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From the Quad
4/18/2024 4:53:00 PM | General
Presented by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Good Afternoon Demon Deacon Nation!
Time has flown by since I last wrote to you From the Quad, and in those couple of weeks we've packed in 48 total games, matches and meets for our Demon Deacon programs, a pair of senior day ceremonies (women's tennis, men's tennis), a special Easter Wait Chapel service, men's golfer Scotty Kennon captured his first collegiate title at the Calusa Cup last week and women's golfer Rachel Kuehn finished in the top 10 of the Augusta National Women's Amateur earlier this month. And, we aren't slowing down as we have a massive four-day stretch of Deacon action in Winston-Salem and four teams away competing in the ACC Championships!
In addition to the competitive triumphs of our student-athletes, April has been rocking around campus. Specifically, the Wake Forest MBA program was recently ranked among the top 10 percent of programs in the country and No. 1 among North Carolina programs. Our very own Executive Associate AD Randy Casstevens and Sr. Associate AD Craig Zakrzewski were among the award recipients at the 11th annual Champions of Change Campus Sustainability Awards. And, our School of Law's Black Students Law Association (BLSA) recently renamed their moot court team after football alum, Jimmy Quander ('95).
Meanwhile, there's more action around town including the City of Winston-Salem's Public Assembly Facilities Commission vote to update the names of two buildings at the Fairgrounds. The former Fairgrounds Annex (also known as the Annex Ice Rink) is becoming the Fairgrounds Arena in Winston-Salem, and the former Fairgrounds Education Building will be known as the Fairgrounds Event Center. Additionally, in that same area, the Winston-Salem Journal's Wesley Young wrote an excellent front-page feature about the Baity St. redevelopment project that is worth your time to read. Finally, our friends at Visit Winston-Salem announced that Brandy Evans joined their team as Chief Marketing Officer.
Finally, today and tomorrow members of our dedicated Wake Forest University Board of Trustees are here for meetings led by Chair Matt King and President Susan R. Wente. So, let's jump into the updates, starting with a huge group of track athletics sprinting into town!
Wake Forest Set to Host Second-Annual Track & Field Meet at Kentner Stadium on Friday
Building on the resounding success of last year's meet, Coach John Hayes and our track & field programs are set to host the second-annual Wake Forest Invitational on Friday inside Kentner Stadium. The event will welcome more than 900 competitors from 40 top collegiate programs from across the country for this all-day meet, which is set to start at 9 a.m. and will carry well into Friday evening. Admission to this event is FREE and fans can also expect additional fun aspects like a student relay race and an alumni mile! This meet promises to bring our community together and bring tremendous Value to Wake Forest, Winston-Salem and the Triad Communities.
We're expecting to welcome back hundreds of track & field / cross country alumni for this event as their tailgate setup will be located on the patio outside the Miller Center. Demon Deacon track & field alumni and current student-athlete parents should contact Sr. Associate AD Mike Piscetelli (piscetmf@wfu.edu) for more information and to RSVP.
We'll also honor 23 Seniors & Graduates, who have helped raise the standard of the program over the course of their respective careers, with a special ceremony on the track at 4:45 p.m. With that, we caution our neighbors to be prepared for the occasional crack of the starter gun throughout the event!
Highlights of the spring include program records set in recent weeks by Robbie Grace in the long jump and Leia Braunagel in the women's discus and we are expecting more record-breaking performances and podium finishes tomorrow at Kentner Stadium! Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and @WakeTrack for all the details!
Before we move on, we announced yesterday that a new track surface will be installed by Beynon inside Kentner Stadium this summer as we get set to host the 2025 ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. We are grateful to Deacon Club members and fans who have helped ensure that we can regularly refresh a most critical element of both student-athlete experience and safety. Led by Vice President Facilities, Real Estate & Planning Chris Kiwus, our University facilities and planning staff do an incredible job of providing and maintaining state-of-the-art competition surfaces, which quite literally are the foundation on which our student-athletes compete and train to Win Championships.
