Around the Herd: April 9 to April 15 in Athletics

Baseball

The baseball team saw strong results this week, defeating Williams 2-1 in a three-game series while lifting their season record to 10-12.

The highlight of the week came on Friday at Memorial Field in Amherst, the first of the three-game series. Williams scored the first run of the game in the fourth inning when, still hitless, James O’Connor grounded out to first base, allowing the runner from third to score. Despite throwing a no-hitter through five, Amherst still found themselves trailing at the halfway mark. Eventually, Amherst answered. Jack Boyle ’25 swatted a single into left, sending Jack McDermott ’25 home to score and tying the game up at 1-1. Behind the masterful pitching of Nick Fassert ’28, the no-hitter continued all the way through nine. Still, the game wasn’t over. Despite the near-perfect day, Amherst had yet to find a way to win. Finally, the day’s closing pitcher answered the call. In the bottom of the ninth, Jack Sampedro ’25 slapped a single into left field, scoring the walked runner, Aiden Dubetsky ’28, from third. The hit capped off both the no-hitter, the win, and a ridiculous day at the office for Sampedro, who was both the winning pitcher and the day’s hero as he collected two of Amherst’s five hits.

Two days later, Amherst split the remaining two games in Williamstown, losing 3-5 in the first game and winning the finale 10-4 a few hours later. Next week, the Mammoths travel to Middletown to face Wesleyan on Friday, April 18, and then return home to play the Cardinals two more times on Saturday, April 19. Finally, rounding out their week, they remain in Amherst to play Middlebury on Monday, April 21. For their play in the rival series, Sampedro and Fassert received NESCAC Players of the Week and Pitcher of the Week honors respectively.

Men’s Lacrosse

The No. 8 men’s lacrosse team went 2-0 on the week, notching key conference wins against Connecticut College and Bates.

On Wednesday, April 9, the Mammoths played for something bigger than themselves when they hosted the Camels at home for their One Love game, joining the fight to end relationship abuse. They got on the board first when Alex Giacobbe ’25 found Alex Vlacich ’26 for the score at the 10-minute mark. Despite a Conn College equalizer, the Mammoths quickly added two more in the first frame, as Brendan Reilly ’27 found Ben Wick ’28, and then Nico Berger ’27 less than a minute later. Individual efforts from Bennett Chow ’26 and Matthew Sheinberg ’26, just 17 seconds apart, gave the Mammoths a 5-2 cushion at the conclusion of the first period. The Camels outscored the Mammoths in the second quarter, but the team maintained a 6-5 lead thanks to a goal from Devon Christian ’28. The Mammoth put their foot back on the gas coming out of halftime. Wick got his second of the day, while Willie Doyle ’28 added two of his own, and Giacobbe and Nicholas Kopp ’25 both found the net to secure the 11-7 lead headed into the final period. The Mammoths gained their largest lead of the game after another goal from Christian in the fourth. Then, with just under three minutes left in regulation, Chow tallied the man-up goal to solidify a win for the Mammoths. Kopp added six ground balls, while Ben Bruno ’25 picked up four of his own. Mitch Likins ’25 put up all-star numbers, notching 17 saves for a 65% save percentage on the day. The team won 20 of 26 faceoffs and had ten different points scorers in the 13-9 victory.

With their performance this week, the Mammoths improve to 9-2 and prepare to take on No. 5 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute today, before hosting No. 1 Tufts for Senior Day on Saturday, April 19.

Women’s Lacrosse

The No. 13 women’s lacrosse team went 2-1 on the week, notching wins against Bates College 14-11 and Framingham State University 21-3.

