The Weekly Ringer

The University of Mary Washington’s Independent Student Newspaper Serving the community since 1922

The

Weekly

Ringer

VOLUME 98 | ISSUE 13

January 24, 2024

Facing the cold air of winter feels like facing the new semester During the first two weeks of the spring semester, students trekked through frigid temperatures and crunchy snow in an effort to commit to their studies. Many fashion-forward students have opted for sleek, yet snug attire. Despite the chilling weather, warm smiles grace the faces of Mary Washington students.

Abbey Magnet / The Weekly Ringer

|2 INSIDE News Single-use

THE

RINGER

cutlery introduced in dining hall

Opinion | 3

It’s OK to recycle insults, but some sports fans take trashtalk too far

Life | 4

Personal Essay: Ella Cordle’s Official Guide to Un-Slumping

Sports | 8

Assistant Coach Tommy Murphy leaves his mark at Mary Wash

News

Friday, January 24, 2024

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Weekly Ringer Single-use cutlery introduced in dining hall The

Editorial Staff

Editor-in-Chief Callie Harkins weeklyringer.eic@gmail.com

MARTINA PUGH Senior Writer

Upon arrival into the dining hall at the beginning of the 2025 spring semester, students were greeted with a change in cutlery from reusable to single-use paper and plastic utensils. No official statement was made to the UMW’s student body before the start of the semester regarding the reason for this change.

Associate Editor According to UMW Dining General Manager Kyle Kouri, the Ky Huynh switch to single-use cutlery was a result of the dish machine beweeklyringer.associate@gmail.com coming temporarily unusable as they awaited a necessary part replacement.

News Editor Though students have been understanding about the temporary Emma Kingkeo change, other aspects of using single-use materials alter the dining weeklyringer.news@gmail.com experience.

“Knowing that the dining hall is not using reusable materials Opinion Editor for our meals especially while eating softer, warmer, or more liquid Claire Marshall Watkins foods that we could be breaking down the paper materials,” said Riweeklyringer.opinion@gmail.com ley Munford, a sophomore communication and digital studies and studio art double major.

Some students say the paper plates make the dining experience Life Editor less enjoyable as the plates absorb the liquid contents of food served Grace Wagner in the dining hall. weeklyringer.life@gmail.com “With the materials they switched to, the flavors and contents of the food will often soak into the utensils, so I cannot just use a Sports Editor napkin to wipe off my plate,” Munford said.

Thomas Jackson Students have also raised concerns about the environmental imweeklyringer.sports@gmail.com pact of the change.

“The amount of food waste produced by the dining hall is no Online Editor secret but adding disposable paper and plastic plates and utensils Abbey Magnet only makes matters worse,” said Shadwick Yoder, a senior political weeklyringer.online@gmail.com science and environmental sustainability double major.

As students continue to eat in the dining hall, the created waste Photography Editor has not gone unnoticed. Some students feel responsible for the amount of waste being produced and frustrated with the lack of Abbey Magnet weeklyringer.photos@gmail.com alternatives being provided.

“I feel extra guilty for using more of these disposable materials for my meals and having to throw them away on my way out inFaculty Advisor stead of the dishes that I know will get washed and reused,” said Sushma Subramanian Munford. ssubrama@umw.edu Yoder shares similar feelings regarding a sense of guilt for the increased use of single-use cutlery.

“It is passing the guilt of the environmental impact onto students who have no control over the situation,” Yoder said.

The lack of communication has also contributed to student concerns about the institution’s lack of transparency regarding maintenance and construction.

Corrections “It just creates more discontent and frustration, and only adds to the feeling that UMW is never fully prepared for its students,” said Please report any corrections to Callie

Harkins at weeklyringer.eic@gmail.com or Sushma Subramanian at ssubrama@umw.edu

Single-use takeout boxes were cut in half for makeshift bowls, and paper plates were passed out with plastic utensils.

Grace Wagner / The Weekly Ringer

Caty Taylor, a sophomore historic preservation and anthropology double major.

Because this change was not formally announced to the student body, several students feel apprehensive about the change.

