{"id":93528,"date":"2023-03-21T12:51:01","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T16:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=93528"},"modified":"2023-03-21T13:29:16","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T17:29:16","slug":"nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/03\/21\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\/","title":{"rendered":"Nothing but Net: Bright Future Awaits for UMW Scholar-Athlete Karissa Highlander"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><p>For senior biomedical sciences major Karissa Highlander, the University of Mary Washington has been the ideal place to be an athlete and a scholar.<\/p><figure id=\"attachment_93530\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-93530\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"93530\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/03\/21\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\/karissa\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1815,2420\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"0\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"0\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"0\",\"iso\":\"0\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"Karissa Highlander portrait\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Karissa Highlander is majoring in biomedical sciences with a minor in chemistry. She plays center on the Eagles women&rsquo;s basketball team. &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-225x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-768x1024.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-93530\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"provided photo\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-225x300.jpg 225w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-768x1024.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa.jpg 1815w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-93530\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karissa Highlander is majoring in biomedical sciences with a minor in chemistry. She plays center on the Eagles women&rsquo;s basketball team.<\/figcaption><\/figure><p>Highlander has pursued a research-intensive undergraduate science career while also starting at center on a women&rsquo;s basketball team that this year soared to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III Tournament.<\/p><p>Recruited from Osbourn Park High School in Manassas by Coach Deena Applebury, Highlander visited campus and soaked in the basketball program&rsquo;s close-knit atmosphere. But what sealed the deal was the chance to participate in UMW&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2017\/05\/04\/umw-awarded-1-million-grant-stem-program\/\">Jepson Scholars Program<\/a>, allowing her to do chemistry and microbiology research on alternative treatments for antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis.<\/p><p>And she&rsquo;s found something else at UMW &ndash; a bonus family. When a military transfer moved her parents to California halfway through Highlander&rsquo;s college career, people from both her athletic and academic spheres helped fill the void.<\/p><p>Distance made it impossible for her parents to be in the stands most game nights, though they did travel east in February to attend Highlander&rsquo;s last home game. Other times, teammates&rsquo; parents stepped up to cheer for her in addition to their own daughters. Professor of Biology Dianne Baker, who is co-director of the Jepson Scholars program, has attended home games. So have Professor of Chemistry Kelli Slunt and Associate Professor of Chemistry Davis Oldham.<\/p><p>&ldquo;I always have some family around,&rdquo; Highlander said, &ldquo;just not always my own family.&rdquo;<\/p><div class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular tiled-gallery-unresized\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":7,\"permalink\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/21\\\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\\\/\",\"likes_blog_id\":230672515}' itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\"> <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 1100px; height: 762px;\" data-original-width=\"1100\" data-original-height=\"762\"> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 530px; height: 762px;\" data-original-width=\"530\" data-original-height=\"762\"> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021\/07\/20\/science-symposium-showcases-research-thats-making-a-difference\/8fa9c57a-b561-40e7-bb87-c72e09690b44\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"526\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"758\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"91835\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/8FA9C57A-B561-40E7-BB87-C72E09690B44.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"1118,1610\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"0\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"0\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"0\",\"iso\":\"0\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"Karissa Highlander SSI\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/8FA9C57A-B561-40E7-BB87-C72E09690B44-208x300.jpeg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/8FA9C57A-B561-40E7-BB87-C72E09690B44-711x1024.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/8FA9C57A-B561-40E7-BB87-C72E09690B44.jpeg?w=526&amp;h=758&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/8FA9C57A-B561-40E7-BB87-C72E09690B44.jpeg 1118w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/8FA9C57A-B561-40E7-BB87-C72E09690B44-208x300.jpeg 208w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/8FA9C57A-B561-40E7-BB87-C72E09690B44-711x1024.jpeg 711w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/8FA9C57A-B561-40E7-BB87-C72E09690B44-768x1106.jpeg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/8FA9C57A-B561-40E7-BB87-C72E09690B44-1067x1536.jpeg 1067w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/8FA9C57A-B561-40E7-BB87-C72E09690B44-792x1140.jpeg 792w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/07\/8FA9C57A-B561-40E7-BB87-C72E09690B44-417x600.jpeg 417w\" width=\"526\" height=\"758\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"526\" data-original-height=\"758\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Karissa Highlander SSI\" alt=\"Karissa Summer Science Institute\" style=\"width: 526px; height: 758px;\"> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Highlander is pictured during the Summer Science Institute in her junior year. The institute lets students conduct hands-on research with professors and peers. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-2\" style=\"width: 570px; height: 762px;\" data-original-width=\"570\" data-original-height=\"762\"> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/03\/21\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\/karissa-game-photo\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"566\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"377\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"93531\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-game-photo-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1703\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"3.2\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"NIKON Z 6_2\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1677861317\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"80\",\"iso\":\"6400\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.0015625\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"Karissa game photo\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-game-photo-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-game-photo-1024x681.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-game-photo-scaled.jpg?w=566&amp;h=377&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-game-photo-scaled.jpg 2560w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-game-photo-300x200.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-game-photo-1024x681.