Fun & Excitement for All at Football Spring Game on Saturday at Allegacy Stadium
On Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., Coach Dave Clawson and our football staff will provide a first look at our 2024 football team, so make your plans now to join Deacon Nation for this FREE event inside Allegacy Stadium featuring fun for the whole family. Unique giveaways that include our new schedule poster and cards, inflatables and games for kids will be located above Deacon Hill behind the Bob McCreary Videoboard Honoring the Class of 1961. Immediately after the game, fans are welcomed down to check out the turf and get player autographs, presented by Wake Forest Sports Properties partner, Roll the Quad. In addition to autographs, fans will have the opportunity to get pictures with Demon Deacons players. The game will be broadcast live on ACC Network.
While this will be our first taste of ACC football in Winston-Salem in 2024, it's never too early to look ahead and start planning for the fall! Remember, Opening Night at Allegacy Stadium is Thursday, Aug. 29. While the Spring Game is FREE, fans can purchase season tickets here as we look to stack more Wake wins on our 23-7 record in Winston-Salem since 2019! With all seven home games this year expected to be sellouts, the best way to secure your seats is through season tickets and stay tuned in the coming weeks for single game tickets going on sale and other exciting announcements for the season. With that, for company outings and group sales, fans are encouraged to contact Assistant AD Jon Hoban at hobanj@wfu.edu or call him (336-758-4030). Group tickets for this football season are on sale and can be purchased for any home game on the schedule for groups starting at 15 or more people. For all your questions or assistance, please contact the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322 ext. 1 or tix@wfu.edu. Regular office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
I love the slogan Coach Clawson and our football student-athlete leadership council chose for the year - EARN IT. And, our 2024 football season t-shirt, which has that slogan embroidered on it, will be sold at the Spring Game and can be purchased online.
No. 12 Diamond Deacs Surging - Host No. 8 Florida State This Weekend
The Deacs are coming off a pair of ACC road series victories over Virginia Tech and Boston College. Back-to-back ACC Player of the Week Nick Kurtz is on a tear right now as he has 14 home runs in the last 10 games. He now has 57 home runs over the course of his career, which is good for third in program history as he passed Jake Austin (1989-92) on Tuesday night! Additionally, get out to Couch Ballpark tomorrow as right-handed flamethrower Chase Burns ranks No. 1 in the country with 105 strikeouts and he will toe the rubber tomorrow night against the Seminoles.
Tickets for the games this weekend, which are nearly sold out (!), can be purchased for as low as $15 – and it's cheaper and faster to buy online before you get to the ballpark. We'll crest 50,000 fans this weekend and among the attendance records already set this season are four regular sellout games and a three-game series mark of 10,542 fans for the UNC series.
Postseason Play is Here!
The Deacs are chasing ACC titles with our No. 37-ranked women's tennis now underway this afternoon against eighth-seeded Duke in Cary. Additionally, Coach Tony Bresky's top-five men's tennis team earned a two-seed in this week's ACC Tourney and will begin play tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. against today's winner between Georgia Tech and Louisville. Both squads will be competing at the Cary Tennis Park and ticket information for the event can be found here.
Coach Jeff Wyshner's squad has earned seven victories over ranked opponents this season and are well positioned for an NCAA Tournament berth. Individually, the Deacs have been led by Brooke Killingsworth and Casie Wooten who have won a combined 10 singles matches against nationally-ranked opponents. Meanwhile, our men's team entered this week ranked seventh in the country with a 26-5 overall record, including a 10-2 mark in ACC play, and the No. 1 doubles team in the country with Holden Koons and Suresh Ekambaram having posted a 28-4 record this year! Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com, @WakeMTennis and @WakeWTennis for scores, updates and information throughout the weekend! If the Deacs advance, you can watch the Saturday semifinal match and the Sunday's championship match on ACC Network Extra.
Meanwhile on the golf course, Coach Kim Lewellen's No. 3-ranked women's team began competition earlier today at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington. More information and links to follow and watch can be found here.
Coach Jerry Haas' men's team is playing their best golf of the season coming off a third place finish at the Calusa Cup in Naples, Fla. just over a week ago. Our team begins competition tomorrow in the Queen City at the Charlotte Country Club. Fans can follow along with live scoring here and find links to watch online here. If you are in Charlotte or Wilmington and able to attend, admission to watch our Demon Deacons compete is free!