On Saturday, April 13, they hosted Bates and honored their eight seniors. The seniors — Carlin Chazen ’25, Sydney Kang ’25, Maisie Stewart ’25, Elizabeth Rose ’25, Brynn Korpi ’25, Rachel Rogers ’25, Annie Rosenman ’25, and Olivia Stewart ’25 — were recognized before the 2 p.m. start. Once the game started, the Bobcats jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead. However, goals by Rogers and Mia Raven ’27 narrowed the gap to 5-3 to end the first. Three straight Bates goals increased the Bobcats’ lead to 8-3, but Bridget Finley ’26 added her second of the day to keep the Mammoths in it. Caroline Curtis ’28 secured a critical draw control with seconds left in the first half, to give the Mammoths possession to start the second half due to a Bobcats penalty. Coming out of halftime, Emily Petersen ’26 and Clara Sosa ’26 tallied goals to cut the deficit to three. Bates responded with a player-up goal of their own, but Raven found Sosa, and Kate Becker ’26 found Bridget Darcy ’27 to cut the lead to two. A goal with one second left on the shot clock gave Bates the three-goal lead again. However, the fourth quarter was the difference maker for the Mammoths. Finding their rhythm, the team’s run was unstoppable. Petersen — coming off a banner week where she received NESCAC Player of the Week honors — netted two almost identical goals to start the fourth. Finding the seam in the Bobcat defense, she sent both past the Bates goalkeeper, pulling the Mammoths within one. Then, in the final 10 minutes of play, it was Sosa and Finley who both added two goals apiece to overpower the Bobcats and give the Mammoths an eventual three-goal lead. A huge defensive stop at the two-minute mark that ended with a Lily Samoska ’28 save prevented Bates from getting on the board at all in the fourth. The Mammoths’ 6-0 run was enough to overpower Bates, giving the team the key conference win. Samoska finished the day with 11 saves, and Katie Savino ’28 caused two critical turnovers in the final quarter of play. The team converted on six free-position opportunities and got goals from six different players. Amherst controlled 10 of 14 second-half draw controls, with Rose and Raven snagging seven and six, respectively.

With two wins on the week, the team looks forward to a key NESCAC matchup at No. 2 Tufts on Saturday, April 19.

Women’s Tennis

This week, the No. 10-ranked women’s tennis team travelled to face two NESCAC foes in Colby and Bowdoin. The Mammoths posted a 1-1 record on the week, besting the Mules but falling to the Polar Bears.

On Saturday in Waterville, Maine, Amherst took an early lead against Colby. With strong performances from pairs Lily Dounchis ’27 and Deliala Charles Friedman ’25, Amy Cui ’25 and Katie Hart ’25, as well as Greta Stechschulte ’27 and Mia Kintiroglou ’25, the Mammoths swept the Mules in doubles matches to claim the extra point. In singles play, Amherst earned three single-set victories from Cui, Sophie Diop ’26, and Maddie Swire ’26 at the second, third, and sixth spots, respectively. The Mammoths also demonstrated their resilience with comeback wins at the fourth and fifth spot from Tina She ’28 and Stechschulte. In the end, the team bested Colby 6-1. Despite a loss to Bowdoin the following day, Amherst advanced to a 9-4 record, 5-2 against conference opponents.

The team will return home to face Hamilton on Saturday, April 19.

Men’s Tennis

Over the weekend, the men’s tennis team — ranked No. 10 — battled against conference opponents Colby and Bowdoin. Beating both the Mules and the Polar Bears, the Mammoths went 2-0 on the week.

After a 5-2 win against Colby, Amherst returned to the courts the next day with a strong start on senior day, celebrating Edred Opie ’25, Sujit Chepuri ’25, and Kobe Ellenbogen ’25. The team claimed the doubles point with wins from pairs Opie and Andreas Sillaste ’27 as well as Chepuri and Albert Hu ’28. One of the honored seniors, Chepuri, went on to win his singles matches as well in the sixth spot. Also in singles play, Rex Harrison ’27 delivered a dominant performance in the fourth spot, dropping just one game in a two-set victory. With another win from Aldiyar Abzhan ’28 at the third spot, the Mammoths pulled out a close 4-3 victory over Bowdoin. Amherst is now 13-4 on the season with a 7-1 record against NESCAC teams.

On Wednesday, April 16, the team will play MIT on home courts.

