“I have way too many phone numbers of restaurant managers around town,” she said with a laugh. “To be honest, I love that job because it’s a fun way to serve them on an individual level that doesn’t require exertion. So, I do love doing the food because I get to know them, even the coaching staff, what they like and what they hate, without having to pull a muscle.”
Her four years of dedication were rewarded March 4 after the Wahoos defeated the University of Louisville to claim a share of the ACC regular season title. To commemorate the achievement, UVA players, coaches and staffers took turns climbing a ladder and snipping off pieces of the net from one of the rims at John Paul Jones Arena.
Williamson, the daughter of UVA alumni, was ecstatic to just be in that moment. This was her final home game as a manager and here she was watching her favorite team celebrate a championship. She hugged each player and coach.
“I was just trying to smile, and not cry,” she said, “because I was so happy for them.”
But then all of “them” became overjoyed for her. Williamson, prompted by both UVA operations director Ronnie Wideman and assistant coach Jason Williford, was the last to climb the ladder. She had the honor of cutting the net’s final strands. She quicky wore the net as a necklace as the Cavaliers cheered her on at midcourt.
“It was the best,” Bennett said of the scene. “I joked that I didn’t think she ever took that net off. I think she might have slept with that thing on.”
Williamson confirmed she did finally remove the net around 12:45 a.m. the next morning. It now sits in her bedroom, on the corner of a large picture frame that was given to her by the team before the Louisville game as part of the Senior Day ceremony. She intends to wear the net again in May when she walks the Lawn for graduation.
When that day arrives, it’ll be another chapter in Williamson’s incredible UVA story.
“I can’t describe how great it’s been,” she said. “When I got here, I would have been so content just cheering in the student section for my favorite team. But to be able to do all this – oh my goodness, it’s been a pleasure.”