Women's Ice Hockey to Host First Round of NCAA Wednesday
After defeating Trinity last weekend in the opening round of the NESCAC Tournament, #10 Colby traveled to play #5 Hamilton in the semifinal round looking to advance to the first conference final in program history.
The Mules got on the board first with a goal from McKinley Karpa. The Continentals evened the score late in the first period, but Colby jumped back out ahead early in the second with a goal from Jo Tattersall. Hamilton scored two goals to close out the second period, heading into the third frame with a 3-2 advantage.
Early in the third period, Karpa tallied her second of the day and ninth of the season to tie the score 3-3. Despite 25 saves from goaltender Mandy Busky, the Continentals snuck one more through, sending Hamilton on to the conference championship game.
Awaiting news of an at-large bid to the national tournament, Colby's hopes were answered Sunday night as the Mules were selected as first round hosts. Colby will host Norwich University Wednesday evening at 7:00pm.
Men's Ice Hockey Falls in Semifinals to Eventual Champs
Facing Bowdoin for the third time this season Saturday, the Mules were intent on completing the season sweep and advancing to their second consecutive conference championship. In the two games during the regular season, Colby had outscored Bowdoin 8-2.
After a scoreless first period, Carter Breitenfeldt got his team on the board first with his team-leading 11th goal of the season, assisted by Alex Bourhas and Ryan Doolin. Bowdoin struck back late in the second with a goal of their own, and the two rivals entered the third period locked at one goal apiece.
The Polar Bears tallied the go ahead goal, and eventual game-winner, halfway through the third frame. Despite 28 saves from goaltender Andy Beran, Bowdoin held the Mules at bay the rest of the way, advancing to the NESCAC Championship. On Sunday, Bowdoin defeated Williams in the first-ever seven-vs-eight seed conference finals.
Colby ends their season 13-10-2, combining for 30 wins over the last two season.
Mejico Headed to Birmingham for NCAA Championships Following NCAA Final Qualifier
The Men’s and Women’s Track & Field team’s traveled to Tufts to compete in the NCAA Final Qualifier in preparation for NCAA Championships next weekend. With limited events, the Women’s team competed in the 4x400m relay (Anna Mackey, Olivia Doherty, Fiona Mejico, and Kristina Pizzi) taking third place with a time of 3:57.93. Isabel Llach placed fifth in the high jump.
On the Men’s side, the 4x400m relay team took third place consisting of Peter Martel, Jackson Coelho, Ren Zanze, and Raghav Kadambi. Individually, Martel grabbed a sixth place finish in the pole vault, and Ben Mellor placed 11th in the 5000m. To wrap it up, Hayden Bailey took 12th in the mile run and Gordon Doore finished 24th in the 800m.
Sophomore Fiona Mejico will represent Colby at the NCAA Championships after qualifying in the 400m with a time of 56.77, good for 13th in prelims.
Men's and Women's Squash Close Season at CSA Individual Championships
Three Mules headed down to the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia over the weekend to represent Colby at the CSA Individual Championships.
From the women’s team, first year Aileen Dominguez competed in the Holleran East division as the 15th seed. Dominguez put up a good effort but fell to the two seed 0-3 in the main bracket and 0-3 in the first round of consolation.
From the men’s side, senior Dylan Tymkiw competed in the Molloy South as the eighth seed while first-year Youssef Mostafa competed in the Molloy East, also as the eighth seed. After falling in the main bracket 1-3, Tymkiw went on to win the first round of the consolation bracket 3-0 but fell in the semifinal consolation matchup 0-3. Mostafa also fell in the main bracket taking a 0-3 loss, but swept his opponent in the first round of consolation play 3-0. The first year went on to compete in the consolation semifinal but fell 0-3.
Women’s Squash ends their season with a 8-13 record, an improvement of four wins from last season.
Men’s Squash ends their season with a 8-13 record as well, improving with two more wins over last year's tally.
Spring Teams Open Season
Mules Score 39 Runs to Sweep Owls
With weather pushing the debut of the 2023 Colby Baseball team to Sunday, the Mules pummeled the visiting Owls of Presque Isle for 39 runs to sweep a double header on Mayflower Hill.
In game one, Clint Flippo greeted the UMPI pitchers by hitting for the cycle, going 4-4 with a single, double, triple and a fourth-inning 3-run homer, collecting three RBI. 2022 NESCAC's Defensive Player of the Year Cole Palmeri went 3-4 with a double and a 3-run homer in the 4th, leading the team with five RBI. Colby combined for eight extra-base hits and starting pitcher Nicholas Thompson pitched four scoreless innings, striking out seven and allowing only one hit.
