Around the Herd: April 23 to April 29 in Athletics

Baseball

The baseball team achieved solid results this week, ending their regular season on a high note by downing Brandeis 5-1 and sweeping Hamilton over three games, winning 8-7, 27-1, and 17-4, respectively. While dropping just one game to Trinity in Hartford, losing 5-7.

The highlight of the week came on Saturday against Hamilton in Clinton, New York, the second of the three-game series. As mentioned, Amherst bludgeoned Hamilton 27-1, winning in seven innings via the mercy rule. In the process, Amherst collected 18 hits while striking out just once as a team. Among the standouts, Ryan McIntyre ’25, Justin Orridge ’28, and Charlie LaFreniere ’27 all drove in four runs while Nick Addison ’25 and Gabriel Ciechanover ’28 each hit solo shots. Despite trotting out seven different pitchers over seven innings, Hamilton had no answer for Amherst, giving up nine runs in the first, two in the second, 10 in the third, one in the fourth, and five in the sixth. In the process, E.J. Nevills ’27  was the winning pitcher for Amherst, throwing five shutout innings while striking out two.

A day later, Amherst completed the sweep. Although their regular season ended this week, as a top-four seed in their division, the Mammoths will next host Trinity in the NESCAC tournament at noon on Saturday.

Softball

Softball saw mixed results to end its regular season. The team split a two-game series with WPI to open the week, losing 10-5 in the first game while winning the second 11-5. Next, the team split a series against Williams, losing the first game 2-9, only to bounce back 4-3 in the second contest. Finally, Amherst split their two-game doubleheader with Hamilton at home, winning 10-9 in the first game and getting shut out 8-0 in the second.

The first win against Hamilton on Sunday, was the highlight of the week. Through the first five and a half innings, Hamilton took a commanding 9-1 lead. Unphased, Amherst began to claw back in the bottom of the fifth. Olivia Aitkin ’26 drove in one run with a single, while Dani Torres Werra ’25 slapped a three-run triple to right center. In the sixth, Abby Moravek ‘26 kept the momentum alive with a towering two-run homer, cutting the deficit to just three. Amherst kept pushing in the seventh and final frame, as Torres singled into center, driving home their eighth run of the game. Following her, Emma Nordstrom ’27 doubled to left center, scoring Torres, and tying the game up at 9-9. Finally, like clockwork, Amherst finished the job, as a fielding error by the Hamilton catcher scored Abby Kong ’26 from third, sealing the comeback victory and allowing the Mammoths to win the affair 10-9. Abby Rebhan ’28 was the winning pitcher in this one, pitching five innings in relief while striking out two.

With a 17-15 record and a top-eight finish in the NESCAC, the softball team will next play Colby in the NESCAC tournament at noon on Saturday in Waterville, Maine.

Men’s Lacrosse

The men’s lacrosse team finished out their regular season with a win on Wednesday, against Trinity. Despite falling to Middlebury in the NESCAC quarterfinal round, the team will likely make the NCAA postseason in May.

Nonetheless, against Trinity, the Mammoths started out hot, outscoring the Bantams 6-1 in the first quarter. Bennett Chow ’26 got on the board early with a solo effort, before Trinity found the equalizer. After this, though, it was all Amherst. Goals from Bob Gross ’26, Chow, Alex Vlacich ’26, Nico Berger ’27, and Willie Doyle ’28 helped increase the lead. Then, an early Trinity penalty in the second quarter resulted in a goal from Brendan Reilly ’27, who already had two assists on the day. Soon thereafter, Alex Giacobbe ’25 joined in on the scoring action, and Doyle and Chow both tacked on additional goals. With less than 30 seconds left in the half, Gross snuck one past the keeper off a pass from Giacobbe, giving the Mammoths an eight-goal lead at halftime. The Mammoths and Bantams would trade goals for the remainder of the game, but the early lead was too much for Trinity to overcome. Despite a Trinity run, Amherst maintained its lead thanks to goals from Giacobbe, Nicholas Kopp ’25, Chow, Reilly, and Matthew Sheinberg ’26. The final score was 16-10 in favor of the Mammoths, who never trailed in the game. Zooming out, Chow finished the day with six points, while Reilly, Doyle, and Giacobbe all tallied four. On the defensive end, Thompson Lau ’26 picked up a team-high four ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Women’s Lacrosse

