Stars plan to finish what they’ve started
Virginia Wesleyan softball is gearing up for another dominant season as three of the perennial powerhouse’s key contributors are set to return, thanks to the extended eligibility granted by the NCAA.
As spring athletes who were able to play just 12 games of their senior campaign before the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the rest of the season, Hanna Hull, Madison Glaubke and Jessica Goldyn all jumped at the opportunity to don the Marlins’ uniform once again.
According to Goldyn, who transferred from the University of Buffalo before her junior year, making the decision to stick around for another season was an easy choice.
“Another year is a no-brainer if you’re able to take it,” she said.
Glaubke and Goldyn, who each graduated from Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, decided to delay their graduation in order to stay with the Marlins, while Hull will pursue her master’s of business administration at Virginia Wesleyan.
Hull, who along with Glaubke played a major role in the Marlins’ back-to-back national championship victories in 2017 and ’18, is eager for a second chance at redemption after the team’s last full campaign ended in a disappointing NCAA regional loss.
“I think we were really motivated this past season, with it also being our last. (We wanted to) just leave it all on the field and give it all we had, so for it to be cut short so suddenly, it was not a good feeling,” she said. “For the NCAA to allow us to play another year and to come back and finish what we started, I think we’re all really excited about that.”
For head coach Brandon Elliott, bringing back players who have been an integral part of the team’s recent success is a dream come true.
“A lot of times, when you graduate a group of kids and then you come back the next year and you see what your freshmen can do as well as your returners, you’re always like, ‘Man, if we could have our seniors back with this group, that’d be so cool,’ but you never can,” he said. “This is a situation where you … have the opportunity to bring your seniors back (to play) with the freshmen. In that sense, you have five classes of kids together, and I think any coach in the country, unless they had a bad group of kids, would certainly love to have that opportunity.”
Elliott considers his senior group — including Kaylah Duplain, who is moving on to attend Eastern Virginia Medical School — “one of the best, if not the best, senior classes in NCAA Division III history” and is thrilled to have a chance to get most of them back for another potential championship run.
Heading into the 2021season, Elliott has high expectations. However, it all depends on how the Marlins can navigate the challenges of trying to accommodate new players along with the veterans.
“The challenge there is your roster is going to be unusually big. With that, you start bringing in more people and more personalities, more players with the same amount of positions, and so what’s really going to be the big key for us (is) not how hard we work or how we play. It’s going to be how we come together and how we gel in the culture and the program. … That’s going to be the biggest challenge, being able to put our egos aside and just go out and love on each other and push each other.”
For all three players, getting the chance to play one last season for Virginia Wesleyan goes beyond any potential success on the field. More than anything, they’re grateful to suit up one more time with a group they consider family.
“We’re so close-knit, we’re like sisters,” Goldyn said. “As you get bigger in divisions, it’s kind of more about the sport … and getting your education, and I think (here), it’s like a whole culture kind of thing. You just feel like a family.”
When Glaubke lost her mom, Marjorie, to illness during her sophomore year, her fellow Marlins were quick to rally around her in support.
“With the things that I’ve been through with my family … they’ve always been there for me through those rough times. … I’ve always just had them to look to, and that’s a really big thing,” Glaubke said.
“It’s not just who I’m playing with, it’s about the whole entire culture of Virginia Wesleyan softball. … We all share Virginia Wesleyan softball together, we all have the love for the sport, so even if I don’t know who (a former player) is, I know their character and I know who they are because of where they came from. We’re all built around that love and support for each other.”