Taylor continued, “I know though that it is out of their control, and things happen where it is inevitable that quick solutions are necessary, but it feels like a reminder that UMW’s infrastructure is in sore need of repair.”

This comes after Monroe Hall was closed last semester due to roofing renovations. The frustrations of unforeseen changes on campus have made some students feel like an afterthought as the timeline of when changes occur is often not shared with the student body.

“If the school was more upfront about when things go wrong, then it would be less of a problem, but finding it out secondhand or not at all is worse,” Taylor said.

Advertisement Please direct all advertising inquiries to Callie Harkins at weeklyringer.eic@gmail.com.

Bell tower logo designed by Bernadette D’Auria ‘22 Students were welcomed back to campus with familiar food served on disposable plates, causing some students to feel blindsided by the lack of transparency and communication, in addition to the increased amount of waste being created. @umwdining / Instagram

Friday, January 24, 2024

Opinion

It’s OK to recycle insults and banter in jest, but some sports fans take trash-talk too far off the feild

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using racial slurs and just outright prejudiced behavior.

While I’m a big advocate for a little bit of friendly trash talk, some fans may take this to the next level and ruin the experience for others.

Things went too far this past football season when a belligerent Baltimore Ravens fan who was euphoric about the team’s 23-30 win over the Washington Commanders filmed himself walking around and physically assaulting Commanders fans unprovoked. Actions like these are aggressive and totally unwarranted. To knock someone out on concrete because you’re excited your team won is insane, to put it simply.

“A good rule of thumb when trying to respectfully trash talk is to avoid saying something you wouldn’t say at or around your mother or whoever it is that raised you.”

- Antonio Lewis Jonathan Allen, #93 on the Washington Commanders, huddles with his teammates during their playoff game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Jan. 18. @commanders / Instagram

ANTONIO LEWIS Staff Writer As sports fans all around the world support their favorite teams by buying and wearing team apparel and emotionally investing in their games to prove loyalty, some fans’ gameday conduct presents the question of what is too far in regards to fan behavior. Social media enhances the fact that certain teams’ fans have a bad reputation and are known to be more rowdy than other fanbases. So, I think that the label is justified because some sports fans do overreact.

When talking about fan-to-fan interaction, physical assault isn’t the only way that some overreact. There are numerous examples online of fans from opposing teams verbally assaulting each other, calling each other out,

Team pride is passed down through generations in many families, and serves as a sense of community in many cities. Especially if you’ve been supporting for a long time, it makes sense to get so deeply invested. With that being said, picking up several assault charges is not the best way to represent your team or their fanbase.

A great example of friendly trash talk in sports is UFC and boxing press conferences during their 2017 four-city global press tour where Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. an undefeated boxer and “the notorious” Connor McGregor a popular MMA fighter were set to fight and while talking with each other threw out many “verbal jabs” and had intense debuts during their multiple press conferences.

Not only did the heated trash talk help sell additional tickets by keeping longtime fans interested, but it also brought more attention to the fight by creating headlines with many viral quotes and funny clips. Trash talk can be used as an effective medium for growth and rating-boosting, but there are a few rules you must follow to keep it

Dyami Brown, #2 on the Washington Commanders, catches a ball while Kerby Joseph, #31 on the Detroit Lions, attempts to block his view.

@commanders / Instagram

friendly and not give off negative congestion or bully the other side.

A good rule of thumb when trying to respectfully trash talk is to avoid saying something you wouldn’t say at or around your mother or whoever it is that raised you. I suggest keeping the trash talk specifically to sports and don’t make the trash talk personal. Also, being aware of when to end the trash-talking and being able to appropriately judge the situation are important factors in deciding if you should engage in trash-talk or avoid it altogether. If you’re the type of person who gets offended easily, then it would be smart to refrain from trash-talking, and if approached by someone else who is trash-talking, communicating that trash-talking is something you don’t partake in will quickly resolve the issue.

“Trash-talking in sports can be very controversial and if not done properly can cause issues. If done right. it can boost views and fan engagement.”

