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Davidson Captains New-Look Gotham FC Roster Ahead of 2025 NWSL Kick-Off

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Just Women’s Sports

Gotham FC set the scene for NWSL club’s 2025 season on Tuesday, dropping their official 24-athlete roster and new player-led leadership group while handing longtime USWNT defender Tierna Davidson the captain’s armband ahead of Saturday’s regular-season kick-off.

At 26 years old, the 2019 World Cup champion and 2024 Olympic gold medalist succeeds retired goalkeeper Michelle Betos as the NJ/NY squad’s captain, heading up Gotham’s leadership alongside fellow defenders Jess Carter and Mandy Freeman, as well as midfielders Rose Lavelle and Nealy Martin.

Gotham also removed star forward Midge Purce from her season-ending injury designation on Tuesday, opening the door for the 29-year-old USWNT standout to return to the NWSL pitch for the first time since tearing her ACL in last season’s opener.

The 2023 NWSL Championship MVP tallied 16 goals across her 46 career appearances for Gotham before sitting out the entirety of the 2024 season.

Gotham FC midfielder Nealy Martin warns up before an NWSL match.
Gotham midfielder Nealy Martin will serve on the club’s 2025 leadership group. (Ira L. Black – Corbis/Getty Images)

Gotham aims for successful 2025 behind refreshed roster

Following last year’s third-place finish, the 2023 NWSL champs saw a handful of big-name departures, prompting the club to adopt a more measured approach to this season’s roster rebuild.

“Change is normal in this environment, right?” Martin told JWS in January. “People have got to do what’s best for their career, but it hurts losing your friends on your team just personally, selfishly.”

“Professionally, you have to take it in stride and see how all the new pieces can fit together,” she continued. “How you can highlight new people’s best talent in the system that you’re playing.”

Once considered a superteam, Gotham definitely looks a little different this time around, but early season moves display the club’s interest in transforming steady consistency into a winning squad — with or without massively deep star power.

Gotham FC forward Midge Purce prepares a corner kick during a 2024 NWSL match.
After missing the 2024 season with injury, Midge Purce could make her Gotham return shortly. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Gotham FC’s official 2025 team roster

  • Goalkeepers: Ann-Katrin Berger, Ryan Campbell, Shelby Hogan
  • Defenders: Bruninha, Jess Carter, Tierna Davidson, Mandy Freeman, Lilly Reale, Emily Sonnett
  • Midfielders: Sofia Cook, Jaelin Howell, Rose Lavelle, Nealy Martin, Stella Nyamekye, Taryn Torres
  • Forwards: Esther Gonzalez, Khyah Harper, Cece Kizer, Gabi Portilho, Midge Purce, Sarah Schupansky, Jéssica Silva, Ella Stevens, McKenna Whitham

NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament Champions Put March Madness on Notice

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The Power Four wrapped up their 2024/25 NCAA basketball seasons on Sunday, with newly minted conference tournament champions punching their tickets to the March Madness tournament.

While the Big 12’s weekend was all chalk as No. 8 TCU added their first tournament title since 2005 to their 2024/25 regular-season conference trophy on Sunday, the ACC capped their contest with chaos.

No. 11 Duke put the conference — and the NCAA selection committee — on notice, upsetting both No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 7 NC State en route to their first ACC tournament championship in 12 years.

In the SEC, No. 5 South Carolina had the last word against No. 1 Texas. After splitting their two 2024/25 meetings and sharing the regular-season title, the defending national champion Gamecocks turned the SEC tournament final into a defensive masterclass, defeating the Longhorns 64-45 to claim the conference trophy.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s Big Ten finale saw No. 4 UCLA enact revenge on their crosstown rivals, No. 2 USC. After dropping both their matchups and ceding the conference’s regular-season title to the Trojans, the Bruins held USC to just 34.3% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc to snag the tournament crown with a 72-67 win.

South Carolina basketball head coach Dawn Staley and forward Sania Feagin lift the 2025 SEC tournament trophy as the team cheers.
South Carolina’s resume makes them a possible overall No. 1 seed in March Madness. (John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Conference winners eye NCAA tournament seeding

With their Sunday wins and their automatic entries into the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament, conference champions are now eyeing their shots at top national seedings.

