haven't produced a strong male golfer in memory, with no recent individual playing
in the NCAA tourney and as a team we are continuously under performing with no CAA championships or, really,little threat for one. You would think that with all the great courses in Williamsburg and the chance to play ten or eleven months in most years we'd attract top prospects, but we don't. There are some golf scholarships, at least a couple, thanks to the late Mark McCormick, but nothing ever happens.

LADIES GOLF: B..A big breakthrough with the Tribe finally producing a top lady golfer who qualified for the NCAA Tourney and won four tourneys this year. Perhaps this will spur recruiting interest and McCormick;s scholarships will get some good players..enough for a CAA title.

LADIES TENNIS: A-....Solid team able to compete on a national level the past two years with some quality players who have won two consecutive CAA crowns. If team had just one more top player this year who could have helped win a doubles point and a singles in this group might have gone far in the NCAA Tourney.
We lose a couple but it appears we have another strong freshman class coming in to keep us nationall;y ranked.

MEN'S TENNIS: D+...We were not of national caliber this season, did not win CAA as we did last year, and were no threat to top ten teams as performance slipped. Need a strong recruiting effort to get this program back where W&M belongs in tennis-a national level squad. Men's Tennis is the only sport where W&M won NCAA titles--the great Bartzen-Covaleskie-Larned undefeated (86 in a row) national champs of 1947-48.

I disagree with your baseball grade.

Clearly, the team has been better in the very, very recent history, and that may have influenced your grade.

But looking at the program in historic terms ... California road trip ... very competitive games with UNCW and CofC ... second place CAA finish (meaning qualified for CAA tourney and got first round bye) ... 25% chance of winning CAA tourney and of getting an NCAA bid (IMO) ...

I'd take those results on an annual basis.

I'd give baseball a solid B.

Tough for me to give baseball a "B" with a losing record, but I'll wait to pass final judgment until after the tournament. Getting to the NCAA regionals would move me into the "A-" category. Getting swept in the tournament drops it to a "C".

I am really excited at how the season turned out for sure. I think this year sets the table for next year. Theoretically the three starting pitchers are back. Gauoette and Gould are the only impact players graduating.

Women's XC finished just outside of qualifying for nationals (4th in region which is pretty good in a tough region) but Men's team was 11th in their region (not good at all). No way you can grade the Men's team higher than that many other W&M sports.

I only care about two teams and you rated both at B+. One could quibble about the rating for both, I might have gone with B which I consider as "Good".

The football team showed real weakness on defense late in the year, and not just against Richmond. The Duquesne game was nearly a disaster and we made JMU's backup QB look like a Payton award winner.

For men's hoops, I think the program shouldn't be graded on a curve any longer, so B+ would be reserved for tying for first place and A for winning the tourney.

I have raised my expectations.

If only I had gotten those kind of grades while at W&M...

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(05-23-2016 06:55 AM)nj alum Wrote:  I disagree with your baseball grade.

Clearly, the team has been better in the very, very recent history, and that may have influenced your grade.

But looking at the program in historic terms ... California road trip ... very competitive games with UNCW and CofC ... second place CAA finish (meaning qualified for CAA tourney and got first round bye) ... 25% chance of winning CAA tourney and of getting an NCAA bid (IMO) ...

I'd take those results on an annual basis.

I'd give baseball a solid B.

Agree, I was surprised by this team as well - unless I missed that we had major expectations. Were we picked to finish as high as 2nd?

We won every CAA series except Charleston and UNCW.

As has seemed to be the norm the last few years, we just can't win middle of the week - unless the opponent is Richmond or Virginia Tech.

I would give them a B-.

Who would have thought W&M competed in all of those sports in 1015.

I keed, I keed.

Any team that beats Richmond, even if they lose every other game on the schedule, gets an automatic B to start. That's just how it is. F Richmond.

(05-22-2016 07:05 PM)BigTribe2 Wrote:  And so another year is just about over, other than baseball. Good time to grade W&M's athletic teams...at least one man's opinion:



SOCCER-MEN: C...no consistency despite several solid wins as team had trouble scoring. No dominant players this year although a couple of the freshmen had good seasons look like future big-time players. Word is we have another great group of freshmen coming in.

Soccer, taking to heart BT2's assessment, announced two transfers for next season.

William & Mary head soccer coach Chris Norris announced that a pair of transfers will be joining the soccer program on Tuesday afternoon. Goalkeeper Phil Breno, who will be a redshirt junior, and back Hristo Bustamante, who will be a redshirt freshman, will join the Tribe for the 2016 season.

"We are excited to be able to add Phil and Hristo to our program," Norris said. "Both young men have exhibited the ability to succeed here, athletically and academically. In addition, both provide further good options in positions we wanted to strengthen following the fall 2015."




Breno is transferring from UMBC. Bustamonte was at George Mason.

(05-24-2016 03:48 PM)billymac Wrote:  

(05-22-2016 07:05 PM)BigTribe2 Wrote:  And so another year is just about over, other than baseball. Good time to grade W&M's athletic teams...at least one man's opinion:



SOCCER-MEN: C...no consistency despite several solid wins as team had trouble scoring. No dominant players this year although a couple of the freshmen had good seasons look like future big-time players. Word is we have another great group of freshmen coming in.

Soccer, taking to heart BT2's assessment, announced two transfers for next season.

William & Mary head soccer coach Chris Norris announced that a pair of transfers will be joining the soccer program on Tuesday afternoon. Goalkeeper Phil Breno, who will be a redshirt junior, and back Hristo Bustamante, who will be a redshirt freshman, will join the Tribe for the 2016 season.

