Around the Herd: Spring Break Edition

Women’s Hockey

Over the break, the women’s ice hockey team competed in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Mammoths secured a 2-1 overtime victory against the College of Saint Benedict on Saturday, March 14, before shutting out Elmira College 3-0 this past Saturday. 

In their quarterfinal matchup against the Soaring Eagles, Amherst posted early offensive chances after earning a power play off a penalty. Ayla Abban ’28, Marie-Eve Marleau ’26, and Bea Flynn ’28 all registered shots during the four-on-five opportunity, but the Soaring Eagles’ goaltender kept Amherst off the board. In the second frame, both teams generated scoring opportunities; the Mammoths produced six shots on net before Elmira responded with six of their own, but both netminders stood tall to keep the game scoreless. Thirteen minutes into the period, a Soaring Eagle player intercepted an Amherst pass, but the puck bounced off her stick and back into the Mammoths’ offensive zone. Gretchen Dann ’26 chased after the puck and launched a pass to Cara Mancini ’27, who was ready at center ice. Mancini quickly sent the puck to Maeve Reynolds ’26, who skated over the blueline for a one-on-one opportunity with Elmira’s goaltender. At the top of the crease, Reynolds switched to her backhand and tucked the puck inside the left post to put Amherst ahead. The Soaring Eagles continued to put on offensive pressure, finishing the second stanza with a 13-9 edge in shots, but nothing solidified. The Mammoths started the third period with another power play after a roughing call against Elmira. With the extra player, Flynn collected a puck from Reynolds at the top of the circle and fired a shot through traffic that found the back of the net, making the score 2-0 with only 41 seconds into the final period. Amherst’s offensive momentum continued. Just two minutes later, Mancini collected the puck from behind the net and sent it to Reynolds, who was waiting at the top of the net. Reynolds got her stick on it, and the puck deflected to the left post, where Marleau buried it into the goal, extending the lead to 3-0. The Soaring Eagles desperately tried to even the score in the last minutes of the game, but the Mammoths’ defensive unit held strong, even when Elmira pulled their goalie in favor of an extra skater (on two occasions). In the end, Dann, Carlisle Brush ’27, and Flynn all blocked Elmira shots while goaltender Natalie Stott ’26 made 13 saves in the last 17 minutes. The 3-0 shutout victory sends the Mammoths to the tournament semifinals.

The team will travel to face No. 1-ranked University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Friday, March 27.

Women’s Tennis

The women’s tennis team spent their spring break in California, beating Chapman University 7-0, losing to both Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges 5-2, and finally beating the University of Redlands, 5-2. The team’s 2-2 record over break brings their overall record to 4-3.

Starting their break off strong, the No. 14 Mammoths swept Chapman University 7-0. Amherst claimed the doubles point with wins from all pairs, followed by exciting straight-set wins from spots one through six. Tina She ’28 delivered an impressive performance, defeating Lucy Wallin 6-1, 6-0, and losing only one point throughout the match. Cody Huang ’28 also provided essential wins for the team in both her singles matches, which she won 6-2, 6-1, and in her doubles match, which she won 6-2. Lastly, it was Anwitha Duduka ’29 who clinched the sweep, winning her match 6-3, 6-0.

Amherst returns home to host Trinity for another conference matchup on Saturday, March 28. 

Men’s Tennis

This week, Amherst’s No. 11-ranked men’s tennis team traveled to Hilton Head, SC, for the Spring Tennis Fest. The Mammoths opened with a 6-1 win over Little Three rival Wesleyan on March 16. Then on March 17, they defeated North Carolina Wesleyan University 5-2, before falling to Denison University 6-1 last Wednesday. The team’s 2-1 record for the week brings their overall record to 4-3.