While TCU and Duke each made strong cases for increasing their seeds, UCLA and South Carolina fully cemented themselves as frontrunners to top the 2024/25 bracket.

“When you win this [SEC] tournament and play the schedule that we play, I do think we’re the No. 1 overall seed,” remarked South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. “There isn’t anybody in the country that has played the schedule that we have played, that had share of the regular-season title, won this tournament and beat the No. 1 team in the country.”

The stats back up Staley’s claims. South Carolina played more Top 25 opponents this season than any other currently ranked squad, winning 12 of those games — seven against Top 10 teams. The only three losses they logged all season came against No. 1 Texas, No. 3 UConn, and No. 4 UCLA, with the Gamecocks handing the Longhorns two defeats in return.

UCLA head coach Cori Close took a more diplomatic approach when asked about top seeding after winning the Big Ten title.

“I think it would mean a lot for us [and USC] both to be No. 1 seeds,” Close told ESPN. “And I hope we do get the chance to do it [in the Final Four] in Tampa a fourth time.”

The final decisions rest with the selection committee, who will reveal their 2024/25 NCAA tournament bracket this Sunday.

Washington Spirit Kicks Off 2025 NWSL Season with Challenge Cup Win

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The Washington Spirit booked themselves some sweet revenge on Friday, lifting the 2025 Challenge Cup after taking down 2024 NWSL Championship foes Orlando in a penalty shootout.

The Pride were hunting an exclusive claim to all NWSL hardware entering the match, hoping to kick off the 2025 season holding the league’s Shield, Championship trophy, and Challenge Cup.

Instead, the Spirit snagged some early-season momentum, buoyed by yet another penalty save by Washington goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury.

“We’re looking to write a new story — we were upset about how last year ended, but this is about this team, this year, and this is a great first step,” Kingsbury said after the game.

Penalty kicks fuel injury-hampered Spirit to Challenge Cup title

Washington’s win came in the wake of mounting early-season injuries, though Spirit star forward Trinity Rodman did enter as a second-half sub — despite her lingering back issue.

Pride defender Rafaelle opened scoring late in the first half, slotting a second-chance ball into the side netting through a flood of Spirit defenders to put Orlando on the board.

Washington equalized in the 72nd minute, as Spirit midfielder Leicy Santos made NWSL history by launching the second-ever direct free kick goal in any final.

The match ended 1-1 in regulation. According to the contest’s rules, there are no overtime periods in the Challenge Cup, forcing the Pride and Spirit to decide the result from the penalty spot.

The game-deciding shootout saw Washington outpace Orlando 4-2, allowing the Spirit to avenge their 2024 championship loss by immediately earning a 2025 trophy.

Notably, the Spirit are enjoying a unique penalty kick run, tallying their third shootout win in a knockout game — more than any other club in NWSL history.

While the regular season doesn’t officially start until Friday, the NWSL’s top two clubs hit the ground running — with Washington already proving just how quickly the tide can turn in the world’s most competitive league.

Rugby-US women’s grassroots flourishes after Olympic sevens heroics

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by Georgina McCartney | MSN

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Grassroots women’s rugby has blossomed in popularity in the U.S. as thousands of new players lace up their boots after being inspired by the country’s stellar performance at the Paris Olympics last year.

Membership of women’s rugby clubs is already at 95% of last year’s total, according to USA Rugby, with a vast number more expected with the spring and summer seasons yet to fully kick off.

Membership is set to exceed previous seasons by a good margin after women and girls watched in awe as the U.S. women won the country’s first Olympic sevens medal, stunning former champions Australia in the final seconds of their playoff to claim bronze.

“Watching Team USA smash through those girls, it was just amazing,” said Jazzmin Jones, 28, who has signed up for her first season after watching the Paris Olympics.

“The way my body is built, you don’t see a lot of that in women’s sports, but watching Team USA, I saw that they look like me, they’re strong, and I’m strong too,” said the proud new member of Houston Athletic Rugby Club.

