Big Week for Baseball, 3-1 in NESCAC Play
Colby rode a 2-0 win over Bates into a series against the top team in the NESCAC East, the Bowdoin Polar Bears. Taking Friday's opener and then earning a split in Saturday's double header, the Mules made up some ground in their pursuit of another conference tournament appearance.
Pitching was the name of the game for the Mules in all four games this week. Averaging just over seven hits and 4.5 runs per game on the week, stellar pitching kept Colby in contention throughout. Ryan Grecco started the week with a gem on the mound in Colby's 2-0 win at Bates. The senior threw five scoreless innings allowing just two hits.
In Friday's 10-4 win at Bowdoin, Thomas Rioux needed a short memory and executed perfectly. After the Polar Bears scored twice in the first, the junior held Bowdoin scoreless in each of the next seven innings. Myles Gythfeldt and Tony Silva combined for five hits, three runs, and four RBI to lead the offense to its largest margin of victory since spring break.
Grecco returned to the mound in Saturday's opener, proving to be the hard luck loser after scattering six hits and allowing only two runs over 6.1 innings. Bowdoin once again struck for two runs in the first inning, proving to be the difference.
In the rubber match the Mules pushed across runs in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth and withstood a late Bowdoin charge to take the 5-4 victory. Adam Schwartz earned the win with five scoreless innings, and Matt Higgins earned his second save of the week and fifth of the year to give Colby the series win for the third straight season.
Colby is now 16-10 overall and will host Tufts for a three-game series before finishing conference play Sunday in the final makeup in Lewiston.
Women 2nd, Men 4th in Final Meet Before NESCAC Championships
With the Pine Tree State Classic (Maine State Meet) returning to Mayflower Hill Friday and Saturday, Colby's Track & Field teams turned in yet another stellar performance as they zero in on next weekend's NESCAC Championship. The men's and women's teams combined for six event winners, 27 podiums, and 34 top-5 finishes in the ten-team event.
WOMEN'S TOP-5 FINISHES:
- 100m - Charlotte Brake-Hoffman (2nd), Ellie Wang (3rd)
- 200m - Wang (2nd)
- 400m - Fiona Mejico (1st), Kaitlyn Ewald (2nd), Kristina Pizzi (3rd), Tally Zeller (4th)
- 800m - Olivia Doherty (2nd), Michelle Barnes (3rd), Maddie Bush (5th)
- 1500m - Claire Beebe (3rd), Noe Nalavala (5th)
- 5000m - Emily Jeon (2nd), Bridget Meehan (3rd), Abby Souza (4th)
- 400 Hurdles - Quinn Cushing (1st)
- 4x100 Relay - Zeller, Mejico, Simone Waheed, Brake-Hoffman (1st)
- 4x400 Relay - Barnes, Waheed, Ewald, Brake-Hoffman (1st)
- 4x800 Relay - Beebe, Bush, Ada Grant, Norah Mills (1st)
- Pole Vault - Gabriella Bresnick (5th)
- Heptathlon - Sarah Lenox (3rd)
MEN'S TOP-5 FINISHES:
- 100m - Ian Irwin (1st), Peter Martel (3rd)
- 400m - Ren Zanze (2nd), Levi Biery (3rd)
- 1500m - Henry Reichle (3rd)
- 5000m - Zachary Gellert (5th)
- 110 Hurdles - Biery (3rd)
- 400 Hurdles - Reeve Derby (3rd)
- 4x400 Relay - Sam Graubart, Irwin, Derby, Mark Graubart (2nd)
- Pole Vault - Myles Thornton-Sherman (2nd), Logan Lehnert (2nd), Wyatt Patterson (5th)
- Decathlon - Alex Lyon (3rd)
The Mules now prepare to put their bet foot forward next weekend for the NESCAC Championships hosted by Wesleyan on Saturday.
Women's Lacrosse Secures Three-Seed with Win Over Williams
Even though there is one more conference game to go in the regular season, Colby sealed the third seed and a home quarterfinal game with a 2-0 week.
In Tuesday's non-conference matchup at Endicott, ten different Mules tallied goals to guide Colby to a 20-6 victory over the Gulls. Tate Ban led the way with a career-high five goals, and Julia Jardina and Ainsley Dion added hat tricks. The Mules held Endicott to one goal the entire second half.
In Saturday's showdown in Williamstown, Colby jumped out to a 7-2 lead and withstood a late charge by the Ephs to turn away Williams 9-8. Dion contributed four more goals, and Julia Maimonis netted Colby's final two scores to secure the game.
Colby is now 12-2 and will host Bates Wednesday afternoon for the final regular season game before seeding is announced for the NESCAC tournament. Regardless of Wednesday's outcome, Colby is secure in the three-seed and will host a quarterfinal game Saturday.
