Around the Herd: April 22 to April 26 in Athletics

Women’s Tennis

The No. 18-ranked women’s tennis team faced two worthy NESCAC opponents this past weekend, playing No. 3-ranked Wesleyan College on Saturday and Connecticut College on Sunday. The team split its games, falling to the Cardinals 5-2 and besting the Camels on senior day in a clean 7-0 sweep. 

Against Wesleyan on Saturday, the team found initial success in the doubles matches with a win from the duo of Cody Huang ’28 and Lily Dounchis ’27 at the one spot, but they ultimately lost the doubles point after both the two and three spots went the Cardinals’ way. The singles matches followed a similar pattern, with the Mammoths’ only win coming from Tina She ’28 at the one spot and Sophie Diop ’26 at the two spot. The Cardinals claimed the remaining four singles matches.

Sunday’s match saw a complete turnaround for the Mammoths, where they stunned the Camels from start to finish. Each singles competitor won their match with ease, and the Amherst doubles teams completed a three-match sweep. The team also celebrated its four seniors, Diop, Karolina Dobiecka ’26, Katjä Jules Viberg ’26, and Maddie Swire ’26.

The Mammoths look to extend their season with a run in the NESCAC tournament, which begins Friday, May 1.

Men’s Tennis

The No. 18-ranked men’s tennis team took on three key opponents this past week, playing at MIT on Wednesday, hosting Wesleyan on Saturday, and hosting Connecticut College on Sunday, when they honored their single graduating senior, George Chaidemenos ’26, and celebrated fifty years of co-education. The Mammoths took down all three opponents, winning 6-1, 4-3, and 7-0, respectively. 

The most tightly contested matchup was Saturday’s, which came down to the wire. The two teams fought hard over the doubles point. With the pair of Lucas Fragenberg ’29 and Andreas Sillaste ’27 clinching the one-spot match and the three-spot falling to the Cardinals, it was up to the two-spot duo of Chaidemenos and Rex Harrison ’27 to close out with a win, and they rose to the occasion. Entering singles matches with the doubles point in hand, the Mammoths rolled the rest of the way. Sillaste prevailed at the one spot, Harrison took the win at the five, and Albert Hu ’28 triumphed in his match at the six spot to put the Mammoths up 4-0 and clinch the win on the day.

The team looks to continue its dominant form in postseason play, starting with the NESCAC tournament, which will begin on Friday, May 1. 

Men’s Lacrosse

The No. 17-ranked men’s lacrosse team closed out its regular season with a NESCAC win over Trinity 15-7 before falling in the NESCAC tournament quarterfinals to Bates 12-7. 

In Wednesday’s home contest against Trinity, the Mammoths’ first-half domination secured the win for them. They scored five unanswered goals in the first quarter, mainly generated by Ben Wick ’28, who came out flying and secured a hat-trick eleven minutes into the first frame. Two more sophomores, Willie Doyle ’28 and Sam Schafer ’28, secured additional goals, closing out Amherst’s explosive first quarter. Two minutes into the second quarter, Max Yossefina ’27 notched one more off an assist from Bob Gross ’26, before the Bantams were finally able to get on the board. That goal would be their only one of the entire first half, as the Mammoths went on yet another unanswered five-goal run with two scores from Alex Vlacich ’26, another from Doyle, and one each from Matthew Shinberg ’26 and Brendan Reilly ’27. The Mammoths added two more to their tally to open the third before the Bantams finally stopped the bleeding, though their late-game rally was too little too late. The Mammoths stymied Trinity’s efforts with two more Wick goals and a strong defensive hold, ultimately winning 15-7. In the win, Wick bagged a whopping nine points, five goals, and four assists, while Vlachic scored a hat trick. Gross additionally recorded six ground balls on the day.

Following the win, the Mammoths fell after a hard-fought 60 minutes of play in Saturday’s NESCAC playoff featuring the fifth-seeded Bates Bobcats and the fourth-seeded Mammoths. Doyle opened the scoring for Amherst, though Bates’ first goal followed closely behind. Gross got one more in the back of the net, ending the quarter 2-1 in favor of the Mammoths. However, Bates then scored three unanswered to start the second frame before Reilly was able to add one more to the Mammoth’s score. The Bobcats recorded an additional two to end the half. Amherst began their second-half rally in the third quarter, with Yossefina and Schafer both capitalizing to bring them back within one. One more Bobcat goal closed the quarter in a tight 7-5 contest, with Bates a nose in front. The fourth quarter started off strong for the Mammoths when first-year Oliver Pritchard ’29 found the back of the cage for the first time this season off an assist from Andrew Hahm ’26. Unfortunately, the rest of the quarter belonged to Bates. They scored two more after Pritchard’s goal before Doyle recorded another to stop the bleeding, though that goal was followed up by three more for the Bobcats. Despite the loss, goalkeeper Brooks Catlin ’26 finished with an astounding 17 saves, and Reilly and Hahm recorded four groundballs apiece. 

