Softball Sweeps Bates, Middlebury
The Colby Softball team started their six-game NESCAC week taking down Bates in both games of Wednesday's doubleheader. The Bobcats entered the day fresh off a two-game sweep of Wesleyan, but the Mules had other plans in mind. Behind stellar pitching and top-level defense, Colby defeated Bates 7-0 and 2-1.
On the road Saturday in Middlebury, Vt. the Mules kept the pressure on. Sweeping the Panthers in two games ran Colby's streak to four in a row, pushing their conference record to 5-3. Pitcher Sam Ahlholm earned her fifth and sixth wins of the season in the circle against Bates and Middlebury, totaling 13 innings while scattering seven hits and allowing only one earned run.
The Mules faced a strong Williams squad on Sunday, seeing their streak come to an end. Colby and Williams took the first game into extra innings, and the hosts walked off with a 9th inning home run. The Ephs maintained their momentum for the nightcap, outpacing the Mules 11-4.
Jackie Hill earned NESCAC Player of the week for batting 0.421 with eight runs scored, two doubles, three triples, and a 0.521 OBP.
The Mules are now 16-10, sitting in fifth place in the NESCAC.
Baseball Takes Three From Husson
After a midweek setback at perennial power USM (3-6), the Mules faced off in a home-and-home series with Husson, a team that has only lost a total of three Northeast Athletic Conference games in the last four years.
Starting pitching was a strength in the three-game set, with all three starters (Nicholas Thompson, Jack Pletter, and Joe Sylvester) going at least five innings each, combining to scatter five hits and only one earned run. The Mules took all three games from the Eagles (9-4, 5-1, 7-1).
Cole Palmeri and Ryan Grace combined for 11 hits on the week, scoring four runs and four RBI apiece, and finishing off Husson in the final game with a home runs in the 4th (Palmeri) and 7th (Grace) innings.
Before Saturday's double header, the Mules hosted the Coastal Maine Storm, a youth baseball team with players from Augusta, Belgrade, Oakland, Manchester, Vassalboro, and Brunswick.
Colby is now 17-7, good for third place in the NESCAC East.
Women's Lacrosse Takes Down Bowdoin, Gets Tested With #1 Middlebury
Facing the Polar Bears of Bowdoin College Wednesday night, the Mules extended their winning streak to nine games, pushing ahead of Bowdoin 17-6 by the end of the third quarter and coasting to a 20-9 victory.
On Saturday, Colby welcomed the undefeated Middlebury Panthers to Mayflower Hill for their toughest test to date. The two opponents played even in draw controls, but the Panthers held the advantage in forced turnovers, successful clears, and total shots, bringing Colby's streak to an end 17-5.
Colby is now 9-4, sitting in fifth place in the NESCAC standings.
Women's Tennis Hosts Ranked Middlebury and Hamilton
Over the weekend, the Mules hosted #6 Middlebury Saturday and #13 Williams on Sunday. Against the Panthers, Colby fell 3-6 with victories coming from Ellie Gershaw, Isabella Suk, and Caleigh McClain in the last three singles spots. The next day facing the Ephs, the Mules lost 2-7 as Gershaw claimed her second victory of the weekend in the four spot while Sam Riordan took the win in the one spot.
Gershaw leads the way in singles this season with a 10-3 record as Riordan and Sydney Landau have an 8-5 record to lead the way in doubles.
Senior Caleigh McClain was recognized on Senior Day Saturday for her accomplishments in her four years here at Colby.
Women's Tennis is now 4-9 overall, good for 9th in the NESCAC.
Men's Lacrosse Draws Close With #8 Bowdoin
Colby hosted #8 Bowdoin College Wednesday night for their annual rivalry game. Knotted at six goals apiece halfway through the second quarter, the visitors went on a run to put themselves ahead for good. Despite outscoring Bowdoin 9-3 down the stretch, the Polar Bears secured the victory 22-16.
In Saturday's matchup at #5 Middlebury, the Panthers secured their 12th win of the season 22-12. Colby once again finished strong, scoring the final five goals of the game.
