The Bates Student

The Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams came out strong in their first meet since the start of winter break, each team solidly beating Middlebury last Sunday, Jan. 13, in the Panther’s home pool. This marks Bates’s fifth victory over a NESCAC opponent this season, each team having only lost to Div. I Dartmouth earlier this season. The Bobcats will be back in action this weekend, swimming two dual meets against Bowdoin on Friday, Jan. 18 at home in Tarbell Pool at 7 p.m. and at Colby in Waterville, Maine on the 19.

Men

The Men’s Swim and Dive team won a decisive victory against Middlebury 192-102, taking first in nine of the 14 individual events and both relays. Additionally, Bates dominated the 200-yard freestyle, going 1-2-3 in this event to earn 16 points, almost doubling their point total in one fell swoop at the conclusion of the third event.

First-year Andrew Hall ‘22 placed first in the 100-yard butterfly (53.76) and 400-yard individual medley (IM) (4:15.30) and second in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:00.69), earning the most individual points by any one swimmer for Bates at 22.

However, this meet was won by many spectacular performances by various athletes. Alex Bedard ‘19 earned two first place finishes in the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.51) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:11.30). Jack Johnson ‘22 similarly found success in this meet, placing first in the 200-yard butterfly (2:00.94) and second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:13.29) and 400-yard IM (4:16.62).

Rory Collins ‘19 sprinted to a first place finish in the 50-yard freestyle in a mark of 22.16 and received a second place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (48.77). Pieter Cory ‘22 similarly won first in the 100-yard breaststroke and earned a second place finish in the 500-yard freestyle.

Rounding out these numerous individual performances were Tanner Fuller ‘20 with his win in the 100-yard freestyle (48.39), Daniel Waterland ‘22 in the 100-yard backstroke (53.33) and second place finishes by Alexander Ignator ‘20 in the 1650-yard freestyle (16:56.31), Kyle Jorgensen ‘22 in the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.60) and Matt Puckace ‘19 in the 100-yard butterfly (54.37).

The two wins in each of the relays were similarly critical to the team’s success. In the 200-yard medley relay, composed of Waterland, Bedard, Hall and Fuller, Bates won with a final time of 1:36.89; the 200-yard freestyle relay of Cory, Collins, Waterland, and Fuller beat three competing Middlebury teams in 1:27.56, ending the meet with a final victory.

This year, the men’s swim and dive team welcomed two divers into their midst. In both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, Ossie Heard and Sam Poulos picked up points, placing second (208.35/210.53) and third (152.40/151.28) in each, respectively.

“We are right in the middle of our toughest stretch of meets with rivals Bowdoin and Colby coming up this week, so we will have to be at our very best to secure two wins for the men,” Collins said. “Bowdoin is our biggest rival and the meets are always extremely close between us…Bowdoin is a very talented team so I am hoping we can get a big home crowd to show up for our senior night and we can deliver a win. Once again our divers will be crucial in this meet and I am confident that they will come ready to give it their all.”

Women

The Women’s Swim and Dive team similarly overcame the Middlebury Panthers, but by a smaller margin of 163.5-130.5. Many of these points were hard fought, and the second, third, fourth, and fifth place finishes were much more critical to the success of the women’s team.

Leading the team in individual scoring was Erin Bucki ‘21 who won both the 200-yard freestyle (1:58.62) in an outside lane and the 200-yard backstroke (2:10.22) and Emmy Daigle ‘20 who won the 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.71) and the 200-yard breastroke (2:29.72). Each of these swimmers earned 18 individual points for Bates.

Also playing a key role in Bates’ victory was Hannah Johnson ‘20, winning the 100-yard backstroke (1:00.30) and placing second in the 200-yard backstroke (2:10.29), first-year Saskia Wong-Smith earning a first place finish in the 200-yard butterfly (2:15.19) and a second place mark in the 100-yard butterfly (1:00.34), and first-year Caroline Sweeney who similarly took first in the 100-yard freestyle (54.70) and second in the 200-yard freestyle (1:58.80), outpacing a Middlebury swimmer in the last few seconds of the race.