Similar to the men, the women’s lacrosse team closed out regular season play with a win at home against Trinity. Three days later, the team lost a tough game in overtime to Wesleyan in the NESCAC quarterfinals; nonetheless, they also look forward to making a long NCAA postseason run in the coming weeks.

The Bantams got on the board first. Unfazed, Bridget Finley ’26 quickly responded with back-to-back goals, off of assists from Clara Sosa ’26 and Ella Shay ’27. Nonetheless, Trinity continued to add points to the scoreboard, getting two more of their own. Soon after, a Mammoth run, sparked by a drive and score from Sosa, followed by a goal from Rachel Rogers ’25, with an assist courtesy of Kate Becker ’26, gave Amherst the lead. Relentless, Trinity equalized, but Finley found the back of the net for her third goal of the game soon after, reclaiming the lead. Following this, Mia Raven ’27 added to the score as she blasted one past the keeper for a 6-4 Mammoths’ lead. The Bantams and the Mammoths traded goals for the next few minutes, with Emily Petersen ’26 and Finley both finding the net. In the third quarter, the Mammoths stepped on the gas. Three straight goals from Rogers, Sosa, and Finley gave the team their largest lead of the game. Then, in the fourth quarter, another three-goal run — this time with scores from Sydney Kang ’25 and back-to-back tallies from Petersen — resulted in a 14-8 Mammoths lead. Despite this, Trinity started to make a comeback, scoring three consecutive, but a Kang goal off a Raven dime iced the game. The final score stood at 15-12 in favor of the Mammoths. In the win, Finley tallied five goals, while Petersen and Kang both added four points. Raven recorded seven draw controls, while Brynn Korpi ’25 registered three caused turnovers and four ground balls.

Although the team lost a tough game in overtime to Wesleyan in the NESCAC quarterfinals, they also look forward to making a long NCAA postseason run.

Women’s Track & Field

This week, the women’s track and field team competed in the NESCAC Championships on Saturday.

The Mammoths delivered a strong performance at the contest, which was hosted by Wesleyan. In the longest event, Flora Biro ’28 finished first in the 10,000 meters with a time of 36:48. Also coming in first, Piper Lentz ’26, Ava Zielinski ’25, Zoë Marcus ’27, and Julia Schor ’25 combined to finish the 800-meter relay in 9:09, setting a new program record. The 100-meter relay team of Rachel Hubley ’27, Camilla Lash ’27, Eliza Cardwell ’25, and Héloïse Hughes ’27 also set a new school record, finishing first in 47.11 seconds. Cardwell took gold in the 100-meter hurdles as well, with a time of 14.68 seconds. On the field side, Emma Ramsingh ’27 won her second consecutive discus title, notching a mark of 42.16 meters. Amherst’s combined performances earned 150 points, placing them in second place, six points behind the winner, Williams.

On Friday, May 2, the team will return to the track to compete in the New England Division III Outdoor Championships hosted by the Coast Guard Academy.

Men’s Track & Field

The men’s track and field team participated in the NESCAC Championships, hosted by Wesleyan, over the weekend.