Men's Lacrosse Enjoys a Nailbiter on Senior Day
Colby drove Williams to the wire Saturday in their final game on Mayflower Hill.
Celebrating 11 seniors for Senior Day, the Mules jumped out to a 5-1 lead only three minutes into the second quarter. Williams kept pace for the rest of the frame and even narrowed the gap to three goals entering halftime.
The Ephs owned the third quarter with six goals, and despite Colby outscoring Williams in the final frame, the visitors earned the 15-13 win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Easton Bello tallied four goals to lead the Mules. Bennett Goller scored a goal and added three assists, and Gavin Rothenberg added two goals and one assist. Will Rickards made 15 saves in the cage for Colby.
Eliminated from the conference playoff picture, Colby will close out their season Wednesday at Bates.
In a Busy Week, Victory at Tufts a Highlight for Softball
In a seven-game week that saw several close losses, Colby's 3-1 victory in Medford was perhaps the highlight of the season so far.
The duo of Ashley Correll and Sophia Meade combined for seven innings, scattering eight hits while walking none, allowing just one unearned run to score. Caroline DeSimone and Victoria Ramirez had two hits apiece. In the nightcap Tufts pushed across five runs in the first three innings and held off the Mules for a 6-3 win. DeSimone was joined by Carissa Cassidy as multi-hit performers.
Erika MacLeod had perhaps the best week of her career, reaching base safely in all seven contest, going 8-16 at the plate with three walks and two runs scored. The senior had three hits in a double header against Husson and another three in the two-game set against Southern Maine, elevating her batting average 68 points all the way to .346 on the season.
While Colby is currently 11-14 overall, their 5-3 NESCAC record has them sitting in 4th place in the conference standings. With another busy week ahead, the Mules will be on the road for double headers at Bowdoin (Tuesday), Middlebury (Saturday), and Williams (Sunday).
Men’s Tennis Faces #9 Bowdoin in Lone Match of the Week
With only three matches remaining in the regular season, the Mules looked to gather a key win hosting the Polar Bears Thursday to improve on their NESCAC standing.
Colby started off strong as the pairing of Jake Cohen and Jason Daly took a 6-4 win the doubles one spot. Aidan Kwong and Marco Ziets-Segura displayed clutch play in the two spot winning a tight 7-6(3) match to secure the doubles point.
In singles, Daly had a dominant win at the two spot 6-3, 6-0 but despite close battles, including three-set matches by Cohen and Aidan Kwong, the Mules fell to the 9th-ranked Polar Bears 5-2.
Colby will wrap up the regular season this weekend hosting Tufts and Bates in crucial matches as the Mules currently sit in ninth place, one spot out of the NESCAC Tournament.
Crew Returns to Lake Quinsigamond for Second Time this Spring
Following last weekend's cancellation against Coast Guard due to a snow storm, both the men’s and women’s teams had strong performances against some of the top division III crews in the country at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.
With temperatures in the sixties and a moderate cross headwind, the Men’s V8 finished second out of the five competing crews defeating Marietta, WPI and Ithaca with a time of 6:25.25. Top ranked Trinity took the win earning the Remley Cup.
On the women's side of competition, the V8 boat placed third of the five teams (7:38.00) including an upset over #15 Clark and fellow NESCAC competitor Conn. College. The Bantams grabbed first place in the race followed by WPI in second.
Colby Crew will now prepare to race Bates and Bowdoin for the President’s Cup in the annual spring CBB race this Sunday.
Women’s Tennis Battles the 7th-Ranked Polar Bears
Hosting their third straight conference matchup, the Mules took on Bowdoin looking to climb up the NESCAC standings.
Following the Polar Bears 6-1 victory in the two spot doubles Colby answered with an impressive 6-3 win at the three spot from the pairing of Jade Finestone and Waka Aida. Unfortunately the deciding doubles match ended in Bowdoin's favor.
In singles play, Finestone got the Mules on the board with a tight 6-4, 6-7, 10-5 win in the one spot, and Michaela Landry did the same in the two spot 4-6, 7-5, 10-6. Despite hard fought battles in the three through six spots the matchup concluded with a 5-2 Bowdoin win.
Women’s Tennis will remain on Mayflower Hill this weekend hosting Bates and Tufts looking to improve on their seventh place conference seeding.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Bonnie Baker Photography, Steve Cheney P'25, Stephen R. Clouthier, Traigh DeMasi '28, Jamie Fiedorek '25, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Peter Li '26, Michael Maher, Reese Robinson '27, Junan Shimizu '25, Daryn Slover P'28, Marty Thornton Photos, Ansley White '26, and the Colby Communications team.