The Guide 8.24 - Flipbook - Page 34
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EDUCATION
Navy
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including 373 women, the Class of 2027
including 370 women and the Class of
2026 having 332, according to academy
data.
The academy said it stopped considering race, ethnicity or sex as a factor
for admission, as ordered by the Trump
administration. The change in policy was
made in February by Vice Adm. Yvette
Davids, the academy’s superintendent.
NEW SUPERINTENDENT
In January 2024, Davids, an academy
alumna and career surface warfare officer, took the helm as the academy’s 65th
superintendent. She was the first woman
and Hispanic person in the role.
Davids — pending Senate approval
— will be replaced by Marine Lt. Gen.
Michael Borgschulte, the deputy
commandant for manpower and reserve
affairs.
If confirmed as the academy’s 66th
superintendent, Borgschulte, a 1991 Naval
Academy graduate, would be the first
Marine Corps officer to lead the school.
If Davids’ new role is confirmed by the
Senate, she would become a high-ranking adviser for Navy strategy, plans and
policy.
A 1989 graduate, Davids began her
career during Operation Desert Storm,
when she was an electrical officer,
combat information center officer and
communications officer aboard the
combat stores ship USS San Jose.
She went on to become the first woman
of Hispanic descent to command a Navy
warship when she took the helm of the
USS Curts, leading the guided missile
frigate through the Western Pacific
and Arabian Gulf as part of Operations
Navy athletics
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the Navy Radio Network since 1997, died
Jan. 20 following a three-month battle
with brain cancer. He was 55 years old.
Nestor, who served on DeChellis’ staff
at Penn State and Navy, died Jan. 25 of
leukemia. The longtime college basketball coach was 78 years old.
“What happened to Ernie and Pete
really hit me hard. Losing them cemented
in my mind even more the decision to
step away,” DeChellis said. “Sometimes
you look at yourself in the mirror and talk
about prioritizing things. I’ve enjoyed all
aspects of my coaching career and I love
what I do, but I love my wife and my kids
more. I didn’t want to be a guy that had
regrets.”
Navy football put an end to three
straight losing seasons in resounding
fashion. In Brian Newberry’s second
season as head coach, Navy compiled a
10-3 record and captured the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy by beating Air Force
and Army.
Navy pulled off another impressive feat
by upsetting blueblood Oklahoma, 21-20,
in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces
Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas. Meanwhile,
the Midshipmen finished tied for third in
the American Athletic Conference with a
6-2 mark.
Navy accomplished the program’s most
important goal by routing both Air Force
(34-7) and Army (31-13) to secure the CIC
Navy sportscaster and Anne Arundel
County resident Pete Medhurst died in
January after battling brain cancer.
PAUL W. GILLESPIE/STAFF
Trophy for the first time since 2019. This
marked the sixth time in program history
the Midshipmen reached double digits
for wins.
On April 2, associate head coach Jon
Perry was promoted to replace DeChellis.
Perry had just completed his 12th season
at Navy and 18th overall as an assistant
under DeChellis, for whom he played at
East Tennessee State.
Medhurst was diagnosed with brain
cancer Oct. 29, just three days after
broadcasting the Navy-Notre Dame football game at MetLife Stadium in East
Rutherford, New Jersey. He underwent
surgery to remove a tumor Nov. 1 and
then several rounds of chemotherapy and
immunotherapy.
Since 1997, Medhurst had worked 240
Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
NEW COMMANDANT
In June, Capt. Gilbert E. Clark Jr.,
a 1998 Naval Academy graduate and
former member of the Navy water polo
team, took the reins as the academy’s 91st
commandant of midshipmen.
The commandant is second in
command at the academy and is responsible for the day-to-day conduct, military
training and professional development of
roughly 4,400 midshipmen, and is similar
to a dean of students at a university.
Clark earned a master’s degree in
national security and strategic studies
from the Naval War College in Newport,
Rhode Island, with additional study at
the Maritime Advanced Warfighting
School. Most recently, he was the first
commander of Naval Surface Group
Southwest in San Diego
Clark assumed the role from Capt.
consecutive Navy football games from
either the sideline or the booth. That
streak ended Nov. 2 when Medhurst
missed the Navy at Rice game in Houston.
Medhurst, a 1987 graduate of Southern High in Harwood, had dreamed of
being a sportscaster since childhood. The
Shady Side resident got his start in the
business at WNAV (1430-AM) in Annapolis as an assistant to sports director Dave
Johnson. He spent time at a radio station
in Pocomoke City before returning to
Anne Arundel County to primarily work
for Navy athletics as a sideline reporter
for football and play-by-play announcer
for men’s lacrosse.
Medhurst was promoted to radio playby-play announcer for Navy football and
men’s basketball in 2013 after predecessor Bob Socci left to accept the same position with the New England Patriots.
Through Section 557 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for fiscal
year 2025, Congress opened the door
for a limited number of service academy
athletes to pursue professional sports.
Section 557 amended the statutes defining the agreement signed by midshipmen
and cadets attending a service academy
and their resulting military obligations.
These amendments authorize the
secretaries of military departments to
transfer not more than three cadets or
midshipmen from each service academy who obtain employment in professional sports. This transfer to the selected
reserves as commissioned officers
enables those athletes to participate in
Walter H. Allman III, a career naval
special warfare officer and the first Navy
SEAL to hold the position.
SHIP SELECTION
Each February, academy seniors, or
midshipmen first class, participate in
Ship Selection.
This year, about 240 midshipmen
were part of the ceremony held in front
of peers, faculty and family. Similar to a
sports draft, announcers call midshipmen
one by one to select from a lengthy list
of ships stationed at naval bases around
the world. The draft order is based on a
combination of academic, military and
physical conditioning achievements.
Five midshipmen from Anne Arundel
County were part of the ceremony: Alexander Hoot, of Annapolis; Christopher
Crane, of Annapolis; Emma Single, of
Millersville; Christian Frymark, of Davidsonville; and Reed Romo, of Annapolis.
professional sports while fulfilling their
service obligation through efforts to
recruit and retain members of the armed
forces.
Navy had two athletes take advantage
of the new policy, with football player
Rayuan Lane and soccer player Pierce
Holbrook signing professional contracts.
Lane, a four-year varsity letterman as
a standout safety, was selected by the
Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round of
the 2025 NFL draft. Holbrook, a threeyear starter as a goalie, signed a two-year
contract with Philadelphia Union II of
Major League Soccer Next.
Navy lost the Star Series to Army for
just the second time since 2001, going
12-14 against the archrival during the
2024-25 school year. The Black Knights
also ended the Midshipmen’s decadelong
stranglehold of the Patriot League President’s Cup, a symbol of overall athletic
excellence.
In late May, the Naval Academy
Athletic Association announced its
major award winners for 2024-25. Senior
baseball pitcher Landon Kruer received
the NAAA Sword for Men, while tennis
standout Emily Tannenbaum won
the Vice Admiral Lawrence Sword for
Women.
Junior football quarterback Blake
Horvath was presented with the Thomson Trophy Cup, while seniors Jacob
Douberly (men’s swimming and diving)
and Alexandra Wercinski (women’s cross
country, track and field) received the
Coaches’ Calvert Awards.
