SOFTBALL 

2024 RECORD: 24–16 (7–9 NESCAC)

Last year, the softball team defeated Middlebury College in the first round of the NESCAC tournament before falling to Williams College in the semifinals. Several players received NESCAC accolades last year, including Anika Ewert ’26, who was named NESCAC Player of the Year.

Coming off of a strong preseason, the team is looking ahead to a season of continued growth and another chance to compete for a NESCAC championship.

Six first years joined the team this season, and captain Anna Halliday ’25 noted that the players are focusing on developing a strong group mentality and working to uplift each other.

“I think everyone is bringing a level of excitement this year that is just over the top, and I think it’s going to be so fun to play with this group of people,” Halliday said.

As the season gets underway, the team is striving to both play competitively and have fun. Captain Sydney Lang ’25 believes the team is ready to compete this year.

“I really feel that we are in a good spot [this year], and it’s going to be competitive,” Lang said. “I think people are really going to enjoy the whole ride.”

Head Coach Ryan Sullivan noted that the team has been taking a steady approach as it prepares for the season.

“Rather than trying to get to May, it’s day-by-day, just get a little bit better,” Sullivan said. “It’s been a really good preseason so far to just go out every day and work hard.”

First game: Doubleheader on February 28 vs. University of Maine at Farmington.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

2024 RECORD: 8–8 (4–6 NESCAC)

Last spring, the women’s lacrosse team fell to Wesleyan University 5–14 in the NESCAC quarterfinals. However, with two new assistant coaches and a team-first mindset, the team is prepared to begin its season tomorrow.

Assistant Coach Liv Dunn, a new addition to the athletic staff, has been a fixture of the team’s preseason, according to captain Anna Paulmann ’25.

“She holds people accountable. I think she pushes people to be the best they can be, because we appreciate the positive reinforcement and really take her constructive criticism to heart,” Paulmann said.

Furthermore, Assistant Coach of Strength and Conditioning Paula Habel joined the women’s lacrosse coaching staff as an additional assistant coach, bringing a unique perspective as she led the team through speed and all its preseason work.

“I think it’s been really valuable to have someone who’s seen you put that work in every single day, and then get to see it in practice, because she knows what we’re capable of,” Paulman said.

While the team has a smaller roster size than usual this year, captain Sophie Brett ’25 believes that will strengthen the team’s dynamics both on and off the field.

“I’m pretty excited about [having a small roster]. I feel like our team is gonna be super united, and everybody is gonna have a chance to play a role and contribute immediately,” Brett said.

In terms of specific skills, Paulman emphasized how the zone defense style the team has fine-tuned during preseason helps encourage unity.

“Zone defense is really cool, because it only works when you all work together and it breaks down if one person breaks down,” Paulman said. “So I think that there’s a lot of beauty in working in that zone defense, because you have each other’s backs.”

First game: March 1 vs. Trinity College

MEN’S LACROSSE
2024 RECORD: 14–6 (8–2 NESCAC)

The men’s lacrosse team has its eyes on winning its first ever conference or national championship this season, after making a deep run in both the NESCAC and NCAA playoffs last spring. The Polar Bears competed in the NESCAC semifinals, earned an NCAA bid and played in the Final Four for the first time in school history.

Head Coach Bill Mason said the team is proud of its performance last season.

“[Last season] was an incredible year, lots of highs and lows,” Mason said. “The theme of last year was resiliency. It was just a resilient group that could deal with big injuries and have that next-player up mentality…. The psychology of our team is to always have a next play mentality.”

This season, Bowdoin has a core of seniors across the field, with Jason Lach ’25 and Patrick Fitzgerald ’25 on attack, Jed Hoggard ’25 on defense, Beau Burns ’25 taking the faceoffs and Robert Hobbs ’25 in goal.

“[The seniors] have been through it all. They navigate adversity well,” Mason said. “We’ve got good seniors, and anytime you have good seniors, I think you have a good team.”

Lach added that the communication between the upperclassmen and younger players has been noticeable even in the early parts of the season.

“We have a really good team dynamic right now,” Lach said. “Last year, we had this great season, but we also graduated a lot of guys, so there’s a new motivation to prove that we can sustain that as a program.”

Although the Polar Bears hope to bring a trophy back to Brunswick, they are taking this season one game at a time.

“We always say, a championship is the big goal,” Lach said. “But our first goal is to start 1–0 and beat Trinity and go from there.”

First game: March 1 at Trinity College

BASEBALL

2024 RECORD: 18–17 (6–6 NESCAC)

After falling to Amherst College in last season’s NESCAC quarterfinals, the baseball team is excited to compete for its first full season in the newly redone Pickard Baseball Diamond, which opened last March.

As the team graduated nine players last year and brought in ten first years, captain Grant Collins ’25 noted that the culture has shifted and will likely lead to a distinct style of play compared to years past.

“This year’s a great opportunity for a lot of young guys to play, to set a new tone, a new tempo,” Collins said. “In the past we’ve been relying on big innings to score runs. I think now with this team we’re going to do a lot more, you know, put the ball in play, bunt, steal, hit and run, do all the little things to score.”

Captain Kevin Murray ’25 shared Collins’ enthusiasm about being able to play with a fresh approach.

“It’s definitely a new identity for our team, but it has been great so far,” Murray said. “We’re a really close team, and I think that’s gonna translate going into the baseball season.”

Despite graduating many top players, Collins feels very optimistic for the team’s future performance. He highlighted that reaching success will come with building a sustainable model for team growth.

