Tag: UVA

After a University of Virginia student escaped an attempted abduction on October 4, law enforcement officials, community members, and students are reevaluating safety on and around Grounds.  

Charlottesville Police Department received a call about an incident near the intersection of Cabell and Grady avenues at approximately 9:40pm on October 4. At the scene, officers found a female victim who reported being strangled and dragged into a car, before escaping when the abductor crashed his vehicle into multiple cars and a tree in the yard of a fraternity house.

At this time, the identity of the victim is unknown, but she is in stable condition after being treated at UVA Hospital.

Though the victim did not recognize her attacker, investigators quickly identified James Allen of Suffolk as a suspect. Allen fled the scene of the crash on foot and was captured at approximately 12:11pm the next day in Louisa County.

Before police arrived, UVA professor Robert Emery and his family intervened in the attempted abduction when they heard sounds of a struggle outside their house. While his wife called 911, Emery rushed outside. “A man appeared from behind the truck, told me I was interfering and was clearly in a panic,” he told CBS19. “[He] then immediately jumped into the truck and drove down the street as fast as he could, crashing at the end of the street.”

Thanking community members, the media, and his law enforcement peers on October 5, CPD Chief Michael Kochis, along with UPD Chief Timothy Longo, expressed relief that Allen had been captured.

“Thank god this young lady is safe,” said Longo. “She’s going to work through this with a lot of support and a lot of love.”

For now, Allen is being held in custody without bond, with a hearing scheduled for December 14.

Though Kochis emphasized that Charlottesville is “a safe community,” Longo reminded students to be vigilant. “My message to the students is continue to be resilient,” he said. “This is a safe place, but it’s also an evil world. Evil takes all forms and looks like all people.”

Students found out about the incident through an off-Grounds community alert from the University Police Department at 1:14am on October 5, just over three hours after CPD responded to the scene. When asked about the timing of​​ the alert, Meg Rapp, assistant vice president for Clery Act compliance and youth protection, said the alert was sent as soon as possible, given the complicated nature of the incident.

Under the Clery Act, the university is required to notify students about incidents that occur on Grounds, but can choose whether or not to alert the community to events that occur off Grounds. 

“The situation was very fluid, which meant getting accurate information was challenging,” says Rapp. “Upon confirmation of certain information from the responding agency, the university did make the decision to release a community alert to UVA students, faculty, and staff on October 5.”

While most students reportedly feel safe on and around Grounds, the attempted abduction has prompted a few to take extra precautions. 

“I don’t personally feel unsafe, but I can understand that there are people who maybe are concerned about it,” says first-year Conwell Morris. “I’m definitely making sure that I’m walking with some of my friends when they’re going places.”

In addition to walking in groups, students are using their phones to stay safe.

“I usually feel pretty safe. The only times where I get a little sketched out is when it’s late at night on weekdays,” says fourth-year Jill Eberhardt. “I definitely tell all my roommates where I am whenever I’m walking home, and I try to drive when possible. I work at a bar so I have to walk home at like 2am all the time, and I always walk home with someone else.”

Others say the abduction has made them more aware of safety issues on Grounds, or highlighted previous concerns.

Though Julia Bianchetto feels safe walking with friends, the fourth-year student says the attempted abduction added to her concerns. “I mean, I think [safety’s] kind of always been an issue, but like recently, it’s definitely been spiked up a little.”

“I’m kind of in the middle about it,” says second-year Sierra Allen. “I live at Lambeth, I do think there should be more lights on the way over there. So, I’m not saying I’m totally scared, but I’m definitely more alert walking at night.”

For students interested in safety training, UVA offers risk-reduction programs and seminars through the UPD.

During a July 28 media event ahead of the fall football camp, University of Virginia running back Mike Hollins talked about how he’s getting ready for the season physically, emotionally, and mentally.

“Training wise, it’s been hot, fun. I see my body returning to where I used to be,” said Hollins, who was injured during the November 13 Culbreth Parking Garage shooting on a bus that had returned from a field trip. “Even if my weight isn’t there, I feel like I don’t really think that that matters as much now. Because my mindset is different, and my motivation is different.”

On top of hitting the weight room this summer, Hollins has used the summer season to process last fall’s shooting, which resulted in the death of his teammates Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry. “It’s been a lot more time to think,” he said. “I feel like I’ve come to understand my emotions a lot more.”

Hollins credits his faith, family, and friends for supporting him as he continues to recover from the tragedy. “Without God, I wouldn’t be here today. And that’s as clear to me now as it’s ever been.”

Emi, his rottweiler puppy, has also been a big help. “She’s truly emotional support,” he said. “She’s there just for the loving, and I just love having a responsibility besides school and football to really take my mind off of things. Someone who doesn’t judge.” Hollins named the dog after Perry, whose middle name is Emir. “It’s just a constant reminder of the calm and loving person [Perry] was. Raising her, it’s been a blessing for me.”

Looking toward the fall, Hollins said, “It’s going to be an emotional season, but I think I see this team moving forward. … I’m excited for what this season holds. Not just for this team, but for the city, the university. Because we need football right now. I feel … it does something to the atmosphere. Just the whole camaraderie of the university or campus or Grounds. It’ll uplift the three we lost just by seeing them up on the big screen or being in a football game. People will be remembering them.”

“We don’t have to go out and try to overdo ourselves or overwork or go undefeated or win a championship just to justify their legacy,” said Hollins. “I think just showing up, waking every day, and returning to practice, returning to the field and locker rooms, and just continuing to be a team in their honor is doing their legacy really well in itself.”

The Cavaliers are likely in for a challenging 2023 season, when they’ll face six teams that went to bowl games in 2022. First up for the Hoos is a September 2 away game at the University of Tennessee, which upset No. 1-ranked Alabama last year, followed by UVA’s home opener against James Madison University on September 9.

While he anticipates that being back on the field will be emotional, Hollins said he’s “excited for just the opportunity to add a little gas to their flame at the start of the season and then come right back for the home game in [Chandler, Davis, and Perry’s] honor. I don’t see a way that this season can be a failure, no matter the record, no matter the ending, no matter anything, as long as we go out there and play.”

The Supreme Court shook the academic world June 29 when it ruled that the use of affirmative action at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina was unconstitutional. The court was starkly split along ideological lines in both cases. 

