From the Quad

Good Morning Demon Deacon Nation,

Today marks the second anniversary of Dr. Hatch introducing me as Wake Forest's sixth athletics director, and on behalf of Mary Lawrence and our children, I want to thank each and every member of Deacon Nation for your incredible support over the last 24 months. As one of my old mentors told me long ago, in the midst of an overtime basketball game, athletics has "high-highs" and "low-lows." While we have definitely had some of both, I know we are making progress together. Our staff and coaches are ready to sprint out of the pandemic and ensure that we continue towards our vision of being a Model Intercollegiate Program, with our No. 1 goal of providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience.

So speaking of "highs" -- we have had several this past week -- including two ACC Championships by Anna Bush and Tony Jones in indoor track and field and a dominant performance by our No. 2 ranked men's golf team in winning the Wake Forest Invite on Pinehurst's fabled "No. 2" course over a strong field that included all our Big Four rivals.

Meanwhile, the lingering pandemic brought us a disappointing low this week as we have had to hit the pause button in baseball and will not be able to host Boston College this weekend.

But, we still have a very full schedule of Deacon sports over the next four days starting with today's noon tip-off for the Deacs against the Tar Heels in the opening game of the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament in the Greensboro Coliseum. I am heading over shortly and you can join me there (limited tickets are available) or watch on RSN! Congratulations to seniors Ivana Raca and Gina Conti, and freshman Jewel Spear on earning All-ACC and All-ACC Academic honors. Additionally as Christina Morra also earned ACC academic accolades, Wake Forest set a program record with four All-ACC Academic team honorees!

Another big high for me this past week has been seeing Wake Forest students, masked up naturally, back in Couch Ballpark and Spry Soccer Stadium having fun and supporting their fellow Demon Deacons. After so many months of no fans in the stands, it reminded me of how good it felt to be amongst that opening night packed Truist Field crowd back on Aug. 31, 2019. Remember we kick off the 2021 season with a three-game homestand on Friday, Sept. 3 vs. Old Dominion. Make your plans to be in DEACTOWN now!

LJVM is back in business for fans tomorrow night and Wake Forest students have piled into the Screamin' Demon Rewards lottery for tickets. As a result only a few tickets remain for Friday's men's basketball senior night finale vs. Georgia Tech in Joel Coliseum. I am really proud of the perseverance and leadership of Coach Steve Forbes and his staff through the most uniquely challenging year in college basketball history. He's the only coach in the top seven conferences to take on a new coaching job during the pandemic, and our team navigated both the longest mid-season gap between games (33 days) and the most road trips in the ACC (10 of our 18 conference games). He has led our student-athletes and program with positivity, transparency and accountability which has given us all a glimpse of the good times and big wins in our future. Single session ACC Tournament tickets are available here -- come catch the Deacs in GSO next week!

The continued efforts of our student body to adhere to all health and safety protocols has allowed the University to experience a significant reduction in cases of COVID-19 in our student population. Read the complete message from President Nathan Hatch, Provost Rogan Kersh and Vice President for Campus Life Penny Rue here.

Here's some more details on good things happening for the Demon Deacons!

Wake Forest Athletics Goal No. 4: Win Championships!
Wake Forest's track and field team tallied six all-conference accolades, and as I previously mentioned, had two student-athletes (Tony Jones, Anna Bush) earn individual titles last weekend at the ACC Indoor Championships!

The victories for Jones in the men's high jump and Bush in the women's pentathlon are the first-ever Wake Forest individual titles in those events. And, Anna & Tony's wins mark the first double-title showing for Wake Forest at the ACC Indoor Championships since 2007! The Deacons now have a combined 38 (20 female, 18 male) ACC Indoor Championships in program history. Meanwhile, Aleeya Hutchins broke a 17-year indoor track & field record in the 800m run last Saturday and will join Bush next weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships after they each qualified last weekend. The sophomore middle distance runner penned a fitting tribute to how her teammates, coaches and Deacon Nation have inspired her to this achievement.

