Around the Herd: April 15 to April 20 in Athletics

Women’s Tennis

This week, the No. 19 ranked women’s tennis team traveled to face two NESCAC rivals, losing 5-2 to No. 11 Middlebury on Saturday and beating No. 17 Williams 5-2 on Sunday.

Despite a 6-3 win from pair Lily Dounchis ’27 and Cody Huang ’28 at the one spot, the Mammoths ultimately lost the doubles point to the Panthers. Huang prevailed again in singles play, posting a 6-2, 6-2 victory from the three spot. Amherst’s only other win came from the two spot, in which Sophie Diop ’26 put up two sharp 6-4, 6-3 sets.

Against the Ephs, Dounchis and Huang again combined to win their doubles match 6-3. At the second doubles spot, Tina She ’28 and Karolina Dobiecka ’26 posted a 6-1 win, clinching the doubles point for the Mammoths. In singles play, She delivered an efficient 6-0, 6-2 win from the one spot. Also with quick victories, Greta Stechschulte ’27 and Rachel Roth ’28 delivered 6-2, 6-2 and 6-1, 6-2 wins from the four and five spots, respectively. Huang showed her perseverance at the three spot, overcoming a second-set loss to win 6-1, 6-7, 7-6.

Up next, the team will return to the courts to face Wesleyan at home on Saturday, April 25. 

Men’s Tennis

The No. 16 ranked men’s tennis team faced two conference opponents at home this week, losing 4-3 to Middlebury on Saturday and defeating Williams 4-3 on Sunday. 

The Mammoths clinched the doubles point against the Panthers after pair Andreas Sillaste ’27 and Lukas Frangenberg ’29 put away a clean 6-0 win from the one spot, and duo Albert Hu ’28 and Ronald Gualario ’29 posted a 6-4 victory from the three spot. In singles play, George Chaidemenos ’26 delivered a straight-set victory from the two spot, winning 6-4, 6-1. Amherst’s only other singles victory came from Aldiyar Abzhan ’28, who also won in straight sets, going 6-1, 7-5 to win at the four spot. 

The next day, the Ephs swept all three doubles matches, putting the Mammoths at an early disadvantage.

Sillaste and Chaidemenos set the tone for singles play, both winning 6-4, 6-3 from the one and two spots, respectively. At the five spot, Rex Harrison ’27 came through with a 7-6, 6-0 straight-set win of his own. With the score tied at three points apiece, the deciding match came down to Frangenberg at the three spot. After losing the first set, Frangenberg prevailed to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, clinching the Mammoths’ 4-3 win.

On Thursday, April 23, the team will travel to face MIT.

Men’s Lacrosse

The No. 15 men’s lacrosse team split the week, beating Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 21-9 before falling to No. 14 Middlebury 12-5.

Before Amherst took over, the visiting Engineers got on the board first. Ben Wick ’28 and Bob Gross ’26 each scored off of assists from Alex Vlacich ’26 and Matthew Sheinberg ’26, respectively, while Sam Schafer ’28 scored to close out the first quarter. To start the second quarter, the Mammoths rattled off three quick tallies thanks to Vlacich, Wick, and Bennett Chow ’26. A quick RPI goal set the score at 6-3, but it was all Amherst to close out the first half, with Brendan Reilly ’27, Wick, and Schafer each finding the back of the net. Continuing the offensive tear coming out of halftime, the Mammoths piled on an additional five goals to start the second half. Building a large lead, different Mammoths got involved in goalscoring. Oscar Smink ’26 and Ayden Santi-Tillotson ’26 both scored their first career goals, while Schafer’s three on the day constituted his first career hat-trick. Wick finished the day with seven points, while Gross added five. The Mammoths had 11 different goal scorers, with 10 players registering assists. Carter Cave ’28 went 23-28 at the faceoff X and collected 13 ground balls, while Sheinberg had three caused turnovers. Brooks Catlin ’26 played the majority of the game in net, registering nine saves and only six shots against. Across the board, it was a dominant victory for the Mammoths.