Students at the University of Virginia who support race-conscious admissions policies had long anticipated the court’s verdict, and had spoken out ahead of the decision. Abdallah Maher Aljerjawi wrote an open letter to the student body, urging his peers to unite and protect affirmative action.

“Affirmative action is a core aspect of holistic admissions as it cares about the experiences shaping students,” writes Aljerjawi, a third-year nursing student. “Yet, simultaneously, the Supreme Court contradicts it by failing to recognize that nothing could shape an individual more profoundly than their own race.”

In his letter, Aljerjawi reflects on his immigration to the U.S. from Gaza, and the hurdles he’s subsequently faced in his life, education, and career.

“Though I have only been in America for five short years since I immigrated, I can confidently assert that being a minority in America presents a web of intricate and intertwined challenges,” he writes. “Obstacles in every facet of life, including racism, economic hardships, language barriers, and the ever-present fear of racial profiling during routine traffic stops—all of which compound. How can we turn a blind eye to race’s role when it is so rooted in these experiences?”

Fellow third-year Syrell Grier says even though he was anticipating the court would reject affirmative action, it still came as a shock to him and his fellow students.

“You come to expect it with this Supreme Court now,” he says. “It’s sad and heartbreaking.”

Grier, an economics major, Jefferson and Echols Scholar, and founder of the Black Economic Empowerment Society, believes he was likely a beneficiary of affirmative action in his application to UVA. 

“I came from a high school in Woodbridge, Virginia, called Gar-Field High School, and it’s majority low-income, so a lot of kids just don’t really branch out for those amazing opportunities like they should,” he says.

Grier notes that, though he did well academically at Gar-Field, having access to the support and opportunities available at UVA helped make him a better student. “If I were to go to an institution that’s not as high ranking, I might not have had those same resources and been able to sprout and develop into the person I am today. That’s the benefit of having affirmative action in place.”

The Supreme Court’s decision has also affected prospective students. Ammar Aljerjawr, a high school junior from Houston, Texas, was eyeing UVA as his top pick for college and visited Grounds in June. He’s worried that, without race-conscious admissions policies in place, the challenges he’s faced as a Palestinian immigrant may not be considered in his application.

Taking down affirmative action “will make my [acceptance] chances lower,” he says, “and will make me work twice as hard or three times as hard to just be the same level as others.”

Although UVA has not made a formal decision on how to handle a post-affirmative action admissions process, President Jim Ryan and Provost Ian Baucom delivered a joint statement in which they declared they will “of course continue to follow the law. We will also continue to do everything within our legal authority to recruit and admit a class of students who are diverse across every possible dimension and to make every student feel welcome and included here at UVA.”

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association has honored University of Virginia tennis player Natasha Subhash with the national Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. 

“It was definitely such a huge honor,” says Subhash about receiving the award. “Arthur Ashe is someone that I grew up looking up to and was extremely inspired by. He’s such a big role model for a lot of young tennis players, so being compared to him was incredible.”

The award honors collegiate tennis players at the regional and national levels who demonstrate “outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements,” in the spirit of tennis legend Arthur Ashe Jr.

A two-time academic all-American and a four-time ITA all-American, Subhash has excelled both athletically and academically during her time at UVA. She played for Virginia four years as an undergrad, and will play a fifth season while she works toward a master’s degree in accounting.

“I definitely just want to make the most of it, train as hard as possible, and meet all of our goals for the team,” says Subhash. “I know we have team goals of winning conference championships and the NCAA tournament as well. I think … [achieving] our full potential as a team in my last year would be amazing.”

During her time with the team, Subhash has gained experience both on and off the court. “I was fortunate enough to be co-captain the last two years,” she says. “I think just being in that role, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to lead.”

Subhash has played tennis since the age of 4, and attended Pass Academy, a tennis preparatory school, prior to arriving at UVA. During her time at PA, she trained under founder Bob Pass, and cites her coach as a major source of inspiration. “Unfortunately, he passed away last summer. I think it would have been really awesome for him to see me get this award this year,” she says. “He inspired me a lot to … be the person I am today.”

While in high school, Subhash made her competitive debut as a singles and doubles player, winning four titles before starting college.

She considered turning pro after college, but Subhash has decided not to play competitively when she finishes her master’s degree. “I still want to make the absolute most of my tennis while at UVA, so that hasn’t changed my drive while I’m in school,” she says. “I want to fully succeed in [tennis] while I’m here, but I think I’ll probably stop when I graduate and just focus on my career after that.”

“I’ll probably take a break for a little bit. I have some minor injuries that need some rest to fully heal,” says Subhash. “Eventually, I’ll definitely come back to it and play for fun, or play with my friends. I don’t think it’ll ever be completely out of my life because it’s been the biggest part of my life since I can remember.”

A baseball catcher has a dangerous job.

There are the usual risks, like knee strain and getting hit by foul balls, but junior Kyle Teel had something new to worry about on Sunday, June 11.

If the University of Virginia won game three of the best-of-three Super Regional against Duke, the team would celebrate qualifying for the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, with a dogpile on the pitcher’s mound.

The last time UVA won a Super Regional in 2021, Teel was a freshman right fielder. By the time he jogged home, he was able to launch himself into a coveted spot atop the pile.

Now, Teel would be squatting just feet from pitcher Brian Edgington, who was destined to become the epicenter of the celebratory crush.

Teel’s reward for becoming the first catcher in UVA history to be named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the country’s best amateur baseball player, was to be crushed by his own teammates.

In the tunnel, Teel turned to graduate student outfielder Travis Reifsnider. “What should I do?”

Reifsnider considered. “Here’s what you’re going to do,” he said. “You’re going to tackle Brian Edgington. And you’re going to roll off.”

That was the plan.

When sophomore outfielder Colin Tuft caught the final out of the game to seal Virginia’s 12-2 victory, Teel launched himself into Edgington’s arms, then tried the Reifsnider roll.

He had forgotten to account for the fact that this would require Edgington letting go.

Edgington only clutched Teel tighter, and the two were suddenly buried beneath the entire Virginia baseball team.

“It was a little painful, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,” Edgington said.

The risk of temporary suffocation was worth it. Just two days prior, it seemed possible that the Cavaliers wouldn’t even play a game three, let alone win it.

