Women's Basketball Tops Amherst and Hamilton, Sits in 2nd in NESCAC
With a remarkable 65-60 win over Amherst Friday night and a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Hamilton Saturday, Women's Basketball slides up to second place in the NESCAC standings.
The tightly contested win against the Mammoths was fueled by Kate Olenik's dominant career-high 32-point performance. Despite early shooting struggles for both teams (Colby held Amherst to seven points in the opening quarter), the Mules found their rhythm in the second half. Scoring 42 points across the third and fourth quarters Colby paced ahead of the Mammoths to break Amherst's streak of 26 straight wins over the Mules. Key contributions came from Lydia Mordarski (10 points) and Amelia Hanscom (nine points, 14 rebounds).
Saturday at Hamilton the Mules secured another conference victory 65-55 in a strong defensive showing. The hosts built out a lead as large as 12 points, but Colby finished strong, outscoring the Continentals 22-8 in the final quarter. Ana Von Rumohr led the way for the Mules with 16 points, while Chelsea Ibenegbu added 15 points and four steals. Mordarski contributed 14 points as Olenik netted 12.
Olenik has now scored in double-digits in 17 straight games. The sophomore earned NESCAC Player of the Week for her performances.
Winners in eight of their last nine, the Mules are 11-8 with two more NESCAC weekends before playoffs begin.
Women's Swimming & Diving Closes Out 2025 Dual Meets a Perfect 9-0, Claims CBB Crown
In their final showdown before the NESCAC Championships, the Women's Swimming & Diving team traveled to Bates for the Annual CBB Meet. Defeating Bowdoin 166-132 and Bates 203-82, the 21st-ranked Mules finished the regular season a perfect 9-0 in dual meet scoring.
Colby edged Bowdoin for event winners 8-6, won both relays, and swept the podium in the 50yd Freestyle and the 100yd Backstroke. Kellen Mottl (100yd Breaststroke) and Lexi Asch (100yd Butterfly, 200yd Butterfly) broke Colby records. The Mules also took down six Bates pool records and Colby reached eight NCAA B cut marks on the afternoon.
If that wasn't enough to celebrate, Head Coach Tom Burton reached his 300th career victory.
Event Winners:
- Asch - 100yd Butterfly, 200yd Butterfly
- Alexis Coates - 100yd Backstroke
- Eliza Marco - 50yd Freestlye, 100yd Freestyle
- Mottl - 100yd Breaststroke
- 200yd Freestyle Relay - Marco, Lily Moy, Caitlin Lacey, Gabriella Landau
- 200yd Medley Relay - Tahlia Crowley, Mottl, Asch, Marco
Marco was part of both winning relays, and her marks in the 50 and 100 Freestyle currently ranks tops in NESCAC.
The women's team will have a week respite before hosting the NESCAC Championship February 13-16.
Track Hosts Colby Mini Meet Before Traveling for Terrier Classic
Hosting UMF and Thomas at the Colby Mini Meet Wednesday, the Mules distance track athletes competed in four events and claimed first place winners in all.
Margo Kenyon claimed gold in the Women's 1000m race, and Ada Grant, Abby Souza, Norah Mills, and Pilar Lebar claimed the top four spots in the 3000m race. On the men’s side Kevin Gustafson claimed first place in the 1000m while Ciaran Groom, Will Parker, Michael Bligh, Max Adam, and Zachery Gellert swept the top 5 in the 3000m.
Over the weekend, Colby traveled down to Boston for the second weekend in a row this time for the Terrier Classic. On top of multiple top-10 finishes, the meet was highlighted by four new school records; the men's and women's 4x400m relay, Kailtyn Ewald's 500m, and Ian Irwin's 200m.
With the time of 3:46.71 the women's 4x400 relay is currently holding the No. 1 ranking in NCAA Division III and ranks eighth in NCAA Division III all time history. Ewald's 500m time of 1:14.27 also reached historical marks, ranking 3rd in NCAA Division III history for that event. She was joined on the 500m all-time charts by Fiona Mejico (1:15.80) and Kristina Pizzi (1:16.14), ranking 8th and 10th respectively.
