Baseball Takes Two From Bowdoin, Sits Alone Atop NESCAC Standings
Colby improved its record to 23-6 after turning away Husson midweek and taking two of three against the Polar Bears. The Mules have now won all three NESCAC series on the season and sit atop the conference standings. With one series to go (Bates), Colby has clinched a home series for the opening round of the NESCAC playoffs.
Last week's NESCAC Player of the Week Noah Reichman led the offensive charge against Husson with three home runs, four runs scored, and six RBI. Colby used six different pitchers with Charles Collins earning the win in relief.
The Bowdoin series opened up Friday on Mayflower Hill. The game remained tied heading into the bottom of the 6th when Colby erupted for six runs. Nick Thompson executed another quality start and relievers Ryan Grecco and Matthew Scibilio shut down a late Bowdoin charge.
Cole Palmeri continues to lead the conference in almost every major offensive category. He hit home runs in his first plate appearances in Friday's game as well as Saturday's opener. Marcus Forrester (headline photo) teamed with Palmeri to record three hits apiece as the Mules took game one 7-3.
The Polar Bears were able to earn one back Saturday, taking the nightcap 2-1 behind stellar pitching. Derek Woods took the loss on the mound despite a complete game performance. Brady O'Brien provided a spark at the plate collecting three of Colby's four hits, including a home run in the 7th that pulled the Mules to within one.
The Mules will host Eastern Nazarene Tuesday before setting their sights on the Bobcats this weekend. The home-and-home series will begin in Lewiston Friday before coming to Waterville for Saturday's double header.
Women’s Lacrosse Defeats #16 Williams in Senior Day Showdown
In their final regular season game on Mayflower Hill, Colby took care of the Ephs 13-5 on Saturday.
Julia Jardina got things rolling for the Mules with the first goal of the game... and cruised to four more on the afternoon. With a 3-2 lead after the first quarter, the Mules defense stiffened to hold the Ephs to a single goal in each of the remaining quarters. Kat Munter sparked the defense with four ground balls and six draw controls, and the Mules were a perfect 16 of 16 on clear attempts.
The offense continued to roll, adding ten more goals to their first quarter lead to the tune of a 13-5 final.
Jardina's five goals paced the Mules as Ally Franz tallied three goals and an assist in the contest. Sarah Hearns registered eight saves in net.
With the win and an Amherst loss, the #10 Mules moved into fourth place in the conference and have one game left to dictate their seed for the NESCAC Playoffs. A win over Bates this Wednesday will lock Colby in for a quarterfinal home match.
Track & Field Wins Seven Events at Maine State Classic
Placing the finishing touches on the spring buildup to next weekend's NESCAC Championships, the Track & Field team collected seven victories at the Maine State Classic hosted by Bowdoin College.
The Women's team placed 2nd in the nine-team event with wins by Simone Waheed (100m), Marielle Goganian (400m), Serena Blasius (10,000m), and the 4x400 and 4x800 Relay teams. With 16 performances landing in the top-5, ten received hardware aftr placing on the podium.
Women's Podium Performances:
- 1st - Waheed, 1000m
- 1st - Goganian, 400m
- 1st - Blasius, 10,000m
- 1st - 4x400 Relay (Anna Mackey, Goganian, Olivia Doherty, Ellie Wang)
- 1st - 4x800 Rerlay (Maddie Bush, Alicia Hober, Margo Kenyon, Abby Souza)
- 2nd - Sade Greenidge, 100m
- 2nd - Jillian Dowling, 10,000m
- 3rd - Tally Zeller, 200m
- 3rd - Kaitlyn Ewald, 800m
- 3rd - Michelle Barnes, 400m Hurdles
The Men's team placed 4th with two event winners (Gordon Doore in the 1500m and the 4x100 Relay team) and 11 podium finishes.
Men's Podium Performances:
- 1st - Doore, 1500m
- 1st - 4x100 Relay (Henry Riley, Raghav Kadambi, Peter Martel, Terrel Hood-Simeon)
- 2nd - Ren Zanze, 200m
- 2nd - Jackson Coelho, 400m
- 2nd - Levi Biery, 400m Hurdles
- 2nd - 4x400 Relay (Zanze, Kadambi, Hayden Bailey, Sam Graubert)
- 2nd - Martel, Pole Vault
- 3rd - Hood-Simeon, 100m
- 3rd - Kyle Dube, 110m Hurdles
- 3rd - Wilson Bailey, 3000 Steeplechase
- 3rd - Logan Lehnert, Pole Vault
The two-day NESCAC Championship begins on Friday at Tufts University. Follow along via Championship Central, link below.
The Men’s V8 Upsets #6 WPI
Colby Crew competed once again in Worcester facing substantial rain that tapered off as the races started, as well as a slight head wind with temperatures in the 40s. Heading into the event the team had its best week of preparation across the board since the fall. With new docks in at the Hume Center and energy high, the crews were ready to line up and compete.
Headlining the race for the Mules was the Men's V8 boat who had a solid race upsetting 6th ranked WPI by five seconds (6:18.11 to 6:23.74), the same boat that had beaten Colby two weeks ago by eight seconds.
