You walk down the field with your parents and realize that this is one of the last times you will ever set foot on this field. You watch the faces of your smiling and enthusiastic teammates and close friends cheering you on and celebrating. You simply enjoy the moment because you only get one Senior Night. It’s your last time to bond with your teammates and celebrate your experiences together before you graduate high school. It is undoubtedly the end of an era for  the seniors. 

Senior Night is a special WA tradition to celebrate seniors’ final sports season at WA. Seniors receive gifts such as flowers and posters from the underclassmen. While Senior Night is typically a happy and exciting moment in a senior’s life, it is also sentimental as seniors have to say goodbye to their teammates and their sports. 

FOOTBALL 

Andrew Hines ‘24, a team co-captain on the Varsity football team, expressed bittersweet feelings toward parting ways with WA football. 

“I am going to miss the people and the coaches,” Andrew said. “All the coaches are very passionate about the game, my teammates are serious and good people to be around, and the student section is usually pretty good.”

The football team are playing their second round of state playoffs against Houston County School this Friday on Nov. 17. He feels optimistic about the ongoing football season and bonding with his newer teammates. 

“I am happy about the football season, although it isn’t over,” Andrew said. “I have met the new freshmen who are great people. I have gotten closer to everyone, and it has been an extravagant experience overall.”

Andrew commented that hard work results in the ultimate payoff.

“I hope to leave behind that working hard can get you where you want to be,” Andrew said. “You don’t have to be the loudest because what you do on the field says more about you than words can, and I just hope that they learn how to carry themselves.”

CHEER 

Maggie Nievera ‘24, a team co-captain on the Varsity football cheerleading team, also acknowledged the bittersweet feelings toward her season coming to an end soon.

“I’m really sad about it because I’ve been on the team for four years, so it’s kind of an end of an era,” Maggie said.

Maggie voiced that she will miss the bonds she shares with her teammates and having a sense of school spirit. 

“Definitely, [I will miss the] families that it’s built and just kind of having school spirit,” Maggie said. “[School spirit] is something that I have a lot of, and it will be sad that I can’t share it [next year].”

SOFTBALL

Caitlin Katz ‘24, a team co-captain on the Varsity softball team, reminisced on the friendships she has made through the softball program. Softball Senior Night took place on Oct. 9. 

“It’s hard to name one specific memory that was my favorite because I have so many,” Caitlin said. “I guess it would be just being able to bond with the team and getting to become really good friends. That is the thing I will miss the most–the friendships that were made.”

She cherishes the honored Senior Night tradition.

“My favorite part of senior night is the announcement before the game when we walk from the mound to home plate with our family and we are gifted a flower by one of the other players,” Caitlin said. “My teammates [make] Senior [Night] a blast by decorating the lockers and giving us gifts.”

Georgia Cline ‘24, a team co-captain on the Varsity softball team, fondly recalled memories with her team.

“My favorite softball memory was the ride to Savannah for the softball playoffs last year because it allowed the team to get to know each other outside of the school setting,” Georgia said.

Georgia reflected on the emotional nature of Senior Night. 

“My favorite moment from Senior Night was walking into the locker room that all of our teammates decorated for us,” Georgia said. “It was surreal that the moment we saw for the past four years was finally here.”

Keegan Nelson ‘25, a player on the Varsity softball team, explained the close bond she has shared with the seniors.

“I am so sad that the seniors are leaving,” Keegan said. “We were all one big family and now we are missing 3 of them. They made our team so fun, and I can’t even imagine what the season is going to be like without them.”

VOLLEYBALL

Bella Sinkfield ‘24, the team captain on the Varsity volleyball team, expressed gratitude towards her newer teammates. 

“I feel good about it,” Bella said. “I’m really happy with the set of teammates that I’ve had over the three years that I played, and, this season, it was like a lot of young and fresh talent, so it was really refreshing to have more of a younger team and be able to be like the oldest girl on the team.” 

She feels melancholic toward bidding farewell to her teammates. 

“It’s really the girls that make or break the team, so I’m going to miss hanging out with them and getting to teach them things and learning things from them as well,” Bella said.

Bella hopes her impact encouraged positivity and competitive spirit as a leader.

“I really hope that I set a good leadership example and a positive mindset for the girls that, you know, competition is welcome on the team and we want to eventually go back to being a state-winning team, but, you know, the chemistry of the court has to come as well,” Bella said.

Samantha Duncan ‘24, who plays on the Varsity volleyball team, feels sentimental yet grateful towards the WA volleyball program. 

“There are definitely a lot of emotions and right now [it] still doesn’t feel real yet,” Samantha said. “However, I’m so grateful for the Woodward Volleyball program and everything it has taught me.”

In particular, she values the time she shared with her teammates in the locker room.

“My favorite volleyball memory has to be all the moments in the locker room before practices,” Samantha said. “Those small moments of the team just being able to share about our day or what’s going on in our lives really shaped us into becoming a better bonded team.”

Samantha expressed that having a strong support system truly added to the atmosphere of the Senior Night game. 

“The entire night was so special thanks to the amazing attendance,” Samantha said. “The energy and volume made the celebration even more special knowing we had such a large number of supporters.”

Samantha emphasized that nothing compares to representing WA through her volleyball team.

“There are so many things I will miss about WA volleyball but there is nothing that can replace playing on a team representing WA,” Samantha said. “It’s such a privilege being able to represent this school while doing something you love.”