List of 5 news stories.

• Week #3 - Clutch Serving in the Third Set: Badgers Win Their Season Opener!

  9/3/2026
  Dave Levy, Athletic Director
  Middle School Girls Volleyball - With the match tied at one set apiece, Juno, Sage, Vex, Livia and Nora took the court. The Badgers relied on outstanding service play and a few exciting rallies as they made the push for 15 points. Juno served first, showing off the excellent underhand technique she has been working on. Sage was next, achieving two powerful aces along the way! The Badgers trailed 8-3 when Kenly walked to the line for the first time in a Tandem uniform. Her debut was one to remember - running off four strong serves and consecutive points! Kenly cutting the CDS lead to 1! Each serve landed right in the middle of the defense, impossible to return.  

   

  The Badgers were still trailing 14-9 when Rory returned to the game. For a different player, the pressure and moment may have been too much. Rory stepped to the line and hammered over an ace into the back right corner, like she has done so many times before. Trailing by four, she did it again, cutting the lead to 14-11. Then a third time, as she aimed for the back row - running off another two points. It was 14-13 when CDS finally got a pass on the ball, sending it over the net to the waiting arms of Valentina. She passed it to Sage who got the ball back to Rory, and the game was tied. After Rory gave Tandem a 15-14 lead on yet another ace, CDS called timeout - hoping to ice the server. Rory remained calm, took a deep breath, and gave Tandem their first win of this young season, 2-1!
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• Week #2: There's No Place Like Home: Badgers Excel on the Hill and in the Den

  8/28/2026
  Dave Levy, Athletic Director
  Badgers played three home games on Thursday, August 27 - see details below.
  
  Boys Varsity Soccer - "Their strikers are afraid of Mason," Juli pointed out. "They're always looking around to see if he's coming before they go for the ball." From one elite defender to another, Juli was the first to mention the intimidation factor of Mason's presence on the back line. As UCA made a push, Mason won the ball with a skilled tackle and sent it ahead to Van. With perfect vision, Van launched a through ball deep down the left side, where Seth used a perfect one touch to get the ball in the box. Levi made a move, drew a penalty, and cashed in moments later - firing the ball left and low, under the outstretched arms of the goalie.

   

  The Badgers took a 1-0 lead early, and did not let up. After an incredible Levie save, Seamus sent a pass ahead to Cord, who helped to set up yet another attack. The goal came off of Coach Nemanja's patented press. Luke, flying like a rocket, cut off the sideline. He sent the ball into the middle, where Levi controlled it like a yo-yo, dribbling through defenders before crossing it into the box. Van trapped it and kicked it so hard that the goalie had the same experience as the rest of us: he turned and watched that fireball leave a mark on the back of the net. Juli described it as a "beautiful goal from Van," noting the placement in the top right corner, entirely out of reach.

   

  Already ahead 2-0, Eli tackled the ball away from a defender. He got the ball to Van in space - and you know the rest. Van notched his second goal of the game - and Aven informed me a two-goal game is called a brace. So cheers to Van on his first brace of the season!!!
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• 

  Week #2: Challenge Accepted: Volleyball Badgers Open Their Season on the Road at Monticello

  8/26/2026
  Dave Levy, Athletic Director; photos by Beverley McCaskill
  Girls Varsity Volleyball - Every time we walk across the street to compete against Monticello High School, people ask the following questions:

   

  1."Wait, isn't Monticello a public school?" Yes, in fact they are.

  2. "Isn't their student body much bigger than Tandem's?" Yes, they have 1,185 students enrolled - more than 11 times larger than our upper school.

  3. "Are you sure you can compete with them? Shouldn't we just play schools our own size?"

   

  I was reflecting on that third question during the second set this afternoon. The Badgers trailed early, 6-5, before Maya had a sequence of perfectly placed hits right into an empty spot in the back corner. Between the power and the precision, well, those balls easily could have caused an earthquake. The team trailed 10-8 when Emory extended her arms for a block - taking in all of the force from a powerful hit, containing it, and returning it, skillfully, to the opposing middle hitter. Zella followed that up with an ace on a snazzy jump serve, and then Confident Claire dove to dig out a pancake - sending the ball to Aoife who redirected it right behind Monticello's front line. Claire also had several aces in the third set!

   

  The Badgers took the lead, 11-10, when Aoife dove to her left, got a hand on the ball, and somehow sent it over to Maya who snapped her wrist and delivered a vicious hit at the opposing libero, who wanted nothing to do with all that force. Who could blame her? I speak for most folks - we would have ducked and covered our faces. Monticello would respond, eventually scoring five straight to go up 15-11.  
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• Badgers Win Big in 2026

  6/29/2026
  If you have ever received Tandem's weekly Friday Letter, you know that Athletic Director Dave Levy writes engaging, detailed synopses celebrating our student athletes after each game, match, or contest. To celebrate a great year of athletic achievement, we asked him to share his top 5 highlights from this year in Tandem Athletics.

  In no particular order:

  Boys Cross Country Wins Third Consecutive VISAA State Championship. The Badgers posted the fastest time in Virginia across ALL divisions for the third straight year.

  Boys Varsity Soccer Qualifies for State Tournament. After winning just one game in 2024, the Badgers had an exceptional turnaround season and earned a spot in the state tournament.

  Girls Varsity Volleyball Advances to GPAC Championship. The Badgers defeated Quantico 3–1 at home in one of their strongest performances of the season, advancing to the conference final in front of a packed crowd.

  Girls Middle School Basketball Wins Grymes Invitational. Led by five eighth graders, the team defeated Summit in the semifinals and Grymes 25–17 in the championship game. Hadley and Zoey were both named to the all-tournament team!

  Boys Varsity Basketball Wins GPAC Tournament Title. The Badgers secured the GPAC Tournament championship with a thrilling 57–55 road victory over Wakefield.

  Well done to all of our student-athletes, and GO BADGERS!
• 

  Week #37: "Now That's The Way You Finish A Season!"

  5/21/2026
  Varsity Track and Field - "Now that's the way you finish a season," Jason remarked as BOTH the Girls and Boys 4x400 teams broke the Tandem Track and Field 4x400 school records! Running strong as the lead leg, Claire ran an impressive 1:12, her final 400 meters in a Tandem uniform. Aoife, who has had an exceptional rookie season, ran a blazing 1:05 - setting up the team in a strong position as she made an excellent pass to Eve, who ran a strong 1:25. Lucy brought it home, running another 1:11, as the squad finished in a blazing 4:52.74, beating Fluvanna by 12 seconds and running 3 seconds faster than any Tandem Girls 4x400 Relay ever has before!

   

  Gabriel, who ran a lightning fast 53 seconds for his fourth 400 in a row, got the Boys 4x400 meter relay started! Miles, with a :54 second leg, moved the team squarely into second place, and set up Hayes who went stride for stride with Western Ablemarle, before passing his opponent on the home stretch. Peter W, who is the definition of an elite anchor leg, gave it everything he had - finishing in an impressive 3:40.67 and achieving a new school record as well! That's eight new Tandem athletes on the wall!
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