Remember, whether it is in tennis, golf or any of our other sports, just a few members of Deacon Nation cheering on our student-athletes can make the difference and help them compete at a higher level and Win Championships!
Goal No. 2, Integrity in Academics - Achieved!
At Wake Forest, classroom success is still an essential element of a World Class Student-Athlete Experience. We continue to achieve this goal as evidenced recently that a total of 42 Deacs were named Academic All-ACC across men's basketball, women's basketball and indoor track & field. I want to take this opportunity to thank Sr. Associate AD Jane Caldwell, her staff and all our outstanding Wake Forest faculty and professors who help each of our student-athletes reach their full potential as we prepare them for life after Wake Forest.
Speaking of going above and beyond, junior field hockey player Lilly Avrigian, a Business and Enterprise Management major, attended the 2024 US Naval Academy Leadership Conference thanks to the Allegacy Center for Leadership & Character and Wake Forest College of Business. The theme of the conference, Learning to Lead: The Lifelong Pursuit of Excellence, was explored through many inspiring discussions with highly-esteemed panelists.
On that note, read about how Davis Field on our beautiful Reynolda Campus was transformed yesterday into an outdoor art studio to create personalized study spaces for kids. It's part of an education initiative called Developing Education through Student Knowledge or DESK. Our student-athletes and students who participated in this yesterday personified our Pro Humanitate motto at its finest!
Opportunity Awaits: Innovative Annual Seat Rights Program Launched for Men's Basketball
As announced last week, Wake Forest Athletics is offering a new annual seat rights option for men's basketball season ticket holders beginning with the 2024-25 season. Fans who participate in this innovative plan now have the ability to lock in their seating location on an annual basis, rather than having their seats reassigned ahead of each season. The new annual seat rights program, modeled similarly to the seat rights plan implemented ahead of the upcoming 2024 Demon Deacons football season, provides fans more certainty of seat location without a long term commitment.
With the Deacs ascending amidst the best three-year stretch of basketball in 20 years and highest cumulative attendance inside Joel Coliseum in nearly a decade, including a building-record crowd of 14,744 fans against Duke on Feb. 24, Wake Forest basketball has become must-see action for the Winston-Salem and Triad communities. To learn more about the Annual Seat Rights Program please contact the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322 ext. 1 or tix@wfu.edu. Regular office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
While we're talking hoops, it's been a big adjustment, and sometimes not a very fun one, for fans - as well as coaches and AD's - across the country to experience the continued escalation of the transfer portal. Let me say first, I believe in the right for student-athletes to make their own decisions on where and how to continue or pursue new opportunities. With that said, I also believe that our values still transcend this disruptive time. For example, this year's men's basketball team broke a program record with seven Academic All-ACC performers. Meanwhile, on the court Coach Steve Forbes has recently brought in three transfers who have earned First Team All-ACC honors (2024: Hunter Sallis; 2023: Tyree Appleby; 2022: Alondes Williams) and one NBA Draft first round pick (2022: Jake LaRavia). Ultimately, I'm proud of how all our head coaches are relentlessly working to adapt and execute and fulfill Goal No. 4 – Win Championships!
From the Quad Big 3
Before we close, here are today's Big 3 ways to help the Deacs:
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
Good Afternoon Demon Deacon Nation!
Time has flown by since I last wrote to you From the Quad, and in those couple of weeks we've packed in 48 total games, matches and meets for our Demon Deacon programs, a pair of senior day ceremonies (women's tennis, men's tennis), a special Easter Wait Chapel service, men's golfer Scotty Kennon captured his first collegiate title at the Calusa Cup last week and women's golfer Rachel Kuehn finished in the top 10 of the Augusta National Women's Amateur earlier this month. And, we aren't slowing down as we have a massive four-day stretch of Deacon action in Winston-Salem and four teams away competing in the ACC Championships!
