Women's Ice Hockey Falls in Tight Battle With Champs
After a thrilling victory in the opening round of the NESCAC playoffs, the Mules traveled to Amherst Friday to battle in the semifinals. Facing a Middlebury team that tied the Mules in one game and edged them in another during the regular season, the matchup had all the intensity anyone could ask for.
After a scoreless first period that saw goaltender Grace Caligiuri turn away 14 Panther shots, the second looked like it was going to be scoreless as well. With Middlebury afforded a power play with less than a minute to go in the frame, the sixth-ranked (USCHO Pairwise rankings) Panthers found a way into the net and onto the scoreboard before the buzzer sounded.
The third period continued the level play, with each team grinding for the next tally. With minutes remaining, Middlebury executed possession and zone control marvelously, forcing the Mules to remove the goaltender. A second Panther goal with less than 30 seconds remaining on an empty net, and one more as the buzzer sounded, Middlebury advanced to the championship game Sunday, which they would win over Hamilton 4-0. Over their three playoff games, the Panthers only allowed one goal.
The week began with extreme excitement for the Mules, as Meg Rittenhouse was named NESCAC Player of the Year, the first POY in the program's history. Breanna Studley joined her on the All-NESCAC first team.
The Mules ended their season with a 17-8-1 record, narrowly missing their third consecutive NCAA tournament at large bid. The 17 wins is only one away from last year's tally of 18 that set a program record. Over the last four full seasons of play, Colby has averaged 16.5 victories a season.
All-NESCAC Teams Announced for Basketball, Ice Hockey
Joining Rittenhouse and Studley on the All-NESCAC teams for their sport were Kate Olenik (Women's Basketball), Max Poulton (Men's Basketball), and Jack Sullivan (Men's Ice Hockey). The All-Conference Squash teams will be announced this coming week.
Colby Hosts NCAA Region 3 Diving Championships
The Mules remained at home this weekend to host the NCAA Diving Regionals. Four divers represented Colby in the two-day event. Alexandrea Friedman, Eleanor McGrath and Avery Rappaport on the women’s side and Ivan Knoepflmacher on the men’s side.
All three women competed in the one meter dive with McGrath taking fourth place out of 31 competitors, just outside a podium spot with a score of 423.65. Rappaport finished close behind in 6th (418.95 points), while Friedman finished 22nd (358.75). On the Men’s side, Knoepflmacher placed 16th with 378.80 points.
In the three meter dive McGrath secured another top-5 placement finishing fifth with 434.80 points out of 27 competitors while Rappaport finished 10th (433.40 points). Through their performance, the two divers secured a spot in the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships March 20th-23rd in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Joining McGrath and Rappaport will be swimmers Tahlia Crowley, Gabriella Landau, Kellen Mottl, and Lily Moy on the women's side and Ethan Chang, Neil Mortimer, Carson Rehkopf, and Brandon Xiong on the men's side.
Skiing Journeys to Colorado for NCAA Championships
Colby Skiing qualified a total of seven athletes (out of a maximum 12) to compete at the NCAA Skiing Championships hosted by the University of Colorado in Steamboat Springs. Fans can follow along by watching the events Wednesday through Saturday at NCAA.com.
Alpine Competitors: Harrison Digangi, Meagan Olsen, Hannah Soria, Nolan Sweeney
Nordic Competitors: Zach Nemeth, Gretta Scholz, Jack Young
Indoor Track Competes at AARTFC Regionals, Sending Five to NCAA Championships
In the final event prior to the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, Colby competed in the AARTFC Regional Championships hosted by Nazareth University. A winter full of chasing times and marks came to a conclusion as the NCAA released their competitor list for the Championship event Monday.
Women's Top-10 Performances at AARTFC:
- Fiona Mejico - 1st, 400M Dash
- Erin Daugherty - 3rd, 60M Hurdles
- 4x400M Relay - 4th (Haley Wims, Olivia Doherty, Anna Mackey, Marielle Goganian)
Men's Top-10 Performances at AARTFC:
- 4x400M Relay - 7th (Peter Martel, Sam Graubart, Levi Biery, Raghav Kadambi)
- Myles Thornton-Sherman - 7th Pole Vault
- Logan Lehnert - 9th Pole Vault
The Division III track world converges on Virginia Beach March 8-9. Watch the events live at NCAA.com by clicking the link below.
LET THE SPRING BEGIN!!
Women’s Lacrosse Defeats #11 Wesleyan to Start 2024 Campaign
In a tightly competitive matchup between the 9th-ranked Mules and the 11th-ranked Cardinals, Colby pulled out a two goal victory on the road to kickoff the season with a 1-0 record.
