Around the Herd: March 6 to March 11 in Athletics

Women’s Lacrosse

On Saturday, the women’s lacrosse team battled against Hamilton in their home opener.

The Continentals struck first against the Mammoths in the first quarter of the match at Gooding Field. Bridget Finley ’26 erased the early lead with a free-position goal seven minutes into the game. After Hamilton regained the lead, Amherst scored again from an eight-meter shot taken by Emily Petersen ’26. The Continentals broke the tie again before the end of the stanza. In the second quarter, Kate Becker ’26 made it 3-3 after evading Hamilton’s defenders and landing a bounce shot into the net. Minutes later, Sofia Guttmann ’26 gave the Mammoths their first lead of the game, again from a free-position opportunity. The Continentals responded quickly, scoring twice more before halftime. Following two periods of back-and-forth play, the Mammoth’s offense dominated after the break. Seconds into the third quarter, a turnover by Hamilton allowed a pass from Petersen to find Becker, who launched the ball into the goal at the top of the crease to even the score at five apiece. Finley scored again from the eight-meter mark, and Becker completed her hat trick following a feed from Mia Raven ’27. Also in the third, Clara Sosa ’26 scored her first goal of the year to widen Amherst’s lead to 9-5. The game slowed down in the fourth quarter; the only goal came from Hamilton after they scored with a player advantage, but it was not enough to keep the Mammoths from winning the game 9-6.

Next week, the team will face MIT at home on Wednesday, March 12.

Men’s Lacrosse

The men’s lacrosse team played their first game on the road on Saturday, facing off against Hamilton College.

The Mammoths were the first on the board against the Continentals after Ben Wick ’28 capitalized off a man advantage. Hamilton responded quickly to even the score. For the rest of the first quarter, both teams would trade goals. Shots from Alex Vlacich ’26 and Matthew Sheinberg ’26 gave Amherst a narrow 3-2 lead entering the first intermission. The Continentals found an offensive stride in the second quarter, scoring three back-to-back goals. A pair of goals from Alex Giacobbe ’25 and Vlacich tied the game, but Hamilton slipped one more into the net ahead of halftime. Seconds into the third quarter, an assist from Vlacich found Bennett Chow ’26 who launched the ball into the net. After the Continentals retook the lead once again, Wick scored off a pass from Willie Doyle ’28 and Chow scored his second to give the Mammoths the advantage. In the last minutes of the third, Hamilton scored again to tie the game at eight apiece. Both teams played strong defensive games in the final quarter; the only goal was Chow’s game-winner and third of the day — giving Amherst the 9-8 victory.

Next Tuesday, March 11, the team will return to Pratt Field to host Springfield College.

Women’s Tennis

On Saturday, the women’s tennis team faced two NESCAC opponents in Williams and Middlebury.

The team had a strong start against the rival Ephs, sweeping all three doubles matches to earn the doubles point. In the singles matches, Lily Dounchis ’27 demonstrated her perseverance by winning the match after a first set loss at the first spot. Sophie Diop ’26 also earned a comeback win after going down in the first set in the fifth spot. The last singles victory came at the sixth spot from Greta Stechschulte ’27 who won in straight sets. In the end, Amherst edged out Williams 4-3 to claim the victory.

The next day, the Mammoths faced a tough opponent in the Panthers. In the doubles matches, Amy Cui ’25 and Katie Hart ’25 achieved a 6-3 win, but Middlebury’s two other wins claimed the doubles point. In the singles round, Cui played another impressive game; after winning the first set but losing the second in a tiebreaker, Cui took the match with a win of 10-8 in the third set. The Panthers won the remaining singles matches to claim the  6-1 victory over Amherst.

Next week the team will travel to face Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Sunday, March 16.

Men’s Tennis

The men’s tennis team traveled to compete against conference rivals Williams and Middlebury this week.

Saturday’s matchup against the Ephs was a close one. Amherst earned the doubles point with wins from pairs Spencer Leung ’27 and Rex Harrison ’27 in the second spot as well as Sujit Chepuri ’25 and Albert Hu ’28 at the third spot. Andreas Sillaste ’27 set the tone for singles play, with a three-set win in the first match. Edred Opie ’25 and Chepuri followed up with dominant two-set victories at the second and fourth spot, respectively. In the sixth spot, Cal Wider ’28’s three-set win sealed the Mammoths’ 4-3 triumph over Williams.

Against the Panthers the following day, the Chepuri-Hu and Leung-Harrison duos found success again on the courts, earning Amherst the doubles point. Middlebury responded with strong play in the singles matches, winning all but one contest. Aldiyar Abzhan ’28 gave the team their only win with a close three-set victory. The Panthers ultimately bested the Mammoths 5-2.

On the road, the team will play Chapman University next Tuesday, March 18.

Women’s Basketball

The women’s basketball team competed in the NCAA DIII Tournament against Vassar College and Smith College last Friday and Saturday on March 7 and 8.

