Track attack.

Women’s and men’s indoor track and field competed at Open New England championships last weekend, putting forward a number of top-10 performances in a highly competitive pool of athletes. The women’s distance medley relay team continued their strong season, placing fourth with a time of 12:00.50, and Joseph Staudt ’19 broke his own Bowdoin record in the 60-meter hurdles again (8.21), placing fifth overall. The teams will travel to Tufts this weekend for their last chance to qualify for the NCAA Division III championship.

Frozen over.

Men’s ice hockey’s season came to an end with a 4-2 loss to No. 1 Hamilton (18-3-4, 11-3-4 NESCAC) last weekend in the NESCAC quarterfinals. Although Bowdoin took a 1-0 lead in the first five minutes, Hamilton responded only a few minutes later with a score of their own and dominated the second period to gain a substantial lead that the Polar Bears couldn’t overcome. The team closes out the year with a record of 8-16-1 overall and 5-12-1 in NESCAC matchups.

Squashed.

Women’s squash finished 24th overall at the College Squash Association (CSA) team nationals last weekend. Unfortunately, the team was shorthanded all weekend and forfeited the No. 9 matchup in each game, leading the team to go 0-3 on the tournament. The weekend featured strong individual performances from Tully Ross ’18 and Chloe Polikoff ’17, who won all three of their matches, as well as Sarah Nelson ’17, who grabbed a 3-0 win at No. 1 in the team’s final match against Dickinson.

Back on the field.

Women’s lacrosse will open its season at home against fellow NESCAC competitor Amherst on Sunday after the match was postponed from Saturday due to inclement weather. When the team faced the Purple and White last season, it suffered a disappointing 11-6 loss that the team will look to come back from this weekend. The team graduated four seniors last spring and brought in a large class of nine first years this year, giving the program a strong core of returning players as well as a lot of potential in new players.

Leaps and bounds.

The men’s indoor track and field team placed fifth overall at the New England Division III Championship at Tufts last weekend. Joseph Staudt ’19 led the team with a first-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles, making him Bowdoin’s first New England Division III champion since 2014. His time of 8.24 was a personal best in the event, breaking his own school record for the third time this season. Staudt also placed seventh in the high jump.

In the books.

The men’s swimming and diving team placed sixth overall at NESCAC championships last weekend, with a number of outstanding performances. Karl Sarier ’19 won two individual NESCAC titles over the course of the meet, setting a new school record in the 200 individual medley and lowering his own school record in the 200 freestyle. The team went on to break 10 school records over the weekend and three Polar Bears—Michael Netto ’18, Mitchell Ryan ’19 and Sarier—earned All-NESCAC honors this week.

Power Players.

Men’s squash placed third in the Conroy Cup (D-Division) of the College Squash Association team nationals after going 2-1 on the weekend. The team’s performance earned it a 27th place finish in the nation as it closed out the season with 6-3 win over Tufts and a record of 6-15. The team also earned a pair of All-NESCAC honors this week as Ben Bristol ’17 and Ian Squiers ’19 were both named to the Second Team. 

On to nationals.

Women’s squash heads into the College Squash Association team nationals this weekend with a record of 7-10. The team will look to build off of strong individual performances from this season, such as a standout campaign by Sarah Nelson ’17 that earned her All-NESCAC First Team honors this week. The Polar Bears will compete in the Walker Cup (C-Division) as they are ranked 19th nationally and will open play against No. 22 William Smith College at 10 a.m. today.

All-American Bears.

Paige Pfannenstiel ’17 was named to the second-ever class of Rugby All-Americans by the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) after an outstanding season as a flanker for the Polar Bears. The class of 31 comes from the 14 colleges that competed in the inaugural 2016 NCAA League season. This year, NIRA additionally named 12 honorable mentions, which included captain Cristina Lima ’17, who played prop and No. 8 for Bowdoin this fall. 

On the fast track.