Against Wesleyan, Amherst claimed the doubles points with wins from pairs Lukas Frangenberg ’29 and Andreas Sillaste ’27 as well as Albert Hu ’28 and Ronald Gualario ’29; each partnership won with a 6-4 victory. In singles play, Frangenberg was the first to finish his match, cruising to a 6-3, 6-1 victory at the three spot. Sillaste — at the one spot — and Aldiyar Abzhan ’28 — at the four spot — finished soon after with wins of their own, posting scores of 6-1, 6-4 and 6-4, 6-1, respectively. At the two spot, George Chaidemenos ’26 delivered a gritty performance, battling for almost three hours to win a pair of tiebreak sets 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5). The Mammoths finished with a 6-1 victory over Wesleyan.

The team will return to the court on Saturday, March 28, for a conference matchup against Trinity.

Men’s Lacrosse

The No. 14 men’s lacrosse team hosted back-to-back games versus No. 6 Babson College and No. 19 Bates, before they travelled to Sparks, MD, to play Swarthmore College and No. 4 Christopher Newport University (CNU) at a neutral site. The Mammoths dropped close games to Babson, 15-11, and CNU, 12-9, but beat NESCAC opponent Bates, 20-8, as well as Swarthmore, 13-11. With the busy spring break itinerary now complete, the team sits at 3-3.

The most notable victory from the Mammoth’s spring break campaign was their dominant win against Bates on Saturday, March 14. While it took both teams some time to get going, once the Mammoths found the back of the net, they kept scoring. The first tally of the day came from Bennett Chow ’26, off the assist from Willie Doyle ’28. Just 14 seconds later, Bob Gross ’26 doubled up on the Bobcats, scoring off a quick pass from Matthew Sheinberg ’26. From there, Brayden Stroh ’28 continued the onslaught, scoring an unassisted goal for Amherst. The Bobcats scored two over the next stretch of play, but with just around two minutes left in the first quarter, Amherst found its fire again, adding three quick scores. Sheinberg added a goal, Chow got his second of the game, and first-year Dylan Kelleher ’29 won the face-off and took it right to the cage with just six seconds left to gain a  6-2 lead to end the first quarter. After the break, Chow finished his early game hat trick, scoring to open the second quarter. The Mammoths scored four straight after Chow, with Gross and Max Youssefnia ’27 tallying off of assists from Brendan Reilly ’27 and Nate Cootauco ’29, respectively. Chow had himself a day, adding two more goals for a five-score performance. Bates attempted to respond, putting up three goals of their own, but the Mammoths closed out the first half with a tally from Patrick Arnold ’28, off a quick Kelleher assist, for the 12-5 lead. Coming out of halftime, the Mammoths continued to pile on, scoring seven straight, courtesy of Reilly, Cootauco, Arnold, Gross, and Doyle. Bates added three after this, but Braden Poon ’27 recorded his first career goal for the Mammoths with under a minute left in regulation, for a final score of 20-8. Additional highlights from the Mammoth’s commanding team victory include six saves from keeper Spencer Will ’26, seven and six offensive points for Gross and Chow, respectively, a 7-10 faceoff record for Kelleher, and four groundballs each from Andrew Hahm ’26 and Reilly. The 20-8 score is the mammoth’s largest margin of victory vs. the Bobcats since 2019.

Coming off a narrow loss to CNU last weekend, Amherst looks ahead to a clash against No. 2-ranked NESCAC foe Bowdoin College on Saturday, March 28.

Women’s Lacrosse

The No. 5-ranked women’s lacrosse team remained undefeated over the break, notching three wins in dominant fashion. After defeating NESCAC foe Bates 12-4 in Maine, the Mammoths traveled to California, where they topped Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 21-9 and then undefeated No. 12 Pomona-Pitzer 11-7. Outscoring their opponents 44-20, Amherst improved its record to a perfect 6-0.

