With Two All-Americans, Colby Skiing Earns 11th at NCAA Championships
Colby Skiing (Alpine and Nordic combined) placed 11th in the 23-team field at NCAA Championships this past week. Competing against the top Division I, II, and III universities across the country, the Mules finished as the second-ranked Division III school. With the championship event alternating between East and West for host sites, this year's races were hosted by Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.
In the Alpine segments, Harrison Digangi (headline photo) and Carissa Cassidy led the way in Wednesday's Slalom, placing fifth and ninth respectively to earn NCAA All-American honors. Both were the top Division III skiers on the day. Senior Hannah Soria was close behind, finishing 14th for her best NCAA performance of her career. Lydia Riddell skied into 29th place.
Soria was Colby's top finisher in Friday's Giant Slalom, placing 25th, with Digangi and Cassidy finishing 26th and 29th. Riddell, Colby's top GS threat, fell first run on the exit of the pitch to unfortunately end her day.
Opening the Nordic portion with Thursday's Classic race, Jack Young narrowly missed a top-10 finish cruising into 13th place, his best NCAA finish of his career. Sophomore Maddie Hooker placed 29th in her first career NCAA race.
With Saturday's Freestyle marking the conclusion of the series, Young was impressive yet again placing 14th in the mass start event. Sitting in 25th at the halfway mark, the senior picked off Division I skiers from Colorado, Dartmouth, Montana, Alaska, UVM, UNH, and Denver to claims his second top-15 result of the series. Andrew Defor, competing in his first NCAA Championship event, came across just outside the top-30 in 31st.
Individual Finishes:
- Harrison Digangi - 5th Men's SL, 26th Men's GS
- Carissay Cassidy - 9th Women's SL, 29th Women's GS
- Jack Young - 13th Men's Classic, 14th Men's Freestyle
- Hannah Soria - 14th Women's SL, 25th Women's GS
- Maddie Hooker - 29th Women's Classic, 39th Women's Freestyle
- Lydia Riddell - 29th Women's SL, DNF Women's GS
- Andrew Defor - 31st Men's Freestyle, 39th Men's Classic
While both teams graduate a handful of incredibly impactful athletes, returning skiers like Digangi, Cassidy, Defor, and Hooker look to lead the way for next year's chapter of Colby Skiing.
Indoor Track & Field Set for NCAA Championships
With final opportunities to hit qualifying marks at the AARTFC Championships hosted by Ithaca College, the Track & Field teams capped a stellar indoor season by qualifying three individuals and two relays to the NCAA Championships later this week.
Women's Event Scorers:
- 200m - Fiona Mejico, 1st (Meet record)
- 400m - Kailtyn Ewald 2nd, Olivia Doherty 7th
- 60m - Simone Waheed, 5th (Colby record)
Men's Event Scorers:
- 4x400 Relay, 1st - Peter Martel, Sam Graubart, Levi Biery, Ren Zanze (Meet record)
- 400m - Zanze, 3rd
- Pole Vault - Lexington Lehnert, 3rd
- Heptathlon - Myles Thornton-Sherman, 4th (Colby record)
- 60m - Terrel Hood-Simeon, 7th
- 200m - Ian Irwin, 7th
When the dust settled, Colby qualified a men's relay, a women's relay, and combined to place athletes in four individual events for the upcoming NCAA Championships.
The NCAA Indoor Championship event will take place later this week in Rochester, N.Y. (hosted by Nazareth University). The two-day event kicks off Friday with the preliminary rounds and with the finals to follow on Saturday.
Women's Ice Hockey Falls in Semifinals but Claims NCAA At-Large Bid
Entering the NESCAC semifinals for the fifth straight time, Colby's Women's Ice Hockey team had their sights set on raising their first NESCAC banner. In their way was the mighty juggernaut from Middlebury. With a series sweep of the Panthers only two weeks ago, two of the best teams across all of Division III hit the ice in Amherst, Mass. Saturday afternoon.
Following a scoreless opening period, the game saw Middlebury break the deadlock in the second with a score at 10:27. The Mules looked to tie but late in the third period, the Panthers extended the one goal lead to 2-0 with just two minutes remaining in the game. A minute later Middlebury sealed the victory with an empty net goal for the 3-0 win. Mandy Busky totaled 27 saves in the contest. Middlebury would go on to fall to Amherst in Sunday's championship game.
Despite falling out of contention for an automatic qualifier spot for the NCAA tournament, the 8th-ranked Mules learned Sunday night that they not only earned one of four at-large bids, but also that they would be hosting a first round game.
With a 17-6-2 record, Colby will host Wilkes University Saturday at 3:00pm for the first round of the NCAA tournament. The winner will advance to face Amherst the following week.
Men's Ice Hockey Wrestles with Tufts in NESCAC Semifinals
With a week to recover since their double overtime opening round victory over Amherst, Colby's Men's Ice Hockey team took a 2-2 tie against Tufts into the third and final frame of Saturday's semifinal matchup.
The game saw a fast start with Colby’s Matthew MacDonald scoring first at 4:17, assisted by Will Molson and Alex Keskintepe. Tufts responded with two quick goals to close out the first period for a 2-1 lead heading into the second. Tyler Crist tied it up for the Mules with the lone goal of the second period at 11:08, but the Jumbos scored quickly to open the third. Tufts added two more scores to their lead before adding an empty netter at the end for the 6-2 victory. Cooper Rautenstrauch finished with 33 saves in the game. Tufts fell in Sunday's championship game to top-seeded Hamilton.
The Mules end their season with a 14-6-6 record, collecting the most wins since the 2022-23 season.
