Around the Herd: Oct. 13 to Oct. 18
Field Hockey
On Thursday, Oct. 13, field hockey played their only game of the week against the Springfield College Pride. The team dedicated their game against the Pride to the Hidden Opponent, a non-profit organization focused on breaking the stigma of mental health in athletics — and they did so in style, thoroughly demolishing their local rivals 8-0 despite the downpour that persisted throughout the game.
The No. 5 Mammoths came out firing, scoring their first goal of the game after only four and a half minutes of play. It came by way of Beth Williamson ’23E, who put a pass from Kat Mason ’25 past the goalkeeper to open the scoring. They wasted little time in getting their next two goals, both scored by Muffie Mazambani ’24 within 10 minutes of each other. The first came off an assist from Williamson, who put her defender in the spin cycle before finding the junior in front of goal, and the second was dished by Gwen Allen ’23, whose individual effort left Mazambani with the whole goal to shoot into. She easily tapped the ball in for a 3-0 lead.
Only two minutes after Mazambani’s second of the night, Mason got herself on the board, juking her way past three Pride defenders on the baseline and backhanding a shot to the near post to extend the margin to four. They made it 5-0 shortly thereafter, with Paige DiBiase ’25 getting her third goal of the season via an assist from Anna Aiello ’26 to go into the half in the driver’s seat.
And then, Aiello took over. She scored a hat-trick in the third quarter alone, with the first of her goals being her first collegiate tally. Aiello ended the night with seven points, including her assist to DiBiase. The first two of her three goals were unassisted, coming off of stellar individual runs in which she beat multiple Pride defenders. The third, a diving finish, came off an assist from Mason. It was her second dish of the night and sealed the Mammoths’ largest win of the season by a score of 8-0.
Amherst didn’t just own their opponents on the scoreboard, but demolished them in the box score as well. The Mammoths outshot the Pride 24-0 in the contest, including 13 shots on goal. They also recorded nine penalty corners to zero for Springfield over the course of their 60 minutes of utter domination.
The Mammoths will return to the field on Wednesday, Oct. 19, on the road against Smith. The game is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. in Northampton.
Cross Country
After two weeks off, the Amherst cross country teams returned to action this weekend at the Connecticut College Invitational. The men’s team finished 11th out of 23 competing teams, while the women’s team finished fourth out of 22.
On the women’s side, four Mammoth runners placed in the top 25 to pace the team’s finish, with seniors Sophie Wolmer ’23 and Mary Kate McGranahan ’23 leading the way. Wolmer was the first Amherst racer to cross the finish line, with a time of 21:40.9 netting her fourth place. It was her fourth top-five finish this season. McGrahanan backed up her win two weeks ago with another strong race, crossing the line in 15th (22:15.1). Sophomore Julia Schor ’25 and first-year Daphne Theiler ’26 were the other two Mammoths to finish in the top 25, with Schor placing 23rd with a time of 22:24.2 and Theiler coming through the line right behind her in 25th (22:28.4). Allison Lounsbury ’26 completed the team’s top five with a 54th place finish, completing the 6 km course in 23:02.5.
While team success didn’t come for the men’s team this weekend, individual runners found success.
Both teams will be back in action in two weeks time at the 2022 NESCAC Championships, held at Hamilton College on Saturday, Oct. 29.
Men’s Tennis
The men’s tennis team wrapped up their fall season at the Wesleyan Fall Invitational this past weekend, with solid individual performances across the board.
Four Mammoths competed in the A draw of singles beginning on Saturday, Oct. 15. First-year Jakob Esterowitz ’26 was the quarter’s best finisher, making it all the way to the semifinals on Sunday morning before falling to the eventual tournament champion from Middlebury 2-6, 7-5, 10-3. On his way to the semifinal, Esterowitz received a bye in the round of 32 before dispatching a competitor from Division I Sacred Heart University in the round of 16 and defeating another Middlebury player 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinal. Ed Opie ’25 won his first match in the round of 16, besting a player from Bowdoin 6-3, 6-3, but he fell in a close match in the quarterfinals 6-4, 4-6, 10-6. Kobe Ellenbogen ’25 defeated an opponent from Sacred Heart 8-6 in the round of 32 but lost 6-1, 6-3 in the round of 16. Sujit Chepuri ’25 fell in the round of 32 to yet another Sacred Heart challenger and lost a close match in the quarterfinals of the consolation round the next day 5-7, 6-2, 10-7.
In the singles B draw, Georgios Chaidemenos ’26 put together the Mammoths’ best performance of the tournament. After receiving a bye in the round of 32, he cruised past his competition in his next three matches, winning all three in straight sets to earn a berth to the final. Unfortunately, he lost an incredibly tight final match, falling to an opponent from Middlebury 4-6, 6-3, 10-6. Marshall Leung ’24 was the three-seed in the B draw, but he fell to the same opponent as Chaidemenos in the round of 16, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.
The Mammoths did not find as much success in the doubles portion of the tournament. In the A bracket, Esterowitz and Opie were seeded fourth and received a bye through the round of 16, but they were upset by Babson 8-5 in the quarterfinal. In the B bracket, the team’s two captains, Zach Ostrow ’23 and Shaw Rhinelander ’23, came in as the one-seed, but they were similarly upset by a Babson pair 8-5 in the quarterfinal. Micah Elias ’24 and Chaidemenos won their first match in the round of 16 of the B draw, but they fell to the eventual champion from Sacred Heart 8-3 in the quarterfinal.
Playing just three tournaments during the fall season, the Mammoths will now begin the long wait until March, when their spring season begins.