Coach John Hayes, his staff and student-athletes now turn their focus to gearing up for indoor nationals and the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Monday, March 15.

Wake Forest Competition News & Notes
Speaking of winning championships, 13 of our 14 programs are in action right now and seven of which have been ranked in their respective top 25 polls.

Coach Kim Lewellen's No. 5 ranked women's golf team is off to an amazing spring start. Earlier this week the Deacs grinded out a second place finish in the Gamecock Intercollegiate, finishing ahead of currently No. 1 ranked Baylor by 23 strokes. Last week the Deacs won the Palmetto Intercollegiate by 28 strokes and Rachel Kuehn took home the individual title. On the men's side, Coach Jerry Haas' squad is currently ranked No. 2 in the country and preceded this week's win by taking the Kiawah Invitational title two weeks ago. Individually, rookie Michael Brennan captured medalist honors in both tournaments including recording a field-leading 19 birdies in Kiawah!

Another one of those ranked squads in the midst of its ACC season is Tony Bresky's men's tennis program. The No. 13 Demon Deacons are 23-1 in their last 24 conference matches and have an astounding 71-2 record in home matches since the start of the 2016-17 season. Today the Deacs host No. 2 Baylor and NC Wesleyan here in Winston-Salem.

And of course your football Demon Deacons are back at it in the weight room under newly promoted director of sport performance Chad Bari. The Deacons have had two aWAKEning workouts thus far and are getting set for spring practice to start in a few weeks.

Donna A. Boswell honored at annual Founders' Day Convocation
Each February, in observance of the University's beginnings in 1834, the Wake Forest family gathers for Founders' Day Convocation. Although those in attendance were limited due to health and safety protocols, this year Donna A. Boswell, Wake Forest University's former and first female chair of the Board of Trustees, received the Medallion of Merit during the annual event. I encourage you to view the recording of the event here as the Founders' Day message was delivered by Vice President José Villalba, and Associate Dean Erica Still. They were introduced by Student Government President Miles Middleton.

Powerful Stories Told Via Wake Forest Athletics Throughout Black History Month
During our Athletics all-staff meeting last week Associate AD Dwight Lewis and Demon Deacon football alum and current Director of Alumni Engagement, Kevin Smith, gave a superb presentation about Wake Forest being the first school to integrate college football in the south. They highlighted stories of trailblazers like Charlie Davis, Charlene Curtis, Jim Caldwell and so many others. Stayed tuned to GoDeacs.com and our social media platforms for profiles on the Bob Grant, Butch Henry, two of the very first Black student-athletes to enroll at Wake Forest.. This is just one of several impactful initiatives across Wake Forest's Reynolda Campus to celebrate Black History Month this past February. And, led by our 14-member RIDE (Realizing Inclusion, Diversity and Equity) Committee, Wake Forest Athletics is committed to ensure that this is not just a one-month-a-year endeavor. Here's a powerful video tribute to Winston-Salem hero Lawrence Joel shared on the ACC Network during ACC Unity Week.

Thank You Wake Forest Athletics Staff!
With 12 games scheduled between today and Sunday, including eight in Winston-Salem and Greensboro with the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament, I want to take a moment to thank our support staff - our athletic trainers, ACC Network and broadcast crews, fan experience and sales, ticket office, communications, operations, facilities and more as they work extremely hard each day to ensure we are providing a World Class Student-Athlete Experience and the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina.

From the Quad Big 3!
As we close this 44th edition of From the Quad, here are today's Big 3 ways to help:

Every Friday is a #WFFriday! Wear your Black and Gold tomorrow - send me a picture!
Sign up for Wake Forest's FREE Virtual Face to Face Speaker Forum on Thursday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m., hosted by President Hatch and featuring former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright (1997-2001) and General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) (2001-2005).
Secure your place in DEACTOWN by buying your 2021 football season tickets!

Thanks for your support, please continue to wear your mask, and as always, send me your comments, ideas, and questions to me at wfuad@wfu.edu!

Go Deacs!

John Currie
Director of Athletics

Wake Forest Athletics

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