Jake Gelof is UVA’s all-time home run leader, and he broke Virginia’s single-season RBI record with 84 this season.

When he stepped up to the plate for the final at-bat during game one of the Super Regional on Saturday, June 9, with two runners on base and the Cavaliers down by one, the home crowd was on its feet. If Gelof recorded a hit, Virginia would walk off with a win.

Gelof connected with the final pitch of the game so forcefully the crack could be heard across Davenport Field as the ball sailed toward the shouting audience behind the left-field fence.

Then Duke’s Tyler Albright leapt upward and snagged it out of the air, quieting the crowd and forcing UVA to concede a 5-4 defeat. It was only the fifth time in 42 games the Cavaliers had lost at home. That was enough to stun the players. It was not enough, however, to panic them. 

“When you’re one loss away from ending the season, sometimes the team is really quiet and worried, but seeing everyone be confident still was really cool,” sophomore shortstop Griff O’Ferrall said.

In the tunnel before the do-or-die game two on June 10, Teel did his best impression of a broadcaster watching an upcoming Virginia win.

Into his imaginary microphone, Teel intoned the story of O’Ferrall hitting his first home run of the season. The bases were loaded, of course.

It might not have been a grand slam, but it turned out Teel’s prediction wasn’t too far off.

As the host of a Super Regional, the Cavaliers got the rare opportunity to be the away team at home when the batting order flipped for game two. That meant O’Ferrall, Virginia’s lead-off hitter, started the game at the plate.

“The crowd was all chanting,” O’Ferrall said. “That was the loudest I think I’ve heard the crowd.”

On the first pitch, Duke pitcher Alex Gow missed upwards. O’Ferrall knew Gow would zero in on the strike zone after getting behind on the count, so he decided to be aggressive on the next throw.

On the second pitch, O’Ferrall connected.

Just like announcer Teel had called before the game, his hit went all the way over the left-center wall.

“It was really special to see him hit his first home run of the season in such a big spot,” Teel said. “He worked so hard, and he’s such a great ballplayer. It was really exciting to see.”

Starting pitcher junior Connelly Early stepped onto the mound in the bottom of the first with the cushion of both a 1-0 lead and a riled-up stadium.

“When Griff O’Ferrall hits a leadoff home run, I mean, the fans are gonna be into the game right from the start, so I didn’t have to get the crowd going,” Early said.

Virginia extended its lead to 4-0 before Duke hit a pair of doubles to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to one in the bottom of the fourth.

That was when Early started thinking of graduate student pitcher Edgington, who was scheduled to start the next game, if there was a next game. Game three still had the dreaded parenthetical “if necessary” beside its Sunday start time on the NCAA schedule.

“I had a realization,” Early said. “I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m not going to give Brian a chance to pitch this third game.’ That’s all that was running through my mind. I was like, ‘I’ve gotta do whatever I can to be able to get Brian out there for what could be his last outing.’”

Early buckled down for the final three innings of his start, allowing zero runs on two hits and forcing four batters into swinging strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Cavaliers batters piled up 14 runs. Gelof joined in on the fun by finally getting that home run he’d been swinging for at the end of game one. It was enough to tie the series with a 14-4 win.

It would all come down to Edgington in game three.

Before the winner-takes-all game three on Sunday, June 11, pitching coach Drew Dickinson pumped his fist.

Dickinson had just watched Edgington, who was warming up in the bullpen, hurl his split-finger. This pitch, thrown like a fastball with the pitcher’s grip spread into a V, surprises batters by dropping suddenly at the plate.

“When it’s not on, it’s [a] battle for him … but when he throws it with confidence, it’s good,” Dickinson said. “It just looks like a fastball, and then it gets to the home plate and just disappears. He had it going the other day, and I knew right in the bullpen. … As soon as he threw that first pitch, I was like, ‘It’s on.’”

Sure enough, the Blue Devils had no answer for that tricky pitch. 

Edgington kept Duke off the scoresheet for the first half of the game, opening with five brutally efficient, scoreless innings while the Cavaliers’ offense got to work.

By the time the eighth frame rolled around, Virginia had scored 11 runs. Edgington had held Duke to two.

In the final two innings of a normal game, a starting pitcher would usually sit and allow a closer to finish out the win. This, however, was no normal game.

“As a kid, you always dreamed [of] a complete game, especially in sending your team to Omaha,” Edgington said. “I was just hoping they weren’t going to take me out. And that was never discussed.” 

That dream looked like it would never come for Edgington when he injured his shoulder as a freshman at Saint Joseph’s University back in 2018. It wasn’t certain he would ever be able to throw again at full strength, let alone pitch a meaningful D1 contest.

Six years and three schools later, Edgington finally got the chance to pitch his dream game. It was the first complete NCAA Tournament contest from a UVA pitcher in nine years.

“I don’t think words can describe the joy, the excitement I was going through,” Edgington said.

Nine Cavaliers batters connected for hits in game three. In two must-win games, Virginia outscored Duke 26-6.

“Pressure is not a bad thing,” Teel said. “Pressure is a good thing, and pressure is what makes this team so great. I love it. It makes the game way more exciting.”

Of 299 D1 men’s baseball programs, only eight make it to the College World Series each summer.

In Brian O’Connor’s 20 years as head coach, the Cavaliers have made the trip six times, including their 2015 championship season and most recently in 2021. 

“That’s something that we always talk about in the fall. We break the huddle saying, Omaha in three,” O’Ferrall said. “In this program, it’s something we talk about every day. It’s always in the back of our minds.” 

On Saturday, June 18, six days after the Super Regionals game three victory, Virginia was eliminated from the College World Series after a 4-3 loss to Texas Christian University.

This is the end of the road for the Hoos this season, but “it doesn’t diminish what this team accomplished,” O’Connor said after Sunday’s loss. The team finished with 50 wins (for the fifth time in program history), and ended 50-15 overall. The Cavs’ 44 regular-season wins were the second most in program history, and just one short of matching the record. UVA also won 19 ACC games during the regular season, the most since 2016, and won its first ACC Coastal title since 2011. In other words, UVA’s 2023 baseball season was a big success, by any measure.

