Volleyball Notches Two Key NESCAC Victories Over Ephs, Panthers
The Colby Volleyball team hit the road this weekend for pivotal matches against Williams and Middlebury. Both opponents were ranked just ahead of the Mules in the NESCAC standings, but Colby owned the court in each match taking both in four sets.
After dropping the first set 25-21 Friday, Colby responded winning the next three (25-16, 25-18, 25-23) to knock off Williams. The Ephs and Mules entered the match with identical 13-1 records. LJ Grant led the way with 12 kills, while Cyanne Jones continues to assert her presence at the net with six blocks. The sophomore leads the conference witn 1.29 blocks/set.
Saturday's faceoff with Middlebury represented a rematch of last year's NESCAC title game. The Mules once again came out of the gate slow, dropping the first set before winning the second (25-15), the third (25-20), and then the fourth (25-21). Brady Moseley collected 17 kills, one shy of her season high. Colby continued to steal points at the serve, with Gabby Grujic leading the way with three aces. The junior has now executed three or more aces in five straight matches, jumping all the way to third in the conference with 29 on the season.
Colby is now 15-1 (5-1 in conference play), sitting behind Wesleyan and Tufts. The Mules will host the Jumbos this coming Friday.
Women’s Soccer Splits Week with Road Win at Husson, Tight Battle vs #12 Middlebury
Colby earned a midweek road victory before falling in a close NESCAC matchup to wrap up a two-game slate.
The Mules opened the week in Bangor on Tuesday with a 3–0 win over Husson, scoring all three goals in the final 15 minutes. Samantha DeWitt's first goal of the season broke the scoreless deadlock in the 78th minute off a setup from Claire Walsh, followed by goals from Abigail Jarvi (seventh goal of the season) and Amanda Schneider (third goal of the season) to secure the shutout. Colby dominated possession, outshooting the Eagles 22–1 and earning 11 corner kicks.
Back home on Saturday, the Mules created plenty of chances but couldn’t find the back of the net in a 1–0 loss to Middlebury. Colby outshot the Panthers 21–11 but a first-half goal in the 24th minute proved to be the difference.
Women’s Soccer moves to 6-2-3 overall and 3-2-2 in NESCAC play. With three conference games remaining the Mules will look to capitalize on all three in hopes of moving up the standings and securing a home opening round contest. Colby will conclude non-conference play Wednesday at Maine Maritime.
Football Falls to 2024 Champions Wesleyan
The 2-2 Mules welcomed the 3-1 Cardinals Saturday to mark the midpoint in the NESCAC season. The two teams traded overtime wins in each of the last two seasons and Wesleyan rode a 10-0 first half lead to a 24-7 victory on Mayflower Hill.
In a game of field position, the lone scores in the first half were a Wesleyan first quarter touchdown followed by a second quarter field goal. Colby earned three first downs on its opening drive but stalled just outside the red zone. Each team possessed the ball just three times in the first 30 minutes.
After Wesleyan pushed their lead to 17 points in the third quarter, Antone Moreis provided a spark with his third touchdown of the season with seven minutes to play. His 37-yard scamper closed the deficit to 10 points. The visitors recovered the ensuing onside kick and executed their final scoring drive of the game, a six-play 53-yard drive to put the game out of reach.
Declan McNamara led the Mules with a career-high 11 tackles and three pass breakups. The senior linebacker now has four pbu's in the last two weeks. Eli Soehren helped the Mules in the battle for field position. The junior punter boomed his first offering for 65 yards and angled his second 50 yards, bouncing out of bounds at the two.
Colby is now 2-3 and will head to 4-1 Amherst next weekend. The lone loss for the Mammoths came in the opening week, a 26-23 overtime loss to Bates.
Field Hockey Challenges #4 Middlebury Before Earning Win Over Southern Maine
The Colby Field Hockey team split its pair of weekend matchups, opening with a competitive game against nationally ranked Middlebury before bouncing back with a strong win over Southern Maine.
On Saturday, the Mules fell 2–1 in a hard-fought contest against the Panthers. Maddie Campbell scored in the third quarter to pull Colby within one off a feed from Bridget Everett while goalkeeper Ginna Jacoby recorded 15 saves to help keep the game close. In the end Middlebury’s two first-half goals were enough to seal the win.
The Mules rebounded the next day with a 5–2 victory over Southern Maine. Following a 2-1 opening quarter deficit (first collegiate goal for Teagan Kilpatrick), Colby took control, with scores from Bridget Everett, Ella Brockelman, Bridget Waters, and Christina Sweeney. The Mules outshot the Huskies 25–6 and earned nine penalty corners, dominating both possession and opportunities.