Men’s Top-10 Finishes:
- 60m Hurdles - Patrick Kuprewicz 1st, Ivan Yan 5th
- 200m - Ian Irwin, 4th
- 500m - Ren Zanze, 7th
- Pole Vault - Lexington Lehnert 9th, Logan Lehnert 10th
- 4x400m Relay, 9th - Peter Martel, Jackson Coelho, Sam Graubart, Zanze
Women’s Top-10 Finishes:
- 500m - Kaitlyn Ewald, 8th
- 4x400m Relay, 10th - Tally Zeller, Kristina Pizzi, Ewald, Fiona Mejico
The Mules will be back in action on Saturday for the Maine State Championship hosted by Bowdoin.
Women's Ice Hockey Gains Ground in NESCAC with Sweep of Trinity
Friday night's 4-1 victory over the visiting Bantams marked the 100th career victory for Head Coach Holley Tyng, and Colby's 3-0 shutout Saturday made it a dominant sweep as the Mules fought to rise up the conference standings.
In game one's 4-1 victory, Breanna Studley opened the scoring at 7:02 in the first period. Courtney Schumacher doubled the lead early in the second frame followed by Cailyn Murphy’s goal at 6:36, giving the Mules a commanding 3-0 lead. The Bantams got on the scoreboard in the third period with a power-play goal but Colby responded with a goal from Beth Sinson to seal the 4-1 win. Both Georgia Pettygrove and Sinson finished with a pair of assists in the contest.
On Saturday the Mules broke a scoreless tie in the second period with goals from Molly Lefebvre (5:30) and Pettygrove (16:47, power play). Sinson added a third goal in the final frame (13:43) and Mandy Busky tallied her third shutout of the season in net.
Busky remains undefeated on the season with a 6-0-2 record after recording a 0.980 save percentage over the course of the two games, earning NESCAC Player of the Week.
At 11-4-2, the Mules are a mere three points out of fourth place and five points away from third in the conference standings.
Cassidy, Riddell Claim Podiums at Saint Michael's Carnival
Colby Alpine skiers have been making a habit of collecting hardware across the EISA circuit. Already with a podium under her belt this season, Lydia Riddell collected her second in the Saint Michael's Carnival Giant Slalom on Friday, and teammate Carissa Cassidy followed it up with one of her own in Saturday's Slalom.
With a team second place finish and two thirds already in the books this winter, the women's team had another stellar weekend, capturing second in the GS and fourth in the Slalom. The challenging terrain and conditions at Smugglers Notch presented troublesome for many, but the Mules collected seven top-24 finishes on the weekend.
Women's Top-30 Results:
- Cassidy - 2nd SL, 13th GS
- Riddell - 3rd GS, 24th SL
- Hannah Soria - 18th GS
- Althea Noyes - 20th SL
- Marit Kaiser - 23rd SL
Harrison Digangi had an incredible second run in the GS, finishing just over a half-second out of first in 6th for his top finish on the season. Teagan Turner was Colby's top finisher in the men's SL.
Nolan Sweeney (2nd place finish in the St. Lawrence GS) was unfortunately absent for the weekend as he was racing on the Nor-AM circuit in Canada. In Thursday's GS he claimed a silver medal in yet another stellar performance on the season, vaulting to a 12th place ranking in the Continental Cup standings.
Men's Top-30 Results:
- Digangi - 6th GS
- Espen Hunt - 29th GS
- Teagan Turner - 29th SL
With six more races to go in the 2025 EISA Carnival season, the Mules turn their attention to next weekend's Dartmouth Carnival. The NCAA turns back east this year in the Championship rotation, and Dartmouth is scheduled to be the host of this year's championships in March.
Four in the Top-10 Leads Colby at the SMC Freestyle
Infused with energy after a week of great training, some extra rest due to last weekend's gap in the EISA schedule, and also the return of World Cup skier Jack Young, Colby attacked the trails of Sleepy Hollow to the tune of four top-10 results in Friday's Freestyle.
