Alumni Day is Feb 14 of 2025, and can we match the Chancellor's Match?

 

Hello beloved Sandy Hawks, Parents and Friends,

Here’s a little rundown on the program you helped build. And a heads up, Alumni Day is this coming February 14.

We’ve had a string of amazing autumns, usually culminating in a trip to a Rally property in Cartersville, or Huntsville, or a trip to scrimmage a South Carolina, or a Coastal.  This fall, we did something extra special, and hosted six universities at Capt'n Bill's. This AVCA Qualifier for the Fall Pairs Championship included Georgia State, South Carolina, South Florida (12 scholarships!) and the usual Coastal and Charleston. While we didn’t win a second bid, our top 2 pairs finished fifth and seventh out of 16 in a strong field. And our threes through sevens held their own. 

Based on last year‘s team finish (2nd in the conference behind GSU), we qualified 1 pair for the big national tournament Huntsville last weekend. We dropped the first round to a solid Boise State team in three, but managed to take down Florida State’s twos in convincing fashion. We finished in the middle of the pack of 64, but we were competitive with everyone.

Speaking of competitive, I believe this year‘s squad is the strongest we have had. And as you know, we have had some amazing teams.

To challenge and reward our six seniors this spring, we have the most ambitious schedule I could come up with. We are playing at Florida State, at South Carolina, at Georgia State, at Stetson. And, (don’t be jealous) at Hawaii for spring break, if we get a little more funding in.

Here’s a link to some past fall photos that always show up on my phone as memories if you want to get a little nostalgic: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mNZ2wykXFStdm9xi6

And here’s another one:  https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/vvia0ufqekc167oydd2te/AEWGwAtZTGFhQlzRFrlGlBI?rlkey=z0a1j0qhfiok4effjoy4bzk0f&st=7hu5kzbj&dl=0

And at the end of each season, I historically produce an “End of Season Banquet via Email,” since the end of season overlaps with finals. Many, including from your years probably, are here: https://volleytrolley.blogspot.com/

 If you’re still reading, it doesn’t surprise me. We continue to win the academic award at least every other semester. Last spring, women’s basketball came out of nowhere and took us, but I have high hopes we will get back on the pedestal in our rightful position.

Here’s where I ask for support. If you’re strapped, believe me, I know what being a young beach volleyball player can do to the finances, go ahead and skip to the end where we talk about alumni weekend.

Our team this year has been running clinics, finding sponsors for our home tournament (thanks Body Fortress, East Coast Volleyball Club, Peak Fitness, and Beach and Barn Apparel) and I’ll be asking them and the parents for help with our Support Fund. Donations to our “support fund” are always amazing, as that’s the one I have some discretion over.

The push this year is the “Chancellor‘s Match.“ It’s a fair and aggressive challenge. In a nutshell, if we raise $16,000 this year, with pledges for the same the next 4 years, the Chancellor will add $12,500 a year. What’s amazing about this, is that the $16K and the $12,500 become available instantly as additional scholarship dollars for our future Sandy Seahawks. That would essentially get us from 1 scholarship to 2!

If you could give us $16,000 a year, for five years, don’t let me get in your way :)

If a bunch of us give $50, $100, $1,000 or $1,500 a year for the next five years, we can get there quickly. 

As the youngest program on campus, we are small, but we are mighty! And just as I spent only 1 year on the UCLA Crew team, I have memories, habits, and a best friend to this day from that experience. Currently, women’s soccer, women’s golf, men’s golf, and men’s basketball have already hit their number in the Chancellor‘s Match, which has a due date of December 15, 2025. Let’s show them that Beach Volleyball can compete with anybody!

Here is the link to donate for one year, and I won’t judge you if you select Support Fund or Chancellor‘s Match, as I will always support player atonomy: https://uncwsports.evenue.net/www/ev_uncw-athletics/ss/ev/DonationEntry?donationCd=BVB&siteId=ev_uncw-athletics&locale=en_US&linkID=uncw-athletics&orchBypass=1

If you donate in the Chancellor’s Match, we could really use that 5-year pledge, as that allows us to start instantly increasing our scholarships from 1 to 2. All it would take is an email to Adam Fearing (FearingA@uncw.edu)  with a statement of your pledge. 

February 14 is our alumni day, and you are all invited to socialize the evening before, to compete, and meet the team the day of (but say 10 AM on February 14 on the new campus courts). If you haven’t played on the new courts between Terrapin Hall and The Shore, (or if you haven’t even been to the Shore), it’s time for a visit. 

We will have lunch and a grab bag of gear for to take on a first come first serve basis… maybe even a pair of UA shoes if the timing and sizing line up.

The spring schedule is relatively set and we love seeing you during the season either in Wilmington or on the road.

Miss you all and hope to see you February 14 in Wilmington.

 All the best,

 

– – David

Head Coach, UNCW Beach Volleyball
Cell: 310.266.5887

Hi from the new Head Coach of UNCW Beach Volleyball (Fall of 2024)

 Dear Seahawk family, future, past, and present,

Hi, I’m Coach Fischer, the new Head Coach for Beach Volleyball at UNCW. Proud to be of service, and happy that UNCW now dedicates a full-time person to an amazing sport and our deserving athletes.

With a few weeks of practice under our belts, our little program is growing. We’ve found 2 amazing new volunteer coaches (alumna Kristy Mundy and beach veteran Dane Hansen). They will walk in the illustrious sandy footsteps of Brittany Fennel Lucas, Gina Kirstein, and Daniel Magnusson.

We also just identified and promoted just 3 athletic NARPs (nevermind the contradiction) to our roster as D1 teammates. Yay Hannah Forbes, Marissa Vann, and Alivia Hamel! With our re-tooled roster, we aim to be more like reloading than rebuilding. Mind you, we had 7 seniors on last year’s squad. And, ahem, the Sun Belt Pair of the Year and 4 All-Conference players. And the top GPA of all 19 UNCW teams. But no pressure.

We will still welcome somewhere between a few and a handful of crossover athletes from the indoor program like we always have.

For the first time ever, we didn’t begin the season on the 2 very serviceable courts behind Wag. I miss the pool there, but progress is rarely a straight line. We are now spoiled with 4 on-campus courts between the new freshmen dorms (Pelican) and The Shore, a culinary competitor to Wagoner Dining Hall. While both have automatic Port City Java espresso machines, The Shore sometimes staffs a real life  ice cream server at both lunch and dinner. Advantage The Shore.

While there is always work to be done with recruiting, scheduling, video review, compliance, facilities, practice planning and the like, my priority is to give our current team members and staff a challenging, fair, safe, and fun experience throughout their careers as a Seahawk. 

Speaking of Seahawk careers, I’ve been a little behind in releasing the End of Season Banquets via Email. My July wasn’t much different than normal, what with my beach camps and helping out USA Beach Volleyball in LA for a week. But I did have a little time to catch up and work on becoming the best I am capable of becoming. Since I don’t really have an email list for alumni, most of the missing / late Banquets are posted here: https://volleytrolley.blogspot.com/  Any errors or omissions are clearly not mine.

For the alums, you’re always welcome to come by a practice and join in or watch, and we’ll have a navy/teal scrimmage in both the fall and spring which can double as alumni days.

Excited to work with and meet all the alumni, parents, and to continue what we’ve started here at UNC Wonderful.

All the best,

--David

Cell: 310.266.5887
fischerd@uncw.edu