Caroline Apathy ‘21 placed first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 59.04. Maya Reynoso Williams ‘22 earned second in the 1550-yard freestyle (18:25.74) and in the 500-yard freestyle (5:19.62). Amy Duren ‘20 placed second in the 200-yard butterfly (2:15.29).

While Bates may have lost the first relay of the meet, the 200-yard medley, to Middlebury by less than 0.30 seconds, they finished the meet off with an exciting performance in the 200-yard freestyle relay composed of Suzy Ryckman ‘19, Janika Ho ‘21, Sweeney, and Apathy. These swimmers won the relay with a time of 1:39.52, a brisk 0.14 seconds in front of Middlebury.

“The season has been going really well for us,” team captain Madeline Moburg ‘19 commented. “We are a very young group this year, with ten first years and seven sophomores on a 28 person team. This has made things super fun as there is a lot of energy on the team, and we have a lot of depth which certainly helps us to win meets. We had a blast in Florida on our annual training trip and put in a lot of hard work, and are ready for the next couple of dual meets this weekend before we start focusing on our big end-of-season meets.”

Unfortunately, the women’s swim and dive team does not currently include any diving members, so the two diving events were forfeited to Middlebury, giving them 32 points without contest.

“Bowdoin will be the toughest meet of the semester for both the women’s and men’s teams,” captain Catherine Mullen ‘19 said. “Without divers we are going to swim our best and secure as many top finishes as we can. As it is our last home meet of the season and the senior meet, it is sure to be exciting at Tarbell this Friday at 7pm.”

Last Saturday, the women’s Track and Field team traveled down to Cambridge, Mass. to compete against MIT and Colby for their first meet of the indoor season. This meet served as an ideal opportunity for the Bobcats to show their abilities after several weeks of preseason training.

The meet ultimately resulted in Bates finishing with 117 points, beating Colby’s 60 but coming in second to MIT’s 155. In addition to this strong team showing, many individual athletes put forward impressive performances in various events, with seven of the events being won by Bates.

“I think you have to go into the first meet with an understanding that it’s just a starting point and there is so little pressure on you,” commented senior captain Katie Hughes ’19. “For some, it was their first college meet; for others, it was their first indoor track meet. This is to say that my wildest expectations were surpassed by all of the performances on Saturday.”

The sprinters had multiple successful races. With a time of 27.58 seconds, first-year Rebecca Willis ’22 won the 200-meter dash handily. Sophie Matt ’22, another first-year, ran 1:02.61 to win the 400-meter dash, a great start to her indoor track career at Bates. The 60-meter hurdles was also dominated by Bates, as sophomore Amanda Kaufman ’21 crossed the finish line in first place at 9.33 seconds, followed by Willis in second place at 9.54 seconds.

Distance and middle-distance runners had a good showing as well. In the 1000-meter run, senior captain Ayden Eickhoff ’19 won with a time of 2:57.19, breaking her own Bates record from last year (2:57.24) in the process. This continued improvement bodes well for the rest of the season.

Additionally, the 600-meter run saw terrific opening races from Bates; although the first place spot went to MIT, first-years Elise Lambert ’22 and Mary Corcoran ’22 gained second and third with times of 1:40.52 and 1:41.39 respectively.

There were also notable performances in the field events. Senior captain Katie Hughes ’19 took first place in the shot put by throwing 11.16 meters. Hughes also won the weight throw with a distance of 14.42 meters. Sophomore Genesis Paulino ’21 gained third place in both events as well, throwing 9.90 meters in the shot put and 13.28 meters in the weight throw. In jumps, Kaufman took second for the long jump with 5.01 meters, and Lambert overcame 1.53 meters in the high jump for second place.

