TGIF ODU Fam. The drive begins now.

As we all settle into our final work day of the week, the ODU women’s tennis is getting tuned up to begin their drive for five today!

What all do we have stirring in today’s Brew? Check it out below!

🎾 Drive For Five
👏 Quite The Haul
🏀 Renewed Rivalry
​🦁 And much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Drive For Five. The trophy case is filling up quick at Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center and the ODU women’s tennis squad is looking to continue that trend this weekend in Rome, Ga.

The Lady Monarchs begin play at the Sun Belt Tournament today as they hunt for a fifth straight conference title (two Sun Belt, two CUSA).

With their top seed, ODU earned a bye and will now face ninth-seeded Arkansas State today at 10am in the Sun Belt quarterfinals.

🏆 The Bracket Breakdown

🔼 Quite The Haul. Before the action kicked off at this weekend’s Sun Belt Championship, the ODU women’s tennis team is already hauling home plenty of accolades.

The Lady Monarchs dominated the major awards with Sofia Johnson being named Player of the Year, Kira Matushkina as Player to Watch and Dominic Manilla as the Coach of the Year.

Johnson earned her second straight conference player of the year honor, while Manilla was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year for the third straight year.

Johnson and Matushkina also earned first team honors for singles and were joined by Lidiia Rasskouskaia.

The Sun Belt Conference regular season champion Monarchs also had a pair of first team all-conference doubles teams, as Johnson and Victoria Matasova received the honors as well as Matushkina and Marina Markina.

🎾 More On The Award-Winning Monarchs

🔼 Renewed Rivalry. A long-standing in-state rivalry will be renewed next December as the ODU men’s basketball program announced the return of the series against the Spiders of the University of Richmond.

The Monarchs will travel to Richmond on December 6, 2025 and will host the Spiders during the 2025-26 season at the Chartway Arena.

Next season will be the 62nd time that the two schools faced off with the last meeting coming in December of 2021.

🏀 More On The Renewed Rivarly

👑 FEELING GOLDEN

Every April, the hundreds of Monarchs that make up the ODU Athletic Department
gather together to celebrate, honor and remember the year at the
annual Golden Monarch Awards.

This year’s award show occurred on Monday night at Chartway Arena with awards being given out for Athlete of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Championship Effort Award, Scholar-Athlete, Student-Athlete of the Year, Juice Man Spark Plug, Community Service, Mr. and Ms. Monarch and the Monarch Cup.

👑 The Full Recap Of The Special Night

🦁 MONARCH TRIVIA

As we mentioned, when ODU and Richmond take the court next December, it will be the 62nd all-time meeting between the two programs.

When was the first time the two programs met on the hardwood?

Got a guess?

Scroll to the bottom to find the answer!

📅 ON THE DOCKET)

Friday, April 25th
⚾️ Baseball at ULM @ 7pm
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Arkansas State @ 10am (Sun Belt Tournament - Rome, Ga.)
⛵️ Sailing at ICSA Open Team Racing National Championships (Providence, R.I.)

Saturday, April 26th
🥍 Women’s Lacrosse at Vanderbilt @ 12pm
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. TBD @ 1pm (Sun Belt Semifinals - Rome, Ga.)
⚾️ Baseball at ULM @ 3pm
⛵️ Sailing at ICSA Open Team Racing National Championships (Providence, R.I.)

Sunday, April 27th
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. TBD @ 1pm (Sun Belt Championship - Rome, Ga.)
⚾️ Baseball at ULM @ 2pm
⛵️ Sailing at ICSA Team Racing National Championships (Providence, R.I.)

📬 SHARE THE BREW

Do you know a friend or family member who is a Monarch fan?

Simply forward them this email and they can sign up to receive the brew by clicking the link below to subscribe. The Brew is sent every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and is completely free!

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 1978.

🦁 Have a great weekend, y’all!