Clare McLaughlin
Number of articles: 39First article: September 30, 2011
Latest article: April 19, 2013
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Third-ranked Middlebury beats field hockey team 2-1, ending two-year winning streak
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In preparation for winter openers, strong men’s teams promise to deliver
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Field hockey loses in close NESCAC title game but wins in first round of NCAA
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Tufts leapfrogs field hockey with 3-1 home victory
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Records fly as men’s swimming posts best-ever finish at NESCACs
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Women’s tennis rebounds after losing streak
Wins against Colby and Middlebury propelled the women’s tennis team to regain its footing after losing three matches in a row to Amherst, Williams and Emory.
In March the Polar Bears’ Spring Break trip to California catapulted them to an unscathed 8-0 record. But they had yet to face their NESCAC foes that typically cluster near the top of the national rankings.
After the three-game skid, the Polar Bears rebounded last week with a 9-0 victory over Colby, and then solidified their momentum by toppling perennial rival Middlebury. The decisive match came down to a third set between Tiffany Cheng ’16 against Middlebury’s Leah Kepping.
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Women’s tennis suffers first spring loss, now 8-1
The women’s tennis team, which opened its spring season playing seven games over the break in California, had its first home game this weekend, beating Connecticut College 9-0, before losing at Amherst 7-2.
Bowdoin swept all nine matches against Connecticut. The No. 2 doubles team of Emma Lewis ’14 and captain Kellen Alberstone ’13 had an 8-0 shutout to clinch the victory. The No. 1 doubles team of Emma Chow ’15 and Chantalle Levartu ’13 only dropped one game to its opponents, winning the set 8-1. Tiffany Cheng ’16 and Kate Winningham ’14 had an equally dominant performance at No. 3, only losing two games to their counterparts to seal the doubles sweep.
In singles, neither Susanna Howard ’14 (No. 5) nor Chow (No. 6) lost a game to their opponents, and no Polar Bear dropped more than three games to a Conn. College player.
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Women's track and field sprints to fifth at New England D-III Championships
The women’s track and field team placed sixth out of 25 teams at last weekend’s New England Division III Championships.
As the sixth seed, Bowdoin made no leaps to increase their final position, but did match its rank by providing several personal best performances.
Addison Carvajal ’16 took fourth in the pentathlon—a personal best—as did Katherine Harmon ’14 in the weight throw with a distance of 15.49 meters.
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Women's track victorious at fifth consecutive Maine State Meet
The women’s track and field team captured its fifth-consecutive Maine State Meet victory last Friday. The Polar Bears accumulated 203.6 points, enough to handily top Bates (185.6), Colby (183.8), Southern Maine (110), St. Joseph’s (15), and Husson (3). In the sprints, Samantha Copland ’14 broke her own school record in the 60-meter dash (8.06), while captain Michele Kaufman ’13 won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.20.
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Women’s track runs away with Wesleyan Invitational
With two double-winners and several personal bests, the women’s track team made the most of the non-scoring Wesleyan invitational last weekend. Captain Michele Kaufman ’13 won both the 60m hurdles (9.35) and the long jump (5.08m), while Samantha Copland ’14 raced to victories in both the 60m (8.13) and the 200m (27.21). The Polar Bears also managed to capture the top spots in each of the three relays. Lucy Skinner ’16 won the mile in 5:26.82 to close out Bowdoin’s impressive slew of victories on the track. In the field events, the Polar Bears dominated the scoreboard. Erin Silva ’15, Stevie Lane ’15 and Emily Lambdin ’16 swept the pole vault podium. The long jumpers also led their field. Behind Kaufman, Addison Carvajal ’16 and Katharine Krupp ’16 took second and third respectively.
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Women’s track fares well at winter break home meets
The women’s track team opened the season with a commanding victory on December 8, scoring 185 points to defeat the University of Southern Maine (USM) (126), Colby (19), St. Joseph’s (16) and the University of Maine-Farmington (4).
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Women’s track to follow up last season with larger team
After graduating some of its strongest individual performers last year, the women’s track and field team will rely on the developing strength of a younger team this season.
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Field hockey loses 2-1 to Tufts in NCAA Elite Eight
For only the second time in eight years, the field hockey team was blocked from the NCAA D-III Final Four last weekend.
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Field hockey loses in close NESCAC title game but wins in first round of NCAA
Standing in the field hockey team’s path to the NESCAC championship last weekend were Tufts and Middlebury, both who beat Bowdoin during the regular season. The Polar Bears went 1-1 over the weekend, handling Tufts and then losing to Middlebury after a double-overtime tie 3-2 in penalty strokes.