The Bates team for the 4×400-meter relay was victorious with an overall time of 4:12.8. Senior captains Sarah Shoulta ’19 and Andrea Russo ’19 along with sophomores Kaufman and Imani Boggan ’21 put forth the speed, effort, and teamwork necessary to beat out MIT in the end by just under two seconds. This exciting meet revealed a determination and growth on the team that will hopefully carry on for many meets to come.

In just their first meet, four first-year athletes qualified for the New England Division III Championship. Willis’ performance in the 60-m hurdles, Lambert and Corcoran’s efforts in the 600-meter run and Lauren Berube’s ’22 mark of 3.10 meters in the pole vault each earned them the opportunity to compete against many other talented athletes in New England.

Even though it may be easy to get caught up with the times and placements and scores in a meet like this, Hughes took a more holistic approach to the overall success of the team. “While there were definitely some strong individual performances on Saturday, I feel as though the most crucial piece of our success as a whole is that everyone showed up to MIT and did what they needed to do,” she said. “Whether they showed up ready to compete, or showed up ready to help film and to be supportive, everyone did what they needed to contribute to the success of the team.”

In regards to the overall potential of the team this year, Head Coach Jay Hartshorn is optimistic. “I am excited to see where the season goes,” she said. “We have an extra week before [the New England Division III Championships], so [there’s] lots of time to get back some of our injured people and then really see what we can do. It’s a young team which is always really exciting.”

Starting the year 4-12 isn’t the way they drew it up, but there are still plenty of reasons to watch the Men’s Basketball team this season. This past weekend, the team welcomed the Middlebury Panthers and the Williams Ephs for two home conference games. For those who don’t know, Middlebury and Williams are consistently two of the top teams in the NESCAC and this year is no exception. Middlebury was 11-4 coming into the game and Williams sat at 13-0 while holding a No. 3 national ranking. Despite coming out of the weekend with two losses, there are several positives and definite building points for the guys moving forward.

After starting the season on a bad note, Head Coach Jon Furbush recently decided to implement a 1-3-1 zone to try and throw a different look at teams that weren’t used to facing this defense. The goal of this zone is to apply constant pressure to the ball while hopefully forcing a trap and getting a steal. Because it often involves a double-team, one man on the opponent’s team is left open and a sequence of good passes can result in an open 3-pointer. What Middlebury did right was remain calm under pressure and not let Bates bait them into making too many bad passes. It also felt like they hit every single shot that they took, and the stats show that this feeling wasn’t totally unfair. On the way to putting up 100 points, the Panthers made 17 of 33 total 3-point shots, resulting in an impressively high 51.5% rate from beyond the arc. The game was close most of the way and never got totally out of hand, but Middlebury hit just enough shots to sneak away with a win.

The Williams game was a completely different story. Bates jumped ahead early and even got the lead up to 14 points midway through the first half. The Ephs are an incredibly talented team who shoot the ball very well generally, but they struggled mightily against the 1-3-1 zone. They visibly looked uncomfortable at times and turned the ball over quite often on silly mistakes. Although the Bobcats led much of the way, outcome was much like the night before.

Williams battled to stay in the game and they eventually were able to pull away at the very end because of their immense talent and size.

Most of the time an 0-2 weekend isn’t worth focusing on, much less writing about, but this wasn’t your typical 0-2 weekend. Single-digit losses against one of the top teams in the conference and one of the top teams in the nation isn’t a terrible showing from a squad that has really struggled at times this season.

The next test on the schedule comes this Saturday at 3pm when the Tufts Jumbos come to town in what will be a very winnable game for the Bobcats. Tufts is a good team that has played well this season, but they don’t quite have the same talent that we see on rosters like Middlebury and Williams. Hopefully the Bates faithful will pack the gym and make it a fun one to be at for another huge NESCAC matchup this weekend.

The men’s track and field team set a high standard in their first meet of the season against MIT and Colby, placing second to MIT with a tight score of 149-140. This disparity of nine points marks what is likely the best performance Bates has shown at this annual meet against MIT.