Come May, there is an annual exodus from Charlottesville of the 23,721 undergrad and grad students who are enrolled at UVA. Some stragglers remain, but summer in the city, especially on the Corner, is quiet in comparison to the fall, winter, and early spring. The emptiness of University Avenue highlights the complex relationship between the university and the Corner. 

Many businesses set up shop on the Corner because of UVA and its vast associated population. Paul Collinge, owner of Heartwood Books, has been there since 1975. “I chose the location because I was looking for something near a university,” he says. 

His store appeals to an educated, yet bohemian clientele, the post-adolescents that the university harbors. The summer calmness, though, changes his business. Focus shifts from students to locals. 

Rahul Patel is one of the newest business owners on the Corner. Hoos are regulars at his shop, the 7 Days Jr. Convenience Store. Patel, who is building a franchise, has two locations in Charlottesville, and came to the Corner because of the hyper activity. 

“The Corner is the center of life at UVA,” he says. “I’ve been in that area for almost two-and-a-half years.”  Patel hasn’t experienced a summer on the Corner yet, but he’s anticipating a lower volume. Still, he thinks the Corner is a good spot to build his franchise, “I’m building my 7-days-Jr. Chain. … I love this area, and that is a really good spot, and I strive to stay in the longer run.”

Laureen Megariotis’ only child just finished her first year at the university. While in Charlottesville for Days on the Lawn last summer, she was impressed by the serenity. “It reminded me of the quiet towns of New Jersey,” Megariotis says. “It was one of the things I loved about UVA the most for my child. It wasn’t crowded or overwhelming like city schools.” 

Her impression completely changed during a November visit. “I was shocked,” she says. “We were staying at The Draftsman, and walking our daughter back to her dorm on that Friday night, we saw so many students out wearing microscopic tops. We could hear the frat music from our hotel.” The partying young adults, though, support the bars, and late-night restaurants on the Corner. 

Corner cafés, such as Corner Juice and Grit Coffee, are day-time watering holes for students and faculty. According to student Alex Vorbyeva, who is taking summer classes, the ambiance is completely different between the two times of year. “Finals season, you couldn’t even get a seat at Corner Juice. Sure, ordering was no problem, but you had to sit in the park, on the Lawn, or in 1515. … I don’t have any problems getting a seat now.” 

Despite providing patrons to Corner businesses, UVA independently competes against the popular shopping and dining district. While he signed a non-compete agreement, Collinge recalls that “the university switched policies, and they decided to sell everything they could make money on the Grounds of the university.” A change in merchandise for Collinge followed. 

“Universities now don’t sell a lot of books, but a lot of imprinted and actual sportswear, and the various restaurants that are in Newcomb Hall, and they opened a travel agency, and a barbershop there,” he says. “They opened all these things that are designed to compete with private enterprises in the City of Charlottesville, and that really did have an impact on the Corner. It really knocked the supports out from underneath a lot of business.”

Nursing students in the University of Virginia’s Class of 2023 have lived through the full breadth of the COVID-19 pandemic—from the first cases being detected overseas in 2019 to the end of the federal public health emergency in May. It’s been a long and rugged road for the entire world, but the nursing students experienced the past four years from a unique vantage point. The nature of their work and studies required them to come into direct contact with COVID patients, and to return to in-person learning sooner than students in other programs. 

“We were very privileged students to have more classes in person,” says Anna Linehan, who graduates from UVA School of Nursing on May 20. “We can’t learn to put in a catheter without being in person. It just doesn’t work over Zoom.”

Fellow graduating senior Hunter Saunders served as a patient care technician in the medical intensive care unit at UVA Hospital before students were allowed to work with COVID patients during clinicals. Being immersed in that fast-moving environment, where “the [COVID] guidelines changed week to week,” says Saunders, was an invaluable experience.

“I learned so many aspects of patient care doing that,” he adds. “And I think that it was almost a little odd that hospital policy tended to keep nursing students out, because as soon as you graduate with that license, you don’t get held back from anything. You are in that situation fully.”

Crystal Zhang, another graduating senior, worked with COVID patients during her own clinical rotations. She remains vigilant about the virus. “For now, I just feel like it doesn’t hurt me to wear my mask all the time,” says Zhang. “I’m still feeling like all I can do right now is to protect myself. … Especially when we work with patients who are … immunocompromised.”

Hands-on work remains a key appeal of nursing for these students as they prepare to take their NCLEX licensure exams. Linehan initially wanted to be a physician’s assistant, and enrolled in UVA’s College of Arts and Sciences as a chemistry major. But when she saw that her friends in the School of Nursing were participating in clinicals and lab work as undergrads—and would graduate with a license to practice—she decided to transfer into the nursing program.

“Coming from the College of Arts and Sciences, I felt a lot of cutthroat-ness to get to the top,” says Linehan. “But I think everybody in nursing is here to support each other, and we all want to end up being nurses and support our peers to also become great nurses.”

Saunders identifies the support of the UVA community during the past four years as transcendent. “Whether it be COVID or gun violence, knowing how those feel first-hand … knowing how we’ve made it through and how we’ve been there for each other has been something that I think I’ll carry through into my adult life,” he says.

After graduation, the students will go their separate ways. Zhang will return to her alma mater to work in UVA Health’s medical ICU, while Saunders will move to Washington, D.C., to work at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in the medical cardiovascular ICU. Linehan, who participated in Air Force ROTC all four years at UVA, is preparing to move across the country—first to training in San Antonio, Texas, before being stationed at Travis Air Force Base in California as an Air Force nurse.

Crossing the country will be a big next step, but Linehan says she’s excited. “I don’t really know what to expect, so I think that’s part of the fun in it.”

Even though Zhang will remain at UVA, this time as a staff member, she expresses that she’s going to miss “everything” about her undergraduate experience.

“I think I’m a quite lucky person. Everybody I’ve met since I came to the United States has been super nice,” she says. “I feel really supported the 11 years that I am here, and especially in UVA. Not just the nursing school, but in my clinical rotations, in my practicum.”

Moving north to a much more urban locale means Saunders will miss the easy access to nature that Charlottesville has. “Being able to just grab your group of friends and just say, ‘Hey, let’s go explore nature,’ and it’s a four minute drive maybe is something I think I’m gonna miss,” he says.