Indoor track and field traveled to Boston University last weekend for the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, where the women’s distance medley relay team of Meghan Bellerose ’17, Caroline Corban ’17, Demi Feder ’17 and Sara Ory ’19 placed fifth overall. The season-best performance has them currently ranked fifth nationally in Division III. Brian Greenberg ’18 is also in the top five nationally in the triple jump after his standout performance at the Maine State Meet. While it is still early in the season, the high rankings bode well for NCAA Division III qualifications. 

In flight.

Men’s squash heads into the College Squash Association (CSA) national team championships this weekend at MIT with a record of 4-14 after a 6-3 loss to Colby last Friday. The Polar Bears will compete in the Conroy Cup—the D-division of the tournament—as they are ranked 27th nationally and are joined in the bracket by fellow NESCAC competitors Conn College, Hamilton, Tufts and Wesleyan. The team will open play against No. 30 Stanford at 2:30 p.m. today.

Fight to the finish.

Men’s ice hockey (8-14-0, 5-11-0 NESCAC) will face conference opponents Tufts (10-9-3, 8-7-1 NESCAC) and Conn College (4-15-2, 2-12-2 NESCAC) as it looks to turn around a three-game losing streak to close out the regular season. The weekend carries the added pressure of determining conference playoff berths since Tufts, Bowdoin and Conn College are currently seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively, in the league and the top eight teams qualify for the postseason. The Polar Bears will face the Jumbos at 7 p.m. today and the Camels at 3 p.m. tomorrow in Watson Arena.

Staying sharp.

The women’s ice hockey team (11-7-3, 6-5-2 NESCAC) gears up for a tough faceoff this weekend against league-leader Connecticut College (13-6-2, 9-4 NESCAC). In their previous matchup, the Polar Bears dominated the Camels in a 3-0 shutout win that featured an outstanding 24 saves by Kerri St. Denis ’19. Bowdoin is coming off a hard-fought weekend at Hamilton (12-6-2, 7-4-1 NESCAC), who is currently second in the NESCAC standings. They split the weekend series, earning a 2-1 win last Friday, but falling 3-2 in overtime on Saturday. The team will take on Conn College on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Watson Arena.

Top talent.

The nordic ski team put forward an impressive team performance at the University of Vermont last weekend. In the men’s 10k classic, the team placed two racers in the top 10 for the first time since 2008, with Malcolm Groves ’17 placing 8th and Sean Cork ’19 placing 10th, followed by Orion Watson ’20 in 25th and Jake Adicoff ’18 in 26th. Hannah Miller ’17 led the women with a 17th place finish in the classic and Lily Johnston ’20 took 52nd for the top women’s race in the sprint. The team will travel to Dartmouth this weekend for its next carnival.

Coming up short.

Last weekend, the women’s and men’s squash teams competed in the NESCAC championships, placing sixth and eighth respectively. The men’s team defeated Hamilton in the opening round before losing to Bates, Amherst and Wesleyan, while the women’s team beat Hamilton and Tufts, but fell to Williams and Amherst. The teams will close out the regular season today against Colby in a rescheduled match at home.

On thin ice.

Men’s ice hockey (8-12, 5-9 NESCAC) heads to Connecticut this weekend to face fellow conference competitors Wesleyan (11-5-4, 6-4-4 NESCAC) and Trinity (11-6-3, 7-5-2 NESCAC) as they look to hold onto a NESCAC playoff berth. The team is currently ranked eighth in the league with four games left in the regular season, making each match critical to the team’s postseason hopes.

Nothing but net.

Women’s basketball heads into the weekend on a three-game win streak after beating UMass-Boston (8-12) 83-59 on Tuesday. The dominant win featured five players—Lydia Caputi ’18, Taylor Choate ’19, Abigail Kelly ’19, Kate Kerrigan ’18 and Ally Silfen ’17—with at least 10 points each, continuing to highlight the team’s depth and dynamic offense. The Polar Bears will return to league play against Hamilton (9-9, 2-4 NESCAC) today and Middlebury (14-5, 4-2 NESCAC) tomorrow.

Maine Attraction.