“Loving the game of baseball, working really hard in the weight room, working really hard when we’re doing our sprints in Farley and all the little stuff—that culminates into winning and a successful culture and a healthy locker room,” Collins said.

First game: Doubleheader on February 28 vs. Saint Joseph’s College of Maine

WOMEN’S TENNIS

2024 RECORD: 9–9 (6–4 NESCAC)

Despite losing 1–5 to Amherst College in the NESCAC quarterfinals last spring, the women’s tennis team is eager to get out on the court after a successful 2024 fall season.

The team completed its fall season with three invitationals: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Invitational, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association New England Regionals and the Polar Bear Invitational, all of which were individual tournaments.

The team faced Brandeis University, Bates College and Colby College at the Polar Bear Invite, winning their doubles matches 11–1 by the end of the tournament and going 21–4 in singles matches.

“I think we had a really solid fall season. We competed against some of the top teams within our Polar Bear Invite, and we had some really solid results,” captain Jamilah Karah ’25 said.

Building off the momentum from the fall, the team hopes to dominate the NESCAC this year and even has set its sights on a higher goal.

“Our North star, our guiding component, is to get a solid bid to NCAAs, which we haven’t had since I’ve been here,” Karah said.

Karah is confident the team has what it takes to make it all the way, emphasizing both the depth and skill of the current team.

“I think our team is super ambitious this year. This is the best team I’ve ever been on out of my four years here,” Karah said. “You don’t just get [to Bowdoin] and play the way you are, you get better and better every year. We have people who start at the bottom of the line and have skyrocketed to the top because of all the hard work.”

First match: March 2 at Connecticut College

MEN’S TENNIS

2024 RECORD: 22–7 (7–3 NESCAC)

The men’s tennis team is coming off an explosive spring season after garnering the second-most wins in program history, winning its first NESCAC championship since 2018 and making it to the NCAA semifinals for the first time.

After graduating four seniors in 2024 and adding four first years to its roster, the team has gone through a transformation. Captain Sujan Garapati ’25 emphasized that this would be a strength going into competitions.

“We have a pretty new team.… I think there’s a fresh energy that everybody has,” Garapati said. “I think we have potential to do some really awesome things this year.”

After a difficult 2024 fall season, captain Pieter Breuker ’25 believes the team has worked to tighten its play.

“We’ve made a lot of improvements in terms of our consistency in match play. I think our practice matches this spring were a lot closer and more competitive,” Breuker said. “We worked incredibly hard over the offseason to assess the gaps, fill the gaps and just come out really solid.”

The team currently sits at eighth place in DIII national preseason rankings. It will likely face stiff competition within the NESCAC from Tufts University and Middlebury College, who are nationally ranked at third and fifth, respectively. Garapati highlighted that the team is prepared to make another run for the national title.

“One of the goals we outlined for the team was to really compete for an NCAA championship, and we think we have the right guys to do that,” Garapati said.

First match: Doubleheader on March 2 vs. Trinity College and Connecticut College

WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

2024 New England Championship Result: Third out of 36 teams

The women’s track and field team enters its outdoor season this spring coming off a strong indoor season, in which it won its third consecutive Maine State Championship. The team is eager to gear up for outdoor training, get outside and find even more success this year.

“There’s a lot of really good energy on the team, because we’ve had such exciting successes last year and in the indoor season,” captain Inga Dovre ’25 said. “I think that’s really due to the breadth and depth of skill we have on our team.”

Even after the Polar Bears graduated several runners and jumpers last year, including Kianne Benjamin ’24, who frequently sat atop NESCAC and NCAA leaderboards, the team feels it enters this year with strong competitors in every event. Jumper Kennedy Kirkland ’27 and the 4x800m relay team consisting of Kaylee Hale ’28, Lex Davis ’26, Emma Randall-Jarrard ’26 and Sophie Maguire ’26 all had top finishes in the indoor state championship earlier this month.

“At all the events, we have several people that are really good, excited and dedicated. Being able to bring all those people together [is] what’s going to make the outdoor season great,” Dovre said.

Bowdoin is looking forward to NESCACs, which will take place on April 26 in Middletown, Conn.

“The full team competes [in the meet], and we love to get to see everyone in the conference and show them what we can do,” Dovre said.

First meet: March 22 at the Wesleyan Invitational

MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

2024 New England Championship result: Third out of 33 teams

Last year, the men’s track and field team took sixth at the NESCAC championship and third place at the New England Division III championships in its outdoor season. The team’s third-place finish was the program’s best since 2002 with relay wins and new school records in the 4x400m and 4x800m.

In this year’s indoor season, the team collected second place at the Maine State Indoor Track and Field Championships, with Will Goddard ’25 and Kane Demers ’26 claiming the Track MVP and Field MVP titles, respectively. The team hopes to maintain this momentum as it moves into the outdoor season.

“We take a different approach, especially on the distance side, of really looking at our long-term goals. Some teams tend to rush into their season too quickly, and they end up burning out by the end of indoor. We really aim to peak around now, during championship season, and try to set ourselves up well for running fast well into May,” captain Ben Bockmann ’25 wrote in an email to the Orient.

The team will finish out its indoor season this weekend with the New England Division III championships at the track at New Balance in Boston. After NCAA indoor championships in mid-March, the team will start its outdoor season at the Wesleyan Invitational in Middletown, Conn., where it will also compete in the NESCAC championship later this year.

“[It’s] always a goal to peak at the NESCAC championship, which is at Wesleyan this year,” Bockmann wrote. “That’s our main team focus, and we have high hopes of mixing it up with the top teams in the conference this year.”

First meet: March 22 at the Wesleyan Invitational