ILONA MAHER EFFECT

“When I was growing up, there were really no contact sports for girls, I feel like I lived in a rugby desert for my whole upbringing,” said former U.S. international, Alycia Washington, who started playing rugby at

“I am in awe of the growth of the game,” said Washington, now retired from international rugby and playing at Stade Bordelais in Bordeaux, France.

One woman in particular has helped boost that growth, rising to international stardom after Paris. With more than eight million followers on Instagram and TikTok, Ilona Maher is the biggest social media star in the game – men or women.

“The Ilona Maher effect is a real thing,” Washington said of the player whose arrival at English club Bristol this year has sparked record crowds.

Whether she is scattering opponents on the pitch, wearing a sparkling dress on Dancing with the Stars or flexing on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Olympic medallist Maher is a force to be reckoned with, on and off the field.

“Ilona is creating so much momentum for the sport but it’s not going to sustain itself,” Washington said.

Wendy Young, editor of Your Scrum Connection and involved in grassroots U.S. rugby for the last 24 years, said: “There are thousands of youth players headed for college and club level rugby hot off the heels of Paris 2024, but with teams few and far between in many states there is work to be done.”

ALL EYES ON LA 2028

“It is a day-in, day-out fight to grow the game here in the U.S., but we’re seeing growth and we have a lot of great support across the country,” said USA Rugby CEO Bill Goren.

The U.S. will host the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2031, and the women’s in 2033, sparking more investment in the country from the sport’s governing body World Rugby.

“You’re going to see more athletes getting into the game of rugby and competing at a world-class level,” said Goren.

They will be helped by the establishment of a new professional league, Women’s Elite Rugby (WER).

Starting in March and funded by small independent investors, it consists of six new teams based in California, Massachusetts, Chicago, New York, Minnesota and Colorado.

“When fans look at the WER players, the point is to see their sisters, neighbours, their gutsy best friends and everything in between in those athletes,” said Katherine Aversano, acting Vice President of the WER.

“The Olympics drew back the curtain to show people we’re here, we are accessible, authentic and raw,” Aversano said.

The trailblazers of the Paris Olympics helped to mainstream women’s rugby in the U.S., and from new players to veterans, the community is nurturing that momentum.

“If you have a ball and a patch of grass, you could start playing some rugby,” Washington said.

“The high schoolers of today will be playing in the World Cup of 2033, and we need to develop those athletes now to really push for the podium.”

Star Athletes Serena Williams, Sabrina Ionescu Invest in Pro Women’s Sports Leagues

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JWS Staff

The WNBA and NWSL welcomed some new high-profile owners on Monday, as Serena Williams and Sabrina Ionescu announced investments in the country’s leading pro women’s sports leagues.

Tennis icon Williams is purchasing a stake in the Toronto Tempo. There, the 23-time Grand Slam winner will subsequently weigh in on the 2026 WNBA expansion team’s visual elements like jersey designs, merchandise deals, and more.

“Serena is a champion,” noted Tempo president Teresa Resch. “She’s set the bar for women in sport, business, and the world — and her commitment to using that success to create opportunities for other women is inspiring.”

Meanwhile, 2024 WNBA champion and Bay Area product Ionescu also padded her portfolio. Ionescu bought into 2024 NWSL addition Bay FC, where she’ll serve as an official commercial advisor.

“Sabrina is the ultimate innovator and creates new pathways for aspiring and current professional athletes,” said team CEO Brady Stewart. “Adding her passion and vision to what we are building at Bay FC will allow us to further disrupt the sports landscape.”

Athlete investors lead the way in growing women’s sports

Both current and retired athletes are increasingly buying into the business side of women’s sports. The list includes USWNT alums Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, and Abby Wambach backing Angel City FC and WNBA legend Sue Bird buying into the Seattle Storm and Gotham FC.

Earlier this year, 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark threw her support behind Cincinnati’s recent NWSL expansion bid.

“This moment is not just about basketball,” said Williams. “It is about showcasing the true value and potential of female athletes — I have always said that women’s sports are an incredible investment opportunity.”