In addition to the competitive triumphs of our student-athletes, April has been rocking around campus. Specifically, the Wake Forest MBA program was recently ranked among the top 10 percent of programs in the country and No. 1 among North Carolina programs. Our very own Executive Associate AD Randy Casstevens and Sr. Associate AD Craig Zakrzewski were among the award recipients at the 11th annual Champions of Change Campus Sustainability Awards. And, our School of Law's Black Students Law Association (BLSA) recently renamed their moot court team after football alum, Jimmy Quander ('95).
Meanwhile, there's more action around town including the City of Winston-Salem's Public Assembly Facilities Commission vote to update the names of two buildings at the Fairgrounds. The former Fairgrounds Annex (also known as the Annex Ice Rink) is becoming the Fairgrounds Arena in Winston-Salem, and the former Fairgrounds Education Building will be known as the Fairgrounds Event Center. Additionally, in that same area, the Winston-Salem Journal's Wesley Young wrote an excellent front-page feature about the Baity St. redevelopment project that is worth your time to read. Finally, our friends at Visit Winston-Salem announced that Brandy Evans joined their team as Chief Marketing Officer.
Finally, today and tomorrow members of our dedicated Wake Forest University Board of Trustees are here for meetings led by Chair Matt King and President Susan R. Wente. So, let's jump into the updates, starting with a huge group of track athletics sprinting into town!
Wake Forest Set to Host Second-Annual Track & Field Meet at Kentner Stadium on Friday
Building on the resounding success of last year's meet, Coach John Hayes and our track & field programs are set to host the second-annual Wake Forest Invitational on Friday inside Kentner Stadium. The event will welcome more than 900 competitors from 40 top collegiate programs from across the country for this all-day meet, which is set to start at 9 a.m. and will carry well into Friday evening. Admission to this event is FREE and fans can also expect additional fun aspects like a student relay race and an alumni mile! This meet promises to bring our community together and bring tremendous Value to Wake Forest, Winston-Salem and the Triad Communities.
We're expecting to welcome back hundreds of track & field / cross country alumni for this event as their tailgate setup will be located on the patio outside the Miller Center. Demon Deacon track & field alumni and current student-athlete parents should contact Sr. Associate AD Mike Piscetelli (piscetmf@wfu.edu) for more information and to RSVP.
We'll also honor 23 Seniors & Graduates, who have helped raise the standard of the program over the course of their respective careers, with a special ceremony on the track at 4:45 p.m. With that, we caution our neighbors to be prepared for the occasional crack of the starter gun throughout the event!
Highlights of the spring include program records set in recent weeks by Robbie Grace in the long jump and Leia Braunagel in the women's discus and we are expecting more record-breaking performances and podium finishes tomorrow at Kentner Stadium! Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and @WakeTrack for all the details!
Before we move on, we announced yesterday that a new track surface will be installed by Beynon inside Kentner Stadium this summer as we get set to host the 2025 ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. We are grateful to Deacon Club members and fans who have helped ensure that we can regularly refresh a most critical element of both student-athlete experience and safety. Led by Vice President Facilities, Real Estate & Planning Chris Kiwus, our University facilities and planning staff do an incredible job of providing and maintaining state-of-the-art competition surfaces, which quite literally are the foundation on which our student-athletes compete and train to Win Championships.
Fun & Excitement for All at Football Spring Game on Saturday at Allegacy Stadium
On Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., Coach Dave Clawson and our football staff will provide a first look at our 2024 football team, so make your plans now to join Deacon Nation for this FREE event inside Allegacy Stadium featuring fun for the whole family. Unique giveaways that include our new schedule poster and cards, inflatables and games for kids will be located above Deacon Hill behind the Bob McCreary Videoboard Honoring the Class of 1961. Immediately after the game, fans are welcomed down to check out the turf and get player autographs, presented by Wake Forest Sports Properties partner, Roll the Quad. In addition to autographs, fans will have the opportunity to get pictures with Demon Deacons players. The game will be broadcast live on ACC Network.