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-game-photo-768x511.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-game-photo-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-game-photo-2048x1363.jpg 2048w\" width=\"566\" height=\"377\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"566\" data-original-height=\"377\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Karissa game photo\" alt=\"on the court\" style=\"width: 566px; height: 377px;\"> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Highlander is poised to shoot en route to a UMW win over DeSales University in the NCAA Tournament. (Photo by Stephanie Graffin, DeSales.) <\/div> <\/div> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/03\/21\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\/karissa-team-photo\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"566\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"377\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"93532\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-team-photo-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"2.8\",\"credit\":\"Stephen Miller\",\"camera\":\"Canon EOS R\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1669158012\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"182\",\"iso\":\"3200\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.001\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"0\"}' data-image-title=\"Karissa team photo\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-team-photo-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-team-photo-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-team-photo-scaled.jpg?w=566&amp;h=377&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-team-photo-scaled.jpg 2560w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-team-photo-300x200.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-team-photo-1024x683.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-team-photo-768x512.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-team-photo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/Karissa-team-photo-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" width=\"566\" height=\"377\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"566\" data-original-height=\"377\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"Karissa team photo\" alt=\"taking the court\" style=\"width: 566px; height: 377px;\"> <\/a> <div class=\"tiled-gallery-caption\" itemprop=\"caption description\"> Highlander soaks up a bit of team energy before a game. The UMW women recorded a 24-7 season and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Division III Tournament. (Photo by Steve Miller.) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <\/div><p>Highlander and fellow team seniors Ashley Martin, Molly Sharman and Bri Harper have connected since freshman year. Assistant coaches Alley Odell and Rebecca Harvey have been a support, Highlander said, and Coach Applebury has encouraged players in all they do.<\/p><p>&ldquo;I love my coach &ndash; she pushes me to be the best I can,&rdquo; Highlander said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s more than just basketball. She&rsquo;s always trying to prepare us to be the best possible versions of ourselves.&rdquo;<\/p><p>After two pandemic-disrupted seasons, the Eagles women and came back stronger than ever this year, roaring through a 24-7 season and playing in the D-III NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen for only the fifth time in program history. The Eagles men also received a bid this year, marking the first time both teams have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in the same season.<\/p><p>With basketball season over, Highlander is looking back on a UMW experience that included two summers of scientific research funded by the Jepson Scholars program &ndash; one with Professor of Biology and Biological Sciences Chair Lynn Lewis, and one with Oldham.<\/p><p>&ldquo;I have enjoyed watching her grow as a scientist over the past four years,&rdquo; Oldham said of Highlander. &ldquo;She is a very versatile scientist, having done well in organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry and microbiology.&rdquo;<\/p><p>Now Highlander is pondering a bright future that&rsquo;s likely to include graduate study in the sciences &ndash; and cheering on the Eagles from wherever she may be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For senior biomedical sciences major Karissa Highlander, the University of Mary Washington has been the ideal place to be an athlete and a scholar.Highlander has pursued a research-intensive undergraduate science career while also starting at center on a women&rsquo;s basketball team that this year soared to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III Tournament.Recruited [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":93529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[721,704],"tags":[706,7643],"topics":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-93528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cas","8":"category-top-stories","9":"tag-athletics","10":"tag-college-of-arts-and-sciences","11":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Nothing but Net: Bright Future Awaits for UMW Scholar-Athlete Karissa Highlander - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/03\/21\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nothing but Net: Bright Future Awaits for UMW Scholar-Athlete Karissa Highlander\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For senior biomedical sciences major Karissa Highlander, the University of Mary Washington has been the ideal place to be an athlete and a scholar.Highlander has pursued a research-intensive undergraduate science career while also starting at center on a women&rsquo;s basketball team that this year soared to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III Tournament.Recruited [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2023\/03\/21\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityofMaryWashington\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-21T16:51:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-21T17:29:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/03\/NewRelease_Karissa_Bball_1024x413.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"413\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Laura Moyer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UMaryWash\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UMaryWash\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laura Moyer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/21\\\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/21\\\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Laura Moyer\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b73ac5b5a07d485a4a5e91303aa5a35e\"},\"headline\":\"Nothing but Net: Bright Future Awaits for UMW Scholar-Athlete Karissa Highlander\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-21T16:51:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-21T17:29:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/21\\\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":522,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/21\\\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/NewRelease_Karissa_Bball_1024x413.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Athletics\",\"College of Arts and Sciences\"],\"articleSection\":[\"College of Arts and Sciences\",\"Top Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/21\\\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/21\\\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/21\\\/nothing-but-net-bright-future-awaits-for-umw-scholar-athlete-karissa-highlander\\\/\",\"name\":\"Nothing but Net: Bright Future Awaits for UMW Scholar-Athlete Karissa Highlander - 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The UMW women recorded a 24-7 season and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Division III Tournament. 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