“I whole-heartedly understand how important investment really is and obviously you can talk about it and be about it, but you really have to want to be committed to it and invest to be able to see what you believe in come to light,” echoed Ionescu.

Ownership doesn’t only keep legends in the game. It also proves that women’s sports are a booming business.

“It hasn’t happened overnight for us. It’s been years and years for us of athletes kicking down the door, voice what it is that they want to see. It’s taken investment, and now expansion,” added Ionescu.

“To see it now in real-time — viewership, attendance, sponsorships — everything is at an all-time high.”

Juju Watkins named Big Ten Player of the Year

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Adam Bradford | Trojans Wire

It didn’t take very long for USC women’s basketball to rise to the top of the Big Ten. Nor did it take Juju Watkins very long to establish herself as the top player in the league. On Tuesday, Watkins was officially named the Big Ten Player of the Year. Obviously, she is the first Trojan to ever do so, since this is USC’s first year in the conference.

During the regular season, Watkins led the conference in points per game with 24.4—nearly five points ahead of the second place finisher. She also finished top five in the league and blocks and top 25 in rebounds, despite primarily playing as a guard.

In addition to being named the Big Ten Player of the Year, Watkins was unanimously named to the All-Big Ten First Team and Defensive Team. Teammate Kiki Iriafen joined her on the First Team, while Rayah Marshall also made the Defensive Team. Both Marshall and Kennedy Smith—who was also named to the conference’s All-Freshman Team—earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors.

Overall, Tuesday was a loaded day for the Big Ten regular season champs, who continue to add more hardware to their collection. USC will now set its sights on the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, where they will open play on Friday.

Mikaela Shiffrin earns 100th World Cup win, joins exclusive century club

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By: Nick Zaccardi | NBC Sports

Mikaela Shiffrin has earned a record-extending 100th career Alpine skiing World Cup win, coming back from major injury to join a short list of athletes across all winter sports with triple-digit victories.

Shiffrin won a slalom by 61 hundredths of a second over Croatian Zrinka Ljutic combining times from two runs in Sestriere, Italy, on Sunday.

Minnesotan Paula Moltzan took third. It’s the third time of Shiffrin’s record-tying 155 career Alpine World Cup podiums that she’s joined by another American.

Shiffrin crossed the finish line and took multiple glances in the direction of a scoreboard before dropping down and lying on the snow. Moltzan helped her up, and they hugged

“I didn’t know if it said fourth or first. One hundred times later, and I still can’t find the darn scoreboard,” Shiffrin told media in Sestriere. “My feeling is blank a little bit. It’s overwhelming. It’s too hard to find thoughts for it. But that’s also a very peaceful moment because normally I’m only thinking. So sometimes it’s nice to have a moment where I can’t think.”

After a podium ceremony, a 60-second highlight video was shown of Shiffrin’s celebrations and victory interview clips over her career.

An interviewer then said, “After all you’ve been through these last months, 100 World Cup victories.” Shiffrin, through tears, thanked her, thanked her teammates, thanked her competitors, her coaches and the fans.

Shiffrin returned to the top in her sixth race back since missing two months following a Nov. 30 race crash. She sustained a puncture wound that tore oblique muscles and came very close to piercing organs. Shiffrin had been bidding for win No. 100 in that Nov. 30 giant slalom, leading after the first run before crashing in the second run.

“I have wondered in the last weeks so many times whether it is the right thing to come back,” she said. “We didn’t take the easy way, that’s for sure, but in the end, in order to keep moving forward and to finish this recovery, I have to be in start gate, and I have to experience these emotions when they’re good and when they’re bad. That’s really important. Today was just an amazing day in the middle of some really tough months, but I’m very thankful for this day.”

Shiffrin returned to competition Jan. 30 and placed 10th and fifth in her first two slaloms back (plus won the World Championships team combined with Breezy Johnson with the third-fastest slalom run).

She skipped the giant slalom at the World Championships, citing mental obstacles specific to GS coming back from the Nov. 30 crash. She returned to GS racing in Sestriere on Friday and Saturday.

“I do not yet feel entirely myself…but I do feel enough of myself to be here…and for now, that is enough,” she posted before her first GS races back.