The two teams stayed neck in neck throughout the first three quarters heading into halftime knotted at four goals apiece. The battle remained locked after three quarters (6-6) and was still tied with just nine minutes remaining in the game. Colby strung together three goals down the stretch as Cami McDonald scored once and Ally Franz twice to create a 10-7 lead with only minutes remaining. The Cardinals were able o gain one back, but when the siren sounded the Mules had made it four in a row topping Wesleyan.
Franz had an impact throughout the entire game, scoring once in the first, once in the second, again in the third, and her two fourth quarter goals gave her a game-high five scores. Julia Jardina picked up right where her 2023 season left off, proving to be a playmaker with a goal and three assists. Ainsley Dion finished with five draw controls, and Franz and Stella Regan led the Mules with four ground balls apiece. Goalkeeper Sarah Hearns finished with seven saves.
Colby will open a stretch of four consecutive games on Mayflower Hill, starting with Conn. College on Saturday March 9th.
Women’s Tennis Sweep Conn. 9-0 to Begin the Spring Season
With temps sending the match indoors as is custom early in the season, Colby dominated right off the bat. The Mules won the three doubles matches 8-1, 8-2, and 8-1 with some new pairings testing out team dynamics and execution. The lead was only lengthened with the start of the singles matches, and the second wave secured the 9-0 sweep.
All-American Sam Riordan saw the closest matchup of the day at 1-seed singles, defeating Caitlin Cass 7-6, 6-4. The most dominant singles victories came from Ellie Gershaw in the 2-seed 6-0 and 6-1, and from Sydney Landau in the 3-seed with a matching score of 6-0 and 6-1.
The Mules are back in action after having next weekend off when they travel to Brandeis on March 16.
Men’s Tennis Opens up 2024 Dominating the Camels 9-0
Competing in Colby’s Indoor Competition Center to kick off the spring season, the Mules took control early against Conn. College winning the three doubles matches with ease 8-1, 8-1, and 8-2. Colby took full command in the singles matchups as well going 6-0 to secure the 9-0 sweep.
In singles, Joey Barrett set the tone from the 1-seed running away with a 6-1, 6-0 victory. Jake Cohen took it up a notch from the 2-seed, taking out his opponent 6-0, 6-0. The closest matchup of the day came at the 6-seed as Sriram Das took an extra frame to defeat Gavin Anderson 6-2, 2-6, 10-2 and secure the shutout for the Mules.
Men’s Tennis is back in action next Sunday with a double header. Colby will host USM at 9:30am followed by Endicott at 2:00pm.
2024 Opens with 24 Runs for Baseball
The Colby College Baseball team opened the 2024 season with a 24-6 victory over the University of Maine, Farmington Sunday at Coombs Field. With 24 runs crossing the plate, the Mules captured the most runs scored since plating 25 runs against UMF in 2022.
With six different pitchers toeing the rubber for the hosts, Thomas Rioux recorded the win exiting the game after four innings with a 10-3 lead with only two runs allowed. Relievers Kam Douin and Teddy Durbin led the way in strikeouts, with each lefty hurling one inning and striking out three in the 8th and 9th innings respectively.
Offensively Colby exploded for 24 hits. Ryan Grace, Cole Palmeri, and Patrick McConnell (headline photo) led the way with four hits apiece, followed closely by Brady O'Brien and Clint Flippo with three each. Outfielder Marcus Forrester put the Mules on top with the first pitch in the bottom of the first, sending a fastball over the 380-mark in center field.
The Mules are back in action Tuesday when they host the University of Southern Maine Huskies.
Men’s Lacrosse Hosts Season Opener Against the Cardinals
Starting a new era under the Jack Sandler Memorial Men's Lacrosse Head Coach Jake Bernhardt, the Mules welcomed Wesleyan University on Saturday.
The Cardinals got off to a strong start netting six goals in the first quarter but the Mules flipped the script in the second to knot the game at seven heading into the halftime break. Max Solmssen scored twice in the opening frame, and Bennett Goller bookended a 4-0 run leading into the break, scoring unassisted on the first and off a Solmssen feed on the second.
Wesleyan came out of halftime on fire, scoring the first five goals of the second half. Colby was able to break scoring runs with a par of goals late in the third and a solo score early in the fourth, but the visitors' momentum carried through to a 20-11 final score.
Justin Turley had a standout performance winning 21 of 31 faceoffs while Matt Suffredini totaled 16 saves in net. Goller, Ben Reynolds, Gavin Rothenburg and Solmssen all tallied two goals apiece.
Colby is back in action Wednesday hosting the University of New England at 7:00pm.
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