NESCAC Announces All-Conference Teams for Basketball, Ice Hockey
Women's Lacrosse Runs to 4-0
After a thrilling season opener a week ago against Wesleyan, the Mules ripped off three more wins this week to begin the season 4-0 for the hottest start since opening the 2013 season with eight straight wins.
In the Tuesday night contest against St. Joseph's, Colby dominated from the jump after building a commanding lead in the first quarter, including two scores from Julia Jardina and Ainsley Dion. The Mules continued to control the game, with Jardina adding two more goals in the second, bringing her total to four for the game. The Monks lone goal came at 7:10 in the second period, but Colby responded with nine more tallies from eight different players to finish out the 19-1 win.
The Mules triumphed over Conn. College 16-10 on Saturday for their second conference win to start the season. Colby quickly took control, dominating the first period with six goals, including two each from Julia Maimonis and Ainsley Burke. The Camels responded with a goal late in the first, but Colby continued to build its lead throughout the game. Dion and Jardina contributed multiple scores, while the Mules’ defense held strong. Conn. mounted a challenge in the second and third periods but Colby’s relentless offense, capped by a late goal from Zoey Verbesey, ensured a comfortable victory.
To finish out the busy week the Mules defeated Roger Williams 11-7 on Sunday. Despite a fast start from the Hawks, who led 4-2 after the first period, Colby responded with a strong second period, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 5-4 advantage. Jardina played a pivotal role in Colby’s offensive surge, scoring five times for a new season high. Roger Williams fought back to make it 9-7, but Colby’s late goals, including one from Charlotte Michener, sealed the win.
Goaltender Jillian Kane collected 12 saves across the three wins for the Mules.
Women's Tennis Takes Down the Bantams 6-1
Despite falling to the fifth-ranked Cardinals of Wesleyan on Sunday 7-0, the Mules grabbed a dominant win over Trinity 6-1 in Hartford on Saturday.
In doubles play, Colby claimed all three matches against the Bantams, with Michaela Landry and Isabella Suk winning 6-4 at #1, Jade Finestone and Waka Aida securing a 6-1 victory at #2, and Ella Novion and Amelie Gal triumphing 6-2 at #3.
In singles, the Mules continued to impress winning five of the six matchups leading to the overall 6-1 win. Victories came from Landry, Novion, Aida, Anna Rende, and Gal.
The 2-1 Mules will now return to Mayflower Hill to host Smith and Brandeis over the weekend for their first matches at home this spring.
Men's Lacrosse Delivers Endicott First Loss, 8-7 in Overtime
After a close setback to Conn. on Saturday, the Colby Men's Lacrosse team earned its first victory of the season Sunday in a thrilling overtime match against previously unbeaten Endicott.
On Saturday, despite Conn.’s strong performance and 13-9 win, Colby kept the game competitive throughout. Bennett Goller led the offense with four goals and two assists. Goller’s efforts, alongside Gavin Rothenberg’s three goals and one assist, kept the Mules in the game, especially after a strong first period where they led 5-4. The Camels eventually pulled away with five fourth quarter scores.
On Sunday in Beverly, Mass., the Mules displayed remarkable resilience to overcome an early deficit. Goller led the charge once again with three goals and two assists, while Rothenberg added a hat trick of his own. Colby continued to push forward in the second half, with crucial goals from Rothenberg and Will Steele to tie the game at 7-7 and force overtime. In extra time, Goller sealed the win with an unassisted goal, securing a hard-fought and thrilling victory for the Mules. Colby held Endicott scoreless in the second half.
Faceoff specialist Justin Turley ranks second in the conference with 37 faceoffs won.
The Mules are now 1-2 and will host Amherst on Saturday.
Baseball Splits the Week with USM and #2 Endicott
The Colby Baseball team took a midweek game from Southern Maine and fell to national power Endicott Sunday to earn a split on the week.
On Tuesday, Colby secured a 5-4 victory over Southern Maine to improve their record to 3-0 to start the season. The game started with the Mules taking an early 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to Tony Silva’s RBI double. Following Marco Zirpolo’s RBI double in the seventh, the Huskies responded in the eighth with a two-run homer tying the game at two. Colby quickly regained the lead in the bottom of the inning with a two-run double from Kai Aoki, followed by a sacrifice fly from Ethan Hillenberg to extend their lead to 5-2. Southern Maine tried to rally in the ninth with two runs, but Colby held on to secure the win. Ryan Grecco pitched six strong innings for Colby, while Matt Mahoney earned the win with two innings of relief, and Matt Higgins closed out the game for the save.
With field conditions forcing Sunday's double header with Endicott to a solo game held on the campus of Boston College, the Mules gave the 2nd-ranked Gulls a run for their money early. With Colby in front 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Endicott erupted for a nine-run sixth inning to go ahead and put the game out of reach. Derek Woods pitched a stellar five innings for Colby, allowing just one run.
The Mules are now 3-1 entering double headers with Brandies (away Saturday) and New England College (home Sunday) this weekend.
Men's Tennis Splits Conference Road Weekend
Before falling to Wesleyan 6-1 on Sunday, the Mules rallied for a tight 4-3 win over Trinity on Saturday.
In Saturday's victory over Trinity, the top pair of Jason Daly and Jake Cohen won convincingly 6-1 at the top spot to collect Colby's love victory in doubles. In singles, the Mules dominated the top half of the lineup. Cohen and Daly won their matches 6-2, 6-2 and 6-3, 6-3, respectively. Diego Sosa won a tough match 7-6, 6-4, while Marco Ziets-Segura triumphed 6-4, 7-6 ultimately leading to the 4-3 victory.
The lone point against the Cardinals on Sunday came from Daly in the two spot 6-3, 7-6.
Men's Tennis is now 1-3 this spring and will face Saint Michael's on March 14th for their home opener.
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.