Women’s Super League opening day: Mia Fishel scores in Chelsea debut
Mia Fishel scores in her Chelsea debut. (Photo by Harriet Lander – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Mia Fishel’s first game with Chelsea got off to an impactful start.
Fishel, who signed with the legendary English club in August from Liga MX, made her debut — in the starting lineup — for Sunday’s match against Tottenham. Then, in the 28th minute, she made her presence felt.
— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) October 1, 2023
The forward headed in a cross from about 10 yards out, giving Chelsea the opening goal in the Women’s Super League contest on the opening day of competition for the 2023-24 season.
Fishel screamed in celebration and was mobbed by her teammates as the Chelsea fans erupted. Chelsea went on to take a 2-1 victory.
Fishel, 22, signed with Chelsea after a successful run with Tigres UANL of Liga MX Femenil, the highest division of women’s soccer in Mexico.
She had long been a mainstay on the U.S. youth national team and made her debut for the senior team during the Sept. 24 friendly match against South Africa. Fishel entered in the 65th minute of what turned into a 2-0 victory for the USWNT.
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No. 2-seed Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 7 Missouri, and No. 11 Alabama will hit the mat first, before 2024 winners and the 2025 bracket's No. 1-seed LSU goes to work to defend their title against No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 8 Michigan State.
The top two teams from each of Thursday's semifinals will advance to compete for the national title on Saturday.
LSU's Haleigh Bryant will defend her 2024 all-around title on Thursday. (Reagan Cotten/University Images via Getty Images)
Semifinal meets will crown individual NCAA champions
First, however, five individual NCAA trophies will be bestowed on Thursday night, as the semifinal meets will determine the 2025 all-around and event champions.
In addition to the athletes on the eight qualifying teams, four all-around competitors and 16 event specialists will join the race for solo NCAA hardware, with each earning an invite as the top performer in their respective category at one of the sport's four Regional tournaments.
These individual contenders will follow a qualified team's rotation schedule during their semifinal meet.
Leading the all-around pack is LSU star and 2024 individual champ Haleigh Bryant, though she'll face stiff competition in her bid for a back-to-back championship.
Standing in Bryant's path are Oregon State's Jade Carey, Arkansas's Joscelyn Roberson, Denver's Madison Ulrich, and Washington's Mary McDonough, alongside qualified team athletes like UCLA's Jordan Chiles — Carey’s 2024 Olympics teammate.
Bryant will also defend her shared 2024 vault title, though her co-champion on that event, Cal's Mya Lauzon, will instead compete for beam and floor hardware this week.
All other 2024 event winners are also back, with LSU's Konnor McClain and Florida's Leanne Wong seeking to repeat on beam and floor, respectively. Wong will also hunt another trophy on bars, alongside last year's co-champ, Utah's Grace McCallum.
How to watch the 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Championships
The first 2025 NCAA gymnastics semifinal starts at 4:30 PM ET on Thursday, followed by the second semi at 9 PM ET.
Live coverage of both semifinal meets will air on ESPN2.
Dee Lab
Apr 17, 2025
Aflac Boosts Prize Payout for 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend
Allisha Gray made history by winning both the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest in 2024. (WNBPA)
Insurance giant Aflac is renewing their 2024 partnership with the WNBPA, raising the stakes at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend by boosting prize payouts for individual competitions.
When WNBA standouts will take the Indianapolis court for the July 18th competitions, $60,000 will be on the line for this year's 3-Point Contest winner and $55,000 for the 2025 Skills Challenge champion.
Those figures reflect Aflac's overall purse increase from $110,000 to $115,000 — a move that aligns the two events' payouts with their NBA All-Star equivalents.
"Aflac's investment in us isn't a one-off. It's year two," said WNBPA president and nine-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike. "We're excited about what's ahead as we grow this together. It's not just about the rewards; it's about building a future where our value is undeniable."
Clark declined an NBA All-Star invite in order to make her individual competitions debut at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend. (Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images)
Gray, Clark are early favorites for All-Star contest payday
While the increase achieves gender pay equity with their NBA counterparts, Aflac's initial 2024 WNBA All-Star investment already dwarfed the mere $2,575 allocated to each contest's victor in the league's current CBA.
Cashing in on that significant pay increase was Atlanta Dream forward Allisha Gray, who cleaned up at the 2024 All-Star Game by winning both solo events.
As the first-ever player to dominate both contests in a single night, Gray collected roughly 62% of her annual $185,000 WNBA salary with the dual wins.
Hosted at the Indiana Fever's home of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will tip off on July 19th, one day after both the 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge.
Tickets for all three events will go on sale online at 2 PM ET on April 29th.
JWS Staff
Apr 17, 2025
Unrivaled Founders Collier, Stewart Headline 2025 TIME100 List
TIME honored Unrivaled co-founders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. (David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
On the heels of Unrivaled 3x3 Basketball's successful debut season, TIME honored league founders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart as two of the year’s most influential people, with the WNBA superstars earning space on Wednesday's 2025 TIME100 List.
"Unrivaled makes female athletes think about everything differently," retired US soccer legend and Unrivaled investor Alex Morgan wrote in the pair's tribute. "It's not always just take the salary and sign on the dotted line and be happy. Sometimes you can just do it yourself better."
Other big names in women's sports also made the cut, including the most decorated gymnast in history, Simone Biles, and retired tennis superstar Serena Williams.
"She is both deeply human and undeniably superhuman — a combination that makes her impact profound," Biles's former USA teammate Aly Raisman wrote of the seven-time Olympic gold medalist. "She inspires us to believe that we, too, can persevere. That we, too, can shatter limits."
Citing Williams's extensive post-tennis resume, which includes significant investments into women's sports, retired US Olympic track star Allyson Felix sang the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion's praises in the 2025 TIME100 List.
"She continues to show that we, as athletes, are so far from one-dimensional," Felix wrote. "She could take a break from being in the public eye and raise her family. Instead, she continues to pave the way."
JWS Staff
Apr 16, 2025
ESPN Picks Up WNBA Preseason Game Featuring Fever Star Clark’s Iowa Return
The Indiana Fever will feature in ESPN’s first-ever WNBA preseason game. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WNBA star Caitlin Clark and the Fever will hit the airwaves sooner than expected this year, with multiple sources reporting that ESPN will televise a preseason game between Indiana and the Brazil national team on May 4th.
The broadcast boost will reportedly make the Fever vs. Brazil matchup the WNBA's first-ever nationally televised exhibition game, a move that comes after a 2024 preseason battle between the Minnesota Lynx and Chicago Sky earned more than two million streams — from a fan's cellphone.
Newly reunited in the WNBA, Van Lith and Reese's Chicago Sky will play a preseason game at LSU in May. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
WNBA teams follow in the Indiana Fever's preseason footsteps
Indiana isn't the only team taking a trip down memory lane this preseason, with several teams bringing exhibition games to university arenas before the 2025 WNBA season tips off on May 16th.
Two days before facing the Fever, Brazil will clash with the Sky at Chicago star Angel Reese's collegiate home of LSU — an arena also familiar to new Sky recruit Hailey Van Lith.
Also on May 2nd, Notre Dame will host legendary alums Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd, and Jackie Young when the Las Vegas Aces play the Dallas Wings at South Bend's Purcell Pavilion.
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