Captains’ corner

Each week, the Phi will highlight two captains and learn a little about what drives them to be leaders, both in the game and in the locker room.

Kathyrn Young

Emma Redding, women’s basketball

Going into her junior season, Emma Redding, ‘18, has already made a huge impact on the Washington and Lee women’s basketball team. She enters this season not only as a junior captain, but she is ranked ninth in program history for career blocks with 56.

Redding, and the rest of the team, has high hopes for the season. With nine returning players and five new teammates, the team is ready to show the everyone what they are capable of achieving.

“The team is feeling very confident going into this season,” Redding, ‘18, said. “We have a great group of returners, as well as first years, that will be able to take the team to the next level.”

Redding is working hard not only to help her team be the best they can be, but also to develop strong bonds amongst the team.

“My main goal as a captain is to develop close relationships with each player individually, making sure everyone is comfortable and confident on and off the court,” Redding said. “I strive to encourage them to be confident in their skills and then push them to be even better.”

The Generals have a tough out-of-conference schedule, facing three of the top-25 teams in the nation this season, which they hope will help prepare them for ODAC play. Though nonconference games are fun, the team’s number one goal is to be ODAC champions for the first time since 2010.

“The team is like a family and we are all great friends, which makes every step towards that goal that much more fun,” Redding said.

Harrison Westgarth, men’s swimming

As a junior, Harrison Westgarth, ‘17, was a Third Team All-ODAC swimmer. As a senior, Westgarth enters the season as a captain, with goals of leading his team to the national stage.

With a 30-man roster including 10 first-year swimmers, Westgarth hopes that depth is one of the team’s biggest strengths.

“We brought in a lot of fast first-years and added a lot of additional depth to our already deep roster,” Westgarth said. “Our team carries a lot of its new speed in its younger members.”

Westgarth has a lot of faith in the team this season. He believes his role as captain is an “expression of trust” by the members of the team in him. “I feel a captain should value the success of the team and their teammates over even their individual performance and I am seeking to actively live by this mantra,” Westgarth said.

He hopes that through his role as one of three team captains, he can be a role model for younger members of the team to look up to. However, he knows that the underclassmen swimmers are more than capable of being excellent swimmers already.

“They’re all smart and good kids and I have full faith in their ability to find success with or without my old senior ramblings,” Westgarth said.

As the rest of the season starts to heat up, Westgarth said he has high hopes that the team can win another ODAC title and send several swimmers to the national meet.

“Based on the crazy amount of hard work everyone has already been putting in at the pool, in the weight room, and doing dry land conditioning these first few months, I’m certain these goals are all well within our reach,” he said.