The quarterfinal loss ends the NESCAC run for the Mammoths, but their strong regular season performance will likely earn them a spot in the upcoming NCAA tournament. The first round games are set to begin Saturday, May 9. 

Women’s Lacrosse

The No. 7 women’s lacrosse team played No. 11 Trinity twice this week, closing out their regular season and playing the Bantams again in the NESCAC quarterfinals. The Bantams were victorious in both, beating the Mammoths 10-7, before edging them out in a close 9-8 battle.

In the first game, the Bantams came out hot. They got on the board first, before Clara Sosa ’26 capitalized on an eight-meter opportunity to equalize. For the remainder of the first half, though, Amherst had no answer for Trinity. The Bantams scored six of the next seven goals, possessing a commanding 7-2 lead heading into halftime. In a defensive showdown, Trinity was held scoreless in the third, while Emma Crotty ’27 scored one for the Mammoths off a Sosa assist. In the fourth quarter, the Mammoth offense finally got going. Kate Becker ’26 found Mia Raven ’27 at the top of the eight, who sailed one past the keeper, before Izzie Brabant ’29 and Emily Petersen ’26 also added goals to bring the score to 9-6 with three minutes remaining. Trinity scored on the ensuing draw, though, and a late Sosa goal was not enough to save the Mammoths, who lost 10-7. Sosa and Becker both registered three points in the loss, while Annie McCarthy ’26 had four caused turnovers on the defensive end. The loss dropped the Mammoths to the fifth seed in the NESCAC tournament, in which they returned to Hartford, CT, to face fourth-seeded Trinity once again.

In their second matchup in just four days, Amherst started off fast and strong. Raven notched back-to-back assists, first finding a cutting Bridget Darcy ’27 for a score just 90 seconds in, before setting up Sosa for a goal. Sosa found the net again just a few minutes later, scoring on a player-up free position opportunity to give the Mammoths an early 3-0 lead. Two Bantam goals cut the lead to 3-2 to end the first quarter. In the second quarter, Darcy and Sosa each found the net again, but three Trinity scores sent the teams to halftime tied 5-5. Just as in the first game, the third quarter was low scoring, with Bridget Finley ’26 adding the lone goal for the Mammoths, matching the singular Bantam score. The fourth quarter proved to be the difference maker. A strong solo effort by Finley gave the Mammoths their first lead since the first quarter, but three straight Trinity goals gave the Bantams a 9-7 lead with one minute left. Staying determined, a ferocious double team of Jordan Kauftheil ’29 and Alexa Wang ’29 turned the ball over for the Mammoths. Finley corralled the ground ball and sent it downfield to a wide-open Petersen, who faked before putting it past the goalkeeper. With under 30 seconds left, the Mammoths won the ensuing draw control and carried the ball into their offensive end. In a last-ditch effort, the ball was sent into the middle, but nobody was able to find the back of the net. The clock expired with the ball on the ground, with Trinity beating the Mammoths by just one goal. Keeper Jessye Salmon ’26 had eight saves, while Sosa and Raven each had three points. Grace Shannon ’28 had six draw controls, while Darcy and Kauftheil each added four ground balls.

The loss ends the Mammoths’ NESCAC postseason run, but they look forward to continuing play in the NCAA tournament once the bracket is released on Monday.

Baseball 

The baseball team ended its season with a bang, beating NESCAC foe Hamilton in the team’s final regular-season contest of the year. In the three-game series against the Continentals, the Mammoths fell on Friday, 4-1, before winning two Saturday games, 8-1 and 4-1, respectively. On Tuesday, the Mammoths lost 9-2 to Wheaton College.

The first game of Saturday’s contest, a short seven-inning affair, was an all-around team win for the Mammoths, which included a ceremony to honor their four graduating seniors. The scoring began right away, when, after a slew of errors by Hamilton, Amherst loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning. Justin Orridge ’28 stepped up to the plate and reached second thanks to back-to-back Hamilton errors, earning two runs for the Mammoths, advancing Orridge to second, and bumping the remaining runner, Charlie LaFreniere ’27, up to third. Next up to bat was Zander Carnahan ’29, who singled to left-center, advancing to second and scoring two more runs off another fielding error. Leo Foust ’28 then hit a single to center field. The Hamilton outfielder took too long to corral the ball, and Carnahan capitalized on the moment, reaching home and tipping the score 5-0 in Amherst’s favor. The run continued in the bottom of the second, beginning with a single to right field from Aiden Dubetsky ’28, followed by a hit by pitch that placed Tyler McCord ’26 on base, later allowing a line-drive single from Carnahan to score the two runners. Foust then sent Carnahan home with a single of his own, raising the score to 8-0, before Hamilton got one back in the sixth, making the final score 8-1. Defensively, first-year phenom Saahi Jetti ’29 delivered another stellar performance on the mound, striking out eight and holding the Continentals to just one unearned run over seven innings

With these key NESCAC wins, the Mammoths earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NESCAC tournament, where they are set to play a three-game series against the No. 4 seed Colby beginning Friday, May 1. 