While this will be our first taste of ACC football in Winston-Salem in 2024, it's never too early to look ahead and start planning for the fall! Remember, Opening Night at Allegacy Stadium is Thursday, Aug. 29. While the Spring Game is FREE, fans can purchase season tickets here as we look to stack more Wake wins on our 23-7 record in Winston-Salem since 2019! With all seven home games this year expected to be sellouts, the best way to secure your seats is through season tickets and stay tuned in the coming weeks for single game tickets going on sale and other exciting announcements for the season. With that, for company outings and group sales, fans are encouraged to contact Assistant AD Jon Hoban at hobanj@wfu.edu or call him (336-758-4030). Group tickets for this football season are on sale and can be purchased for any home game on the schedule for groups starting at 15 or more people. For all your questions or assistance, please contact the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322 ext. 1 or tix@wfu.edu. Regular office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
I love the slogan Coach Clawson and our football student-athlete leadership council chose for the year - EARN IT. And, our 2024 football season t-shirt, which has that slogan embroidered on it, will be sold at the Spring Game and can be purchased online.
No. 12 Diamond Deacs Surging - Host No. 8 Florida State This Weekend
The Deacs are coming off a pair of ACC road series victories over Virginia Tech and Boston College. Back-to-back ACC Player of the Week Nick Kurtz is on a tear right now as he has 14 home runs in the last 10 games. He now has 57 home runs over the course of his career, which is good for third in program history as he passed Jake Austin (1989-92) on Tuesday night! Additionally, get out to Couch Ballpark tomorrow as right-handed flamethrower Chase Burns ranks No. 1 in the country with 105 strikeouts and he will toe the rubber tomorrow night against the Seminoles.
Tickets for the games this weekend, which are nearly sold out (!), can be purchased for as low as $15 – and it's cheaper and faster to buy online before you get to the ballpark. We'll crest 50,000 fans this weekend and among the attendance records already set this season are four regular sellout games and a three-game series mark of 10,542 fans for the UNC series.
Postseason Play is Here!
The Deacs are chasing ACC titles with our No. 37-ranked women's tennis now underway this afternoon against eighth-seeded Duke in Cary. Additionally, Coach Tony Bresky's top-five men's tennis team earned a two-seed in this week's ACC Tourney and will begin play tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. against today's winner between Georgia Tech and Louisville. Both squads will be competing at the Cary Tennis Park and ticket information for the event can be found here.
Coach Jeff Wyshner's squad has earned seven victories over ranked opponents this season and are well positioned for an NCAA Tournament berth. Individually, the Deacs have been led by Brooke Killingsworth and Casie Wooten who have won a combined 10 singles matches against nationally-ranked opponents. Meanwhile, our men's team entered this week ranked seventh in the country with a 26-5 overall record, including a 10-2 mark in ACC play, and the No. 1 doubles team in the country with Holden Koons and Suresh Ekambaram having posted a 28-4 record this year! Stay tuned to GoDeacs.com, @WakeMTennis and @WakeWTennis for scores, updates and information throughout the weekend! If the Deacs advance, you can watch the Saturday semifinal match and the Sunday's championship match on ACC Network Extra.
Meanwhile on the golf course, Coach Kim Lewellen's No. 3-ranked women's team began competition earlier today at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington. More information and links to follow and watch can be found here.
Coach Jerry Haas' men's team is playing their best golf of the season coming off a third place finish at the Calusa Cup in Naples, Fla. just over a week ago. Our team begins competition tomorrow in the Queen City at the Charlotte Country Club. Fans can follow along with live scoring here and find links to watch online here. If you are in Charlotte or Wilmington and able to attend, admission to watch our Demon Deacons compete is free!
Remember, whether it is in tennis, golf or any of our other sports, just a few members of Deacon Nation cheering on our student-athletes can make the difference and help them compete at a higher level and Win Championships!
Goal No. 2, Integrity in Academics - Achieved!
At Wake Forest, classroom success is still an essential element of a World Class Student-Athlete Experience. We continue to achieve this goal as evidenced recently that a total of 42 Deacs were named Academic All-ACC across men's basketball, women's basketball and indoor track & field. I want to take this opportunity to thank Sr. Associate AD Jane Caldwell, her staff and all our outstanding Wake Forest faculty and professors who help each of our student-athletes reach their full potential as we prepare them for life after Wake Forest.
