Thank you and farewell, Testudo Times

A message from managing editor Matt Germack

As I get ready to graduate next month, today is my final day at Testudo Times. That’s probably a good thing for Maryland athletics. I’ve been an editor here for two 4-8 football seasons and a 12-21 basketball season; the Crab Five exploded during my semester abroad in England.

So if Malik Washington or Andre Mills revitalizes College Park this year, you’ve got me to thank. You’re welcome.

In all seriousness, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunities this publication has given me these past two years. I had a bit of a tumultuous work life in my first two years of college, working two jobs for two publications as well as a communications job for a university. Colin McNamara brought me in with open arms and was an incredible mentor both during and after his time as managing editor. I can’t thank him enough for that.

One of my early college jobs was my first sports beat, covering Maryland women’s lacrosse for Terrapin Sports Central, another student publication. Alongside me in that press box was Ryan Alonardo — at the time, Testudo Times’ women’s lacrosse reporter. We’ve gotten along great since the day we met and it’s only fitting we come full circle and end our journalism careers together. I’d like to thank him for convincing me to jump ship to Testudo, and for his friendship over the years.

I also can’t go without thanking you, our loyal readership. It’s been a blast to chat with you all in comment threads and on social media these past two years. You’re all the reason we’re able to do this. Thank you for sticking with us through the (awkward) transition to WordPress and the untimely death of FanPosts. Hopefully the open threads have held up OK, and we’ll look to expand our Feed content next year.

I’ve written nearly 350 articles for Testudo Times and over 500 across college. Approximately 225,000 words. That’s more than the first two Harry Potter books combined. And I’d do it all over again, a hundred times over.

We’ve also made a concerted effort to expand our social media presence this year, primarily on Instagram and Facebook. We’ve seen our followership on both platforms increase by over 20% these past 12 months, and I’m excited to see what new leadership has planned as we look to modernize our coverage and reach new audiences.

Getting to be on the sidelines every week for Big Ten football and basketball is something my child self would have done anything for. I got to see up-close-and-personal the early days of the Crab Five and late days of Taulia Tagovailoa, the emergence of Malik Washington and year one of Buzz Williams. This job allowed me to travel everywhere from Charlottesville to New York City to Madison to Los Angeles — and it was to watch sports. What’s not to love?

Lastly, I’m thrilled to announce that Nolan Rogalski will be taking my place as managing editor. He’ll be our first junior managing editor hire since 2020, and that’s for good reason. Nolan is a special leader, has an incredible eye for journalism and a great vision for continuing to grow our platform. I’m super excited to see what he’s got in store over the next two years.

Now sing that damn song!

A message from lead deputy editor Ryan Alonardo

I remember the first time I figured out what Testudo Times even was. I attended the Merrill Activities Fair in the fall of 2022 during my first semester of college. I had no formal journalism experience — all I wanted to do was get involved in some capacity.

I wrote my name and email address on the publication’s interest form and submitted two high school pieces as my writing samples. Thanks to then-managing editor Sam Oshtry, and editors Ben Dickson and Emmett Siegel, I was brought on board to write Maryland Minutes. That’s all I did for the entirety of the fall and winter, but it was more than enough.

Those same editors were generous enough to offer me the women’s lacrosse beat position the following spring. Since then, I’ve also had the privilege of covering men’s soccer, women’s basketball, and football and men’s basketball twice. I don’t take any of that for granted.

I want to thank Andrew Chodes and Colin McNamara, who saw enough in me to name me an editor at the conclusion of my sophomore year. I won’t forget those constructive meetings with Andrew, who consistently pushed me to become a more confident writer and reporter.

My time as an editor here has been seriously enjoyable. It’s time consuming, but it’s worth it for all of you — the dedicated readers that tune into each Testudo Talk podcast and take the time to comment on our game stories. I’ve also found it incredibly rewarding to watch our writers grow in real time. I see my younger self in a lot of them, and I’m excited to monitor their development as semesters pass.

My experience writing for Testudo Times has brought me some of my fondest college memories. To this day, Maryland women’s basketball’s tilt against Iowa and Caitlin Clark in February 2024 at Xfinity Center is the most electric atmosphere I’ve ever been a part of. That same season, I wrote perhaps my favorite piece ever — a profile story on one of the team’s walk-ons who had battled through devastating injuries to be in that position.

More than anything, I’ve been blessed to forge so many amazing relationships with the people here. A huge shout-out to Matt Germack, who I went nearly my entire freshman year without realizing was my dorm neighbor. I’ll never forget watching the women’s lacrosse games on a laptop in whatever open common room we could find.

It’s kind of fitting how everything turned out, isn’t it?

As for our next managing editor Nolan Rogalski, not only is he one of the most naturally gifted writers I’ve seen, but he has the matching ambition and ingenuity to deliver a stellar product for you all. Alongside our new editors Dylan Schmidt and Jude Wilkenfeld, I have no reservations about the lofty heights that Testudo Times will reach in the coming years.

It may be the end of an era for me, but this publication’s only scratching the surface. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

A message from new managing editor Nolan Rogalski

For the first time in a long time — but definitely not the first time — I’ve really put off writing a story for Testudo Times.

In a lot of ways, I’m stuck feeling like I don’t want to end this era. Being deputy editor at Testudo Times, getting to report on Division I football and men’s basketball and helping young writers get better, has been one of the best experiences of my life.

I am incredibly honored to have been named the new managing editor and grateful I’ll keep getting to do these things, don’t get me wrong. But it’s weird to think I’ll be doing them without the two editors that have shaped me into the writer I am today.

Working under and alongside Matt and Ryan over the last two years has been an absolute privilege. They have been mentors and friends and everything I could have asked for as a young writer that had to quickly learn how to be an editor as well.

Time stops for no one, though. Leaving the journalistic world is probably the better choice for their wallets and peace of mind, but it also means the industry is losing some good ones. I’ll miss having them around more than they know.

For better or worse, I plan to keep sticking it out with this whole journalism thing for a little while. And, as Matt pointed out, I’m a rising junior.

So y’all are stuck with me for two more years.

Sorry.

But over these two years, I have one simple goal: we’re going to do everything we can to cement Testudo Times as THE place to be for Maryland athletics. It’ll take a village to get there, and you, dear reader, are a villager. We hope to keep you both informed and entertained while also attracting more of you here — in my opinion, the more people that hear from Denton what special holiday it is, the better.

We’re going to roll out some new things over the next year, and I’ll be back to talk to you more about those in the future. For now, though, I am honored to announce that Dylan Schmidt, our current men’s lacrosse writer, and Jude Wilkenfeld, our current women’s lacrosse writer, will be joining me as deputy editors. Their professionalism and consistency have been incredible, I truly cannot wait to get started working with them. Their growth over the past year has been remarkable — I am completely confident that they’ll keep on growing.

I’ll keep on growing, too. So will the rest of our Testudo Times staff — in quantity and quality. Time’s not stopping, and neither are we.

We look forward to you joining us on this journey.