Softball

The softball team played five games this past week, facing Smith College, Bates College, and Bowdoin College. The team beat Smith and split games with Bates and Bowdoin, going 3-2 on the week. Amherst’s first game against Bowdoin this past Sunday was the highlight match for the Mammoths. Bowdoin earned the game’s first runs, scoring two in the first inning. Amherst wasted no time responding, as Abby Rebhan ’28 doubled to center field, scoring Lulu Leppard ’28 and America Rangel ’25. Shortly after, Dylan Briggs ’26 also doubled and scored Rebhan and Danielle Torres-Werra ’25. The Mammoths’ two-run lead was short-lived, however, as the Polar Bears responded in the second inning with a home run. With the score tied, Rebhan singled in the bottom of the second to score Leppard, taking back the lead. In the third inning, May Mishima ’28 and Olivia Aitkin ’26 scored to make the score 7-4 in the Mammoths’ favor. Mishima scored again alongside Emma Nordstrom ’27 in the fourth inning, extending the team’s lead to five. A big fifth inning by Bowdoin made the game much closer, with the score 9-8, giving the Mammoths a one-run lead. Amherst had the last laugh in the fifth inning, however, as Rebhan homered to left center, scoring Rangel in the process. Torres-Werra was next at-bat and took inspiration from Rebhan, homering to left center and setting the score 12-8 in the Mammoths' favor. The 12-run game was the most in-conference runs for Amherst since April 9, 2022, when Amherst defeated Hamilton 13-3 in a dramatic ending home run from rookie Torres-Werra. The final score was 12-8 in Amherst’s favor.

The team hosts Springfield College today and Trinity College on Saturday, April 19.

Women’s Track and Field

The women’s track and field team competed at the Carla Coffey Invitational and the Julie LaFreniere Commonwealth Invitational on Friday to Sunday.

At the Carla Coffey Invitational, three Mammoths qualified for the New England Division III Championships. Anastasia Ioppolo ’26 and Sophia Ford ’28 qualified for the long jump with 5.25m and 5.10m performances, respectively. Leah Smith ’27 reached 10.66m in the triple jump, qualifying for the event’s championship. Eleven team members qualified for their respective events at the Julie LaFreniere Commonwealth Invitational. Ellie Jolly ’28 and Rachel Hubley ’27 qualified for the 100m with times of 12.40 and 12.52. Héloïse Hughes ’27 and Hubley ran the 200m in 25.05 and 25.78 seconds, earning spots in the championship event. Piper Lentz ’26 qualified for the 400m with a time of 58.09, and Emma Vatnsdal ’27 qualified for the 3000m Steeplechase, clocking in at 12:09.32 seconds. In the 800m, Sylvan Wold ’25 and Julia Schor ’25 qualified with times of 2:15.80 and 2:17.53. Claire Callon ’25, Daphne Theiler ’26, Schor, and Rowan Bixler ’28 all qualified for the 5000m, finishing respectively in 18:10.80, 18:20.41, 18:25.50, and 18:27.12 seconds. Finally, Eliza Cardwell ’25 qualified for the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.64.

The team will travel to Cambridge, MA, to compete in the Collier Invitational on Saturday, April 19.

Men’s Track and Field

The men’s track and field team participated in the Carla Coffey Invitational and the Julie LaFreniere Commonwealth Invitational this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Bohan Zheng ’28 recorded 13.11m in the triple jump at the Carla Coffey Invitational, qualifying Zheng for the New England Division III Championships. At the Julie LaFreniere Commonwealth Invitational, six other Mammoths qualified for the championships. Austin Brown ’28 recorded a time of 10:02.34 for the 3000m Steeplechase, and Noah Kanahele Harris ’26 finished 110m hurdles in 15.65 seconds. Jordan Harrison ’26 and Alexander Nichols ’26 ran the 100m in 10.73 and 10.87 seconds. In the 400m, Cody Pierce ’26 and Kean Tanyi-Tang ’28 qualified for the event with times of 49.09 and 50.10, respectively. The final qualifier was Pierce in the 200m, clocking in at 21.94 seconds.

The team competes in the Collier Invitational this Saturday, April 19.