For their penultimate regular season game, the Mammoths traveled to Middlebury, VT, to take on the Panthers. Vlacich registered the first score of the game on either side, sending one past the keeper off an assist from Reilly. Middlebury responded with four consecutive goals to take a 4-1 lead, but Amherst chipped away. Max Youssefnia ’27 found the back of the net before Wick and Vlacich each tallied, courtesy of assists from Chow. The third quarter, however, belonged to the Panthers, who put away five straight. Schafer scored in the final quarter, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 10-5 deficit, which widened after two additional Middlebury tallies. As time expired, the Mammoths lost 12-5.

Amherst returns to play this evening at 6 pm, looking to get back in the win column. In the contest, the team hosts the Trinity Bantams in its final regular-season game, which is also its Faculty and Staff Appreciation Game. The team begins playing in the NESCAC tournament this weekend.

Women’s Lacrosse

The No. 5 women’s lacrosse team was bested by No. 1 Middlebury this past weekend, 13-7, in a game that also served to honor their nine seniors.

The Panthers scored first, but Amherst answered after a late foul call awarded Bridget Darcy ’27 an 8-meter shot, which she put away to equalize. Another Middlebury goal was similarly countered moments later, when Kate Becker ’26 found Bridget Finley ’26 for the score. From there, though, it was all Middlebury. The Panthers rattled off seven unanswered goals, holding Amherst scoreless until the six-minute mark in the third quarter. Emily Petersen ’26 broke the scoring drought, capitalizing on a beautiful pass from Mia Raven ’27. Late in the third and into the fourth, the Mammoths regained some offensive spark, getting additional tallies from Finley and Clara Sosa ’26. However, they were unable to overcome the early deficit. Petersen’s second tally of the game, coming at the three-minute mark, brought the score to 12-7. A final Middlebury goal and an ensuing turnover allowed the Panthers to run out the clock and secure the win. The defeat is Amherst’s second loss of the season. Despite falling to the top-ranked Panthers, Finley registered three goals, and the draw team of Grace Shannon ’28, Raven, and Petersen cemented their dominance, going 18 for 22. Jordan Kauftheil ’29 also added three caused turnovers on the defensive end.

The Mammoths look to bounce back this evening, traveling to Hartford, CT, to play No. 14 Trinity in their final regular season game, before beginning NESCAC postseason play this weekend.

Baseball

This past week, baseball traveled to Connecticut and Williamstown to play two teams over four games, ending once again with two wins and two losses. The Mammoths fell 9-8 in a tightly contested battle against Eastern Connecticut State University, and went 2-1 in their three-game series against rival Williams, besting them 24-7 in Friday’s contest, before clinching the series on Saturday, winning the first game 7-1 before losing the second 6-3.

In the Mammoths’ 7-1 win on Saturday, the Ephs struck first. However, this would end up being both their first and only tally of the game due to another monster performance by first-year RHP Saahi Jetti ’29, who threw a complete game, letting up just one run, and striking out eight. On the offensive side, the Mammoths first gained momentum in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a pair of singles hit by Charlie LaFreniere ’27 and Zander Caranahan ’29, which later allowed Jack Darcy ’29 to step up and hit a single of his own, scoring LaFreniere. Still, leaving Carnahan on third, Hudson Fulcher-Melendy ’28 recorded one more single in the inning to earn his first RBI of the season. The next Amherst scores were recorded in the bottom of the fifth inning when, after a series of walks, pitching errors, and a nice center-field single by Leo Foust ’28, the bases were loaded. Amherst’s lead grew to 3-1 after the Williams mound gave up yet another walk to get Jackson Boyer ’29 on base and send. From there, the next batter up was Darcy, who hit a line-drive single past the Williams shortstop before a slew of fielding errors, a single from Aiden Dubetsky ’28 and later, Foust, allowed four more Amherst runs to score, cementing the final scoreline 7-1 in Amherst’s favor.