The men’s indoor track and field team won the Bowdoin Invitational III on Saturday with standout performances coming from Joseph Staudt ’19, who won the hurdles and high jump, and John Pietro ’18, who won the shot put and weight throw. The women’s team placed third behind Colby and Coast Guard with a number of individual winners, setting both teams up well for the Maine State Meet, hosted in Farley Field House tomorrow.

Getting the rebound.

Men’s basketball bounced back from a close 87-82 loss to Colby (10-9, 1-5 NESCAC) last Saturday with a hard-fought 78-72 win over Husson on Tuesday. The game featured a standout performance from Hugh O’Neil ’19 who led the team with a career-high 23 points and 13 rebounds. The team will take on fellow NESCAC competitors Hamilton (14-5, 3-3 NESCAC) and Middlebury (16-3, 4-2 NESCAC) at home on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Best of the best.

Men’s ice hockey Coach Emeritus Terry Meagher will be presented with the Parker-York Award by the New England Hockey Writers Association (NEHWA) in April. Recent honorees include Travis Roy, who founded the Travis Roy Foundation to raise awareness for quadriplegics and paraplegics, and Don Cahoon, the all-time winningest coach in UMass hockey history. During 33 years at the helm of the Bowdoin men’s ice hockey program, Meagher led the team to 542 wins, sixth all-time among NCAA Division III coaches, and was honored as Division II-III Coach of the Year three times.

Making a racket.

The women’s squash team (4-6) is currently ranked 21st by the College Squash Association (CSA). While the team has faced some challenges this season, it is currently on a three-game win streak as it looks to turn the season around heading to Providence to face No. 10 Brown this weekend. The men’s team (3-7) is currently ranked 25th by the CSA and also has a tough weekend ahead of it. The team will face No. 21 MIT at home today and travel to No. 17 Brown on Saturday.

Hot shot.

Over winter break, Jack Simonds ’19 was named NESCAC Player of the Week for men’s basketball after scoring 44 points between the team’s last two wins over Maine-Presque Isle and Williams. In the games, Simonds averaged 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and shot 53 percent from the three-point range. The team currently has a record of 9-8 but is 1-4 in conference play. As a result, the team is ranked 10th in the NESCAC. It will travel to Colby on Saturday for its next NESCAC matchup.

Locked in for lax.

On Monday, the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association ranked Bowdoin men’s lacrosse 11th in the nation in its Division III Preseason Poll. Setting the stage for a competitive in-conference season, the Polar Bears are joined in the top 20 by five other NESCAC teams, including Tufts at No. 2 and Amherst at No. 9. The team finished last season with a 12-5 record and advanced to the NESCAC semifinals.

Queen of the court.

Chamique Holdsclaw will be on campus on February 1 as part of Bowdoin Athletics’ Leadership and Empowerment through Athletics Principle (LEAP) Initiative. Holdsclaw is a women’s basketball Olympic gold medalist who has been heavily involved in mental health and wellness activism after an astounding career that included three consecutive NCAA championships at the University of Tennessee and six WNBA All-Star honors. Her documentary “Mind | Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw,” will be screened at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Kresge Auditorium, followed by a panel discussion at 8:30 p.m. also in Kresge Auditorium.

Battling back.

After losing both matches of the Colby (5-1, 4-0 NESCAC) series last weekend, the men’s ice hockey team came back with a 3-0 shutout win against Southern Maine (5-7). The Polar Bears’ last games of 2016 will be this weekend against fellow NESCAC competitors Tufts (5-1-1, 3-0-1 NESCAC) and Connecticut College (1-5, 1-3 NESCAC) as they look to improve their 1-3 in-league record. The team is currently second in the conference in scoring offense with 4.12 goals per game. 

Hot and cold.

The men’s basketball team currently has a record of 4-3 after a 76-67 win against Colby and a 74-60 loss to Bates this past week. While both opponents are NESCAC teams, both games were non-conference matches since official league matches do not start for any basketball team until January. The Polar Bears have had some strong individual performances with Jack Simonds ’19 and Hugh O’Neil ’19 leading the league in points per game and rebounds per game, respectively. Blake Gordon ’18 also leads the league in three-point percentage after going 7/7 so far this season.