Leading the charge in Middletown, Connecticut, Gavin Schmidt ’28 won both NESCAC titles in both the shot put and discus with throws of 15.05 and 44.57 meters, respectively; the former broke an 85-year-old school record. Also in field events, Kaleb Barrett ’27 won the gold in the long jump with a mark of 7.06 meters. In the triple jump, Michael Abbey Jr. ’27’s distance of 14.22 meters earned first place. On the track, Stan Craig ’27’s finishing time of 14:33 won the 5000-meter title. Also coming in first, Austin Brown ’28 crossed the finish line first to win the 1500-meter event in 3:52. Finishing as the runner-up in this event, Parker Boyle ’27 went on to win first in the 800-meter. At the same time, Will Diana ’28, Jai Dreher ’25, Kean Tanyi-Tang ’28, and Cody Pierce ’26’s combined efforts took gold in the 400-meter relay, breaking a meet record with a time of 3:15. These first-place finishes helped Amherst tally 164 points as they finished second overall, only five points behind the champion Middlebury.  

The team will compete next at the Coast Guard Academy for the New England Division III Outdoor Championship on Friday, May 2.

Women’s Tennis

This week, the women’s tennis team hosted Babson College at home before traveling to face Connecticut College.

Before facing the Beavers on Saturday, the team celebrated their four senior players: Deliala Friedman ’25, Amy Cui ’25, Katie Hart ’25, and Mia Kintiroglou ’25. In the doubles matches, Cui and Hart combined to win at the second spot, while Kintiroglou and Greta Stechschulte ’27 delivered a dominant 6-0 win to earn the extra point. In singles play, Tina She ’28 earned a single-set victory at the fifth spot. At this point, Babson held a close 3-2 lead over Amherst, making the last two matches a must-win. Tying the score at three apiece, Cody Huang ’28 rallied to win her sixth spot match in three sets, delivering a clutch performance in the third to overcome a 5-2 deficit. After losing the first set, Friedman rebounded for a comeback win at the third spot and sealed Amherst’s close victory. With their 4-3 win, the Mammoths extended their all-time record to 5-0 against Babson. The next day, the team continued their momentum with a 7-0 sweep against NESCAC rival Connecticut College in their last regular-season match of the year. With two wins on the week, Amherst will enter the postseason with a 12–6 overall record, 7–3 against conference opponents.

On Friday, May 2, the team will compete in the NESCAC Championships hosted by Wesleyan.

Men’s Tennis

In their last regular season matches of the year, the men’s tennis team faced MIT and Tufts this week.

On home courts on Thursday, the Mammoths started strong against the Engineers. Pairs Edred Opie ’25 and Andreas Sillaste ’27, Rex Harrison ’27 and Spencer Leung ’27, as well as Sujit Chepuri ’25 and Albert Hu ’28, all won their doubles matches — each ending in identical scores of 6-3 — giving Amherst the extra point. The Mammoths continued their dominance, winning the remaining singles matches as well. At the fifth spot, George Chaidemenos ’26 only dropped two games in an impressive two-set win. Also taking a match in straight sets, Chepuri extended his win streak with a win at the sixth spot. Amherst prevailed 7-0 over MIT. Despite this, on Sunday, the team fell 6-1 to conference rival Tufts, leaving their record for the week at 1-1. The Mammoths have a 14–6 overall record and a 7–3 NESCAC record as they enter the postseason.

The team will return to the courts to play in the NESCAC tournament at Middlebury on Friday, May 2.

Head of the Herd: Paari Kaviyarasu

Beyond his excellence in the classroom, Paari Kaviyarasu ’26 led the men’s golf team to a NESCAC Championship victory this past Saturday, with the team winning its ninth overall conference title. “I thought I took a really good advantage of the good weather on Friday” he told The Student. “It gave me a nice cushion going into the weekend given that we played in some pretty tough conditions.” Kaviyarasu led all tournament competitors with a total of 217 strokes, comprising rounds of 68, 75, and 74, as the first outright gold medalist in the NESCAC Championship in 25 years. “On the team side of things, we are so pumped up,” he gushed. “This team was due for a win and then we rip[ped] four straight tournament wins including Little three’s for the first time outright since 2018 and NESCACS for the first time since 1997. We are ready to grind for Nationals and super excited to represent Amherst on the national stage.” Without saying, for his stellar performance, Kaviyarasu is this week’s Head of the Herd.