In the nightcap, two-time All-NESCAC selection Brady O'Brien tallied four RBI with a sac fly and a fourth inning 3-run home run. Eleven different Mules registered at least one RBI and five different Mules registered a stolen base. Starting pitcher Julien Erro went four scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing only one hit.
Colby begins the year 2-0 and prepares to head to the Empire State next weekend to face off against RPI and Union.
Women's Lacrosse Battles Two Top-Ranked Teams in Tufts and Salisbury
Colby opened the 2023 season with a tough ledger, facing #2 Tufts University Friday before flying to Maryland to take on #5 Salisbury.
Four different Mules scored in the first quarter, led by Annie Eddy who tallied a hat trick in the first 15 minutes alone. Tufts outscored Colby in the second period, but Colby still took the one-goal advantage into the break. Goals were hard to come by in the second half. Where the two opponents combined for nearly 20 first-half goals, the second 30 minutes saw a collective 12 goals enter the cage. The Jumbos tallied five goals in the third quarter to jump ahead of the Mules, eventually outpacing Colby down the stretch for a 17-14 win. Eddy led the Mules with five goals while Gianna Bruno tallied four assists.
On Sunday Salisbury outscored Colby by one goal in each of the first two quarters, entering halftime with an 8-6 lead. The Mules scored three times in the third, closing the gap to one goal before the hosts scored four unanswered tallies into the fourth quarter, jumping ahead 14-9. Colby scored three more times down the stretch to move to within two, but Salisbury stiffened their defense over the final two minutes to secure the win. Paige Saudek was the leading scorer for Colby, tallying five on the afternoon.
Despite opening the season 0-2, due to the fierce competition the Mules are sure to maintain a top-10 ranking heading into the second week of play.
Men's Tennis 2-0 to Open 2023
The Men's Tennis team got off to a great start to the spring season after defeating fellow NESCAC opponents Hamilton (5-4) and Amherst (6-3) on the road over the weekend.
The Mules kicked off the match against the Continentals with a doubles win in the three spot by Joey Barrett and Aidan Kwong, defeating Matt Bartok and Nicholas Gritz 8-4. In singles action Colby took over. Jake Cohen defeated his opponent in the two spot (6-3, 6-4), followed by Jan Wenger in the three spot winning 6-4 and 7-6. Ben Powis and Sam Henry grabbed the last two victories for the Mules in the fourth and fifth spot leading to the close 5-4 win.
In the matchup against the Mammoths, Colby claimed two doubles wins with James Bogdanovic and Henry in the two spot (8-4) and Barrett and Kwong in the three spot (8-4). In singles Colby swept the top four spots starting with Barrett, followed by Cohen, Wenger, and Powis resulting in the 6-3 victory.
The Mules will face Brandeis next Sunday for their home opener here on Mayflower Hill.
Men's Lacrosse Opens Against #2 Tufts
The Men's Lacrosse team opened their season Sunday hosting #2 Tufts University on Mayflower Hill.
Despite a career-high 21 saves from goalkeeper Matt Suffredini, the 2022 NESCAC Champions topped the Mules 27-9. Jack Goller led Colby with three goals. He now has 28 goals and 44 points in his career. Max Solmssen tallied two goals and added an assist, and four other Mules found the back of the cage for their first goals of the season.
Colby is back in action Wednesday for a non-conference matchup against St. Joseph's College before hosting its second NESCAC foe in the Williams College Ephs on Saturday.
Women's Tennis Battles Hamilton and Amherst
The Women's Tennis team opened the spring season on the road last weekend taking on fellow NESCAC opponents Hamilton and Amherst.
Saturday against the Continentals, Colby fell 2-7 with individual wins coming from Sam Riordan in the one spot over Hannah Apsey (6-2, 6-3) and Isabella Suk claiming a victory in the fifth spot over Hannah Walpole (6-4, 2-6, 1-0).
On Sunday, Colby visited the Mammoths and got off to a good start with a doubles win in the one spot. Riordan and Sydney Landau defeated Katja Jules Viber and Karolina Dobiecka 8-7. In singles, Colby grabbed two more wins with Riordan again in the one spot over Amherst's Amy Cui (6-2, 6-1) and Ellie Gershaw over Julia Lendel in the four spot (6-3, 6-0). The Mammoths defended their home court, turning the Mules away with a 6-3 defeat.
Colby will face Wellesley and Brandeis next weekend for their home opener on Mayflower Hill.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Cole Burkhart '24, Steve Cheney P25, Stephen R. Clouthier, Nancy Dauphinais '25, Paula Dauphinais '25, Jamie Fiedorek '25, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Michael Garrett P23, Peter Li '26, Michael Maher, Joshua McKee, Ellie Sawyer P25, Isadora Wells '26, Ansley White '26