Young was Colby's leader in fourth, and hot on his heels was Andrew Defor in 5th and Benjamin Lewis in 9th. On the women's side, Maddie Hooker claimed her first collegiate top-10 in 9th.
Saturday marked a non-qualifier Relay event for both teams. The men's team of Young, Defor, and Taiga Moore placed fourth of 11 teams, and the women's team of Natalie O'Brien, Hooker, and Lola Villafranco placed sixth.
Individual Top-30 Results:
- Young 4th - Men's Freestyle
- Defor 5th - Men's Freestyle
- Lewis 9th - Men's Freestyle
- Hooker - 9th Women's Freestyle
- Villafranco - 23rd Women's Freestyle
- O'Brien - 26th Women's Freestyle
- Tyler Watt - 27th Women's Freestyle
After three weekend's of EISA competition, the Mules embark on the second half of the season next week at the Dartmouth Carnival.
Men's Ice Hockey Wins Series Against Bowdoin with 0-0 Tie in Brunswick
After November's 5-1 drubbing of Bowdoin on Mayflower Hill, the Mules and Polar Bears met one more time in the regular season to finish the series. The Colby-Bowdoin rivalry is the longest in all of Division III (dating back to 1922), and third longest across all divisions, falling behind only Cornell vs Harvard (1910) and BC vs BU (1918). Michigan vs Michigan State also began their series in 1922.
Saturday nights matchup proved to be a thriller, with both nets guarded by first-year goalkeepers. Cooper Rautenstrauch kept the cage clean for all three periods as well as an overtime frame, leading the Mules to a 0-0 draw. Despite being recorded as a tie in the books, fans were treated to even more hockey since the NCAA moved to shootouts to decide this year's games. Bowdoin tallied their first and Colby failed to respond, giving the home crowd a celebration to shake the rafters.
The Mules had two power-play chances in the first and second periods, while the Polar Bears had opportunities in the first and third periods.
Colby takes its 10-5-3 record on the road this coming weekend for showdowns with Amherst and Hamilton.
Men's Basketball Splits the Weekend, Tied for Fourth in NESCAC
Colby opened the weekend with fireworks, topping Amherst 76-70 in overtime Friday night. The Mules defense and ability to capitalize on turnovers were pivotal, scoring 23 points off them. The team shot 60% in overtime to secure the win, showing resilience and poise when it mattered most. Max Poulton led the way with 17 points and six assists, while Dan Civello added 16 points, including a key three-pointer to tie in the game in the final seconds of regulation. Sam Hinman added 15 points in the contest.
The following day against Hamilton, Colby battled throughout but ultimately fell short 83-75. The Mules depth kept them competitive with 36 bench points, but Colby could not overcome the Continentals offensive firepower. Hinman tied his career-high with 20 points, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Jack Lawson contributed 16 points and eight rebounds while Civello chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds.
The Mules currently sit in a tie for fourth place in the NESCAC standings with a 13-7 record. With two more conference weekends left, Colby hits the road to play Williams and Middlebury this weekend.
Squash Splits Conference Weekend Against Conn. and Tufts
Hitting the road for the first time since December, the Mules boarded the bus this weekend to face Conn. and Tufts in Massachusetts.
On Saturday both the Men’s and Women’s team swept the Camels 9-0 in Cambridge with ease. The women didn't let up a single game as all nine matches were 3-0 sweeps. The men totaled five 3-0 wins in their matchup. Timo Radionov, Carlos Zendejas, and Syed Kashef all fought hard against their opponents to squeeze out close 3-2 victories.
The next day against the Jumbos the men gathered two wins in a 7-2 setback while the women fell to Tufts 9-0. Inwoo Lee gathered a hard fought 3-2 win in the number one spot while Zendejas won dominantly in the four spot 3-0.
Colby’s Bay State road trip will continue on Tuesday against Amherst as they await seeding for the 2025 NESCAC Championships taking place at Trinity this coming weekend.
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, Ansley White '26, and the Colby Communications team.