Joining the dynasty. 

This week captain Kimmy Ganong ’17 and midfielder Juliana Fiore ’18 were named Third Team All-Americans by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Both players also received All-NESCAC and All-Region honors for their outstanding performances this season. This class of honorees marks the 23rd consecutive year that the Bowdoin field hockey team has had at least one player recognized as NCAA Division III All-American. Over the course of Head Coach Nicky Pearson’s 21 years at the College, 30 of her players have received All-American honors, in addition to many Academic All-Americans.

Breaking the bubble.

On January 12, women’s ice hockey will face Connecticut College as part of Frozen Fenway, a series of outdoor hockey games and skating events at Boston’s Fenway Park. Tickets for the game can be purchased online at redsox.com/frozenfenway. Additionally, women’s basketball and swimming and diving will break out from in-conference and regional matchups over break. Women’s basketball will travel out to California to face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer and swimming and diving will compete at the Coral Springs Invitational in Florida.

Ruling the pool.

Bowdoin swimming swept the NESCAC Performers of the Week last week with Sterling Dixon ’19 and Karl Sarier ’19 earning the honors for the women’s and men’s teams, respectively. In the teams’ first meet against Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Dixon won all three of her individual events and Sarier earned two first-place finishes, as well as a close second place just .14 seconds behind the leader. The teams will host the Maine State Meet this weekend. 

Tip-off time.

Men’s basketball starts off the season 3-2 after holding on for a hard-fought 86-79 win against Southern Maine at home on Tuesday. The game featured a dynamic attack as five Polar Bears scored in the double digits and the team outrebounded the Huskies 44 to 35. The team will face off against Colby at home on Saturday at 3 p.m. in its first NESCAC game of the season.

Killer quartet.

Four members of the field hockey team earned All-Region honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association after standout performances this year. Captain Kimmy Ganong ’17 was named to the All-Region First Team for the second consecutive year after earning 35 points this season. Joining Ganong, midfielder Juliana Fiore ’18 also earned a spot on the First Team in her first All-Region selection. Elizabeth Bennewitz ’19 was named to the Second Team in her first season starting for the Polar Bears, along with Mettler Growney ’17, who has received All-Region honors for three consecutive years.

Dynamic defenders.

Two members of the women’s soccer team earned All-New England honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America this week. Defender Taylor Haist ’17 was named to the All-Region Second Team and defender and midfielder Nikki Wilson ’18 was named to the All-Region Third Team. The duo has led the Polar Bear defense for the last two years, starting in every game and helping the team to allow only .61 goals per game this fall. 

More than the game.

The NESCAC recognized Bowdoin athletes this week for outstanding performance off the field with All-Academic and All-Sportsmanship honors. Ninety-nine fall athletes earned Academic All-NESCAC selections and nine athletes were selected by their teams and coaches as All-Sportsmanship choices. Women’s soccer’s Taylor Haist ’17 and volleyball’s Quincy Leech ’17 were selected as All-Sportsmanship and All-Academic honorees in addition to earning All-NESCAC honors this season.

All-American bears. 

Four members of the volleyball team—Katie Doherty ’17, Quincy Leech ’17, Erika Sklaver ’17 and Caroline Flaharty ’20—were honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in their All-American selections this week. After an exceptional collegiate career, Doherty was named a Third Team All-American, becoming just the third Polar Bear in program history to earn a spot on one of the three All-American teams. Leech, Sklaver and Flaharty were all named Honorable Mention All-America. The foursome was also named AVCA First Team All-Region last week. 

Leading the pack.

