Monarch Brew 1/22: Super Saturday Sweep

Monarchs Sweep Saturday Spring Opener

Author

Monarch Brew Crew
January 22, 2024

Good Morning Monarchs. With spring looming in the months ahead, many of us will find ourselves doing some spring cleaning at some point.

Well, the ODU men’s tennis team got a jump on that and did some sweeping of their own over the weekend. We’ve got that and much more from another busy weekend for the Monarchs.

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

🎾 Super Saturday Sweep
🌊 Making Waves
🏀 Bounce Back Time
👑 And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Super Saturday Sweep. Always good to start a season with a W, even better to start with ✌️!

That’s what the ODU men’s tennis team did this past weekend as the Monarchs opened the spring season with sweeps of Temple (7-0) and Howard (7-0) on Saturday at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.

"A very mature start from our team today. They came out and took care of business," said ODU Head Coach Dominik Mueller. "Everybody competed and executed their game plans. I can't ask for a better first match day."

🔼 Shining in the Sun. While much of the East Coast was dealing with a drop in temps and a blast of snow, former ODU standout Leroy Thomas was enjoying his time in the sun.

Thomas spent the weekend representing the Monarchs in the ninth annual Trillion Tropical Bowl All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida on Saturday. He became the eighth player in program history to play in the Tropical Bowl.

A former walk-on for ODU, Thomas earned a scholarship prior to the 2021 season and became a three-year starter at right guard for the Monarchs.

🔼 Making Waves. Only two years into his collegiate career and Bryce Mortimer is already making waves for the ODU swimming squad.

The Richmond, Va. native qualified for the NIC meet to help lead the Monarchs past George Mason on Saturday, 153.5-108.5.

🔼 Bounce Back Time. The acclaimed Rocky movie franchise taught us, “it’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s how many times you get back up.”

For the ODU hoops squad, this week provides a bounce back opportunity as both teams dropped tough decisions on Saturday with the women falling at Sun Belt-leading JMU, 72-64, and the men falling at home to ULM, 80-73.

🤔 MONARCH TRIVIA

As we mentioned, Leroy Thomas became the eighth Monarch in program history to play in the Tropical Bowl over the weekend.

Can you name one or both of the Monarchs that played in the event last year?

Got a guess?

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

📬 STICK WITH US

Did someone send you the Monarch Brew? Subscribe here and get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning just in time for your first cup of coffee!

📅 WHAT’S ON TAP2

Wednesday, January 24
🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. James Madison @ 7pm

Thursday, January 25
🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. App State @ 6:30pm

Friday, January 26
🎾 Men’s Tennis at Wisconsin @ 6:30pm

Saturday, January 27
🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Georgia State @ 1pm
🏊 Swimming vs. American @ 1pm
🎾 Women’s Tennis at Iowa State @ 3pm
🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Georgia Southern @ 7pm

Sunday, January 28
🎾 Men’s Tennis at Drake @ 12pm
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. UCLA/Oklahoma State @ TBA (Ames, Iowa)

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Marcus Haynes and R'Tarriun Johnson.

Along with Thomas, Haynes and Johnson, other Monarchs who have played in the Tropical Bowl include: Roger Cray (2022), Joe Joe Headen (2022), Tony Barnett (2020), Isaiah Harper (2019) and TJ Ricks (2017).

🦁 Let’s get this week started, y’all!