The Roundup: All the Stuff You Missed In Sports This Week

Volleyball: This weekend, the Firedogs took down Clark on Friday and Worcester State and Brandeis on Saturday in quick sucession. Across the three matchups, the team failed to drop a single set and remains undefeated this season.

Field Hockey: Last week started on a high note for the Mammoths, who shelled Keene State in a Wednesday night matchup, 8-0. On Saturday, however, Amherst traveled to Clinton, New York, where they faced Hamilton in a crucial NESCAC matchup. It was too little, too late for the Mammoths when Beth Williamson ’22 scored at the start of the fourth quarter. Hamilton had already scored two goals, and would go on to score two more before the period ended. The Mammoths lost 4-1.

Women’s Tennis: The MIT invitational, the Mammoths’ first event since a successful spring season, was equally fruitful for the team. Jackie Buzkin ’22 and Claire Evans ’22 swept the doubles table, winning all four matches, including a sweep of the finals against an MIT duo, 8-1 and 8-3. Camille Smukler ’20 also performed well, finishing second in the consolation singles bracket and in fourth place overall. The team returns to action in two weeks at the ITA Regional Tournament.

Cross Country: Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the season-opening Little Three Championships this past weekend. Sarah Gayer ’21 paced the Mammoths, finishing fourth overall. Gayer was followed by captain Olivia Polischeck ’21, who finished 10th overall. First year Sophia Wolmer impressed in her first event with a 13th-place finish. In the men’s race, Amherst blew by Wesleyan but fell to Williams. Depth was key to the finish, as Amherst had six runners finish in the top 20: Spencer Ferguson-Dryden ’20, Jamie Mazzola ’21, Braxton Schudlt ’21, Ajay Sarathy ’21, Billy Massey ’21 and Braedon Fiume ’23.

Men’s Golf: The men’s golf team finished 11th out of 23 teams at the Duke Nelson Invitational this weekend. Will Lonnquist ’20 cut seven strokes off his day one score to end the tournament in 30th place individually, pacing the Mammoths. Improvement on day two was par for the course, as the Mammoth squad cut a total of 18 strokes off of their top five players’ scores. The team must look ahead to next weekend when they travel to the Williams College Fall Invitational before finalizing their fall season with the NESCAC Qualifier.

Women’s Golf: Like the men’s team, the women’s squad vastly improved on day two of their event, the Ann S. Batchelder Invitational. Morgan Yurosek ’20 finished tied for fifth overall at the tournament after carding 74 strokes on day two. Overall, the Mammoths finished in fourth place behind Williams and Vassar, despite winning the tournament for the past two years running.

Men’s Basketball: Longtime head coach David Hixon will take a leave of absence from coaching the squad this coming season, according to a statement by Director of Athletics Don Faulstick on the Amherst Athletics website. Assistant Coach Aaron Toomey ’14 has stepped up as interim head coach.