Softball

The softball team played back-to-back NESCAC doubleheaders this weekend, splitting against Hamilton on Friday, losing 7-1 and then winning 3-2, and then against Middlebury on Saturday, losing 8-6 and then winning 3-0.

Amherst loaded the bases early in the second game away against Hamilton. From there, in the top of the first, Julia O’Connell ’29 was walked, allowing Lauren Ro ’28 to score. In the bottom of the first, though, two consecutive bases-loaded walks allowed the Continentals to take a 2-1 lead. However, not long after, Amherst’s Abby Rebhan ’28 homered to left field to equalize in the second inning. Both teams were held scoreless for the next four innings. In the seventh, though, Dylan Briggs ’26 came in clutch for the Mammoths. Putting the ball in play, bringing May Mishima ’28 home, and allowing the Mammoths to take a 3-2 lead. Gwen Religa ’29 continued her stellar pitching to close out the game, shutting out Hamilton and preventing any real scoring opportunity from forming. Religa faced 32 batters, striking out 10 and allowing only two runs the entire game.

The team will close out its regular season this week, hosting Worcester State University today for their Faculty Appreciation Game, and welcoming Williams on Saturday, May 2, for the Mammoths’ Senior Day.

Women’s Track and Field

The women’s track and field team competed in the NESCAC championship meet this weekend, finishing third.

In the long jump event, Héloïse Hughes ’27 earned second place, leaping to a mark of 5.81 meters. Earning third, Leah Smith ’27 cleared 1.58 meters in the high jump. Also taking third, Anastasia Ioppolo ’26 reached 11.73 meters in the triple jump. On the track, Rachel Hubley ’27, Camilla Lash ’27, Ellie Jolly ’28, and Hughes combined to finish the 4 x 100 relay in 46.99 seconds, placing third. The Mammoths dominated in the 100-meter hurdle event; Myeh Medina ’26 crossed the finish line first in 14.59 seconds, while Ioppolo finished just behind her in 14.69 seconds to take second place. Medina also earned a spot on the podium in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing second in 1:00. In the 800-meter, Piper Lentz ’26 earned third place with a 2:10 finish. Lentz also medaled in the 4x800 meter relay with Audrey Seeger ’28, Josie McLaughlin ’29, and Hannah Adhikari ’28, who combined to finish in 9:09, earning second place. Hughes returned to the podium for the third time, after finishing the 200-meter in 24.77 seconds, earning second place. Amherst finished with 131 points, shy of Tufts’ 152.5 and Williams’ 135 points that earned first and second place, respectively.

On Friday, May 1, the team will return to the track for the New England Division III Outdoor Championships, hosted by Springfield College.

Men’s Track and Field

This weekend, the men’s track team delivered a historic performance at the NESCAC championships, winning their first-ever conference title.

On the field, Manav Bhatia ’29 notched a mark of 56.80 meters in the javelin, placing third. In the hammer event, Charlie Spurrell ’26 threw a record-breaking 56.57-meter throw, setting a school record and winning first place. Rounding out the throwing team, Gavin Schmidt ’28 reached a 48.35-meter mark in the discus, finishing in second. Clearing a mark of 4.75 meters, Alec Kuzyk ’27 earned third overall in the pole vault. In the triple jump, Michael Abbey Jr. ’27 dominated with a leap of 14.90 meters, earning first place and establishing a new school record. Kaleb Barrett ’27 finished as the runner-up in the long jump, reaching a mark of 7.22 meters. 

On the track, Harrison Dow ’27 ran to a third-place finish in the 10,000-meter, crossing the finish line in 30:38. The 4x100 relay team of Ian Irwin ’28, Cody Pierce ’26, Alexander Nichols ’26, and Jordan Harrison ’26 captured first place with a 40.92-second finish. This would not be the only first-place finish for Pierce, who went on to win the 400-meter with a time of 47.11 seconds. Irwin also earned another place on the podium with a third-place finish in the 100-meter, running a time of 10.76 seconds. The 4x800 relay team of Will Nagy ’26, Tim Churchill ’29, Finn O’Hara ’28, and Ben Davis ’26 also found success, finishing in 7:40 to place third. In the 800-meter, Davis medaled again, running a 1:51 to finish second. In the 110-meter hurdles, Keason Ky ’28 added another record-breaking performance on the day, earning third place with a 14.87-second finish and setting a new school record. After that, with another first-place finish, Stan Craig ’27 ran the 5,000-meter in 14:25. These combined efforts earned the Mammoths 159 total points, beating out Tufts and Middlebury, who finished with 154 and 141 points, respectively, in second and third place. 

Up next, the team will compete in the New England Division III Outdoor Championships on Friday, May 1.

Head of the Herd: Men’s Track

Coming into the final day of NESCACs in second place, the men’s track team pulled off a heroic comeback, clinching its first-ever NESCAC Championship Title. Edging out runner-up Tufts, the Mammoths won five events and posted 14 All-NESCAC performances. For their impressive team showing, the entire men’s track team earns this week’s Head of the Herd.