Homecoming 2024
Mayflower Hill was buzzing all weekend! Besides some incredible matchups on the playing surface, alumni, parents and friends gathered all around Waterville to make Homecoming 2024 a memorable one.
Volleyball Sweeps Wesleyan, Takes 8th Match in a Row
The Mules opened up the events of Homecoming weekend in front of a a large crowd Friday night topping Wesleyan, the defending NESCAC champions, for the first time since 2015. The visitors battled the entire way as each set was decided by five points or less, but Colby's dominant finish in each sent the crowd in the Margaret M. Crook Center into a frenzy. Brady Moseley led the attack with 15 kills while LJ Grant gathered 10. The two, combined with Reese Loyd, made up 48 of the 75 digs for the Mules. Jordan Lee (18) and Gabby Grujic (16) both totaled double-digit assist numbers.
In Saturday's tri-match tournament, Colby started the day with another 3-0 win over Benedictine followed by a nail biting 3-2 comeback victory over Emerson.
Against the Lions, the Mules were down two sets to zero before taking the third set with dominance 25-13. By the fourth set it looked like Emerson would seal the deal after being up 24-19 but Colby dug in to win the next seven rallies for a 26-24 set win behind a string of serves by Loyd.
The Mules led from start to finish in the fifth set, completing the five-set comeback 15-9. The trio of Cyanne Jones (11 - career high), Grant (10) and Moseley (10) led the offensive push with double digit kills as Sydney Bopp gathered six blocks. Grujic tallied 30 assists (career high) while Grant totaled 33 digs (career high).
Colby is now 9-1 this season (1-0 NESCAC record) and will look to push their win streak to nine Friday night at Bowdoin.
Women's Soccer Defends Late Furry to Knock Out Conn.
In their lone match of the week, the Women's Soccer team battled fiercely to hold off the Camels of Conn. College 1-0. The two teams combined for 23 fouls, tying the season-high in a Colby game this season (23 against Bowdoin), as neither team wanted to relinquish an inch of space or a second of possession. Catherine Watrous (assisted by Annie Liebich) scored the lone goal of the afternoon, her third of the year.
While the teams were even in shots on goal, Conn. held a stark advantage in corner kick opportunities. With less than 25 seconds to play, Colby's defense led by MK Marshall defended two corner opportunities. Marshall saved the first attempt by knocking a shot over the crossbar, and she intercepted the feed on the second by punching the ball out of bounds as the siren sounded. She totaled six saves on the afternoon and has 15 in the last three games en route to being named this week's NESCAC Player of the Week.
The Mules are now 5-1 (2-1 in NESCAC) and in the middle of the playoff hunt early in the season. They remain in Waterville next weekend to host Williams Saturday and Amherst Sunday.
Comeback Falls Just Short for Football
The Colby College Football team gave the Waterville campus plenty to cheer for in Saturday's Homecoming performance. Mounting a comeback against the visiting Ephs from Williams College, an errant pass fell into the hands of a Williams defender in the end zone with seconds remaining, propelling Williams to a 24-19 victory.
While the two teams were even on the stat pages throughout the first half, Williams held a 14-0 advantage heading into halftime with a score in each of the first two quarters. Colby collected the first two scores of the second half starting with Declan McNamara connecting with Matt McHugh for a six-yard score on Colby's first possession of the third quarter. The ensuing kickoff was recovered by the Mules and kick-started their second scoring drive of the day, this time seeing a Miles Drake pass driven into the grips of tight end Atticus Duncan for the score.
Williams extended their lead to 24-12, but a 12-play 95-yard drive brought Colby within one score with two minutes to play, another Drake to Duncan score. Regaining possession with 50 seconds remaining, the Mules drove the field and had a shot in the end zone but an Ephs defender stepped in front to seal the game.
Julian Young, NESCAC's leading tackler in 2023, led the way with a game-high 11 tackles, nine of which were solo. Keon Smart amassed a game-high 155 all-purpose yards with 80 rushing, 24 receiving, and 51 on kick returns.
Colby returns to the road next weekend in search of its first victory of the 2024 campaign. They visit the Middlebury Panthers in Vermont on Saturday.
Field Hockey Bounces Back Sunday Against Husson
The Colby Field Hockey team fell 1-0 Saturday to a spirited Conn. College team. After a scoreless first half, the Camels rattled the cage off a penalty shot at the 31st minute. Leah Anderson had seven saves in goal for the Mules.
On Sunday Colby closed out Homecoming weekend with a 6-4 win over Husson University. Five different Mules scored, led by Bridget Everett with two goals. Her first score was the first of the game, and her second put the Mules ahead for good as it kick-started a string of five straight scores for Colby who took a 6-1 lead. Lily Harrington (one goal, one assist), Molly Mitchell (two assists), and Casey Winslow (one goal, one assist) all tallied multiple points.
Winslow is tied for second in the NESCAC with six goals on the season and ranks fourth in points with 14.
Colby is currently 4-2 and set to host Williams and Amherst next weekend for their third straight double-header weekend.
Men's Soccer Battles Perennial Power Conn. to the Wire
After opening the early portion of the season on the road, the Colby College Men's Soccer team was finally rewarded home turf Saturday for its Homecoming matchup with the Camels of Conn. College. A program with incredible success in recent years, Conn. made a phenomenal run in the NCAA tournament last year with three victories en route to a claim in the Elite-8. Colby played inspired and even with the Camels all afternoon, but two second-half goals propelled the visitors to a 2-0 win.
Colby and Conn. traded opportunities early and maintained a battle of field possession for the majority of the first half. The Mules narrowly missed lighting up the scoreboard first, as a series of corners to close out the half finished with a Jasper Paez (headline photo) shot floating just high.
