Three of Washington and Lee’s sports teams have clinched ODAC titles and individual athlete awards as the fall sports season draws to a close.

Football, field hockey and volleyball all hoisted conference championship trophies, giving the Generals a successful fall after COVID-19 cancelled play for many sports last year.

The football team clinched their ODAC title in heroic fashion with a 28-24 victory over Ferrum on their home turf. A late touchdown from John Breece, ’22, and a defensive stand by the Generals was enough to keep the Panthers at bay, extend the Generals’ win streak to eight games and deliver Washington and Lee its first ODAC title in football since the 2017 season.

The team now advances to the NCAA tournament where they will face the University of Mount Union on Saturday in Ohio.

Just a few yards from the football field, the field hockey team capped off an undefeated regular season with a 3-1 victory over Lynchburg that secured them the conference championship. Midfielder Tess Muneses, ’23, notched two goals while goalkeeper Sara Ami,l ’22, recorded three saves.

The team also collected several individual awards. Muneses was named ODAC Offensive Player of the Year and the Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Amil collected her second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award while Head Coach Gina Wills took home Coach of the Year honors from the conference.

“I honestly think most of our success has come from the team’s culture and the effort of every single individual,” Amil said. “It really is a full team effort.”

The field hockey team made it to the NCAA Regional Final before having their historic season brought to a close in a 3-0 loss to fourth-ranked Rowan University this past weekend.

Volleyball was the third Generals team to claim a conference title with a dominant 3-0 win over Virginia Wesleyan. Outside hitters Val Sokolow, ’22, and Sydney Heifner, ’24, led the way with 11 kills each as the Generals won in straight sets to capture their second ODAC title in a row.

Much like field hockey, the volleyball team collected its fair share of individual conference awards. Heifner took home the Player of the Year award as a sophomore while Head Coach Bryan Snyder earned Coach of the Year honors.

The university also had five players named to the All-ODAC team. Caroline Gard, ’23, Ashley Webb, ’23, and Heifner were named to the first team while Carson Allsteadt, ’22, and Katy Blain, ’22, made the second and third teams respectively.

“I am so proud of the team and all that we’ve accomplished this season, especially winning ODACs,” said Allsteadt. “We improved so much from the beginning to the end of the season and winning the championship was a great way to top off all of our achievements.”

The Generals qualified for the NCAA tournament but fell to 14th-ranked Southwestern 3-1 in the first round this past weekend.