Whether it's "being in the hunt," in the words of Terry Meagher, the men's hockey coach—or being in "the upper grouping of the NESCAC," as men's basketball coach Tim Gilbride called it—many of the men's winter sports teams seem to think they have a shot at winning a NESCAC title.
"It's the best conference in the country," said Director of Athletics Jeff Ward of the difficulty of claiming a NESCAC crown. Though the league's competitiveness makes the regular season grueling, it prepares teams for success in NCAA play.
"If you are successful in our conference you have a greater chance to be successful at nationals," he said.
Men's hockey will play more games against NESCAC opponents than it has in the past, as the team's schedule has changed so that it will play each conference rival twice: once at home and once on the road.
In an attempt to give the NESCAC schools more competitive schedules, conference coaches and administrators decided this past January to split the NESCAC-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East league that used to exist. Now, Bowdoin will play just six of its 24 games against out-of-conference teams.
The Polar Bears will face this new schedule while trying to move on from a successful but controversial season last winter. They come off a 19-8-1 (11-7-1 NESCAC) year in which they won the NESCAC title and made it to the NCAA quarterfinals.
Though a hazing scandal forced the Polar Bears to relinquish their conference title in the spring, Ward simply commented, "I think they have learned and moved on."
But after All-American defenseman Kyle Shearer-Hardy '11 graduated this past spring, Bowdoin will have to rely on new players to pick up the slack. However, Daniel Weiniger '13, the conference's leading scorer last year and another All-American, will provide some stability to a team that led D-III in power play percentage.
Meagher said that the biggest issue is usually getting the first years "to grasp new concepts while playing with the sophistication of the seniors," but he said he thinks the first years have a "high level of athletic maturity and intelligence and do not need as much remedial work."
Entering to his 29th season as head coach, Meagher is now joined by Assistant Coach Jamie Dumont, who returns to the team this year after previously holding that title from 2001 to 2005.
For the men's basketball team, the upcoming season looks like it will prove challenging, as NESCAC rivals Amherst, Middlebury and Williams are currently ranked among the top 10 D-III teams. Bowdoin graduated just one player, Randy DeFeo '11, and is returning four of its five starters, including All-New England forward Will Hanley '12.
Hanley averaged a double-double last season with 19.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, and became the 10th Bowdoin player to pass 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career.
Last year, men's basketball managed a 13-10 overall record but finished 3-6 in the NESCAC. Despite an unremarkable performance last season, Gilbride said the seniors "have been through the battle and know what to expect."
The team hopes to surpass last year's NESCAC quarterfinal appearance, in which it fell 82-62 to Williams.
Men's squash also had a record year, closing the season 13-11. The team finished the season strong, capturing the Summer's Cup in the College Squash Association nationals.
Bowdoin returns one of two players who qualified for the individual national championships last season—Stephan Danyluk '14—after losing two All-NESCAC players in Rahul Madan Mohan '11 and Andy Bernard '11.
Men's indoor track placed fifth out of 25 at the New England D-III Championship last season and in the middle of the pack (23rd/53) at the ECAC championship meet at the New York Armory, at which the distance medley relay set a new school record.
While most winter teams are focusing on taking on NESCAC rivals, indoor track faces a larger New England field and is hoping to crack the top three.
Head Coach Peter Slovenski believes this will be possible in large part due to this year's dominant senior class. While most years there are between three and six New England-caliber seniors, this year Slovenski believes there are between 10 and 12 seniors capable of making waves at the regional level.
The normally distance-heavy Polar Bears are hopeful about sprinting talent, but still expect the distance events to dominate. The distance medley relay team (Coby Horowitz '14, Colin Fong '12, Matt Hillard '12, Matt Gamache '13) that placed fifth at nationals last year returns all four of its runners.
Men's swimming and diving is coming off a 5-1 campaign last season in which it finished sixth at the NESCAC Championship, Bowdoin's best performance since the championship began in 2001.
Nathan Mecray '12 won the 50 breaststroke for the second consecutive year, set three new school records, and raced in the national championship, while he and Mac Routh '12 earned All-NESCAC honors.
Although the Nordic ski team was regularly among the bottom half of the competition last season, consistent annual improvement suggests it can continue to creep up the standings.
At the Middlebury Carnival, Spencer Eusden '12 finished 14th to earn the sixth-best finish in school history in Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association competition.
Though the Polar Bears have improved in recent years, Bowdoin must compete against large university powerhouses like the University of Vermont and the University of New Hampshire, and against only a few NESCAC schools like Colby, Bates and Williams.