Marianne Baernholdt, dean of the UVA School of Nursing and the Sadie Heath Cabaniss Professor of Nursing, urged her students to stay in touch with each other.

“I still have people that I call up when things get tough,” she says. “The relationships you’ve formed here, keep them close.”

“Remember,” Baernholdt stressed to the three graduating students, “you can do anything in nursing.”

The last four years have been anything but conventional for the University of Virginia’s Class of 2023. Ahead of Final Exercises, I spoke to my peers about their unique time at UVA.

During spring break of our first year, we encountered our first major challenge with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. That time was marked by incredible instability and uncertainty for the entire world, and the experiences of the Class of 2023 reflect that.

“I think … every person our year can probably remember getting the email from President Ryan, telling us not to return after spring break our first year, and … realizing that the pandemic was going to affect our college experience pretty significantly,” says Eva Surovell.

Surovell, the former editor-in-chief of The Cavalier Daily, says the isolation of the pandemic is what drove her to get heavily involved with the paper. “When we … were told not to come back, I sort of felt like I was grasping at straws, trying to figure out how to stay connected to UVA even if I wasn’t … physically there,” she says. “And so for me, that meant throwing myself into the paper … [the paper] felt like my one connection to the university community.”  

Other students encountered more logistical problems during the early stages of the pandemic. Honor Committee Chair Gabrielle Bray recalled, “I didn’t have … my textbooks or anything like that because I did not come home with them for spring break. So I remember trying to … figure out how I was gonna get those, and how I was gonna finish this semester, because I’m an out-of-state student.”

It took months for Bray and other students to get access to their dorms, but the brief return to Grounds was bittersweet. “After we … packed up the dorm room and all that, we just went over to the Lawn … I [didn’t] know when I [would] see this again,” says Bray. She took in the Lawn with her father, “trying to … hold on to the good memories because we did not know what was going to happen.”

Although students did return to Grounds in the fall of 2020, the semester was anything but normal. A majority of classes remained online, and a number of strict gathering and testing policies were enforced to prevent the virus from spreading.

While all students were required to follow UVA COVID-19 safety procedures, resident advisors had the uniquely difficult task of enforcing policies in dorms.

“When I signed up to be an RA, the promise was like, ‘You’re gonna make a staff of eight to 14 best friends, you’re gonna get to meet 280 incredible people across the program. You’re gonna have awesome residents and you’re gonna be able to be like their older sibling and their best friend and help them through so much,’’’ says Holly Sims, who was a RA during the 2020-2021 school year. “The reality of it was that we were essentially cops in dorms, that we were the first line of enforcement for a lot of potentially life-saving policies. So we all felt that weight, and all felt that it was important. It was so hard to actually do that job well.”

Despite her difficult experience as a RA, Sims remains passionate about housing at UVA as the co-chair of the Resident Staff Program and vice president for administration of Student Council. 

Although difficult to enforce, the policies that university officials and RAs like Sims maintained were crucial in protecting at-risk members of the UVA community.

 “Yeah, COVID sucked,” says rower Frederick Scotti, who has autoimmune disorders that can flare up when he gets sick. “It was really scary actually, because … I had no idea how I’d react to [COVID],” says Scotti. “But in another way, it was … kind of nice because it was this newfound … culture where everyone’s really cautious … so I can almost … feel more safe going out, because I knew people were all freaked out about getting sick, and it made me feel like people actually cared about not spreading disease around.”

Beyond academics and health, the pandemic also impacted students mentally and socially. “Second year is kind of … the most formative year for making friends and … getting familiar with your community, and a lot of that time was spent over Zoom and breakout rooms,” says civil engineering major Sin Lin. “So I could definitely see how that … set us back a little bit—us as in me and … my class.” 

The isolation of the pandemic impacted transfer students particularly hard. For women’s basketball player London Clarkson, coming to UVA during COVID both isolated her from her classmates and brought her closer to her team. “I wish I would have had … the opportunity to stay in dorms—like mandatory freshman year stay in dorms with all the other freshmen—because … I didn’t make as many friends and have … that sense of community that people have after staying in the dorms,” she says.

However, not all UVA students were virtual during the height of the pandemic. Nursing students resumed in-person learning in the fall of 2020. “There were a bunch of restrictions and we knew that it was going to be tough, but just being able to …  see people again after however many months that it had been,” says Ainslie Whitmarsh.

Throughout the 2020-2021 school year, a number of landmark events beyond the pandemic impacted the class of 2023. Between spitting in test tubes in university garages, quarantines, and exams, my class witnessed major political events like the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In the same year, the COVID-19 vaccine was developed and rolled out nationally, allowing UVA to slowly return to predominantly in-person instruction.

The pandemic was a major part of the Class of 2023’s time at UVA, but the transition back to in-person learning had an equally large impact.

For transfer student Quana Dennis, coming to UVA in 2021 was a major change of pace. “I didn’t know what to expect because the classes at Piedmont … were online, but when I transferred … everything was in person … it was … slowly gradually getting back into the normalcy of life,” he says. “I was just really interested in seeing what everybody looked like rather than a masked face and just like seeing people, their smiles, and their personalities come out behind the mask.”

Even for students who attended UVA prior to the pandemic, coming back to the classroom and the end of masking requirements was jarring. “Being in the classroom again … it was great to see people again, like I didn’t realize how much I missed the sort of in-person interaction with my professors and … fellow students,” says Surovell. “But I remember for me the most shocking … transition was when we weren’t required to wear a mask anymore and I … felt like I saw people’s faces for the first time.” 

For many, returning to in-person learning was also an opportunity to strengthen connections with classmates. “I’m just thankful that after the pandemic was over, we got back with being in person, we were able to … see each other and get to know each other to kind of make up for that lost time,” says Lin. Surovell also emphasized the impact of coming back to the classroom, saying, “I think I … appreciated the moments I had with my friends a lot more than I would have if … we had not been online for so long.”

After returning to near-normalcy during the 2021-2022 school year, the Class of 2023 was excited to begin fourth year. Despite the ominous placement of a noose on the Homer statue, the fall 2022 semester continued. But the normalcy was fully stripped away on November 13, when UVA students D’Sean Perry, Devin Chandler, and Lavel Davis Jr. were killed.