- Antonio Lewis Trash-talking in sports can be very controversial and if not done properly can cause issues. If done right, it can boost views and fan engagement and create entertaining content for everyone to enjoy. Smack-talk will always be a part of sports, as being competitive is a part of our human nature. We all want to succeed and be the best at what we do. If trash-talking can give you a confidence boost or a competitive edge when competing or supporting your favorite team, then it’s clear why it is so prevalent in sports.

Just remember like most things in life, there can be a few bad actors that help amplify stereotypes and give their team a bad name, but the average person isn’t likely to act rashly and is capable of casual trash talk.

Fans fill the Washington Commanders stadium before the team was re-named in 2022.

Anders Krøgh Jørgensen / Unsplash

Friday, January 24, 2025

Life

Page 4

Personal Essay: BookTok changed the way I read

Creating your own reading journal is a creative and majorly efficient If you are the type of person to read many books at a time, it is Breaking your book schedule down by months is a great way to stay way to organize your different reads.

Sophia Tompkins / Weekly Ringer essential to track your progress.

Sophia Tompkins / Weekly Ringer on top of your reading habits.

Sophia Tompkins / Weekly Ringer

SOPHIA TOMPKINS Staff Writer Last year, I set a reading goal of 12 books and reached it in March. Why? I was drawn to BookTok, a community on TikTok that focuses on books and literature, and content creators review and recommend them. When I was bored, I would put “book recommendations” in the search bar and scroll for 30 minutes to an hour, adding books to my To-Be-Read pile.

This pile sat untouched for a very long time, mostly due to the overwhelming nature of it. However, finding a recommendation for a book I already had reminded me of why I originally picked it up. It relit that desire to read it that maybe disappeared while it was just sitting on my shelf. I wanted to read the book again, and after I read one book I wanted to read another.

Scrolling became irrelevant; the book sitting underneath my bed was all I could think about. Every night, I read a couple of chapters before falling asleep, turning on my phone flashlight when my roommate turned the lights out. I started speeding through books that I once thought were enormously long like “The Inheritance Games” and “Assistant to the Villian” like nobody’s business.

When I was done reading I would search for BookTokers who had also read those books. I found some of my favorite creators this way. Pretty soon BookTok was consistently on my For You Page. It was a welcome addition and something I looked forward to every day.

Ashley, @wickedreads, who is trying to read their To-Be-Read pile faster than new books come in the mail, gave me a constant stream of books that were coming out soon that I could look forward to. Lexi, @newlynova, who gave us rapid-fire and almost completely nonsensical book reviews every month, had reviews that felt real and made a lot of sense to me.

Rachel Skye, @rachelskyereads, who gave us “Read these books if you liked,” gave me book recommendations that fit better with what I was already reading. Jaysen, @ ezeekat, who had the biggest collection of books and wasn’t reading half of them, reminded me of myself and made me feel less bad about collecting books and not reading them right away (I’m working on it.).

Emma Skies, @emmaskies, who posts many different bookish content, felt relatable to me and reminded me that it’s okay to stop reading a book you don’t like. @Lynmoore read books and then watched the adaptations afterward. I found this creator because they posted “Poorly convincing you to read this series” about “Shadow & Bone,” one of my favorite series.

I found book journals through BookTok and have had one ever since. I use my book journal to track many things, from monthly readings to different book challenges to my To-Be-Read pile and books I want to buy. I also use my book journal to plan out what I want to read that month. I use the challenges I created as a guide for the books I want to read each month.

As a very indecisive person, picking which books to read each month is challenging. I sit in front of my piles of books whenever I want to read something new and never pick something because I want to read them all. Reading books was slow for me. Reading twelve was rare, and reading twelve before March was even more so.

For most of my life, I would not have considered myself a big reader. I read more than the rest of my family that’s for sure, but not by a lot. I read maybe four or five books a year. Going into 2024 I knew I wanted to read more, I had a growing To-Be-Read pile with no end in sight as I found more books to add to the list. I wanted to start knocking books off the pile rather than having it grow and grow. The task seemed overwhelming, not something I could do easily, so I decided it would be best to start slow.