Amherst got on the board first against Pomona-Pitzer last Thursday when Caroline Curtis ’28 drove in and scored off a pass from Bridget Finley ’26. Pomona-Pitzer would score the following two goals to gain a 2-1 lead, closing out the first quarter. A late foul by the Sagehens awarded Amherst the ball to start the second quarter, and Kate Becker ’26 wasted no time putting the ball in play to find Bridget Darcy ’27 for the equalizer. From there, though, Pomona-Pitzer went on a 3-0 run in the span of four minutes, going up 5-2. Undeterred, Darcy was determined to narrow the lead for the Mammoths, tallying her second of the day off an assist from Gabby Sosa ’29. Each team tacked on one more goal before halftime, with Becker finding the back of the net for Amherst, courtesy of a pass from Emily Petersen ’26, to narrow the Pomona-Pitzer lead to 6-4. After the break, Curtis opened the scoring in the third frame with her second goal of the day, before the Sagehens matched her score with one of their own. Pomona-Pitzer was limited to just one goal in the entire second half, thanks to Amherst’s strong defensive effort. Gaining offensive traction, the Mammoths closed out the game on a 6-0 run to solidify the win. Goals during the run came from Curtis, Finley, Darcy, and Clara Sosa ’26. Amherst capitalized on many player-up opportunities in the fourth quarter, as Pomona-Pitzer earned multiple cards for illegal play. With the home team having no answer for the visiting Mammoths, Amherst ran away with the victory 11-7. They snapped Pomona-Pitzer’s undefeated streak, handing them their first loss of the season. In the win, Curtis led the way with four goals, while Darcy added a hat trick of her own. Katie Savino ’28 recorded four caused turnovers on defense, Ella Bobbett ’27 had a key interception in the final minutes of play to stifle any Sagehen offensive comeback attempt, and Lily Samoska ’28 made seven saves in goal.

The Mammoths remain undefeated and look forward to a stretch of home games. They host Springfield College on Wednesday, March 26, at 6 p.m. for their Morgan’s Message Game, before they welcome their alumni back for Alumnae Day on Saturday, March 28, vs. Bowdoin.

Softball

The softball team traveled to Clermont, FL, over the break, defeating McDaniel College, 15-4; Clarkson University, 9-4; Westminster College, 6-4; and Luther College, 8-6, while dropping six other contests, finishing 6-4.

Against Clarkson, the Mammoths found an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs and nobody on base, Brooke Wilde ’29 walked to start the rally. Jayla Adkins ’29 then singled, advancing Wilde to third, who was brought home by an Abby Moravek ’26 double moments later. Building off the momentum, Lauren Ro ’28 followed with a single up the middle to plate Adkins; during the next at-bat, Ro attempted to steal second, which resulted in a throwing error, sending her to third and allowing Moravek to score, upping Amherst’s lead to 3-0. Not long after, another throwing error allowed Ro to score, enabling the Mammoths to take a 4-0 lead at the end of the first. Despite this, the Golden Knights responded in the following frame, tying the game off a string of base hits and a double. A few innings later, in the fourth, Adkins scored Samantha Portz ’29 from third with an RBI single. They continued to widen the lead in the fifth after Abby Kong ’26 brought Heidi Li ’27 home with a single. After that, a fielding error allowed Kong to score. Adkins delivered again with a two-run double to right-center that scored Portz and May Mishima ’28 and solidified the final score of 9-4 for Amherst. Gwen Religa ’29 earned her first collegiate victory in the game, coming on in relief and pitching five innings where she only allowed one hit and no earned runs.

On Saturday, March 28, the team will travel to face NESCAC-opponent Bates.

Baseball

Over spring break, the baseball team traveled to Auburndale, FL, for the annual RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, a five-day stretch of competition. The Mammoths returned home with an impressive 6-1 record, including sweeps of two opponents. Amherst opened with a 5-2 win over Babson, fell to Stevens 10-4, then rebounded with a dominant 20-5 victory over Macalester. The Mammoths went on to sweep their doubleheaders, defeating Suffolk 14-4 and 20-6, and Lawrence University 9-3 and 24-0.