In their matchup against Vassar, the Mammoths went on a nine-point run to begin the game, with buckets coming from Anna Tranum ’26, Laura Mendell ’26, and Kori Barach ’25. Besides these three, Maya Cwalina ’25 was the only other player to score in the first quarter, scoring eight points. The team went into the second quarter up 12 points, scoring 21-9 in Amherst’s favor. Amherst dominated Vassar for the remainder of the game, never holding less than a 10-point lead past the first quarter. Mendell led the team in scoring with 15 points while collecting nine rebounds and two steals. Amherst moved on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, beating Vassar 64-49.

Amherst’s next matchup was Smith, who won the NEWMAC undefeated. The team traveled to Northampton and was met with a formidable Smith fanbase. The Mammoths kept their composure and started strong against the Pioneers. Amherst led Smith for the first quarter’s majority, only losing the lead with 30 seconds left. By the second quarter’s end, Smith garnered an eight-point lead over Amherst. The team came out in the second half determined to come back, preventing Smith from extending their lead in the third quarter and outscoring the Pioneers in the fourth quarter. Notably, Annie McCarthy ’26 generated the team’s only bench points during Amherst’s fourth-quarter comeback efforts. Points from McCarthy, Barach, and Mendell set the score to 47-48 in Smith’s favor with 30 seconds remaining. Amherst sent the Pioneers to the free throw line and made both attempts, with the score now 47-50. Reagan Pahl ’27 took the reins and made a clutch 3-pointer to even the score. With only 13 seconds left, the Mammoths tried their best to prevent another score. Smith, however, pulled off a buzzer-beater layup and won the game 52-50. The team ends their season with a 20-8 record.

Women’s Track and Field

The women’s track and field team participated in the NEICAAA Indoor Championships and the Tufts National Qualifier this past Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, Héloïse Hughes ’27 was Amherst’s sole competitor in the NEICAAA Indoor Championships. Hughes competed in the 200m, finishing third in the preliminary round with a time of 25.14 seconds, the fastest time of any DIII runner. For the third-place finish, Hughes walked away with All-NEICAAA honors.

At the Tufts National Qualifier on Saturday, Hughes once again dazzled at the 200m and earned first place with a time of 25.08 seconds. Beyond Hughes, Flora Biro ’28 and Piper Lentz ’26 had highlight performances at the qualifier. Biro finished the mile at 5:03.56, placing 12th overall. Lentz ran the 800m, coming in seventh place at 2:15.70. Hughes will compete in the 200m for the NCAA DIII Indoor Championships this Friday and Saturday.

On March 14 and 15, the team will head to Rochester, NY, and compete in the NCAA DIII Indoor Championships.

Men’s Track and Field

The men’s track and field team took part in the NEICAAA Indoor Championships and the Tufts National Qualifier last Friday and Saturday.

Cody Pierce ’26 was Amherst’s only competitor in the NEICAAA Indoor Championships. Pierce took home glory in the 200m preliminary round, representing the Mammoths, coming in at 21.85 and finishing first. Pierce earned the title of NEICAAA Indoor Champion and All-NEICAAA honors for his performance.

The Tufts National Qualifier saw many great performances from the Mammoths. Pierce won the 200m with an even faster time of 21.83. Gavin Schmidt ’28 won the shot put, throwing 15.98m. Charlie Spurrell ’26 finished first with a 16.51m throw at the weight throw. Alec Kuzyk ’27 placed second in the pole vault, coming in at 4.76m, beating Kuzyk’s previous school record of 4.75m. Pierce, Nick Edwards-Levin ’25, Ben Davis ’26, and Parker Boyle ’27 finished second in the distance medley relay, clocking in at 9:52.27. Jacob Connolly ’27 and Stan Craig ’27 earned eighth and ninth place in the mile, coming in at 4:15.31 and 4:16.19, respectively. At the 800m, Will Nagy ’26 placed 10th with a time of 1:56.38. Pierce, Edwards-Levin, Davis, and Boyle will participate in the NCAA DIII Indoor Championships for their respective competitions on March 14 and 15.

The team travels to Rochester, N.Y., for the NCAA DIII Indoor Championships on Friday and Saturday.

Baseball

The baseball team played an away series against Ramapo College last weekend.

After the team’s game on Saturday was canceled, Amherst played their first game against Ramapo on Sunday. Amherst hit a rough patch in this match, not getting on the scoreboard until the sixth inning. A throwing error by Ramapo led to Aiden Dubetsky ’28 scoring for the Mammoths, making the score 1-4. Tyler McCord ’26 got Amherst’s next run, first by doubling to right center at-bat and then scoring off a single from Ben Smith ’26. The game ended 2-9 in Ramapo’s favor.

In the second match against Ramapo, Jack Sampedro ’25 started the Mammoths’ offensive masterclass. A defensive error gave Sampedro first base, and quickly stole second base thereafter. Ryan McIntyre ’25 singled to center field, with Sampedro scoring for Amherst’s first run. Jack McDermott ’25, Charlie LaFreniere ’27, and McIntyre scored off hits from LaFreniere and Justin Orridge ’28 in the fourth inning. In the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, Amherst tallied up seven additional runs. Amherst took home a dominant win, with the score 11-2 in the Mammoths’ favor.

The team plays Clark University away on March 13 before heading to Florida for Spring Break games. Amherst plays Endicott College on March 16, Rowan University on March 17, University of Southern Maine on March 18, Babson College on March 20, Framingham State University on March 21, and a series against Coe College on March 22.