In 2024 I read 48 books, something I never thought possible before BookTok. I started DNFing (Did Not Finish) books, preventing reading slumps, which helped me read more. I found books that I would be interested in rather than reading books my parents thought I would be interested in. I started a book journal and kept track of what I was reading and what I enjoyed.

I am excited to see what is next for BookTok and the community. What book recommendations I get from my favorite creators and what next is discussed among the community.

Having a large collection of read books should make you feel acomplished. Sophia Tompkins / Weekly Ringer

Life

Friday, January 24, 2025

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Personal Essay: Ella Cordle’s Official Guide to Un-Slumping Step one: Don’t lose momentum

ELLA CORDLE Staff Writer There’s a lot of pressure to make your college experience perfect.

So what happens when it’s not going perfectly? Say you fail a midterm or even a class. Say your roommate is studying abroad, or moving in with some of their other friends and now you’re alone in your dorm. Say you have a messy breakup and now every time you leave your room you’re desperately hoping not to run into certain people on your miniscule campus. And say your mental health isn’t doing well, and none of this stuff is helping, and just getting out of bed and going to class every day feels like an impossibility. What do you do then?

If you’re anything like me, you’ve had all those situations happen and they’re no fun, but unfortunately, they’re all pretty common college experiences. But common or not, setbacks like this can render us into an insurmountable slump.

I came to college to do well in classes, make friends, make good memories and prepare myself for my future.

When any of those things aren’t happening how I want them to, it feels like a million steps backward. All of a sudden, I’m a junior, and I only have one full year left. What do I have to show for it?

A lot actually. Reminding myself of that is a good way to start climbing back out of my panic-induced slump.

We all came to college for a reason, a goal we wanted to achieve. Whether academic, athletic or social, a lot hinges on our precious four years at UMW. Sometimes, the pressure feels like too much. Our goals are too big and overwhelming, or worse, we still don’t know what we want to do with our lives. Our time here is too expensive and tumultuous, and we’re not making the most of it, so it’s all a waste.

Well, I’m here to tell you that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Coming from someone who often feels like they’ve had more downs than ups during their time at college, every second was absolutely more than worth it.

College is the first time you have any real control over your life. You get to live independently from your family, go where you want when you want and make your own decisions about your future.

But that isn’t what makes it special. College is like living life with the training wheels on. You’ve got support systems propping you up, protecting you from crashing head-first into the rest of your life. So you have to make the most of this time.

Which brings us to Ella’s Official Guide to Un-Slumping:

You’re in college, it’s supposed to be fun. I don’t mean partying like it’s 1999. You can, if that’s what floats your boat, but making good memories is about making time to do things that are fun to you. I like to make sure I’m making plans with friends most days of the week. Whether it’s just dinner at the CRUC, a silly movie night or a more noteworthy adventure, these good memories help me power through the bad ones. Doing fun things by yourself is just as important. I try to take time to craft for at least five minutes every day, just because it makes me feel good.

Hanging on to those good feelings goes a long way.

Step Four: Don’t close yourself off

It’s important to keep going in tough times. Photo courtesy of Ella Cordle

It’s so easy to feel like you’re behind. So when you’re a ball of stress about every aspect of your life, missing an assignment or two feels like a no-brainer. I’ve had several periods throughout my college career where I didn’t have enough mental or emotional energy to devote to my classes. I feel like I’m stuck, and I can’t possibly do all of it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do some of it.

So do some of it. Find what works for you and do it, but if you’re feeling crushed by your own expectations on top of everything else that’s crushing you, it’s okay to let go a little. It’s much better than stopping. Be kind to yourself and sometimes, managing to do the bare minimum is something to be proud of, so you have to let yourself be proud.

Step Two: Focus on the positives

Making connections and building relationships should be a highlight of your college experience.

Photo courtesy of Ella Cordle

Doing new things is hard, but important. Whenever I feel like locking myself in my room forever and ever, that means I have to get up, put my shoes on, and go for a walk.

