Around the Herd: Jan. 28 to Feb. 3 in Athletics

Women’s Basketball

The women’s basketball team faced two NESCAC rivals this past weekend, Colby and Bowdoin. On Friday, the Mammoths defeated the Mules 66-59; the next day, they fell to the Polar Bears 52-57.

The Mammoths took control in the fourth quarter against Colby to put away their sixth consecutive victory. Trailing 23-13 at the end of the first quarter, Amherst fought to shrink the gap, though they entered halftime with a nine-point deficit. The Mammoths entered the second half with renewed energy, beginning a steady ascent. By the end of the quarter, they had cut the deficit to five. Carrying this momentum into the final quarter, Amherst took control of the game, making key plays on both offense and defense to close out with a 66-59 win. Chase Anderson ’29 had an impressive 16 rebounds and led the scoring with 17 points, followed by Olivia Soenens ’29 with 13 points. The team shot 51.1% from the field, 41.7% in the three-point range, and 75.0% from the free-throw line. 

Against Bowdoin, Amherst played a strong game but ultimately lost 57-52. After halftime, the Mammoths found a rhythm, surging ahead with baskets from Elizabeth Cain ’28 and Laura Mendell ’26, followed by a three-pointer from Reagan Pahl ’27. Amherst put up a fight up until the very end, with Pahl helping to cut the deficit by netting her fourth three-pointer. However, Amherst was unable to pull ahead as Bowdoin finished the game at the free-throw line to secure a 57-52 win. 

The team closed out the weekend with a 15-5 record, 4-2 in NESCAC play. The Mammoths play their next game in Medford, facing Tufts University at 7 p.m. 

Men’s Basketball

The men’s basketball team had an exciting weekend, beating two NESCAC rivals. On Friday, they eked out a 65-64 victory over Colby, followed by a dominant 81-44 game against Bowdoin the next day. 

In the final seven minutes of the first half against Colby, Amherst found its stride, with Sherron Woodberry ’29 hitting a 3-pointer followed by two consecutive threes from Drew Martin ’26. With less than five minutes remaining in the half, Marc Garraud ’27 bucketed another 3-pointer, continuing to close the gap to only five points. K.J. Neville ’29 then made a free throw that put Amherst in the lead for the first time with 1:09 minutes remaining in the half. Martin kicked off the second half with a jumper that tied the game at 39-39, setting the tone for the Mammoths’ dominant performance throughout the half. As the Mammoths and the Mules vied for the lead, Elias Chin ’28 sped down the court on an offensive break and passed to Woodberry, who sank a three to put Amherst ahead at 46-45. In the final 30 seconds, Amherst was trying to slow down the game when Colby netted a layup that brought the score to 64-63 for the Mules. Neville drew a foul in the paint in an energetic attempt to get Amherst back into the lead. Making both shots, he led the Mammoths to a hard-fought 65-64 win. 

Against Bowdoin, the Mammoths flexed their offensive muscle, converting 45.9% of field goals compared to the Polar Bears’ 27.5%. Additionally, Amherst netted 22% more 3-pointers than Bowdoin. Chris Hammond ’26 recorded a double-double, netting 18 points and 15 rebounds. Amherst improved to 15-5 overall and 4-2 in NESCAC play. 

For their next game, the team will face Tufts at LeFrak Gymnasium on Friday at 7p.m. 

Women’s Hockey

The No. 2-ranked Women’s Hockey team continued its successful season this weekend with two wins against Bowdoin. On Friday, they beat the Polar Bears 3-1, and then bested them again on Saturday, 2-0. 

The Mammoths came out hard on Friday night, quickly establishing their physicality and dominance. Gretchen Dann ’26 scored the first goal just seven minutes into the first period, with Tammy Zhu ’27 doubling the score eight minutes later. Maintaining control, the Mammoths continued to apply pressure through the first period. Bowdoin answered by gaining momentum early in the second period, putting them on the board at 2-1. Amherst had to kill off multiple penalties in the final frame, including a five-minute major, but goalie Natalie Stott ’26 remained steady in the net through the period while Natalie Fu ’27 secured their victory, scoring an empty-net goal. 

