COLLEGES:
William and Mary’s athletics department posted high marks in the latest graduation-rate data published by the NCAA on Wednesday, according to a W&M release.
The NCAA report includes both the Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) and the Graduation Success Rate (GSR), two of the three major academic progress reports published by the national office.
There were 351 Division I colleges and universities included in the GSR and 344 in the FGR, which measured students who entered college in the fall of 2011 and finished by the summer of 2018.
Overall, 12 of 18 W&M programs measured held steady or increased in the FGR, and 17 of 19 did so in the GSR compared to last year’s report.
For the 14th year in a row, W&M student-athletes achieved the highest FGR among all public colleges at 88 percent, seven points ahead of the next-closest school, Michigan.
W&M’s student-athlete FGR of 88 percent, and its overall student-body graduation rate of 91 percent, both matched the all-time high set last year.
W&M led all schools in the CAA by seven points, and was the top-rated program in Virginia by six points.
Among all schools in the country, including public, private, and military academies, the Tribe tied with Georgetown for 11th overall.
Women’s volleyball:
Hampton junior Megann Delgado made the All-Big South first team, and Pirates senior Maja Petronijevic was on the All-Academic Team. …
Virginia coach Aaron Smith announced the signing of four players for next season.
The class includes outside hitters Simone Dominique (San Marino, Calif.) and Jayna Francis (Virginia Beach), setter Maddie Boylston (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) and middle blocker Mattison Matthews (Charleston, S.C.). All four received American Volleyball Coaches Association High School All-American honorable mention. …
Virginia Tech coach Jill Wilson announced that three players — libero-defensive specialist Logan Mosley of Apex, N.C., outside hitter Cera Powell of Pittsboro, N.C., and middle blocker/right-side hitter Anabel Zier of Blacksburg — have signed letters of intent on the first day of the signing period to join the Hokies next season.
Women’s golf:
Virginia Tech coach Carol Robertson announced the signing of Becca DiNunzio, from Granby High in Norfolk, and Alyssa Montgomery of Knoxville, Tenn., to letters of intent to join the Hokies for the 2019-20 season.
Softball:
Virginia announced the signings of right-handed pitchers Mackenzie Wooten of Isle of Wight Academy and Newport News, Molly Grube of Manchester High near Richmond and Morgan Murphy of Grassfield High in Chesapeake, as well as infielders Mikaila Fox of Ocean Springs, Miss., and Katie Goldberg from Atlanta.
MEAC HALL OF FAME:
Former Hampton University football/track standout Jerome Mathis, who went on to play in the NFL as a wide receiver and kick returner, was named to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, the MEAC announced. So was former Norfolk State basketball star Kyle O’Quinn.
They join South Carolina State football player Dwayne Harper, Maryland Eastern Shore bowler Jessica Worsley and longtime Florida A&M sports information director Alvin Hollins in being inducted March 14 in Norfolk.
GYMNASTICS:
William and Mary senior Jacopo Gliozzi will represent Italy at the Turnier der Meister World Cup in Cottbus, Germany, from Nov. 22-25.
Gliozzi, who grew up in Fairfax and has Italian heritage, earned an invitation to be a part of the Italian team at the World Cup event after training with the squad last summer. He will compete on pommel horse, an event in which he has garnered NCAA All-America honors and is a two-time Eastern College Athletic Conference champion.
The Olympic Channel will air same-day coverage on Nov. 24 and Nov. 25 from 9-11 p.m. ET. Coverage will also be available on OlympicChannel.com during the broadcasts.
Gliozzi emerged on the national stage as a sophomore when he earned NCAA All-America honors on pommel horse with a sixth-place finish.
HOCKEY:
The ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals agreed to contract terms with goalie Serhii Liulchuk, 24, who was added to the roster last week as an emergency backup. The 24-year-old had a 2.74 goals-against average and an .897 save percentage in 20 appearances in a league in his native Ukraine.