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Field hockey headed to NESCAC semifinals
Bowdoin women’s field hockey rebounded from a 3-1 defeat last week by cruising to a 3-0 victory over Williams in the NESCAC quarterfinals.
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Tufts leapfrogs field hockey with 3-1 home victory
The field hockey team has built a formidable record this season (12-2 overall, 8-2 NESCAC) from a defense that on average allows less than half a goal per game, and a multi-threat offensive unit that pressures opponents from all angles.
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At 9-1, field hockey ranked third nationally
Outscoring opponents 26-1, the field hockey team extended their winning streak in the wake of their September 22 loss to Middlebury, ceding only one goal to opponents in the five games since that 2-1 defeat.
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Field hockey loses first game in nearly two years
The Polar Bears fell to Middlebury away last Saturday, marking the team’s first regular-season defeat since October 2010. Ranked fifth the NFHCA D-III rankings going into the match, Bowdoin has since dropped down to sixth, while the Panthers, still undefeated, moved to second place behind Salisbury.
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Field hockey scores nine unanswered in weekend sweep
Last week the field hockey team posted back-to-back shutouts as they defeated both Wellesley and University of South Maine (USM) in non-conference play.
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Field hockey starts season 2-0 on rookie and veteran efforts
Bowdoin’s field hockey team handled NESCAC rival Wesleyan 3-1 in Saturday's season opener.
Bowdoin’s next matchup is against non-conference Wellesley College on Saturday at 1 p.m. -
Field Hockey seeks to rebound after Final Four
Last season, the Polar Bears won the NESCAC championship and posted a 19-1 record; the lone loss accrued during the NCAA Final Four against NESCAC foe Middlebury.
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Weekly Roundup: Coed sailing fails to win a race, places last at Fowle
The coed sailing team failed to secure a win at the Fowle Trophy last weekend at MIT, ending 0-8 overall against the top teams in New England. Bowdoin went 0-5 in the qualification round against Tufts, Yale, Brown, Connecticut College, and MIT. Then in the consolation round, the Polar Bears fell to Boston University, the University of Vermont, and Connecticut College. The Polar Bears finished in 12th place.
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Coed sailors head to team race championship, women end historic year
Though the women's sailing team has garnered most of the attention this season with its highest-ever ranking—No. 11 in the nation—and successful regional finishes, it was the coed team that impressed this weekend. Bowdoin placed second out of six teams at Roger Williams' Staake Trophy, beating competitors from the University of Vermont and Salve Regina, among others, to secure one of two berths to the Fowle Trophy—the New England Team Race Championship—this weekend at MIT.
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Weekly Roundup: Coed sailing finishes 14th, women prep for Reed Trophy
The coed and women's sailing teams hit the road this weekend, traveling to Harvard and the Coast Guard Academy, respectively. The coed team took 14th in the New England Championship regatta, which Coach Frank Pizzo said was a learning experience filled with "trying moments." Pizzo said he believed part of the challenge was the depth of the competition.
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Weekly Roundup: Sailing improves, Schwitzer, Okawa take division A gold
The women's sailing team climbed to a program-best No. 11 national ranking after a strong third-place finish at Boston University's President's Trophy. The boat of Kaylee Schwitzer '15 and Ayaka Okawa '14 led the way for Bowdoin, winning the 13-team A division ahead of Yale and Brown for the sailors' first divisional victory. Schwitzer and Okawa were named the NEISA Women's Sailors of the Week following their accomplishment.
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Sailors finish in top 8 three times, women ranked No. 11
The sailing team traversed New England this past weekend, sending crews to three different regattas. The women visited Brown University for the Dellenbaugh Trophy, where they took eighth of 18 top teams. Skippers Kaylee Schwitzer '15 and Lizzy Hamilton '15 were joined by crews Kim Dempsey '14, Ayaka Okawa '14 and Isabel Low '13. They are now ranked No. 11 in the country, the highest in program history.
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Weekly Roundup: Sailors ready for upcoming regattas after early success
Three weeks into its spring season, the sailing team is looking like a national-caliber squad. The Polar Bears finished 10th at the Navy Women's Regatta, featuring 20 of the nation's most competitive teams, on March 10. Kaylee Schwitzer '15 sailed with Ayaka Okawa '14, Emily McNeil '14, and Isabel Low '13 to take second place in the B division.