"We are excited to be able to add Phil and Hristo to our program," Norris said. "Both young men have exhibited the ability to succeed here, athletically and academically. In addition, both provide further good options in positions we wanted to strengthen following the fall 2015."




Breno is transferring from UMBC. Bustamonte was at George Mason.

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Does GMU not play soccer? And, if he did not play for GMU why would he have to "Redshirt"?

I don't think Bustamonte will be red-shirting. He was known more for his Summer League/Travel Team exploits. He should be eligible for next season.

(05-25-2016 07:18 AM)billymac Wrote:  I don't think Bustamonte will be red-shirting. He was known more for his Summer League/Travel Team exploits. He should be eligible for next season.

Any relation to our FR stud Bustamonte already on the team?
http://www.tribeathletics.com/roster.asp...&path=msoc

(05-24-2016 09:33 PM)62Indian Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 03:48 PM)billymac Wrote:  

(05-22-2016 07:05 PM)BigTribe2 Wrote:  And so another year is just about over, other than baseball. Good time to grade W&M's athletic teams...at least one man's opinion:



SOCCER-MEN: C...no consistency despite several solid wins as team had trouble scoring. No dominant players this year although a couple of the freshmen had good seasons look like future big-time players. Word is we have another great group of freshmen coming in.

Soccer, taking to heart BT2's assessment, announced two transfers for next season.

William & Mary head soccer coach Chris Norris announced that a pair of transfers will be joining the soccer program on Tuesday afternoon. Goalkeeper Phil Breno, who will be a redshirt junior, and back Hristo Bustamante, who will be a redshirt freshman, will join the Tribe for the 2016 season.

"We are excited to be able to add Phil and Hristo to our program," Norris said. "Both young men have exhibited the ability to succeed here, athletically and academically. In addition, both provide further good options in positions we wanted to strengthen following the fall 2015."




Breno is transferring from UMBC. Bustamonte was at George Mason.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Does GMU not play soccer? And, if he did not play for GMU why would he have to "Redshirt"?

The "redshirt" in front of their year indicates they already redshirted. If I'm not mistaken, the sit out when transferring rule only applies to football, basketball, baseball, and men's ice hockey; so these guys can play right away.

(05-25-2016 11:50 AM)hktribefan Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 09:33 PM)62Indian Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 03:48 PM)billymac Wrote:  

(05-22-2016 07:05 PM)BigTribe2 Wrote:  And so another year is just about over, other than baseball. Good time to grade W&M's athletic teams...at least one man's opinion:



SOCCER-MEN: C...no consistency despite several solid wins as team had trouble scoring. No dominant players this year although a couple of the freshmen had good seasons look like future big-time players. Word is we have another great group of freshmen coming in.

Soccer, taking to heart BT2's assessment, announced two transfers for next season.

William & Mary head soccer coach Chris Norris announced that a pair of transfers will be joining the soccer program on Tuesday afternoon. Goalkeeper Phil Breno, who will be a redshirt junior, and back Hristo Bustamante, who will be a redshirt freshman, will join the Tribe for the 2016 season.

"We are excited to be able to add Phil and Hristo to our program," Norris said. "Both young men have exhibited the ability to succeed here, athletically and academically. In addition, both provide further good options in positions we wanted to strengthen following the fall 2015."




Breno is transferring from UMBC. Bustamonte was at George Mason.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Does GMU not play soccer? And, if he did not play for GMU why would he have to "Redshirt"?

The "redshirt" in front of their year indicates they already redshirted. If I'm not mistaken, the sit out when transferring rule only applies to football, basketball, baseball, and men's ice hockey; so these guys can play right away.

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FREE the Indian Ice Hockey Team!! Bring back Ice Hockey!!

(05-25-2016 02:16 PM)62Indian Wrote:  

(05-25-2016 11:50 AM)hktribefan Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 09:33 PM)62Indian Wrote:  

(05-24-2016 03:48 PM)billymac Wrote:  

(05-22-2016 07:05 PM)BigTribe2 Wrote:  And so another year is just about over, other than baseball. Good time to grade W&M's athletic teams...at least one man's opinion:



SOCCER-MEN: C...no consistency despite several solid wins as team had trouble scoring. No dominant players this year although a couple of the freshmen had good seasons look like future big-time players. Word is we have another great group of freshmen coming in.

Soccer, taking to heart BT2's assessment, announced two transfers for next season.

William & Mary head soccer coach Chris Norris announced that a pair of transfers will be joining the soccer program on Tuesday afternoon. Goalkeeper Phil Breno, who will be a redshirt junior, and back Hristo Bustamante, who will be a redshirt freshman, will join the Tribe for the 2016 season.

"We are excited to be able to add Phil and Hristo to our program," Norris said. "Both young men have exhibited the ability to succeed here, athletically and academically. In addition, both provide further good options in positions we wanted to strengthen following the fall 2015."




Breno is transferring from UMBC. Bustamonte was at George Mason.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Does GMU not play soccer? And, if he did not play for GMU why would he have to "Redshirt"?

The "redshirt" in front of their year indicates they already redshirted. If I'm not mistaken, the sit out when transferring rule only applies to football, basketball, baseball, and men's ice hockey; so these guys can play right away.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
FREE the Indian Ice Hockey Team!! Bring back Ice Hockey!!

Right on

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No to hockey & LAX. Stop dreaming.