If someone invites me to something, I have to say yes. Do I want to play Settlers of Catan with some near strangers? No, but maybe by the end of it, those strangers will be friends. Do I want to play pickleball with my friend’s roommate’s friend? No, but now I can say definitively that pickleball is overrated. If college is supposed to be about new experiences, and I feel like I’m wasting my time at college, then it sounds like I should hurry up and go have some new experiences pronto.

Step Five: Don’t give up hope!

Staying positive is a must in unslumping.

Photo courtesy of Ella Cordle

Don’t focus on the midterm you bombed, focus on the one you nailed. Don’t focus on the friends you don’t have, focus on the ones you do. I’m not telling you to ignore your problems—they’ll never get better that way, but obsessing over them is a great way to convince yourself that everything is terrible. You have to balance out your own naysaying with a reality check. Think positive because it’s never as bad as you tell yourself.

Step Three: Make memories

Find what works best for you in your own unslumping journey and keep thesse five steps in mind.

Photo courtesy of Ella Cordle

Make a list of goals to get out of a rut.

Photo courtesy of Ella Cordle

Even small memories can make a difference. Photo courtesy of Ella Cordle

The worst thing you can do is imagine that things won’t get better. College is such a special time in your life, and making the most of it is really important. Just because something isn’t working now doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. If you’re kind to yourself, and kind to others, and do the best you can, whatever that means to you, I think you’ll find that by the time you graduate, you’ll feel like you had the rich college experience that was right for you.

Friday, January 24, 2025

Advertisement

University Dining News

Visit UMW.SodexoMyWay.com for information on the Southern Soul Food Lunch and other February Dining events!

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Friday, January 24, 2024

Crime Column EMMA KINGKEO News Editor The Crime Column is based on UMW Police reports from Dec. 4 - Jan. 15.

Aggravated Sexual Battery On Nov. 21 at 12:01 p.m., there was a case of aggravated sexual battery at Ball Hall. This case is pending.

Larceny of Scooter On Nov. 28 at 11:00 a.m., there was a case of larceny of scooter at Eagle Landing. This case is pending.

News

Students react to impending TikTok ban WILL ROBINSON & EMMA KINGKEO Staff Writer & News Editor At approximately 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, TikTok went offline hours before a nationwide ban was slated to take place. Users were unable to access the app or website for nearly 12 hours, which left some students reeling.

“Even though it’s just an app it did feel like a loss because it’s something I can bond over with friends and it was just gone so fast and suddenly, before midnight might I add,” said sophomore psychology major Alexis Sawchuk.

For some, scrolling through the popular social media app became part of their daily routines. Students like Mia Mcdermott, a sophomore marketing major, said she turned to other platforms to satisfy her nightly scroll.

“When I went to bed I was like, ‘What do I do?’ So I went to YouTube Shorts,” she said. “I was on YouTube Shorts for like an hour, and then I just gave up and went to bed.”

Although some students were phased by TikTok’s temporary offline status, others saw it as a positive measure given the privacy concerns associated with the app.

“I think a potential positive of it is you may stand a better chance at protecting people’s privacy and data—and maybe you’ll get the student population off their phones,” said Zachary Wolford, a sophomore elementary education major who does not have TikTok.

“I do agree data privacy is important to me, but at the same time I also understand that if someone wants to figure out my data—like where I live—they can without too much effort.”

- Olivia Rombeleti

Arson On Dec. 2 at 3:00 p.m., there was a case of arson at the Monroe Hall fencing. This case is pending.

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TikTok has been subject to scrutiny from American politicians since 2020 when President Donald Trump first floated the idea of banning the app because of its relation to the Chinese government. Citing national security concerns, both Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted in March 2024 to ban the app if it were not sold to an American company in 180 days. Similar concerns about the app’s algorithm and impact on mental health persuaded members of Congress to pass the bill on a bipartisan 352-65 vote.

Vandalism On Jan. 14 at midnight, there was a case of vandalism at Willard Hall.

This case is pending.

When the ban occurred, users received a pop-up as they were scrolling the app.

