Monarch Brew 5/26: A Season To Remember

Today, we've got more ODU Baseball highlights than you can shake a stick at.

Good morning. And an especially good morning to Tatsiana Sasnouskaya and Sofia Johnson—Old Dominion women's tennis may have come to the end of their season, but not before they were able to beat a top-5 doubles team in NCAA postseason play.

What all are we serving up in today’s Brew?

⚾ A season to remember
🎾 The Round of 16 is where we get off
👑 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP 

🔼 A Season To Remember. Old Dominion's first season in the Sun Belt, one of the nation's power baseball leagues, was one for the history books. The Monarchs lost 27 of 43 lettermen that won 41 games last season, including three taken in last season’s MLB Draft, not to mention four key pitchers and six of their top nine hitters. But a 32-23 overall record and 15-15 in the conference is a strong first step, and one that head coach Chris Finwood will certainly build on next season.

Before we close the door on this season, how about some highlights from last year that can carry us through the offseason?

👏 Three Cheers: Thanks to a three home run game against St. John’s, Jake Ticer earned a National Player of the Week honor from Collegiate Baseball.

😅 That Didn’t Take Long: In just the fourth game of the season, Alex Bouche hammered his first career home run off a 1-0 pitch against VMI.

👀 All Eyes On Us: Old Dominion baseball earned its first national ranking of 2023 as Collegiate Baseball listed the Monarchs at No. 24 just a month into regular season play. This was ODU's first ranking since March 21 last season.

🚀 To The Moon: Old Dominion decided to put on a fireworks show during a baseball game—erupting for a single-game school record eight home runs in a 21-5 victory against Marshall at Bud Metheny Ballpark. Watch all eight here.

🏆 Mr. 350: No foolin’ around! On April 1, Old Dominion finished off a back-to-back-to-back beginning of the season—securing three straight Sun Belt series, giving head coach Chris Finwood his 350th career victory with the Monarchs.

💯 Going 100: Old Dominion baseball saved the best for last—becoming the first NCAA Division I team in the BBCOR era to hit 100 home runs in three straight seasons in their final game of the season. Watch Kyle Edwards launch this 374-foot long ball to cap off this achievement for the Monarchs.

🔼 Sweet And Sour. The 2022-23 Old Dominion women's tennis season came to an end on Wednesday afternoon in the NCAA Championships at the USTA National Complex. Tatsiana Sasnouskaya and Sofia Johnson fell to Katherine Duong and Megan Heuser of Illinois 5-7, 6-3, 10-7 in a Round of 16 match that lasted nearly two hours. On the year, Sasnouskaya and Johnson finished 20-7.

The ODU tandem took the first set winning the last three games to rally from a 5-4 deficit. In the second, Illinois jumped out to a 5-1 lead before winning 6-3. The third-set tiebreaker saw the Illini tandem score six of the last eight points to win 10-7.

🤔 HOME HAPPENS HERE

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🤔 MONARCH TRIVIA

Crazy eights. We have got to go a little deeper into that eight-home run game that Old Dominion turned in this past season. Today’s question is simple and straightforward… but that doesn’t mean it’s easy:

How many of the players can you name who hit a home run that day?

Think you got it? Click your answer above and scroll down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

👑 ONE BIG THING

Old Dominion women's basketball assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Roland Jones Jr. has been named one of the 50 Most Impactful High Major Assistants in NCAA Division I Women's Basketball, as chosen by Silver Waves Media.

This marks the second year in a row someone from head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones' staff has landed on the list. Last year saw assistant coach Shammond Williams earn the distinction.

Ronald Jones Jr. finished his third season on the Monarch staff this past year, helping coach the Monarchs to a No. 5 seed in the Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship and an appearance in the conference tournament semifinals. ODU finished the season 22-12 overall and 12-6 in conference play as Amari Young garnered All-Conference Second Team and All-Tournament Team honors.

📬 STICK WITH US

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📅 THE DAYS AHEAD

Friday 5/26

🚣 Rowing @ College Sailing Women’s Fleet Race Champion National Championship in Kings Point, NY

Saturday 5/27

🚣 Rowing @ College Sailing Women’s Fleet Race Champion National Championship in Kings Point, NY

Sunday 5/28

🚣 Rowing @ College Sailing Women’s Fleet Race Champion National Championship in Kings Point, NY

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Jake Ticer (3), Camden Grimes (2), Josh Trujillo, Kenny Levari, and Robbie O’Neal.

Say that five times fast.

Have a good Friday and a great Memorial Day Weekend, everyone.