The next day, the Mammoths once again had plenty of success on the ice, and especially in defending the crease. Stott became the first Division. III goaltender to reach 40 career shutouts, adding to her NCAA all-time mark with her seventh of the season. Other highlights of the game included goals from both Sami Lester ’28 and Marie-Eve Marleau ’26. Lester scored 16 minutes into the first period, followed by an unchanging score in the second period despite strong Mammoth possession. In the third period, Amherst drew a penalty from the Polar Bears and took full advantage with Marleau clinching her first goal of the season. With this win, the Amherst Women’s hockey team moved up to first place in the conference. 

The Mammoths return to the ice next weekend at home against Colby. 

Men’s Hockey

The men’s ice hockey team faced two NESCAC opponents at home this week, beating Trinity 4-2 and falling 2-0 to Wesleyan the next day.

Six minutes into the first period against the Bantams, Trinity opened the scoring after setting up possession in their zone. Halfway through the second frame, a well-timed feed to a Bantam forward doubled Trinity’s lead. Now, after finding themselves in a 2-0 hole, the Mammoths turned on the offensive pressure. After a slashing call put Amherst on the power play, a series of tight passes from Josh Burke ’26 and John Small ’29 set up Andrew Carmody ’26 to launch a slap shot into the corner of the net. The Mammoth’s momentum continued into the third period. Less than a minute into the final stanza, Ray Hou ’28 collected the puck from Cristobal Tola ’28 — after Tola won the faceoff in the neutral zone — and sent it to Caden Olenczak ’29. The defenseman skated the puck to the blue line and threw it into the offensive zone; the puck then bounced off the boards into the goal, tying the score at two apiece. Both teams continued to battle for the remainder of the period, searching for the game winner. In the last two minutes of play, Quinton Gove ’27 sent a pass to Burke. The forward deked his defender in the neutral zone before evading two more Bantam’s defenseman in the offensive zone. Burke netted a highlight reel-worthy goal from the left circle, making the score 3-2 for Amherst. With 40 seconds left in the contest, Vincent Velocci ’27 scored an empty net goal, sealing the Mammoths’ 4-2 comeback victory.

The next day, the Mammoths returned to Orr Rink to face the Cardinals. Amherst’s offense put on pressure in the first period. Halfway through the frame, Velocci unleashed a wrap-around shot that was narrowly saved by Wesleyan’s goalkeeper. Minutes later — after a tripping penalty was called against the Mammoths — the Cardinals capitalized with the man advantage, making the score 1-0. Despite registering 17 shots on net, nothing solidified for the Mammoths in the first frame. Three minutes into the second period, Wesleyan was awarded another power play; in a similar fashion to the first goal, a Cardinal forward unleashed a one-timer that doubled the lead. Amherst continued to apply offensive pressure. In a span of two minutes, Ben Ritter ’26, Velocci, Tola, Gove, and Burke all recorded shots on goal, but Wesleyan’s netminder kept the Mammoths scoreless. Amherst’s urgency to get on the scoreboard continued in the final stanza, as the team continued to pepper shots at the net. With time dwindling in the game, the Mammoths pulled goaltender Andrew Palena ’27 in favor of an extra skater, but they could not convert. In the end, the Cardinals shut out Amherst 2-0.

The team will return to the ice on Friday, Feb. 6, against Colby. 

Women’s Swim and Dive 

On Saturday, the women’s swim and dive team concluded their regular season with a 202-92 loss to M.I.T. in an away meet.

Amherst’s strongest swim was in the 200-yard freestyle, where Ava Insteness ’29 and Maeve Kelley ’27 finished first and second, respectively. Insteness posted a time of 1:52 while Kelley finished in 1:55. Following closely behind, Penny Lazar ’29 and Lucy Smith ’27 placed third and fourth in the event. Kelley also placed second in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:08, while Diane Koo ’26 took third a second later. With another impressive performance in the 100-yard butterfly, Joline Fong ’26 finished in 1:09 to claim second place. Paige Arnold ’27 delivered strong performances in both the 200-yard individual medley and the 50-yard freestyle, taking first and second place, respectively. On the diving board, Donna Zhang ’26 placed second in both diving events. Zhang earned 451 points in the 1-meter and 459 in the 3-meter. Ultimately, the Mammoths were outscored by the No. 5-ranked Engineers. 

The team will return to the pool on Thursday, Feb. 12, for the NESCAC Championships, hosted by Wesleyan.