Abbey Magnet / The Weekly Ringer

TikTok suddenly went down as many across America were using the app, surprising users with an early downtime. Photo courtesy of TikTok

“I was in shock that it was actually getting banned because there’s been talk about it being banned for years now, but never action,” said Sawchuk.

Olivia Rombeleti, a junior biomedical science major, who does not have TikTok, says that she does not share Congress’ privacy concerns because so much personal information is already accessible by the nature of the digital age.

“I do agree data privacy is important to me, but at the same time I also understand that if someone wants to figure out my data—like where I live—they can without too much effort,” she said. “Everything is online. If someone is really dedicated to finding it, they will.”

Rather than the national security aspect, many students instead say that their concerns stem from the app’s impact on mental health.

“Shutting it down felt like physically silencing so many people who were choosing to use their platform to amplify people’s voices.”

- Laila Acquavella “I do believe a lot of social media apps in general have played a role in hurting peoples’ mental health, social skills, overall confidence and self-image,” said senior international business major Will Thompson. “I could see [the ban] having a positive effect on students—just taking away one more distraction and maybe even an addiction for some people.”

Some students see the ban as an infringement on self-expression and an attempt by the U.S. government to silence young voices online.

“Shutting it down felt like physically silencing so many people who were choosing to use their platform to amplify people’s voices,” said Laila Acquavella, a junior conservation biology major. “Especially with the current political landscape, blocking access to platforms that allowed U.S. citizens to have their voices heard means more now than anyone could have predicted.”

Shortly following his inauguration ceremony inside the U.S. Capitol, President Trump signed an executive order to extend the sell-or-ban law by 90 days. While American users currently have restored access to TikTok, the future of the app remains uncertain.

Grace Wagner contributed to reporting for this article.

Friday, January 24, 2025

Sports

Page 8

University of Mary Washington

Fredericksburg to Phoenix: Assistant Coach Tommy Murphy leaves his mark at Mary Wash Spring Sports Schedule

THOMAS JACKSON Sports Editor

Earlier this January, after two successful seasons, UMW baseball Assistant Coach Tommy Murphy will be moving on to the Arizona Diamondbacks organization as one of the newest additions to their organization’s coaching staff.

Murphy came to Mary Washington in the summer of 2022 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for UMW baseball.

In his first season with the team, the Eagles made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years.

“I’m so grateful for [the team] because I wouldn’t be the coach I am today without the knowledge that I gained from being able to coach them,” he said.

Assistant Coach Tommy Murphy, leaves UMW baseball after two years. Photo courtesy of UMW Athletics

Murphy says UMW provided him with the opportunity to learn more about being a better coach and fostering relationships here.

“Over that time, it was really just learning about relationship building all that stuff and learning how to communicate with the guys, but also learning from them about what I could do to be a better coach,” he said.

Part of that relationship building included participating in daily traditions with junior marketing major Nate Dulevitz who plays catcher and second base.

“My favorite memory about Coach Murphy is when he would join the middle infielders for the ‘question of the day,’” said Dulevitz. “During our prep work, I decided to start asking my teammates three different questions each day to grow our relationship.

Coach Murphy found out about the daily questions and would join us every practice.”

Murphy says one of the biggest impacts UMW had on him was being able to develop his coaching philosophies and traits by working closely with the other athletic minds on campus.

“With the people that I worked with in the office, being able to just pick different coaches that coach different sports brains, about how they go about practice planning, how they go about developing players, how they go about building relationships like as coaches, we’re always trying to learn, learn and become better,” he said.

Even though Murphy may be leaving Fredericksburg, he hopes to continue building relationships made here with players and coaches.

“That’s the impact that’s going to be made, is those friendships that I’ve created with other coaches here, but then also with my former players,” he said. “I’m fortunate that I’m still very close with a lot of them that I’ve coached over the past years, and hopefully will continue to be super close with.”

Dulevitz believes that Murphy’s coaching went beyond the baseball diamond, pushing each player to be better versions of themselves on and off the field.

“He has pushed me to work hard in all aspects of baseball,” Dulevitz said. “He holds me accountable for my work towards baseball. He pushed me to give it 100% all of the time whether it was on the field, in the gym or in the classroom.”