“When the shooting happened, that was just a really hard moment. I knew some of the guys and so did my boyfriend. He was really, really close with D’Sean,” says Clarkson. As a member of the women’s basketball team and Black Student-Athletes Offering Service and Support, Clarkson was particularly impacted by the tragedy. “Us girls, like as a team, we had to go play, we had … a preseason game against Loyola. … We were losing by so much and we actually came back and … won, and it was just so emotional, and honestly, so sad. … None of us even wanted to play.”

As a class leader, Sims was heavily involved in the university response to the deaths of Perry, Chandler, and Davis. “Around two o’clock on November 14th, a lot of student leaders met together … to talk about what we wanted to do in terms of a vigil or a memorial, and then we had an hour and a half conversation where we just banged it out, cried a little bit, and then all immediately got to work trying to make that happen.”  

“[I] was really, really impressed by how thoughtful everyone was being about what to do, and about how to execute on something like this,” Sims adds. “That was so unprecedented here, and that administration let students take the reins. … It was a big emotional labor to do that, but I think because it was by us, it meant more to us.”

“It impacted me in a way, just made me think of sports and my life differently. How thankful we were to … play and just live another day, honestly, that’s been the most impactful thing that’s happened to me this far,” Clarkson says. “Even if … you didn’t know them, like their presence and just knowing who they are … says a lot about how … important they were to our community and athletics.”

While the class of 2023 is still mourning the loss of our peers, we are preparing for what’s next. Despite a tumultuous four years, our time at UVA is also marked by incredible achievements and memories. From updating the Honor Constitution to publishing scientific papers to attending graduate school in Charlottesville and beyond, the future of this year’s class is bright.

UVA hate crime prevention

The University of Virginia Department of Safety and Security and the UVA Police Department have partnered to organize multiple hate crime prevention events.

UVA has been a hotbed for hateful criminal activity, from the August 11, 2017, “Unite the Right” tiki torch rally on Grounds, to the more recent noose placed on the Lawn’s Homer statue.

The university first provided officers with hate crime training so they can better address cases. Now, they are presenting that information to the public. 

Transparency and an understanding of practical application were at the forefront of designing these trainings. “We made sure all of our trainings tell a significant story,” says UVA Police Department Diversity Officer Cortney Hawkins.

“Officers and the UVA community will also have the chance to hear from victims so they’ll get to hear conversations from individuals who have experienced hate crimes and have been impacted by it,” adds UPD member Dani Lawson. 

By addressing real-life hate crimes, people and officers easily identify future ones. “A lot of times people don’t know that that should be reported as a hate crime and why it’s important to have that labeled as a hate crime,” Hawkins says.  

Participants will receive 26 hours of Department of Criminal Justice Services credit—training required to become an officer in Virginia—in the career development, diversity, equity, inclusion, and legal areas. 

Current crime-prevention measures include two self-defense classes (one for women and one co-ed); educational seminars on general safety and security, alcohol awareness, illegal drugs, hazing, sexual assault prevention and self defense; and security surveys. 

“We understand that we are not building trust, we are attaining trust,” says Hawkins. 

The trainings will be held August 9-10 and September 12-13. 

NFL honors slain UVA players

Before the first pick of the 2023 NFL draft was announced on April 27, the league held a special ceremony to honor the University of Virginia football players who were killed in November.

Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry were named honorary 2023 season first draft picks. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell handed each player’s family a No. 23 jersey, and posed for photos. Chandler’s family received a Jaguars jersey, Davis’ a Ravens jersey, and Perry’s a Dolphins jersey. 

“With the first picks in the 2023 NFL draft,” said Goodell, “we welcome to the NFL family, D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis, and Devin Chandler of the University of Virginia.”

UVA Head Coach Tony Elliott and Athletics Director Carla Williams were both at the ceremony. “Overjoyed and thankful to @NFLDraft for honoring three beautiful souls and their amazing families,” Williams tweeted.

In brief

Resignation demanded

The Virginia NAACP is calling for the resignation of Martin Brown, the state’s chief diversity officer, following his statement, “DEI is dead.” Brown made the remark during a speech at the Virginia Military Institute’s annual inclusive excellence training. Since the NAACP’s rebuke of Brown, several others have joined the organization in demanding his resignation, including the Virginia speaker of the House of Delegates, AAPI Caucus, the Legislative Black Caucus, and the Latino Caucus.

Scholarships awarded

On May 6, 100 Black Men of Central Virginia will award $1,000 scholarships to 42 African American high school seniors from the Charlottesville area. The recipients have all achieved at least a 3.0 GPA, participated in 100 Black Men community programs, and will begin college in the fall of 2023. Students from 11 different high schools will be honored.

Youngkin in Asia

Gov. Glenn Youngkin visited Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea last week in a trip aimed at bolstering “supply chain relationships” and international investments in Virginia. During his trip, Youngkin met President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, and South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. This was Youngkin’s first visit to Asia as governor.

Expunge this

Charlottesville CitySpace held an expungement clinic on Friday, April 28. Attendees had all charges that did not result in a conviction erased from their record. Only through filing a petition in the circuit court of the jurisdiction where citizens were charged can a person start the expungement process. The commonwealth’s attorney then receives a copy of the petition and can object if necessary. 

For fans who enjoy pointing to their televisions and saying, “I watched them back when they played for UVA,” this University of Virginia athletics season is required viewing. From marking national bests and setting school records, to going on championship streaks to taking teams to the postseason, athletes are making UVA history this year—and they’re not planning to stop when they leave Grounds. Here’s a look at memorable seasons from five Virginia athletes who, based on their performances this spring, will be players to watch in the future.

Ashley Anumba

Track & Field

A discus throw takes place in the span of a second.

During that second, second-year law school student Ashley Anumba has dozens of muscle movements to think about.

“A misconception about throwing is that it’s all arms, but it’s a total body movement from your legs up to your hands,” says Anumba.

Anumba has to make sure her hips are open enough for her turn. She must turn her head as she uses her glutes to power her twist to the front, while keeping her back precisely angled so her release sends the 2.2-pound disc flying in the right direction.

She might think over each of these movements while practicing, but in competition the throw is seamless. After thousands of repetitions, her body knows exactly what to do.