Amherst’s most competitive win over Babson began with strong performances from first-years Jack Darcy ’29 and Zander Carnahan ’29, who each recorded an RBI in the bottom of the fourth. Darcy singled to right field to drive in Justin Orridge ’28, while Carnahan’s groundout, following a Babson error and a single from J.J. Grimes ’28, brought Darcy home. After Babson scored two runs in the fifth, evening the score, the Mammoths again stormed ahead as Aidan Dubetsky ’28 doubled and later scored on an error that put Leo Foust ’28 on base. Foust then stole second and came home on a two-out single by Charlie LaFraniere ’27, making it 4-2 after the bottom of the fifth inning. In the sixth, Amherst quickly tacked on another run, as Grimes doubled and then came around to score on a Dubetsky RBI single, before the game was called off due to lightning, resulting in a final score of 5-2. On the mound, Nick Fassert ’28 and Saahi Jetti ’29 limited Babson to just two hits. Babson had two errors, and Amherst tallied nine hits through just six innings. On the strength of his performances throughout the entire tournament, second baseman Tyler McCord ’26 was named NESCAC Baseball Player of the Week. Over six games, McCord went 12-for-25 for a .480 batting average, with a .552 on-base percentage and a .720 slugging percentage, collecting four doubles, a triple, four walks, and 11 runs scored.  His week was highlighted by a 4-for-6, five-RBI performance in Amherst’s 20-5 win over Macalester College. Additionally, he and LaFreniere both recorded their 100th career hits during their trip down south.

The Mammoths are set to host Western New England University on Wednesday, March 25, ahead of their debut NESCAC matchup against Wesleyan at home on Friday, March 27. 

Track and Field 

Over break, the men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 13 and 14. The next weekend, they ran in the Swanson Invitational at Wesleyan.

At the Indoor Championships, the quartet of Will Nagy ’26, Cody Pierce ’26, Ben Davis ’26, and Parker Boyle ’27 finished the distance medley relay in 9:45 to earn second place in the nation and set a new school record. The women’s distance medley team of Piper Lentz ’26, Myeh Medina ’26, Zoe Marcus ’27, and Flora Biro ’28 also earned a podium spot, running to a seventh-place finish with a time of 11:44. Marcus also ran in the 800-meter in 2:10 to place fifth overall in the nation, breaking another Amherst record.

The Mammoths will return to the track on March 27 for the UMass Invitational Meet.

Swim and Dive

This past week, the men’s and women’s swim and dive teams concluded their season at the NCAA Championships.

In the 400-yard individual medley, Owen Vale ’29 finished the race in 3:50 to place fifth in the nation and set a new NESCAC record in the event. Jack Goepfrich ’28 placed seventh overall in the 200-yard freestyle event, clocking in at 1:37. In the longest event of the meet, the 1650-yard freestyle, Benjamin Robins ’29 finished in 15:33, placing sixth in the nation. On the women’s side, Maeve Kelley ’27 set an Amherst record in the 200-yard butterfly event, finishing third in the nation with a time of 2:00. On the diving board, Brooke Ronan ’29 and Donna Zhang ’26 finished fourth and eighth in the nation in the three-meter dive with marks of 477.15 and 446.25, respectively. All six swimmers earned first-team All-American honors. 

The Mammoths will return to the pool for a new season next Winter.

Head of the Herd: Maeve Reynolds

Over the weekend, the women’s hockey team secured its bid back to the Frozen Four, beating Elmira College 3-0. In the Mammoths’ dominant victory, Maeve Reynolds ’26 scored the first goal of the game. Receiving a pass from Mancini, she corralled the puck and skilfully skated past her defender before beating the goalie for the tally. She then proceeded to assist on both of the Mammoth’s additional scores, bringing her stat line to one goal and two assists. Reynolds is the team’s leading scorer and was named to the All-NESCAC First Team earlier this season. For her contributions in the quarterfinal victory, Reynolds earns this week’s Head of the Herd.