On Friday, she placed 25th. On Saturday, she was 33rd in the opening GS run, not qualifying for the 30-skier second run for the first time since 2012 (when she was 17 years old, two months before her first World Cup win). She then trained slalom.

Then on Sunday, she had the fastest opening slalom run by nine hundredths over Ljutic. She was fourth-fastest in the second run skiing on battered snow as the 30th and final starter.

“I’m not there (in GS),” she said. “I feel like the mountain ahead of me to climb is steep and long, and if I get there, when I get there, it will be very sweet. For now, I just have to take this day and be grateful for it because it’s a small moment in the middle of many tough moments that makes me feel that maybe I can be good again.”

Shiffrin is commemorating No. 100 by partnering with Share Winter Foundation to raise $100,000 for learn to ski and snowboard programs for youth who otherwise would not have access to the sports.

“I know that not everyone is blessed with the good fortune I have come across; in fact, very few are, and over the years, the lack of accessibility for a diverse group of people in winter sports has funneled us into a very not diverse community,” Shiffrin said in a press release. “I see this 100 victory conversation as an opportunity to bring more eyes and, ideally, more passion to the sport. It’s incredible, of course, but I’d like to turn the spotlight to something bigger than me.

“Helping Share Winter bring more kids to the mountain is really meaningful. It’s far bigger than me winning 100 races. This will make that 100th victory one of the most meaningful to me.”

Over the last 12 years, Shiffrin has dealt with a range of hardships, both physical and mental, and returned to the top of podiums each time.

“This is probably the last moment that I would expect to achieve this, actually” she told Swiss broadcaster SRF. “It seems like even returning from injury, and in the last years of my career, there’s always expectation that I’m going to be on the top step. And for me, when I look around at the other athletes, at my competitors, it sometimes seems impossible that I can win these races. They’re so strong.”

In March 2023, she broke Swede Ingemar Stenmark’s Alpine record of 86 World Cup wins. Now she has reached a 100-victory milestone that few athletes have achieved across all winter sports World Cups.

Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen won 114 individual World Cup races before retiring in 2018 with a record 15 Winter Olympic medals.

Swiss skier Conny Kissling won 106 times in the 1980s and early 1990s, with most of the victories coming in an event combining moguls and aerials (which, separately, are Olympic disciplines) and acro or ballet (which is not an Olympic discipline).

Swiss Amelie Wagner-Reymond earned 164 World Cup victories from 2007-23 in telemark skiing, which is not an Olympic discipline.

Shiffrin reached 100 before her 30th birthday on March 13 by starting her tally early, dominating slalom for most of the last 12 years (63 World Cup slalom victories are 28 more than any other woman in history) and also winning the most giant slaloms in women’s World Cup history (22). She stayed relatively injury-free in a high-risk sport until two crashes in 2024.

The women’s Alpine skiing World Cup continues next weekend with two downhills and a super-G in Kvitfjell, Norway. Shiffrin is next expected to race the following weekend in Are, Sweden.

“Just to stand in the start gate and take the mentality (of) what I want to do is what I actually do, that’s not been totally connected (recently), but today it was,” Shiffrin said, “and that feels good for the soul.”

Three American women inside WTA top-5 for first time in 21 years

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byCristhián Avila | Tennis Up to Date

Madison Keys has risen in the WTA rankings, joining Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula in the top five. This is a remarkable achievement, as it’s been more than 20 years since three American women were simultaneously ranked in this elite group.

The last time this happened, Serena Williams (No. 3), Lindsay Davenport (No. 4), and Jennifer Capriati (No. 5) were all inside the top five. Together, they won 29 Grand Slam titles and spent nearly 450 weeks at the top of the rankings, with Williams leading the way.

This time, it’s Coco Gauff (No. 3), Jessica Pegula (No. 4), and Madison Keys (No. 5) who have secured top-five spots in the same week. Keys reached her career-best ranking on Monday, benefiting from point losses by Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini, which allowed her to move up despite not playing.