Sarah Kelley ’18 and Nick Walker ’17 continued to lead the women’s and men’s cross country teams, respectively, with strong finishes at the NCAA Regional Championships in Westfield, Massachusetts last weekend. Kelley placed eighth overall in the 6K race to earn the best finish for a Bowdoin woman at the regional championships since 2008 and Walker finished tenth overall in the 8K for the best finish for a Bowdoin man since 2013. Their outstanding performances earned both of them qualifications for the NCAA Division III National Championship in Louisville, Kentucky this weekend. The women’s and men’s teams both placed eighth overall, out of 59 and 56 teams respectively. 

Smooth sailing.

The sailing team earned their best-ever finish at the Atlantic Coast Championship last weekend, placing sixth in a highly competitive pool of 18 teams after edging out Yale in a head-to-head tiebreaker. The Polar Bears qualified for the regatta after finishing third at the Schell Trophy at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Chowder champs. 

The women’s rugby team closed out their fall season with an astounding comeback win against in-state rival University of New England in the Maine Chowder Cup. Although the Polar Bears ended the first half down 22-10, they dominated the second half, tying the Nor’easters within the opening minutes and keeping them scoreless in the second half to finish the game 32-22.

Get in line. 

Bowdoin men’s ice hockey will face Colby for the 207th time in program history at Watson Arena on Friday, December 2 at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, November 21 in the lobby of Morrell Gymnasium.

Stopped in the semis. 

The men’s soccer team fell to No. 1-seed Amherst 2-1 in the NESCAC semifinals on Saturday. The Polar Bears’ only goal of the game came from Will Herman ’20 off of a header by Matt Dias-Costa ’17 in the 74th minute of the match. The Purple & White went on to win the tournament, which they hosted, and secure a berth in the upcoming NCAA playoffs. Based on strong performances throughout the tournament and season, midfielder Moctar Niang ’19 was the only underclassman to be named to the First Team All-NESCAC and back Matty McColl ’19 was recognized as Second Team All-NESCAC.

Triple threat.

Three members of the women’s soccer team—Morgen Gallagher ’20, Nikki Wilson ’18 and Taylor Haist ’17—were selected to the All-NESCAC Second Team after outstanding performances in the regular season and playoffs. The duo of Haist and Wilson led the Bowdoin defense this fall, as it ranked second in the league after only allowing .61 goals per game. Gallagher was also honored as the league’s Rookie of the Year, following Julia Patterson ’19 who earned the title last fall.

Fearsome foursome.

After a challenging season for the Bowdoin field hockey team, four members earned All-NESCAC accolades for their exceptional performance during the regular and postseason. Captain Kimmy Ganong ’17 notched her second-consecutive First Team honor after earning 35 points this season and ranking fifth in the conference in points per game. Midfielder Juliana Fiore ’18 joins Ganong on the First Team, and Mettler Growney ’17 and Elizabeth Bennewitz ’19 earned Second Team spots. Growney has earned post-season NESCAC honors every year of her Bowdoin career, having been named Rookie of the Year in 2013 and a member of the All-NESCAC Second Team for the following three years.

Maine attraction.

After finishing the regular season 5-2, the women’s rugby team will face off against the University of New England (UNE) at home in a showdown between the only two varsity women’s rugby teams in Maine. When the two teams met in October, UNE dealt Bowdoin their first loss of the season 31-15, but the Polar Bears are hoping to avenge the defeat and earn bragging rights as the top varsity team in their division on Saturday at 11 a.m. 

Women’s soccer falls short 

Women’s soccer suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss to Middlebury (13-3, NESCAC) on Saturday, knocking the Polar Bears out of the NESCAC playoffs and putting an end to their season. After an early goal for the Panthers, Nikki Wilson ’18 scored the equalizer off of a penalty kick in the second half. However, Middlebury took the lead again only a minute later and was able to hold off the Polar Bear offense until the end. The team finishes the season with a record of 9-6-1, 5-4-1 in-conference.

Sliding into sixth

Both women’s and men’s cross country placed sixth out of 11 teams at a rainy NESCAC Championship meet this past weekend, which featured some particularly impressive individual performances. Sarah Kelley ’18 was the top performer for either team with a strong sixth-place finish that earned her First Team All-NESCAC honors. Matthew Jacobson ’17 and Nick Walker ’16 led the men’s team, finishing 11th and 14th respectively and earning Second Team All-NESCAC honors. The teams’ seasons will continue next weekend when they travel to Connecticut College for the NCAA Division III Regional Championship.