After Conn. opened the second half with the game's first tally at the 46th minute, the Mules mounted significant opportunities in an effort to draw even with the visitors. Colby saw a Mario Simoes shot sail just wide right, and just two minutes later saw back to back corner kicks yield elite scoring chances. On the first, a header by Nicholas Donnelly escaped the keeper but was blocked by a defender on the line, and on the second Jacob Sams' header attempt drove just high. Oliver Daboo had brilliant serves into the box on both.
Brendan McCarthy had another great game in net with four saves. The senior currently ranks sixth in the NESCAC in Saves
Colby is now 2-3 on the season and will host three games in a matter of six days starting with Endicott College Tuesday night.
Women’s Tennis Opens the Season at ITA Regionals
Colby began their 2024-25 fall season over the weekend at the ITA Regional Tournament hosted by Bowdoin College. The tournament featured many of the best players from across the northeast region. The Mules were well-represented with four players in the A singles draw, four in the B singles draw, and four doubles teams.
Early success emerged Friday morning for the Mules, with three doubles teams advancing to the second round. Amelie Gal paired up with first-year Waka Aida to defeat their MIT opponents 8-6 before falling to #1-seeded Babson. Sophomore tandem Jade Finestone and Michaela Landry cruised into the second round with an 8-2 win before falling in the second round to a team from Middlebury. Isabella Suk and first-year Ella Novion had a strong start to the tournament, defeating their Brandeis opponents 8-4 before losing a heartbreaker to Tufts 7-8 (8).
In singles play, Novion and Aida had thrilling wins in the A draw. Novion took down her Williams opponent 6-2, 7-5 before losing to her matchup from Bowdoin. Aida showed great mental strength, defeating her MIT opponent 6-7, 6-4, 1-0 (7) before losing to the top seed (Babson) in the round of 32. In the B singles draw, many Mules found success as well. Suk and Gal each reached the round of 16 with impressive wins over tough competition. First-year Anna Rende also had a strong start to her Colby singles career, taking down Trinity and Middlebury opponents convincingly, before losing to Amherst opponent in the third round.
"We had a good weekend at ITA's. In both singles and doubles we won a bunch of first round matches against some really good teams. It was fun to watch our first-years compete and we are excited for our next invite in a few weeks!" - Head Coach Erin Reeves
The Mules will return to Brunswick for the Polar Bear Invite on Saturday, October 5th.
Men’s Tennis Begins the 2024-25 Campaign at Middlebury
Ten Mules headed to Vermont over the weekend for the two-day Middlebury Invitational to open the fall season.
Jason Daly made his collegiate debut paired up with James Bogdanovic in the B flight for doubles. They managed to take down their Middlebury opponents in a close 8-7 (3) match before falling to Brandeis 7-8 (6) in a back-and-forth semifinal affair. In singles, Daly defeated his RPI opponent 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (8) before having to retire in his second round mid-way through the second set due to injury.
"It was a lot of fun competing. I loved the team energy and support I got from everyone. I hope we can keep the same energy for the rest of the season." - Jason Daly
In the A Flight doubles, Paul Dandler paired up with first-year Diego Sosa where the duo picked up an impressive 8-3 victory against Bates in the first round before falling to Middlebury in the quarterfinals. The pairing of first-year Marco Ziets-Segura and senior captain Jake Cohen bounced back nicely on Sunday, defeating opponents from Bates and Skidmore in consolation rounds after losing a tight battle 7-8 (4) in A doubles. Senior captain Josh Kaplan had an impressive showing in the C Flight consolation defeating his Bates opponent 7-5, 6-1.
Next up, the Mules will travel to Tufts Friday for the ITA Regionals.
Golf Takes on 18 Teams at Williams Invitational
The Colby Golf team made their way to Williamstown, Mass. over the weekend for the two-day Williams Invitational.
Junior Johnny Kinsley led the way for the Mules placing 27th individually out of the 99 competitors with a +4 on day one and a +7 day two. Senior Jack Dorsey managed to squeeze just inside the top-50 with a two day combined +14.
The Mules will be back in action Tuesday for the MMA Tournament at the Augusta Country Club.
Cross Country Competes in Maine State Meet and John McNichols Invitational
The Mules traveled to Bates Saturday for the 10 team Maine State Meet. Out of the competing schools Colby placed third overall on the men’s side and fifth overall on the women’s side.
Sophomore Henry Reichle was the top performer for the Mules grabbing a fifth place finish out of the 104 runners in the men’s race. Danny Reyes finished just four-tenths behind Reichle to place seventh. First-years Will Eckes and Eli Ziegler each managed a top-20 spot finishing 18th and 19th respectively. In the women’s race, first-year Ada Grant finished 18th while Maria Dibari also finished within the top-25 placing 23rd.
At the same time of the Maine State Meet, three individuals representing Colby traveled to Terre Haute, Indiana for the John McNichols Invitational to compete against some tough competition from across the country. Catherine Mongan had a great performance taking home 44th out of the 299 women’s runners. Claire Beebe also competed on the women's side placing 75th. On the men's side of competition, Chris Gould tallied a 153rd place finish out of the 385 men's competitors.
The Colby Cross Country teams will head back to Bates on October 5th for their next race of the season.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Steve Cheney P25, Stephen R. Clouthier, Ashley Conti, Traigh DeMasi '28, Jamie Fiedorek '25, Colin Flood '26, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Peter Li '26, Michael Maher, Reese Robinson '27, Ellie Sawyer P25, Isadora Wells '26, Ansley White '26 and the Colby Communications team.