Madison Keys’ rise marks first American top-5 trio

Over the past 52 weeks, Gauff has won titles at the WTA Finals and China Open, Pegula has triumphed at WTA 1000 Toronto and WTA 500 Berlin, while Keys has claimed victories in Australia and at WTA 500 Strasbourg Open and Adelaide. They currently trail only Aryna Sabalenka (No. 1) and Iga Swiatek (No. 2), who have alternated at the top of the rankings since April 2022, when Swiatek replaced Ash Barty following her retirement. Together, Sabalenka and Swiatek have spent 152 weeks as WTA No. 1.

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Madison Keys won her first Grand Slam title at the 2025 Australian Open. She defeated 2-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Gauff, Pegula, and Keys highlight the strong presence of American women in the WTA Tour, marking the first time since Williams-Davenport-Capriati in 2003 that three Americans are in the top five—three legends of the game.

While they lead the charge, American tennis’ strength is further reflected in the current rankings, with four players in the top 10, including Emma Navarro. Expanding to the top 20, Danielle Collins (No. 14) and Amanda Anisimova (No. 18) also feature. As of this Monday, there are nine Americans in the top 50 and 17 in the top 100.

The legendary trio of American stars

All three—Williams, Davenport, and Capriati—reached world No. 1 and won multiple Grand Slam titles. Serena Williams’ historic career is well known, with 23 Grand Slam titles and 319 weeks as world No. 1 between 2002 and 2017. Her compatriots also had stellar careers, with their peak years in the early 2000s.

Capriati first reached world No. 1 in 2001 and held the top spot for a total of 17 weeks. She won three Grand Slams, reached three other major finals, and claimed 14 titles, including an Olympic gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

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Serena Williams won a total of 23 Grand Slam titles.

Davenport, on the other hand, won three Grand Slams, finished runner-up in four, and amassed a total of 55 titles while losing 38 finals. She also had an impressive 130 wins against top-10 players. Davenport held the No. 1 ranking for 98 weeks, making her the 10th player in history with the most weeks at the top.

The three Americans competed against some of the best players of their era and true legends of the game. Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin, Amelie Mauresmo, and Maria Sharapova were among those who challenged the Americans in major events and also battled for the top spots in the WTA rankings.

WNBA Standout Monica Wright Rogers Named First GM of Toronto Tempo

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The WNBA’s 14th franchise is gearing up for its 2026 debut, with the Toronto Tempo introducing former WNBA and NCAA star Monica Wright Rogers as their inaugural general manager on Thursday.

A two-time WNBA champion with the Minnesota Lynx and three-time collegiate All-American at Virginia, Wright Rogers’s resume lists coaching and front office stints at both the college and pro level. She most recently served as the Phoenix Mercury’s assistant general manager.

“The unique combination of experience that Monica will bring to this team is incredible. She’s a proven champion who understands the game from so many different perspectives,” said Toronto Tempo president Teresa Resch in a team release.

“And she’s so much more than the collection of her experiences. Monica is an incredible relationship-builder with a sharp eye for talent who embodies everything we want the Toronto Tempo to stand for: she’s warm, welcoming, smart, driven and fiercely competitive. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have her on board.”

A sold-out crowd of more than 19,000 WNBA fans packed Scotiabank Arena for a 2024 WNBA preseason game in Toronto.
A sold-out crowd of more than 19,000 fans packed Scotiabank Arena in Toronto for a 2024 WNBA preseason game . (Jordan Jones/NBAE via Getty Images)

Wright Rogers adds WNBA experience to Toronto expansion team

The WNBA announced its first-ever expansion into Canada in May 2024.

An investment group led by Toronto billionaire Larry Tanenbaum and his Kilmer Sports Ventures filed the WNBA expansion bid. Tanenbaum also chairs Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC, Argos, and Marlies.

Tanenbaum originally explored an expansion team via MLSE, but was turned down by other members of the board. 

Wright Rogers will lead basketball operations for the Tempo, including hiring a head coach and building out the inaugural roster.

“The excitement about this team, and around women’s sports in general in Canada right now is palpable,” Wright Rogers said. “To have the opportunity to play such a key role in building this team in this country at this moment is an honour”

“Sports fans around the world should keep an eye on us,” she added.

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