In the fleeting moments of the spring semester, the Class of 2025 is holding on to every last memory.
The final weekend out together, the final stroll past the Oreo, the final week of classes.
But for a select group of seniors, there is one “final” moment that stands out amongst all of their lasts: intramural softball.
“One of our best players had a test right before our championship game and I asked him, ‘what are you gonna remember more: this test or winning a championship with all your best friends,’” senior Dante Giampietro said. “He said, ‘winning that championship,’ and I think that’s just the mentality and attitude that we’ve all shared together. That no matter what we’re gonna do, we’re gonna win this for our senior year and end it off on a high note.”
But unlike the other “lasts” these seniors are experiencing, the 2025 intramural softball season presented a first. The team’s first championship win.
This year, Brant’s Gremlins, as the team calls itself, defeated a rival team composed of all seniors from the Villanova fraternity, Delta Chi, 7-4, in the championship game on Sunday, April 14.
Brant’s Gremlins is made up of 17 seniors in Pi Kappa Phi, another fraternity on Villanova’s campus. The group has been playing in the all-male intramural softball league together for the past three years of which they have made it to the second round of the playoffs each time.
“Winning the championship definitely meant more, especially because it’s the spring semester,” senior Anthony Severns said. “It’s just really nice to have this memory. I’m gonna remember this as one of the key parts of my senior year.”
But the season didn’t exactly start off as expected. With bases loaded and two outs in the top of the 7th inning, Brant’s Gremlins grounded out and fell to “Duran’s Tennis Racket,” 11-10 in its season opener.
“Obviously we started on a low note,” Giampietro said. “But then we ran the table after that and won every single game very handily.”
Brant’s Gremlins won its final three regular season games to earn themselves a No. 6 seed in the playoff tournament. And come the first round of the playoffs, the Gremlins were set to take on Duran’s Tennis Racket for a chance at redemption.
“We hate losing more than we like winning so that game was a little personal for us,” Giampietro said.
Brant’s Gremlins went on to clinch the first round of the playoffs in a 6-5 thriller, scoring their sixth run in the bottom of the seventh and clincing a spot in the Elite 8.
From there, it was smooth sailing. The seniors went on to win their next three games, going undefeated in the playoffs and ending their season with a 7-1 record.
“I think in the beginning of the year, we were just trying to hit the ball as hard as we all could, and it was not working,” Sevrens said. “And I think we realized that knowing where each person had their strength on the field was going to help us because it was our defense that won us a lot of these games. We didn’t blow out many teams.”
But it wasn’t just a matter of adjusting fielding positions for this group of seniors. It was about learning to trust each other off the field that allowed them to be successful on the field.
“I think there’s just an element of trust when you’re in the field,” Giampietro said. “You have to trust every single player, all your teammates. It’s about being enthusiastic, being excited, being always positive, no matter what the score is. And when someone makes a mistake, everyone’s there to kind of pick them up. I think without chemistry there, that’s not something that’s able to happen effectively.”
Now, with a trophy in hand and a diploma on the way, Brant’s Gremlins have officially retired for intramural collegiate softball. But the impact that Villanova intramurals has left on the group is a “last” that the 17 seniors will hold onto for years to come.
“When you’re on an organized sports team, you didn’t necessarily choose to be friends with [your teammates],” Sevrens said. “But for us, we’ve formed a bond over the last couple years, so playing with some of our best friends, people who we’ll see 20 years from now, these are memories that we’ve made together. It just makes it even more special.”