All aboard

The sailing team qualified for the Atlantic Coast Championship, hosted by MIT on November 12, after a strong performance at the Schell Trophy this past weekend. Coming back from a disqualification in their first race, the Polar Bears won the other three races to finish third out of 18 overall. The team also competed in the Urn Trophy, where a team of women finished 14th overall, as well as the Nickerson Trophy, where a team of first years placed third out of 17 and tied for first in the B-division.

Balling bears

The Bowdoin women’s basketball team is ranked 19th in the nation in the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll. Last season, the team made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year after falling to Amherst in the NESCAC semifinals, finishing the season 22-7. Defending NESCAC Champion and NCAA Runner-up Tufts is ranked No. 1 in the poll, with Amherst following at No. 2. The Polar Bears’ season will open with the Graef Memorial Women’s Basketball Classic on November 18. 

Setting up for playoffs

The Bowdoin Volleyball team (12-9, 5-4 NESCAC) traveled to Missouri over the weekend to compete at the Washington University in St. Louis tournament. They faced four dominant teams, including Texas-Dallas (24-1) and Wisconsin-Eau Claire (22-8), which are nationally ranked No. 4 and No. 28, respectively. Though the Polar Bears didn’t get a win this weekend, they held their own and had many strong individual performances that will set them up well for their final NESCAC match against Connecticut College tonight in Morrell Gymnasium.

Back in the books

A dominant force in the Bowdoin Volleyball offense, Quincy Leech ’17 had a season-high 51 assists in the team’s match against Illinois Wesleyan as she became just the second Bowdoin player ever to surpass 3,000 career assists. Leech is ranked fourth all-time for assists in a single season with 1,024 after her impressive campaign last season and is now second in all-time career assists with 3,054, behind Margo Linton ’08 with 3,215. Leech will have the opportunity to further solidify herself in the record books in the team’s last two regular season games this weekend.

Leader on the links

Caroline Farber ’20 was named Second Team All-NESCAC after a strong seventh-place finish at the 2016 Women’s Golf NESCAC Championship. In her first year on the team, she has already established herself as an integral part of the program after winning the Maine State Championship and leading the team in every competition this year. With this honor, Farber became the first golfer in the history of the Bowdoin women’s program to earn a postseason All-NESCAC award.

Tuft loss

The women’s soccer team will enter NESCAC Playoffs this weekend as the No. 6 seed after falling to Tufts (7-5-3, 5-4-1 NESCAC) 1-0 on Tuesday. They’ll face off against No. 3 seed Middlebury (12-3, 7-3 NESCAC) on Saturday in their quarterfinal matchup. When Bowdoin played Middlebury in the regular season, the Polar Bears came away with a 1-0 win, featuring a goal by Anna Mellman ’17 and a strong goalkeeping performance from Rachel Stout ’18.

Pooler Bears

The men’s water polo team closed out their season this weekend with a fifth place finish at the Collegiate Water Polo Association North Atlantic Division Championship. With a regular season record of 3-5, the team entered the tournament as the fifth seed and finished the weekend 2-2, coming away with wins against University of Maine (0-11) and St. Michael’s (3-8) and dropping games to Colby (6-5) and ultimate tournament champion Tufts (11-0).

Bantams bounce bears

Undefeated Trinity dealt football their fifth loss of the season on Saturday in a crushing 38-7 defeat. While the Bantams ended the first half up 31-0, Bowdoin came back strong, opening the second half with a 77-yard drive for a touchdown off of the opening kickoff. The score came from quarterback Tim Drakeley ’17 to wide receiver Ejaaz Jiu ’19 for Jiu’s first collegiate touchdown reception and Bowdoin’s only score of the day. The loss puts the team at their first 0-5 start in 10 years—their worst opening since the team went 0-6 in 2006.