That’s not to say that Anumba’s throw isn’t still evolving. This fall, new UVA throwing coach Steve Lemke helped her see the process differently. Instead of leaning on her natural elegance in the ring, she began deliberately using each muscle to its maximum strength during the wind.

That’s part of why she was able to set a Virginia discus record with her first throw of the 2023 season.

At North Carolina State’s Raleigh Relays on March 24, Anumba threw the discus 59.37 meters, or 194 feet and nine inches. That’s the fifth time she has set a new school standard since she joined the team in 2022—and it was with a distance 2.87 meters (nine feet, five inches) farther than her first record-breaking throw.

“When you reach a certain level of expertise, the jumps in distance or time progressions … get smaller, because you’re already reaching that peak,” says Anumba. “So, the fact that I was able to bypass all of that and still, even though I’m on a high level, make such a big jump, that’s been amazing. Evidently, something is going right with this technique change.”

Anumba arrived at UVA as a graduate transfer from the University of Pennsylvania, holding a degree in public health and two extra years of athletics eligibility thanks to COVID-19. She was looking for a school that would support her simultaneous pursuit of a law degree and the world standard discus throw of 63.5 meters (208 feet, three inches). She found that university in Charlottesville. 

“This team, this school, has shown me that I shouldn’t be afraid of pursuing goals that are scary, or things that I want in my life that may be far away,” says Anumba. “People will help me get there.”

After taking on the ACC and NCAA championships this spring, Anumba wants to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August. Her ultimate goal is to represent Nigeria, where most of her extended family lives, in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I’m chipping away at it, and more than ever, I see it as more of a reality than a possibility,” says Anumba.

This is a future Anumba never imagined while playing soccer as a child. While her older sister Michelle, now head athletic trainer for the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, was setting shot put records at Duke, Ashley was busy dreaming of a future in the National Women’s Soccer League. She joined track only as a part of injury recovery in eighth grade.

It was not until a high school coach told her that her discus talent could someday earn her a college scholarship—and even an Olympics bid—that Anumba began trying to become one of the best in the world.

“I never expected to be as good as what I am now,” says Anumba. “Seeing the vision that my high school coach had for me, it’s absolutely crazy. I’m believing everything he said, because it’s becoming true.”

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Connor Shellenberger

Lacrosse

When Connor Shellenberger was 9 years old, he watched his hometown University of Virginia triumph over Maryland in the 2011 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship.

Ten years later, the Cavaliers took on the Terrapins in a 2021 title rematch—but this time, Shellenberger was on the field.

The redshirt first-year scored four times to help Virginia to a 17-16 championship victory.

“I don’t know if it’s hit me, to be honest,” says Shellenberger. “I’m hoping one day, once I’m done playing lacrosse, it’ll be able to fully sink in. It was crazy. It happened so fast.”

For his 14 goals and 10 assists in four 2021 playoff games, Shellenberger was the second rookie in NCAA history to be named the tournament’s most outstanding player. He finished the following season as a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, handed to the most outstanding player in college lacrosse, after leading UVA with 76 points and 44 assists in 16 games in 2022.

Shellenberger tries not to focus on accolades. He says he models his game after Steele Stanwick, the last Cavalier to receive the Tewaaraton in 2011, who he always felt cared more about team wins than stats chasing.

That might be part of why on May 23 of last year, the day after the Terrapins knocked Virginia out of the 2022 NCAA quarterfinals, the team voted to make Shellenberger captain.

“You’re always thinking about winning games and winning championships and stuff like that, but some of the bigger honors are stuff like that, where your teammates trust you and want you to lead them,” says Shellenberger.

Shellenberger’s dominant 2022 season earned him an invite to U.S. Men’s National Team tryouts last summer. There, Shellenberger was able to pick the brains of players he’d grown up watching, like Cornell’s Rob Pannell and Princeton’s Tom Schreiber. Both are now professional lacrosse players.

“I was seeing all the guys that I had grown up watching on TV,” says Shellenberger. “Being around them off the field and talking to them, and also on the field and going against them— it’s tough to have that confidence at first, to feel like you belong, because you’ve seen all the great things they’ve done.”

Shellenberger is starting to believe he belongs as he gets closer to his goal of making the national team—and to leading UVA back to the national championships.

Although the team entered the 2023 season without Matt Moore, Shellenberger’s offensive partner and UVA’s all-time points leader, Virginia offense has been led by Shellenberger and a squad of fifth-year veterans.

Xander Dickson has become one of the top scorers in college lacrosse, Petey LaSalla is one of the best in the country on draws and Payton Cormier’s 145 career goals rank No. 2 in UVA history. All three were wearing orange and navy blue for both Virginia’s 2019 and 2021 championships.

Now, Shellenberger is looking to get a second ring of his own as he finishes out the season with his family watching from the stands of Klöckner Stadium.

“Thinking back 10 years ago, I was going to the game with them as a fan, and now I get to look over and they’re standing in the same place that we stood,” says Shellenberger. “It’s kind of a full circle.”

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Eden Bigham

Softball

The day before the UVA softball team boarded a plane to Houston for its February 9 season opener against Lamar University, freshman pitcher Eden Bigham got the news she would be starting.

It was a moment she had spent every day that fall preparing for. She had completely reworked her changeup. She had learned not to rely on the rise ball, her go-to in high school.

She also toughened her mental game, which might have been the most important skill waiting in her arsenal as she stepped onto the mound for her collegiate debut.

“You have the ball in your hands, you have every possible chance that something can happen, so it creates a lot of excitement,” says Bigham. “At the same time, it is also a lot of pressure.”

Bigham made it through five innings without Lamar registering a hit. Someone mentioned the forbidden, jinx-ridden word—“no-hitter”—between frames, but she shook it off.

“It’s in the back of my head, but I know if I focus too much on it, then I’m not going to go perform well,” says Bigham. “I was definitely thinking about it, but I didn’t let it change anything.”

In the top of the sixth, two Lamar runners got on base on a walk and an error. Bigham remained cool. 

With her dad, the coach of her travel team, and her mom, a former college pitcher who was named to the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017, watching in the crowd, Bigham retired the next six batters in order.

She ended her debut with a 5-0 shutout win, nine strikeouts and the first solo no-hitter recorded by a Cavalier since Ally Frei in 2019.