The Men’s V8 boat “got off to a clean, quick start and an early lead on WPI by staying composed and aggressive and were able to slowly but steadily continue building on the lead," stated Head Coach Stew Stokes. "Rowing a reconfigured lineup, they showed good maturity being able to find consistent speed despite the lack of water time together."
On the women's side of competition the V8 boat finished fifth with a time of 7:58.11.
As for the men's second V8 they continued their consistent racing and were able to significantly close the gap on a WPI crew that beat them by over 15 seconds two weeks ago to less than five seconds (6:37.04 to 6:32.34). They were also rowing in a new lineup that showed promise and were eager to continue building momentum.
Toby Bell '88 was n hand for the ribbon-cutting of the new docks last week at the Hume Center.
The Mules will be back at it April 28th at Bates for the annual CBB race as they look to get their hands on the President's Cup.
Women’s Tennis Finds Success on Senior Day
Before falling to a strong third-ranked Wesleyan team Sunday 6-3 (wins from Isabella Suk/Michaela Landry in doubles, Sam Riordan and Ellie Gershaw in singles), the Mules took care of Trinity with ease 8-1 on Saturday.
Colby swept the opening doubles portion. Ellie Gershaw and Amelie Gal won at third doubles 8-1, Isabella Suk and Michaela Landry tallied their second win of the season 8-2 in the second slot, and seniors Sam Riordan and Sydney Landau finished at first doubles with a close 8-7 final.
Colby continued to dominate in singles, with Riordan claiming the first win 6-1, 6-0. Gershaw finished shortly after besting her opponent 6-2, 6-0 as Jade Finestone came up big with the clinching point of the match, followed by Landau and Landry's singles victory.
The Mules are now 7-5 overall (4-3 in the conference, good for seventh) with three NESCAC games remaining on the season. Colby will head to Bowdoin Wednesday, April 24th for their next matchup and final away contest.
Men’s Tennis Defeats Trinity, Plays Close with Wesleyan
Before heading into the two-match weekend the Mules battled sixth-ranked Bowdoin midweek, ending in a 8-1 loss with the lone victory coming from Jake Cohen in the two spot.
Saturday Colby topped the Bantams 8-1, sweeping the competition in doubles as Sam Henry and Jake Cohen won 8-3 in the one spot, Sandeep Alapati and Paul Dandler 8-4 in the two spot, and Joey Barrett and Josh Kaplan 8(8)-7(6) in the three spot. The Mules went on to take the one-through-five singles matchups consisting of Barrett, Cohen, Henry, Dandler and Alapati for the commanding 8-1 win.
Sunday’s matchup was played evenly among the two teams, but in the end the Cardinals pulled away with the 5-4 win. Barrett and Kwong took the three-spot doubles match 8-4, and both Mules won their singles matchups as well. Alapati recorded the fourth win of the day in his singles effort.
Before the game, Colby honored its two seniors Joey Barrett and Sam Henry for their dedication to Colby Men’s Tennis and Colby Athletics.
The 7-8 Mules will hit the road next weekend for the final two games of the season against Williams and Middlebury, the top two teams in the NESCAC. Colby currently sits in sixth place in the conference standings.
Softball Earns Split With Trinity
The Colby Softball team took to the Constitution State for double headers against Trinity and Wesleyan. Taking a split with the Bantams Saturday, the Cardinals proved powerful at home earning the sweep on Sunday.
Chloe Wilcox continued to drive the ball, collecting an RBI double in the opening loss to Trinity and then smashing a home run in the 8-7 game two victory. Carissa Cassidy and Ella Wilcox recorded hits in all four games, and four more stolen bases by Cassidy ranks her third in the NESCAC.
Payton Crowley, Ashley Correll, and Abby Orso shared the circle across the four games. Orso pitched two complete games, including earning her seventh win of the season in the nightcap against Trinity.
Colby returns to Maine for a busy week of eight games. The Mules begin the week hosting Bowdoin Tuesday in Waterville before battling Bates, Tufts, and USM on consecutive days beginning Friday.
Men’s Lacrosse Battles Williams on the Road Saturday
In their final away contest of the season, the Mules faced the Ephs on Saturday looking to build on their conference record.
Williams came out of the gate strong, scoring seven times in the opening frame. Colby was able to answer with three, all coming off the stick of Gavin Rothenberg. The Mules' defense tightened up for the remainder of the game holding the Ephs to just five goals in the three remaining quarters. Colby was only able to find the back of the net four more times themselves but just could not claw back from the pivotal first quarter.
Goalkeeper Will Heisler finished with a career-high 24 saves on the day as the sophomore currently ranks 3rd in the NESCAC among saves percentage (.566). Rothenberg added on another goal and assist on top of his first quarter performance for four goals total. Cormac O’Neill contributed a goal and assist.
The 5-8 Mules have one more game left, hosting Bates Wednesday April 24th.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Bonnie Baker Photography, Cole Burkhart '24, Steve Cheney P25, Stephen R. Clouthier, Ashley Conti, Jamie Fiedorek '25, Colin Flood '26, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Michael Garrett P23, Andrew Hearns P24, Peter Li '26, Michael Maher, Joshua McKee, Dustin Satloff '15, Ellie Sawyer P25, Bill Stevenson P24, Isadora Wells '26, Ansley White '26