Of his best memories at UMW, Murphy says the bigger moments, moments such as making the NCAA Tournament or beating a team on a historic winning streak, are some of his fondest.

“Making the NCAA tournament for the first time in 13 years,” he said. “My first year that I was there, [it] could be beating Eastern Connecticut State and ending their longest winning streak in NCAA, at that time.”

He also looks back on the team dinners and late-night practices as some of his favorite memories.

“It’s the team dinners at Chick-fil-A, Chipotle,” he said. “And seeing the guys grind and continue to get better. It’s the early work that we did, that we did in the fall with our early hitting groups. It’s guys wanting to stay late and hit until it’s dark outside, and being like, ‘Coach, can you throw?’ I’m like, ‘absolutely, let’s do this thing.’”

Junior catcher and infielder Nate Dulevitz stands next to Tommy Murphy. Photo courtesy of Nate Dulevitz

Burke Steifman, senior business major and infielder for the baseball team shares this favorite memory with Murphy, stating that he would get to practice an hour early just to work with the team beforehand.

“Last year I would come out early before practices and stuff and want to take on balls, and want to work outside of regular team practice and he was always open, he would be there an hour early just to do stuff with me because he cared about us and if we wanted to do extra stuff he was always willing to do that and help us out,” said Steifman Steifman believes that Murphy’s presence and attitude were enough to have a positive impact on the team.

“He’s really great, he’s super organized,” Steifman said. “He brought a lot of good hitting philosophies to the team. I feel like he was a very positive presence and just helped us out a lot these last few years.”

Murphy credits Head Coach Kelly Swiney with facilitating the close-knit community that allows the team to play for each other and themselves.

“The family aspect that has been instilled from before I was here when Coach Swiney started this whole thing, and that the desire for them to play for each other, play for their brothers on the field,” Murphy said.

Steifman also stated that Murphy has helped the team with the mental aspect of the game, as well as the physical.

“I would probably say his positivity, I think he was kind of a calming presence for us, the season gets very stressful, it’s pretty long and he does a good job of helping guys out with their swings and stuff, but also mentally,” he said. “He’s a good coach and a good mentor.”

The mentality that Murphy brought to Mary Washington was able to be adopted by the entire team, going further to understand not just the baseball player, but the person as well.

“Personally, Coach Murphy has been a lot of fun to work with. He understands each player’s strengths and weaknesses and is able to work one-on-one with us to make us better. In his three years here, he has worked with all of the hitters and developed a mentality the team all embraces.”

Murphy emphasized all the relationships that he was able to make here and all the wonderful people he has met.

“Missing Mary Washington, it’s absolutely those friendships,” he said. “Those relationships that I created with guys I’ve been coaching for the past two and a half years, to the guys that I recruited and may have only been able to coach for a fall. Definitely will miss Coach Swiney, being able to work beside him and learn so much from him. He’s a lifelong friend. . . . He’s helped me become the best version of myself.”

Abbey Magnet contributed to reporting for this article.

THOMAS JACKSON Sports Editor

Men’s Swimming (4-3)

Jan. 11 @ Catholic University (98-168) Jan. 18 vs. University of Lynchburg (134-128) Jan. 25 vs. Marymount University

Women’s Swimming (7-0)

Jan. 11 @ Catholic University (229-57) Jan. 18 vs. University of Lynchburg (209-53) Jan. 24 @ American University Jan 25 vs. Marymount University

Men’s Basketball (7-9)

Jan. 8 vs. Bridgewater College (75-66) Jan. 13 @ Dickinson College (71-72) Jan. 18 vs. Hampden-Sydney College (69-74) Jan. 27 @ Johns Hopkins University

Women’s Basketball (7-12) Jan. 4 @ Swarthmore College (37-54) Jan. 11 @ Salisbury University (53-43) Jan. 13 vs. Johns Hopkins University (36-70)

Games are available to watch via livestream on the UMW Athletics webpage www.eagles.com/composite Full schedule not listed above.

Most recent games included.

Bold indicates home game.