“My team was so happy for me, and having them there was really exciting,” says Bigham. “I was nervous, but (it showed) I could come out and compete with college girls.”

Bigham has continued to prove that throughout the season. Her ERA ranks her among this season’s top 15 freshman college pitchers. She has started in more than a third of the Cavaliers’ outings and earned seven shutouts.

Last year, UVA softball came to the edge of qualification for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.

Bigham is part of a strong first-year class that looks ready to end the decade-long drought, and bring this Virginia softball back to the NCAA postseason.

It is not a long drive from Bigham’s hometown of Rustburg, Virginia, to Palmer Park, but there is a significant distance between the skill level of the opponents she faces in Charlottesville and those she challenged in high school. Having old travel ball teammates like her roommate Jade Hylton, who leads UVA with 10 home runs, has helped Bigham adjust.

Growing certainty from Bigham on the mound and Hylton at the plate has helped Virginia softball put up the program’s highest single-season win total in 13 years.

“In high school and travel, if something didn’t go my way, it would tear me to pieces,” says Bigham. “But I definitely know these girls have my back, and if I give up runs, they can come back and score them … my confidence has definitely gotten better since I’ve been here.”

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Jake Gelof

Baseball

When third-year Jake Gelof fouled a ball straight back in his first at-bat against the University of Richmond on April 11, the crowd let out a collective sigh.

They, like Gelof, knew what was at stake. His 37 runs tied E.J. Anderson (1995-98) for the career record by a Cavalier, and his next homer would make school history.

In the fifth inning, Gelof returned to the plate. This time, he put the ball over the fence at far left field to become Virginia’s all-time leader in home runs during the Cavaliers’ 18-0 shutout of the Spiders.

“Once I saw it go, I was really excited,” says Gelof.

It’s a record Gelof never expected to hit during his rookie season, when he was seeing limited at-bats. It wasn’t until the 2021 postseason that he showed the Cavaliers what his swing could do.

Truist Field is famous for its long balls: Three days before UVA took the field to face Notre Dame in the 2021 ACC Tournament quarterfinals, the University of Louisville set an ACC championship record there for home runs, with seven in a single game.

It’s no wonder Gelof sent his first collegiate homer over the fence at Truist, and helped Virginia move on to the tournament’s semifinals.

“I was batting a little low in the lineup, and balls were flying for guys in the beginning of the lineup,” says Gelof. “Once I hit it, I hadn’t had that feeling in a while … that feeling of getting a ball out of the stadium, that was a great feeling.”

The key to hitting 37 more home runs in the 108 games since that day, Gelof says, has been not changing too much, staying in his approach and remaining confident each time he steps up to the plate.

That strategy helped him become a key part of the lineup as UVA went to the 2021 College World Series. 

After starting every game his second season, and ranking second in the ACC with 81 RBIs, Gelof earned an invite to the 2022 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp, where he bumped elbows with other rising stars in American baseball.

Tips from the camp’s nationally ranked players and coaches have helped Gelof lead the Cavs in RBIs and home runs, as he helps power them to their third straight NCAA postseason in 2023—and so did off-season training with his brother, Zack, who started every game for UVA from 2019 to 2021, until he was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 2021 MLB draft.  

He’s exactly where Gelof wants to be someday.

“Having such a great person to come to, who has had success at the levels that I aspire to play at … just to have someone to talk to all the time that you look up to, is very special,” says Gelof.

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Gretchen Walsh

Swimming

Heading into the 2023 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships in March, Gretchen Walsh was very familiar with the American record for the 100-yard backstroke. After all, she was there, just one quarter of a second behind, when North Carolina State’s Katharine Berkoff set the 48.74-seconds record last year.

That’s why the UVA second-year knew she had broken it the moment she touched the wall and saw 48.26 on the clock.

That thrilling moment would have been unimaginable to Walsh just a few years ago, when she was a Tennessee high school student, doing backstroke just for fun. It wasn’t until she arrived in Charlottesville that coaches convinced her to compete.

Walsh says UVA swimming coach Todd DeSorbo calls her underwater abilities her “secret weapon.” She worked on maximizing it by training to hold her breath under water through punishing sets, until not breathing became second nature.

“Once I started doing that, my backstroke career really took off, and obviously now here I am with the American record,” says Walsh. “I never, going into college, thought I’d be saying that, but here I am, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Walsh’s 100-yard backstroke win, in addition to a victory in the 100-yard freestyle and a role in four of the Cavaliers’ five relay triumphs, helped the Virginia women’s swimming & diving team win its third consecutive NCAA championship on March 19.

The rest of the Cavaliers’ six individual titles went to Walsh’s training partner, senior Kate Douglass, who set American records in the 200-yard individual medley, 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard breaststroke, and Walsh’s sister, junior Alex Walsh, who claimed a title in the 400-yard medley. 

Both swimmers have been instrumental in pushing Walsh since she arrived at UVA last year. Like Walsh, both have set American records. And like Walsh strives to do, both medaled at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Now, Alex is waiting to get her Olympic rings tattoo until Gretchen gets hers, too.

Walsh has dreamed of the Olympics ever since she and Alex swam together as children. In fourth grade, when the class was told to create self-portraits, Walsh drew herself standing on the Olympic blocks. 

Her performance in the 2020 Olympic trials, the summer before her first year at UVA, fell short of qualifying. She thinks that could be different in 2024.

“Since coming into UVA, having this change and this new environment, I feel a lot more confident going into next summer, in my abilities and my training, all around,” says Walsh. “I think it’s definitely feasible.”

Next season, Walsh has a long list of individual goals. She wants to hit 20.5 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle and 47 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke, both events in which she has already set the national standard. She wants to add another American record by beating 45.56 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle. It’s a lot of numbers to keep track of, but that’s no problem for a finance major and math minor.

“I always find myself counting my strokes, or my kicks, or how many breaths I have to take,” says Walsh. “I think a lot of swimming is numbers, and that’s one of the reasons I probably liked math—and swimming, too.”

Most of all, Walsh wants to help UVA become the first school to win four straight NCAA swimming & diving titles since Stanford did it in 1995.

“I think we can do it again, so we’ll see,” says Walsh. “We’re creating a legacy, and that’s one of the coolest things about this whole experience.”