Nick Hassan tallied a career-high six points against Bowdoin with four goals and two assists, and added two goals and an assist against Middlebury.
The Mules are now 2-9 on the season.
Men's Tennis Welcomes Panthers and Ephs to Mayflower Hill
On Saturday, the Mules faced #5 Middlebury leading to a 1-8 loss. The duo of Joey Barrett and Aidan Kwong in the third doubles spot avoided the sweep by taking a 8-6 victory. Before the match, Colby honored its three seniors Josh Fleishman, Ben Powis, and Jan Wenger on their accomplishments here at Colby.
On Sunday, the Mules took on another strong opponent in #6 Williams, resulting in a 2-7 loss. Barrett and Kwong stayed hot grabbing their second doubles victory of the weekend, while Sam Henry took care of competition in the fifth singles spot.
Barrett and Kwong lead the way in doubles with a 8-4 record on the season while Henry stands with the best singles record of 9-3.
Men's Tennis is now 7-6 overall, good for 6th in the NESCAC
Crew Battles the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on the Malden River
The Colby Crew team headed down to Medford, Mass. Saturday for a dual regatta against Coast Guard Academy. With solid weather and good racing conditions, the Colby Women's V8 boat totaled a time of 7:18.7, just short of Coast Guard's 7:13.3 finishing time. In the second V8 boat, the Mules grabbed a time of 7:51.8 putting them neck and neck with Coast Guard’s time of 7:49.2.
On the Men’s side, Colby took the victory in the V8 race with a time of 6:12.7 as the Bears finished about ten seconds behind with a time of 6:23.2. In the Men’s V4 race, Coast Guard rallied for a time of 7:24.6 as the Mules finished with 7:35.0.
Men's and Women's Crew will be back in action April 22nd as they head to Worcester, Mass. for the second race at WPI this spring.
Track and Field Travel for Busy Weekend at UConn, Conn. College and St. Joesph's
The Men's and Women's Track & Field teams competed in three events over the weekend. The UConn Northeast Challenge, the Silfen Invitational (Conn. College), and the Monk Invitational (Saint Joseph's).
At UConn, the Mules had some stellar performances going against top D1 schools, including the Men's 4x400m relay team taking sixth place, and Fiona Mejico grabbing a 14th place finish in the 400m (both second fastest times in school history).
In the Silfen Invitational highlights include Hayden Bailey placing first in the 1500m as Chris Gould grabbed 10th in the 5k while Abby Steffler placed 10th in the 800m.
At the Monk Invitational Colby dominated, accumulating multiple top-3 finishes as the Men took 2nd place overall with 101 points and the Women took 3rd totaling 117 points.
Women's Top-3 Finishers (non-heptathlon):
- 200m - Lottie Franck, 1st
- 400m - Charlotte Freniere, 1st
- Pole Vault - Mary Calvert, 1st
- 1500m - Bridget Meehan 1st, Emily Jeon 2nd
- 800m - Margo Kenyon, 2nd
- 4x100 Relay - 2nd (Alayna Blier, Alexandra Bessler, Franck, Kristina Pizzi)
- 5000m - Jillian Dowling, 3rd
Men's Top-3 Finishers (non-decathlon):
- 5000m - Henry Weisman 1st, Danny Reyes 2nd, Michael Bligh 3rd
- Pole Vault - Logan Lehnert 1st
- 400m - John Silberman 2nd, Elian Joseph 3rd
- 800m - Matt DeAngelis, 2nd
- 1500m - Nate Goodman 3rd
- 400m Hurdles - Silberman, 3rd
Track & Field will head back to St. Joseph's April 22nd for the Maine State Meet.
Special thank you to the photographers who helped make this production possible: Cole Burkhart '24, Steve Cheney P25, Stephen R. Clouthier, Ashley Conti, Nancy Dauphinais '25, Paula Dauphinais '25, Jamie Fiedorek '25, Steve Fuller @flyingpoint, Michael Garrett P23, Andrew Hearns P24, Peter Li '26, Michael Maher, Joshua McKee, Dustin Satloff '15, Ellie Sawyer P25, Isadora Wells '26, Ansley White '26