Men’s Swim and Dive

The men’s swim and dive team traveled to Cambridge this week to face off against M.I.T. in their final meet of the regular season. The team fell 187.5-103.5.

On Saturday, the No. 6-ranked Engineers took an early lead at the meet after the opening relays. Undeterred, the Mammoths responded with strong swims in the individual events. Owen Vale ’29 posted dominant performances in the individual medley events, capturing first place in the 200-yard and finishing second in the 100-yard. Amherst also fared well in the breaststroke events; Fyn Nadel ’26 took first place in the 100-yard, with Eric Albers ’28 and Henry Liu ’27 finishing closely behind. In the freestyle races, JP Giglio ’29 finished second in the 100-yard while Ethan Van De Water ’26 placed among the top finishers in the 50-yard sprint. Despite these efforts, M.I.T. still came out on top.

On Thursday, Feb. 19, the team will travel to Waterville, Maine, to compete in the NESCAC Championship meet.

Women’s Squash

The No. 10 women’s squash team had a busy week, winning all three of their matches. They beat Williams 7-2, Wesleyan 9-0, and St. Lawrence University 9-0. With their wins against both Little Three Rivals, they claimed the trophy in the Little Three Championship. The Championship win was their third straight, marking an era of NESCAC dominance. 

The highlight game for the Mammoths was on Saturday, Jan. 31, against Wesleyan. Every Mammoth player swept their opponent cleanly in three sets. The fastest victory of the day belonged to Ella Miller ’28, who conceded only 11 points total and bested her Cardinal player in 17 minutes. Morgan Chaudhury ’26 played the most dominant match at the nine spot, giving up only nine points in total. Quincy Cline ’27, Anastasiia Krykun ’29, Kristen Daniel ‘28, Yana Sharma ’27, Fionnoula Brandon ’29, Kate Grissom ’29, and Clara Dawn ’28 also each won their matches, contributing to the perfect 9-0 victory over Wesleyan. The team improved to 8-0 in their conference with the pair of victories.

The Mammoths return to the court for their final NESCAC match of the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 8, when they host Middlebury.

Men’s Squash

The No. 16 men’s squash team also prevailed in their matches this past week, claiming the Little Three Title. They beat Williams in a 5-4 nailbiter, Wesleyan 9-0, and St. Lawrence University 9-0. With the two wins over their NESCAC rivals, the team won the Little Three Championship for the first time since the 1998-1999 season.

The Wesleyan match was truly a dominant performance across all spots. The Mammoths conceded four sets total. The 3-2 battle at the three spot was finally won by Fares Khairy ’28, rallying to win the final set 11-4. On the flip side, the quickest win belonged to Grady Herbert ’26, winning his match 3-0 in 23 minutes. The 17 points he allowed were the lowest of any opponent. In addition to Herbert’s clean sweep, Devon Osborne ’29, Graeme Herbert ’28, Flynn Venmore ’28, Aiden Shap ’29, and William Okurowski ’26 also each bested their Cardinal opponents in three straight sets. With the win, the men’s team improved to 6-2 in conference play.

The Mammoths have two upcoming matches this week. First, they host M.I.T. on Friday, Feb. 6, before playing their final NESCAC match against Middlebury on Sunday, Feb. 8.

Head of the Herd: K.J. Neville

The men’s basketball team increased its win streak to four games this weekend, beating two NESCAC opponents. Their game against Colby came down to the wire, with first-year K.J. Neville ’29 drawing a late foul in the game. Displaying incredible poise and focus, he made both free throw shots to give the Mammoths the 65-54 edge to win the game. He ended the day with 15 points, contributing at critical points throughout the game to keep the Mammoths in it. When asked about his clutch moment, Neville commented that it “meant a lot that [his] teammates trust me with the ball in big-time moments ... It really boosts [his] confidence.” In the team’s win against Bowdoin the following day, he also had 12 points. Speaking about the team chemistry and their success this season, Neville added that they’re “a brotherhood. We hold each other accountable on and off the court, and I think that’s the most important thing we’ve done this year.” Going forward, the Mammoths plan on continuing to approach every task with a winning mindset  — “whether that’s winning the day in practice or winning in the classroom.” For his clutch plays in the Colby win and his consistency throughout the season, Neville earns this week’s Head of the Herd.