With two more NESCAC wins under their belts, the Mammoths turn their attention to both their final double-header and NESCAC competition of the season this upcoming weekend against Hamilton College, followed by their last regular-season game against Wheaton College before NESCAC post-season play begins Friday, May 1.

Softball

The softball team had a packed week of away trips, traveling to play a series at Springfield College on Wednesday before heading to Hartford, CT, to take on the Trinity College Bantams on Saturday. The Mammoths went 1-3 over the week, splitting the series 1-1 against Springfield, before dropping both games at Trinity. 

The highlight of the week came in Amherst’s second game at Springfield. Despite dropping the first contest 8-5, the Mammoths bounced back to win the second game 6-2. In the second affair, the Mammoths wasted no time getting on the scoreboard: In the top of the second, Samantha Portz ’29 tripled, bringing Anna Primozic ’27 and May Mishima ’28 home to take an early 4-2 lead. The following inning, Laura Daniels ’28 doubled to left center before being brought home by a Julia O’Connell ’29 single later in the inning. Not long after, a Mishima single and subsequent Dylan Briggs ’26 double tallied two more runs, padding a 5-0 Amherst lead. Rounding out the second inning, Primozic returned to the batter’s box, doubling to score Briggs as well. Heading into the bottom of the second, the Mammoths defended a commanding 6-0 lead. Pulling through, they held strong for the remainder of the game, led by pitcher Gwen Religa ’29, who allowed only one run in the fourth and sixth innings, enabling Amherst to walk away with the win. Over her seven innings pitched, Religa registered 12 strikeouts and eight fly outs. On the offensive end, Briggs led the team, going 1-3 at the plate with one run scored and 2 RBIs. Mishima, meanwhile, went 2-for-3, with two runs scored.

The Mammoths return to action this week with a busy slate, taking on NESCAC opponents Hamilton at home on Saturday and Middlebury away on Sunday.

Women’s Golf

This week, the No. 5 ranked women’s golf team traveled to Southwick, MA, to compete in the two-day Northeast Invitational at The Ranch Golf Club.

After ending the day tied for first place, the Mammoths ultimately placed third, firing +35 as a team. Amherst finished behind Middlebury’s first-place finish of +22 over par, and one stroke shy of Bowdoin’s +34. On the individual leaderboard, Joelle Kim ’28 finished the tournament tied for second place among 44 competitors, firing at +3 over par. Kim finished the first round with three birdies (-1) and one bogey (+1), totaling -2 while firing a 77 on the second day. Renna Chang ’29 finished in 12th place, firing 73 with three birdies in the first round and 79 in the second. Not far behind, Mekhala Costello ’28 shot 76 and 79 while Emma Lindemoen ’29 shot 80 and 82. 

Up next, the team will compete in the NESCAC Championship tournament, hosted by Williams, on Thursday, April 30.

Men’s Golf

The men’s golf team traveled to compete in Farmingdale State College’s two-day Spring Invitational at the Bethpage Red Golf Course.

The Mammoths finished the tournament totaling +8 over par for second place, just behind Babson College’s first-place total of +5, and besting Bowdoin’s +13. On the individual leaderboard, Jan Ebbinge ’28 came in first place out of 96 golfers. Ebbinge fired -2 to par (68 strokes) on the first day and -1 (69 strokes) with three birdies and an eagle on the second day. Thomas Zhang ’29 tied for 13th place, finishing the first round with five birdies and one bogey to shore -1 under par (69 strokes) and the second round at +3 over par (73 strokes). Following closely behind, John Beskid ’26 shot a 76 on the first day and 77 on the second, while Rhys Burgess ’27 shot 78 and 77.

On Friday, April 24, the team will return to the course to compete in the NESCAC Championships hosted by Trinity.