Speaking of going above and beyond, junior field hockey player Lilly Avrigian, a Business and Enterprise Management major, attended the 2024 US Naval Academy Leadership Conference thanks to the Allegacy Center for Leadership & Character and Wake Forest College of Business. The theme of the conference, Learning to Lead: The Lifelong Pursuit of Excellence, was explored through many inspiring discussions with highly-esteemed panelists.
On that note, read about how Davis Field on our beautiful Reynolda Campus was transformed yesterday into an outdoor art studio to create personalized study spaces for kids. It's part of an education initiative called Developing Education through Student Knowledge or DESK. Our student-athletes and students who participated in this yesterday personified our Pro Humanitate motto at its finest!
Opportunity Awaits: Innovative Annual Seat Rights Program Launched for Men's Basketball
As announced last week, Wake Forest Athletics is offering a new annual seat rights option for men's basketball season ticket holders beginning with the 2024-25 season. Fans who participate in this innovative plan now have the ability to lock in their seating location on an annual basis, rather than having their seats reassigned ahead of each season. The new annual seat rights program, modeled similarly to the seat rights plan implemented ahead of the upcoming 2024 Demon Deacons football season, provides fans more certainty of seat location without a long term commitment.
With the Deacs ascending amidst the best three-year stretch of basketball in 20 years and highest cumulative attendance inside Joel Coliseum in nearly a decade, including a building-record crowd of 14,744 fans against Duke on Feb. 24, Wake Forest basketball has become must-see action for the Winston-Salem and Triad communities. To learn more about the Annual Seat Rights Program please contact the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336-758-3322 ext. 1 or tix@wfu.edu. Regular office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
While we're talking hoops, it's been a big adjustment, and sometimes not a very fun one, for fans - as well as coaches and AD's - across the country to experience the continued escalation of the transfer portal. Let me say first, I believe in the right for student-athletes to make their own decisions on where and how to continue or pursue new opportunities. With that said, I also believe that our values still transcend this disruptive time. For example, this year's men's basketball team broke a program record with seven Academic All-ACC performers. Meanwhile, on the court Coach Steve Forbes has recently brought in three transfers who have earned First Team All-ACC honors (2024: Hunter Sallis; 2023: Tyree Appleby; 2022: Alondes Williams) and one NBA Draft first round pick (2022: Jake LaRavia). Ultimately, I'm proud of how all our head coaches are relentlessly working to adapt and execute and fulfill Goal No. 4 – Win Championships!
From the Quad Big 3
Before we close, here are today's Big 3 ways to help the Deacs:
- Follow our Wake Forest Sports Properties social media accounts. Your company or business can reap the benefits of affiliation with Wake Forest and the ACC by connecting with GM Banks Shepherd directly (bshepherd@wakeforestsportsproperties.com // 336-896-9719). Speaking of great partners, watch this video recap of an impactful activation for a patient at Brenner Children's Hospital thanks to the team at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist!
- Our ASM Wake Forest staff has done an excellent job bringing engaging and exciting events to Winston-Salem and Joel Coliseum in recent months! On that note, an event next Saturday inside LJVM features a Bulls, Bands & Barrels event! Following the bulls & barrels, we will have a live concert featuring Ian Munsick with Winston-Salem's own Cooper Alan to finish the night off! Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with the aforementioned concert beginning at 9 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for as low as $34 each.
- Visit the all-new NIL Store powered by Campus Ink for Wake Forest University that brings officially licensed merchandising opportunities to Demon Deacon athletes! Part of the NIL Store network, the NIL Store team will continuously be onboarding new athletes and developing custom co-branded merchandise for individual athletes. Just another example of how our Athletics staff are finding ways to help our young men and women on our campus maximize their brand value and visibility!
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Director of Athletics
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Football Media Availability (9/18/25)
Thursday, September 18
Matt Barrie SportsCenter at Wake Forest with Demond Claiborne
Wednesday, September 10
Matt Barrie SportsCenter on Wake Forest Campus (Arnold Palmer Complex)
Wednesday, September 10
Football Media Availability (9/9/25)
Wednesday, September 10