Coming off the NESCAC championship, women’s volleyball is determined to repeat as champions and make a deeper run into the NCAA tournament. Mary John ’25 was hard at work over the summer, participating in an open gym at Columbia University from the end of June through the end of August.
BYRD SOARS TO THE TOP
Last Thursday, men’s soccer star Drake Byrd ’21 was named to the All-American Second Team and the All-NESCAC First Team for Division III men’s soccer. En route to his honors, he had a stellar senior campaign, recording five goals and seven assists during the 2021 season.
Building off a dominant regular season resulting in a 22-4 overall record and top seed in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) tournament, the women’s volleyball team captured the NESCAC championship for the third time in the last seven years.
SERVING UP THE NESCAC
Tonight, the volleyball team’s hunt for a conference title will begin. After recording a 19-4 overall record and securing the first seed in the 2021 NESCAC Volleyball Championship, the Polar Bears earned the privilege of hosting all rounds of the championship in the Morrell Gymnasium.
The women’s volleyball team currently sits in first place in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) with a 7-1 in-conference record and a 17-4 overall record. Heading into the playoffs, the team has won 13 of its last 14 matches—including the last five in a row—and is a contender to host the first game of the NESCAC tournament.
WOMEN’S TENNIS PREPARES TO CAUSE A RACKET
This weekend, the women’s tennis team will host the Division III New England International Tennis Association (ITA) tournament at the Pickard Tennis Courts. This event marks the first competition of the season for the women’s team and the team’s first time playing in a tournament since the fall of 2019.
Following a quiet 18 months, women’s volleyball made a striking comeback in its first home game of the season against Wesleyan University last Friday, defeating the Cardinals 3-1. Despite some adjustments due to COVID-19 protocols, the team was ecstatic to return to Morrell Gymnasium with an eventful comeback.
ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT PREPARES FOR INDOOR HOME COMPETITION
The College will be hosting its first indoor athletic events of the fall season this weekend as the volleyball team faces Wesleyan College today and Connecticut College tomorrow. The players will be allowed to use their discretion to decide whether they want to wear masks during the game or not, but most of them will likely err on the side of caution and keep the masks on.
MEN’S SOCCER KICKS OFF SEASON
In their first game of the season and the College’s first fall athletic competition, the men’s soccer team defeated the University of New England (UNE) by a score of 3-0. Drake Byrd ’21 netted two goals, and Minseo Bae ’22 added the third.
“There are a lot of ways to do track and field, and I like to think ours is a good way: for camaraderie, fun, education and good results. I do the best I can based on what I remember as an athlete and the feedback I get from Bowdoin students I trust,” Associate Director of Athletics for Facilities and Assistant Coach of track and field Lynn Ruddy once wrote in an email to her former athlete Louis Duffus-Artman ’07.
Instead of high-energy matches and practicing with upperclassmen teammates in Morrell Gymnasium, first-year volleyball players are met with COVID-19 testing stations. Although teammates might be miles apart, the Bowdoin women’s volleyball team is not letting the distance deter them from staying in shape and maintaining their close-knit team culture.
This past weekend, women’s soccer team captains Theresa Huckaby ’22 and Ailish O’Brian ’22, alongside women’s volleyball captains Emily King ’21 and Ashley Williams ’21, raised $2,905 for the nonprofit organization Maine Inside Out (MIO) through a virtual 5k fundraiser.
This season was one of highs and lows for Bowdoin volleyball. Coming hot off the heels of a run to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and a NESCAC Championship in 2018, the Polar Bears started the season slowly, sinking to a 4-6 record near the end of September.
Bowdoin volleyball’s postseason run ended on Thursday night after suffering a 3-0 loss to Carthage College in the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship tournament quarterfinal in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The loss ended the Polar Bears’ dramatic season, which saw them overcome a shaky start in conference play to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament for the second time in program history and the first time since 2015.
After a hesitant start to its season, the Bowdoin volleyball team is hitting its stride at the right time. A sweep of Bates and Colby last weekend extended the team’s winning streak to 12 games and secured the third NESCAC tournament seed.
When Head Volleyball Coach Erin Cady watched Caroline Flaharty ’20 play for the first time during the recruiting process, she knew she wanted Flaharty on the team.
“I think my notes were ‘yes, yes please,’” Cady said.
Bowdoin women’s volleyball (6-6, NESCAC 1-2) entered last Saturday’s matchup against national number-five ranked Johnson and Wales (11-3) having lost four of their last five games—including two straight-set losses to conference rivals Wesleyan (10-2) and Tufts (12-0)—and with three times as many losses in the past month as it had accumulated across all of last season.
Bowdoin volleyball began its season last weekend with a hiccup, dropping two of three matches at the Wesleyan Invitational. The team opened its home schedule on Tuesday, beating the University of Southern Maine three sets to one to bring its record even at 2-2.
Last weekend, the Bowdoin volleyball team traveled down to Wellesley, Mass. to compete in the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championships. The Polar Bears took down Worcester State (23-11) and Johns Hopkins (22-8) to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, where they fell to regional hosts Babson (26-9) and ended their season with a program-best 29-2 record.
The NESCAC Volleyball Championship will be coming to Bowdoin this weekend for the first time since 2015. With a current record of 24-1, the team has put forward its best regular season ever and looks to continue that success in the postseason this year.
The women’s volleyball team (22-1, 8-0 NESCAC) takes on its biggest NESCAC competitor, Wesleyan University (15-3, 8-0 NESCAC) tonight at 8 p.m. The two teams are both undefeated in the NESCAC. They are battling for first place in the league and the rights to host the championships next week.
Last weekend the women’s volleyball team (10-1, 3-0 NESCAC) experienced its first loss of the season to Johnson and Wales University (14-1). The Rhode Island team is currently ranked fourth in the country. Despite the loss, the team is still undefeated in the NESCAC.
The women’s volleyball team (6-0) is on a six-game win streak after beating the University of Southern Maine (4-4), Gordon College (6-4), Brandeis University (5-3), Maine Maritime (5-4) and sweeping the New England Invitationals in Presque Isle and Boston.
Seeded third, with an impressive 8-2 record in the NESCAC, the volleyball team has its eyes on the Championship as the tournament commences this Friday. The team’s last game against Connecticut College (13-10, NESCAC 2-8) ended with a 3-2 victory, giving the Polar Bears confidence as they head into the tournament to face No.
The Bowdoin volleyball team (9-7, NESCAC 6-1) is making its presence felt in the NESCAC after winning four consecutive conference games over the course of two weekends before falling to Bates on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Bowdoin proved victorious in a back and forth 3-2 victory versus Amherst.
The volleyball team (3-1) will open NESCAC league play this weekend at home against rivals Colby (1-3) and Bates (3-2).
Last weekend the team traveled to Boston to compete in the New England Invitational, its first tournament of the season.
The Bowdoin volleyball team opened its season with a hard-fought 3-2 win over the University of Southern Maine (3-1) on Wednesday. The exciting five-set matchup put an end to the Huskies’ three-game win streak, and the team hopes to capitalize on this victory as it heads into a three-game weekend.