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The secrets to winning the NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge

Washington State was one of many teams to punch their ticket to the 2023 NCAA Tournament this week. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Emily Syverud barely had time to celebrate last year when she received the $150,000 grand prize for winning the inaugural Just Women’s Sports x DICK’S Sporting Goods March Madness Bracket Challenge.

Syverud was on vacation when she heard the news that, out of 17,611 participants, she had submitted the winning bracket for the 2022 NCAA Women’s Tournament. From there, she came home, graduated from medical school at the University of Minnesota, got married, went on her honeymoon and started residency in Minneapolis for internal and emergency medicine.

Since then, she’s had time to exhale and reflect on the significance of her accomplishment, which included the largest prize ever awarded in women’s college basketball.

“It was life-changing,” Syverud, 27, told JWS in a recent conversation. “My husband and I still laugh about it all the time, like, remember when I won $150,000? It’s just such a ridiculous amount of money for anybody, and especially coming out of med school with debt.

“So all of a sudden, having that money just let me relax and enjoy things, and do some more fun things that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have done.”

One of those spontaneous activities happened in December. Unable to use some of the money toward upgrading their honeymoon flights to St. Lucia, Syverud surprised her husband with plane tickets to Switzerland for a ski trip for his 30th birthday.

Of the remaining $150,000, Syverud has donated to Keystone Community Services, a nonprofit in St. Paul, Minn. that runs food shelters, senior programming and after-school youth activities. She’s also set up recurring donations to other organizations she and her husband are passionate about and has paid off some of her student loans.

As the 2023 NCAA Tournament approaches, with the second annual Bracket Challenge featuring the same $150,000 grand prize, Syverud’s friends have been asking her for the secrets to her success.

JWS Bracket Challenge: Sign up for a chance to win $150,000!

As a relatively new fan of women’s college basketball, she likes that she can be an inspiration for others who are looking to get involved for the first time.

“It will sound cheesy, but I just tell them to go read Just Women’s Sports,” Syverud said. “Because that’s literally what I did, and that’s what I do when I’m scrolling on my phone. If I don’t want to be on Instagram for hours, I just go on the JWS website and read articles.”

Syverud has No. 1 South Carolina pegged as the favorite to win it all again this year. She’s high on reigning National Player of the Year Aliyah Boston and the Gamecocks’ depth. But she also has her eye on Caitlin Clark at Iowa and UConn, who played South Carolina close in February won the Big East tournament championship this week despite being ravaged by injuries to their roster.

Other than reading up on the top programs, Syverud advises participants to familiarize themselves with the teams outside of the Power 5 conferences for possible upset bids, and when in doubt, to trust their instincts.

“At the end of the day, it’s like, yes, you need to know some things about basketball and know some things about the teams that are playing,” she said. “But some of it, too, you’ve just gotta go with your gut and trust yourself to make a good choice.”

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Emily graduated from medical school and used part of her winnings to take a ski trip to Switzerland. (Courtesy of Emily Syverud)
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Still, Syverud doesn’t want to give away all her secrets. She plans to enter the Bracket Challenge again this year and prove her big win wasn’t a fluke.

“My family and friends are all kind of like, ‘Emily, did you really know anything or are you just BSing all of us?’ So I mean, not that I think I’ll win again,” she said, “but just to prove I’m gonna make some good choices in my bracket again and I’m gonna prove to you all that I do know some things about basketball.”

Syverud expects most of her residency class to sign up and fill out brackets in March. For them and everyone else participating this year, she has one final piece of guidance.

“It’s exciting to have the Bracket Challenge, it’s exciting to have such a big prize, but let’s also get eyeballs on the games and show people that people want to watch women’s sports,” she said.

“So fill out your bracket and participate, but then also go watch the games and cheer your teams on.”

Hannah Withiam is the Senior Managing Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @HannahWithiam.

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

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