The Rev. Virginia Rickeman will lead the service at Wilson Memorial Chapel on Ocean Point this Sunday, July 14. Jim Swist will serve as organist. The service is at 9:30 a.m. All are welcome!

Virginia “Ginger” Rickeman grew up in Massachusetts spending summers in Boothbay Harbor. After graduating from Masconomet Regional High School, she obtained a B.S. in biology from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of Minnesota.

Rev. Rickeman earned her Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary in Minnesota. Ordained in the United Church of Christ, she served for 11 years as an associate minister at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis. Ginger then accepted a call to West Parish Congregational Church in Bethel, Maine, ministering there for nine years before retiring.

A happy, year-round resident of Boothbay Harbor, she shares a home with her best friend, Vicki. Rev. Rickeman loves visits with her sons and their families: Matthew, Becca and sons Jones, Greg and Kevin in
Westminster, Maryland; Thomas, Andrea and their children Eleanor and Henry in Tustin, California. Favorite activities include giving tours at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, ringing in her church bell choir, knitting, gardening, and reading mystery novels.

Two former Virginia tennis stars are among the 16 players remaining in the ladies’ singles draw at The Championships Wimbledon 2024. Danielle Collins and Emma Navarro both advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time in their respective careers.

Collins, who won two NCAA singles titles at Virginia in 2014 and 2016, will face No. 31 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in the fourth round on Monday (time TBD), while Navarro, the 2021 NCAA Singles Champion, will face the No. 2-seeded American Coco Gauff on Sunday at 12pm ET (ABC).

Collins, the No. 11 seed in the tournament, defeated Clara Tauson 6-3, 7-6 in the first round and Dalma Galfi 6-3, 6-4 in the second round. In the third round on Saturday, Collins fell behind the No. 20 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 0-4 in the first set, but then the match went into a weather delay. When play resumed, Collins went on a tear, winning the next nine games to claim the first set and seize control of the match. Haddad Maia won three of the next four games to put some pressure back on Collins, but she then polished off the match for the 6-4, 6-4 win. The victory sends Collins to the round of 16 at Wimbledon for the first time in her career (sixth Wimbledon appearance) and marks her fifth trip to the fourth round or further at a Grand Slam in her career.

Navarro, meanwhile, beat Qiang Wang 6-0, 6-2 in the first round and then breezed past Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-1 in a second round match that lasted just 58 minutes. Diana Shnaider took the first set off of Navarro in the third round on Friday, but Navarro rallied to post a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory to send her to the fourth round in just her second-career appearance at Wimbledon. It’s already been a remarkable year for the 23-year-old Navarro, who is the No. 19 seed at Wimbledon but the No. 17-ranked women’s singles player in the world after winning her first WTA title at the Hobart International in January and also posting a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open. Now, Navarro will look to take down world No. 2 Coco Gauff, who got the better of Navarro when they met earlier this year in the semifinals of the 2024 Auckland Open.

Last month, both Emma Navarro and Danielle Collins were named to the 2024 United States Olympic Tennis Team competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics starting on July 27th at Roland Garros.

Virginia Tech was a finalist for 2025 cornerback target Major Preston, but they missed out on him today. Preston comitted to Ole Miss this evening, deciding to go play for Lane Kiffin in the SEC. Preston had received a 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction to land at Ole Miss earlier this week and he made it official today by committing to the Rebels.

Preston is a three-star prospect according to 247Sports Composite, ranking as the No. 623 player in the country, No. 56 cornerback, and No. 87 player in the state of Florida. He holds offers from Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, Florida, Colorado, Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M, among others.

Here is some more stats and info on Preston courtesy of 247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins:

“Multi-sport athlete that ran track and played basketball while at Hopewell (Va.) as a freshman.Posted a 19.23 in the 110h, a 59.90 in the 400 and a 19-10.5 effort in the LJ.

2023: Worked at both CB and SAF for IMG Academy, which played a national schedule. Totaled 6 tackles against Lipscomb Academy, 5 tackles against Ben Davis, 5 tackles against Glenville and 2 tackles against St. Joseph’s Prep.2022: Spent sophomore season in Virginia. Two-way player for Hopewell. Racked up 17 tackles, 5 INT and 4 PBU on defense per MaxPreps while adding 29 catches for 449 yards and a TD on offense. Richmond Times-Dispatch All-Metro honorable mention on defense.”

Last week, Virginia Tech got their biggest commitment of the summer when they landed four-star athlete Matthew Outen.

Outten is now the highest-rated commit for Virginia Tech in the 2025 class according to 247Sports, ranking as the No. 139 player in the country, the No. 5 athlete in the country and the No. 6 player in the state of Virginia.

Here are some stats and info on Outten courtesy of 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins:

“Also competes in track and field events.State qualifier in the 100 and 200-meter dashes as a sophomore.Top marks include 6.49 in the 55, 10.91 in the 100, 22.45 in the 200, 43-4 in the TJ and 5-6 in the HJ.

2023: Three-phase playmaker as a junior for Norcom getting snaps at WR and DB while doubling as team’s primary return man. In 6 games, caught 22 passes for 480 yards and 6 TD per MaxPreps. Added 22 tackles on defense along with a PRTD and a blocked punt.”