Good Monday Morning Monarchs! We’re not sure about you all, but we’re not sure how much longer we could’ve taken it.

FINALLY, the wait is over. The Monarchs are back on the fields THIS WEEK!

That’s right, the fall teams will officially hit the practice fields and courts in preparation for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

We’ve got all the details, new faces joining the ODU family and a former Monarch shining bright under some of the brightest lights!

What else is stirring in today’s edition of the Brew? Check it out!

🙌 We’re Back!
⚽️ Nametags Needed
🏈 Going Camping
👑 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 We’re Back… Finally! As the summer days wind down, the practice fields and courts are heating up in Norfolk.

This week, we are finally glad to see the Monarchs back on campus as our fall sports kick off their training camps to prepare for the upcoming 2023-24 seasons.

Our football, men’s and women’s soccer teams, volleyball and field hockey teams will all be back practicing this week.

Stay tuned to ODUSports.com and the Brew for all the sights, sounds and much more from training camps!

🔼 Going Camping. No, no, no.. we’re not talking about having any sing-a-longs or campfires, we’re talking NFL training camps.

This week, one of our own turned heads like we always saw happening here in Norfolk as Tre McBride III had a hot start to training camp with the Giants.

With several picks and showing off his speed and versatility, McBride is quickly becoming a fan favorite in East Rutherford.

🔼 Might Need Some Nametags. As the men’s soccer squad hits the fields later this week, there’s going to be some name tags that might be needed as ODU will welcome 14 new players for the upcoming 2023 season.

"We feel like we have addressed a lot of positions of need with this recruiting class," said Dawson. "We have added competition for playing time all over the field as this will be one of our deepest squads in recent years. We have added size, speed, playmaking ability, and maturity to a sound foundation of returners. We are very excited to piece the squad together and get back on the pitch to compete."

This class has a mix of graduate transfers, freshmen and international standouts as the Monarchs approach year two in the Sun Belt Conference.

🔼 The Media Day Experience. So you want to know what the full media day experience was like?

The microphones, the flight, the hotels, the suits, all the pictures, the videos and much more?

Well, we’ve got the experience in full recap with our own Harry Minium as he breakdown the full experience for the ODU reps at last week’s Sun Belt Media Days.

🔼 Laying the Course Out. Who doesn’t love spending the fall on the golf course, right?

The ODU men’s golf team will have plenty of those opportunities at some exceptional courses with four fall tournaments on the docket, including hosting the 13th Annual ODU/OBX Intercollegiate.

"We have two new tournaments this fall. We will be going back to Davidson's tournament a week earlier this year and then have a new event at East Carolina. Our third event of the fall will be a new one hosted by Elon, and we will finish with our traditional 'home' tournament on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in October," said Rudisill.

🔼 ICYMI… A Golden Memory. Earlier this week, we mentioned how ODU women’s basketball coach DeLisha Milton-Jones had won four gold medals as a player with Team USA.

Several of those came along her close friends Nikki McCray and Dawn Staley.

Shortly before Milton-Jones were to leave with the Team USA U19 team to Spain for the World Cup, Staley called and delivered the tragic news of McCray’s passing.

Milton-Jones was crushed, but Staley encouraged her to go and honor their old friend and teammate on the sideline.

The powerful story of honoring an old friend and teammate, the connections built through sports and much more are told in the latest edition of Max with Minium.

🏈 SECURE YOUR SEATS

Trying to set your plans for the fall? Make sure your secure your tickets NOW!

That’s right, ODU Football Mini Plans and Single Game tickets are on sale NOW and with a great slate of home games, an exciting roster and coming off the highest single-season attendance record in program history… you don’t want to miss out!

🦁 WE WORKIN’

🤔 MONARCH TRIVIA

17 50+ goal scorers.

That’s what Marlon de Bruijne is chasing as she enters the upcoming 2023 season with the ODU field hockey program.

The two-time All-American enters 2023 with 41 goals in her career and looks to become the 17th player in ODU history with 50+ career goals.

Can you name the former Lady Monarch who is tied for the career lead in goals, who is also the all-time points leader?

Got a guess?

Scroll down to the bottom of this email and see if you had the right answer!

🏈 COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: 33 DAYS

33 yards… TO… THE… HOUSE!

Nov. 21, 2015 in Hattiesburg, Miss.

That’s the date and the scene when former Monarch LB Martez Simpson picked up a fumble and scampered into the end zone to tie the game at 7-7 in the first quarter of a Conference USA showdown with Southern Miss.

To this day, that fumble recovery is the longest in program history with no other fumble recovery going more than 28 yards.

📬 STICK WITH US

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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Marina DiGiacomo.

DiGiacomo was a two-time All-American and the 2000 Honda Award winner. A four-time CAA Player of the Year and CAA Tournament MVP, DiGiacomo led ODU to national championships in 1998 and 2000.

She is still the NCAA all-time leader in points with 414 and second in NCAA history in goals scored with 167.

Let’s start the week strong Monarchs!