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Records fly as men’s swimming posts best-ever finish at NESCACs
Ten school records fell on the way to the men's swimming and diving team's fifth-place finish at the NESCAC championships last weekend at Williams, marking the team's best ever performance in the 12-year history of the meet. Captain Mac Routh '12 posted the best Polar Bear finish by winning the 50 butterfly, while taking second in the 50 backstroke and fourth in the 100 fly. He set new Bowdoin records in all three events.
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Women’s swim has best NESCACs ever
An unprecedented 12 Bowdoin records fell at the women's NESCAC swimming and diving championships at Wesleyan last weekend. The Polar Bears shattered seven individual records and five relay marks on their way to a sixth-place finish, the best in program history.
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Weekly Roundup: Millet leads women’s track at Valentine’s Invitational
The school record for the women's 400-meter dash was broken yet again last week.
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Athlete of the Week: Elsa Millett '12
The women's indoor track team is undefeated thus far, thanks in large part to captain Elsa Millett '12, a perennial star in the mid-distance sprints. Millett is a key contributor and has won two events in each of her meets, including the 600 meters, 4x400 meter relay, 200 meters, and 400-meter dash.
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Weekly Roundup: Men’s swim beats Wesleyan, Trinity, to tune up for Colby
A 6 a.m. departure and a 4-hour-long drive were not enough to stop the men's swim team from defeating two strong NESCAC foes last weekend. The team outscored Wesleyan 222-68 and Trinity 211-86 in Hartford.
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Weekly Roundup: Mecray breaks school marks in first swim meet of 2012
The men's swim team notched victories on both January 20 against Bates (198.5-101.5) and raced January 21 against the University of Maine-Orono in a non-scoring meet.
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Weekly Roundup: Back from Florida training, women’s swimming wins
Weeks of an intensified training regimen proved valuable over the long winter break for the women's swim team, which prevailed in back-to-back meets January 20 and 21.
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Swimming teams place fifth at MIT
At the MIT Invitational, a two-day event that left the swimming and diving teams more fatigued than usual, both the men and women finished fifth. The men collected 324.5 points, well behind national powerhouse MIT, who won the meet with 1,397.5 points.
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Weekly Roundup: Women beat Babson, lose to MIT in opening swim meet
Rarely is a loss by a 150-point margin considered a job well done. But for the women's swimming and diving team, the first meet of the season on November 19 proved to be just that. The Polar Bears fell to national powerhouse MIT 212-87, but prevailed over Babson 224-71.
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Weekly Roundup: Men’s first swimming meet of season brings win, loss
Despite being trounced 222-76 by the MIT Engineers in its first meet of the year two weeks ago, the men's swimming and diving team still managed to walk away with a victory after toppling Babson 197-99 the same day. MIT is the strongest team in New England and is projected to be among the nation's top three teams this season, so Bowdoin's Head Coach Brad Burnham said he was not fazed by the loss.
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In preparation for winter openers, strong men’s teams promise to deliver
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.
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In snowy NESCAC playoffs, Amherst forces early exit for women’s soccer
In the midst of last Saturday's sudden snow storm, the women's soccer team battled Amherst to a close 3-2 overtime loss in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs. Like the weather, the match was a dramatic affair that peaked toward the end.
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Weekly Roundup: First overtime win propels women’s soccer to playoffs
After seven winless overtime matches, women's soccer finally experienced the other side. The Polar Bears beat Trinity last Saturday in a 3-2 overtime thriller. Although Bowdoin was outshot 21-11, the team managed to secure the crucial victory.
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Women’s soccer wins first NESCAC game
Homecoming's sunny weather matched the spirits of the women's soccer team as it rallied to its first NESCAC victory of the season, beating beat Hamilton by a score of 2-0.
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Weekly Roundup: Gould ’12 breaks record for busy women’s soccer team
The women's soccer team has played more than its fair share this season, having gone into overtime in six of its 10 games. On October 1, Bowdoin traveled to Connecticut College for one such stalemate battle. Captain Ellery Gould '12 tied the Bowdoin scoring record when she tied up the game in regulation—though the Polar Bears eventually lost to the Camels 2-1.
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Weekly Roundup: Rowing team welcomes new year with whole crew
In the rowing team's first regatta of the season, what began as a tune-up event turned into quite a hardware haul. The Polar Bears, led by senior captains Morgan Andersen and Caroline Ciocca, traveled to Lowell, Mass. for the Textile River Regatta and won medals in five of six events entered.
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Athlete of the Week: Louise Johnson '14
Friendship is what got Louise Johnson '14 into the game of soccer, and is what's keeping the Polar Bear goalkeeper in the game for the long haul. Johnson's soccer days began in second grade when a friend asked her to try out for the Manhattan Soccer Club.