Colby is now 4–7 overall and sits just outside a playoff spot with three important NESCAC games remaining. The team will head to Trinity Saturday who is currently tied with the Mules in the standings.
Men's Tennis Concludes Fall Season at Bates' Wallach Invitational
Colby, alongside Brandeis and Trinity, headed to Lewiston Saturday for a weekend tournament at Bates with all four teams competing in six-rounds of singles and doubles.
Round one recorded the most wins for the Mules consisting of three doubles victories over the Bantams and four singles wins against the Bobcats. Round four ended up being another strong round for Colby taking down Bates in five of seven total matches (two doubles, three singles).
Overall, Matthew Jeong went undefeated over the course of the two-day event (6-0) winning all three of his singles matches and winning all three doubles sets paired with Kevin Mortimer. The duo of Antonio Lee and Sean Wang went undefeated in doubles play as well (3-0).
This concludes the fall season for the Mules who will be back in action this spring.
Men’s Soccer Falls to Middlebury in Home Matchup
The Mules dropped their lone game of the week on Saturday, falling 4–0 to the Panthers.
Colby came out of the gate strong earning some early scoring opportunities but Middlebury struck three times in a quick span late in the first half, taking control of the game with goals in the 32nd, 35th, and 36th minutes. The Panthers added a fourth tally in the closing minutes to seal the win.
Despite the scoreline, the Mules did generate chances with 15 total shots and five on target. Goalkeeper Jackson Magee recorded five saves in the contest.
Men’s Soccer moves to 4-4-3 overall and will return to action Tuesday at Maine Maritime before heading to Hartford, Conn. Saturday to face Trinity.
Women’s Tennis Caps Fall Season with B Draw Championship at NEWITT Tournament
The Colby Women’s Tennis team wrapped up its fall season this past weekend at the NEWITT tournament hosted by Smith and Amherst College. The tournament featured teams competing in both singles and doubles with the best two of three moving on to the next round.
Colby’s duo of Michaela Landry and Tina Barrow captured the B Draw Championship, defeating foes from MIT and Springfield before finding themselves in a closely contested final with another pair of Engineer opponents. After falling behind in doubles, Barrow and Landry battled through third-set singles tiebreakers to secure the title.
In the A draw, the Mules fielded two groups of trios that advanced through early consolation rounds, including wins over Trinity and Amherst, before ultimately falling to other pairs of Amherst duos.
Junior Kendall Skulley was honored with the Lynn Miller Warrior Award, presented to a junior or senior who embodies competitiveness and integrity.
The Mules fall competition schedule has come to an end. Colby Women's Tennis will return to action in early March to begin their spring matches.
Mules Race in Hopkinton Cross Country Festival
On Friday, the Colby Cross Country team sent 15 student-athletes to Hopkinton, New Hampshire to compete against a large mix of institutions.
Despite only four women racing for the Mules (five are necessary for a team score), they all placed inside the top-50 as Paige Goodwin led the charge with an impressive sixth place finish out of 98 competitors.
Women's 5k Individual Results:
- 6 - Paige Goodwin 20:05.00
- 14 - Marianne Spyra 20:36.00
- 20 - Norah Mills 20.51.10
- 47 - Hannah Hill 21.59.70
On the men's side of competition the Mules took 4th place as a team out of 12 schools. Ciaran Groom led the way in 21st on top of four individuals placing between 27th and 33rd place. 125 total individuals competed in the men's race.
Men's 8k Individual Results:
- 21 - Ciaran Groom 26:16.8
- 27 - Angus Cook 26:38.0
- 30 - Nate Goodman 26:43.90
- 32 - Hugh McGuire 26:49.60
- 33 - Derk Wolvius 26:50.00
- 45 - James Regan 27:23.70
- 49 - Will Parker 27:30.20
- 54 - Will Fletcher 27:43.20
- 65 - Max Adam 28:12.70
- 70 - Kevin Gustafson 28:40.50
- 73 - Zachary Gellert 29:00.40
On Saturday the Mules will compete at Conn. College before heading back to New London on November 1st for the NESCAC Championship.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Wendy Adam P'27, Bonnie Baker Photography, Stephen R. Clouthier, Alexis Coates '28, Traigh DeMasi '28, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Rob Hess, Nico Klementzos Photo, Peter Li '26, Jennifer Maguire P'26, Michael Maher, Logan Marku '28, Reese Robinson '27, Daryn Slover P'28, Marty Thornton Photos, Isadora Wells '26, Ansley White '26, and the Colby Communications team.