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Friday September 18, 2020 The Marlin Chronicle marlinchronicle.vwu.edu
Say hello to the new Townebank Arena
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NICHOLAS MUNDY namundy@vwu.edu Sports Editor
Layne Nooner|Marlin Chronicle
New Townebank Arena on the campus of Virginia Wesleyan University BY CODY SCHNEIDER cjschneider@vwu.edu Staff Writer
The Jane P. Batten Center and Convocation Hall opened in 2002, and served as the venue for VWU commencement ceremonies from 2002-2018. The Convocation Hall has also hosted entertainers, tournaments and even presidential and political candidates. The Convocation Hall is now known as Townebank Arena, located in the Jane P. Batten Student Center on the campus of VWU. Townebank is a major supporter and no stranger to Virginia Wesleyan athletics. After Townebank funded a $500,000 upgrade to the university’s softball field in 2019, this past summer they donated $1 million in order to update the VWU basketball/ volleyball court. Men’s basketball head coach David Macedo said, “We are just very fortunate to have TowneBank really step up and be so generous. Our Administration did a great job with building this relationship and the overall design.” Marlins women’s head basketball coach Liz Hudy said her “entire coaching staff and team is excited and thankful to play in the new TowneBank Arena. It is a premier facility for our teams to compete. The additional seating will provide a great experience for fans and spectators as
well.” The new Townebank Arena includes a 360-degree grandstand seating design including “endzone” seating that allows growing attendances to roughly 2,000 spectators. Growing the attendance capacity will allow for VWU to host larger events on campus in the arena. This will also allow for a greater atmosphere for VWU fans, student athletes, faculty and the students. Macedo said, “It’s amazing and truly is special. The guys love it! We have been sending them pictures now for a few months and keeping them updated on the progress. The floor design is clean and neat while the colors look great. Just really can’t wait to dive into practice.” Some other new updates to the arena include a refinished court with a new design with the Townebank logo and the VWU Marlin, new sideline chairs and updated scoreboards. This really pulls the whole arena together to make the arena look top-notch. Macedo added, “I just really believe it gives us an even better home court advantage,” which can be huge for both the men and women basketball programs. The new arena will also enhance the playing experience of the recent ODAC champion Virginia Wesleyan volleyball team. Sophomore
volleyball player Haley Sutton said, “The new gym is amazing! We actually have volleyball lines on the main court which is super nice. Last year, we had to tape the lines down when we wanted to play, so it’s nice to have our own lines on the court. Unfortunately, with COVID, we can’t play, but it would have been super cool to have fans all around us and not just on the sides.” During this world wide pandemic and dealing with COVID-19, Virginia Wesleyan is trying to do their part as well. Following CDC guidelines and maintaining six foot distances, VWU is breaking in the new arena utilizing Townebank Arena as a classroom right now. Hudy said “Due to COVID-19, the TowneBank Arena is being utilized as a classroom during the day. The bleacher seating allows students to spread out. Portable technology is in place for professors.” “We are excited to upgrade our facility not only for our athletic teams and special events, but for the comfort of our devoted Marlin fans,” Dr. Scott D. Miller, university president, wrote in a university news release back in April of 2020. “We are so grateful to TowneBank and thank them for their continued investment in intercollegiate athletics at Virginia Wesleyan.”
Nelson joins VWU athletic staff
There was outrage, disappointment and disgust from what has transpired over the past couple of months in this country with social injustice coming to the forefront once again. With all that being said, this wasn’t a surprise. This has been happening for centuries as African Americans have been treated unfairly in the criminal justice system. On May 25, George Floyd had his neck pressed down on pavement for 8 minutes and 46 seconds by police officer Derek Chauvin. Sparks of anger flooded the country. The protests were no longer peaceful. Riots and looting took over the streets. In the middle of a national pandemic due to COVID-19, the United States was coming apart at the seams. The sports world came to a screeching halt on March 12 due to the virus. No sports for over three months was dreadful. It felt like every day was missing something to look forward to. Fast forward to Aug. 26, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic opted not to play due to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Basketball games around the league in the midst of the playoffs were boycotting. The players were planning to boycott the entire playoffs unless some actual change was coming from the owners. They looked to people who had power to actually do something to help those that don’t. It is what former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been protesting for years. The NBA Players Association met with the owners and agreed upon a “return to play” with the agreement that owners were going to make a stride for social equality. MLB games and NFL practices would go on to be postponed as well. One night later, the Miami Marlins were scheduled to play a game in New York against the Mets. The national anthem played and the players and coaches stood for a 42 second moment of silence before exiting the field after placing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt on home plate. How many times are sports stars going to need to shed a light on an social injustice issue for there to be real change? NBA players have a history of being more outspoken than any other athletes. They are able to use their platform to raise awareness for issues in society. While the players are in the bubble down in Florida, they are allowed to wear certain names or phrases on the back of their jerseys. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and many more have shed light on a very sensitive topic that needs to be addressed. Cries from people around the United States have pleaded for the arrest of the police officers that killed Breonna Taylor while she was sleeping. These issues have caused so much pain for everyone during an already trying time for this country. Comedian Chris Rock hit the nail on the head when he said, “Here’s the thing. I know being a cop is hard... I know it is, okay? But some jobs can’t have bad apples.” Not all cops are bad, but it only takes a few to fit the mold of those who should not have the power that they hold. The frustration lies with how long this conversation has been going on. Colin Kaepernick peacefully protested over four years ago. He tried to raise awareness for the same issues that this country was forced to recognize over the summer. These issues are going to be work in progress regardless of what happens over the next couple of months. Social injustice isn’t a quick fix. It is important to take a step in the right direction.
BY AJ ADAN Sports Information|Courtesy ajadan@vwu.edu Staff Writer
Coach Dennis Nelson took on the role of head coach for both women’s and men’s golf at Virginia Wesleyan in July 2020. Nelson coached the Hampton University men’s and women’s golf teams for four years prior to joining VWU. Under Nelson’s coaching, the Hampton Pirates saw improvements year after year in both the classroom and on the course. In their 2016-17 season, the women’s team won the Delaware State Tournament and the men finished in the top three in the Savannah State and Maryland Eastern Shore fall tournaments. The following season, the Pirates men’s team had three top-three finishes while the women posted four top
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Nelson is known for his experience and knowledge in both playing and coaching making Virginia Wesleyan golfers optimistic for the upcoming seasons. “He knows a lot about the game, he’s a good golfer, an easy guy to follow and he actually plays with us, so we learn and trust him more,” said senior golfer Chandler Scott. “He’s just an awesome dude, he’s definitely gonna put the golf team back in contention in the ODAC for sure,” Scott said. “I just love being around young golf players and being able to pass on what I know, not only with golf with life in general,” Nelson said. “Everything is
so different now and I know we will be well prepared in all aspects of the game. We’re practicing all the small stuff, making it second nature so we will be ready come spring,” Nelson said. The women’s golf team at Virginia Wesleyan has only been in place for six years, since then Nelson has now been able to come in and be a leader for them. “I believe he’s going to be an amazing asset to the program as a whole. As a junior, I wish that I could have had Coach Nelson come in earlier in my career, but I’m grateful and eager to see how the program progresses,” golfer Ashlee Bobzin said. Nelson was pleased with his transition to VWU,
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