This meet was highly suspenseful; both teams traded off the lead for much of the meet, making every point earned on the track and in the field vital to the tight finish.

The highest total point scorer of the team was junior captain Brendan Donahue ‘20 with a total of 16 points earned on both the track, placing first in the 60 m hurdles (9.06), and in the field with a second place finish in the long jump (6.42 m) and a fourth place finish in the high jump (1.82 m).

Ryan Nealis ‘21 ran one of the most stunning races of the meet in the mile, placing first with a time of 4:21.72. Taking the lead in one of the final few laps, he pressed the pace and earned himself a two-second lead by the finish. Additionally, Nealis ran the 800 m placing second (2:00.84) followed closely by Jackson Elkins ‘22 in third (2:00.96).

“Ryan Nealis [ran an] excellent mile, [got a] huge PR [and] beat a very talented All-American runner from MIT,” Head Coach Al Fereshetian commented. “Great double coming back and [he] nearly pulled off the double win considering his competitors in the 800 m were all fresh.”

In the short sprints, Ryan Corley ‘19 played a key role in earning Bates 13 points, placing first in the 60 m dash (7.23) and second in the 200m dash (23.30). In the 400m, Miles Nabritt ‘21 won a convincing race in 52.08 seconds, 1.42 seconds faster than second place. Mark Fusco ‘19 earned second place in the 600 m, running a time of 1.26.76.

In the throws, John Rex ‘21 led the way for the Bobcats with a second place finish in the weight throw (16.77 m) and a third place finish in the shot put (14.44 m). Both of these events had some of the largest fields of contestants in the meet, with 12 and 13 throwers respectively. Quin Trent ‘22 scored Bates points in the triple jump with a second place mark of 10.81.

In the 1000 m, John Mieszczanski ‘22 ran a time of 2:36.19 to place second in the event. Closely following this race was the 3000 m race, the only distance event of the meet. In this race, Bart Rust ‘22 and James Jones ‘20 crossed the finish line together in third (8:57.33) and fourth (8:58.21) places respectively.

Bates finished off a strong meet with an exciting set of relay races. The Bobcats fell to MIT in the 4×400 m, finishing in 3:37.18 composed of Nabritt, Frank Fusco ‘19, Liam Evans ‘22, and Elijah Coyne ‘21. In the last relay of the meet, the 4×800 m team of Christopher Barker ‘21, Elkins, Mieszczanski and Mark Fusco, the cheering from Bates was deafening. Bates and MIT were neck and neck going into the last leg of the relay, run by Fusco, as Bates erupted with excitement. With Fusco confidently taking the lead, MIT hung on for a time and then dropped off perceptively as Bates went on to win the race in 8:17.10 to MIT’s 8:25.11.

Overall, Bates preformed spectacularly in this meet; this success is even more apparent in comparison to last year’s meet, where Bates was unable to earn a single point in the 60 m and 200 m dashes and the high jump.

“It’s good to see so much young talent developing on the team,” team captain Mark Fusco said. “I think it helped us at MIT and it’s likely going to be our team’s greatest strength later in the season.”

In meets involving only three participating teams, points can only be earned by the top two runners from each school, differing from other types of scoring which focuses more heavily on placement regardless of team affiliation.

“This was a very good start for us,” Coach Fresh said. “Generally MIT doubles our score in this meet…This scoring system does have the effect of keeping the meet close; however, MIT does not currently have the depth they have had in previous years, so it may have played to their advantage a bit.”

Most Bobcats finished their travel plans as they transitioned back into another semester at Bates. The Nordic and Alpine Ski teams, however, could not get too comfortable in Maine. Both teams drove six hours to Lake Placid, New York, for their first Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Carnival race of the year, the St. Lawrence Carnival. The carnival spanned two days, Jan. 12-13, with Bates’s Nordic and Alpine Ski teams combining to score 331 carnival points, finishing 9th out of 17 participating teams. Nordic competed at Mt. Van Hoevenburg, while Alpine raced on Whiteface Mountain.

For the Nordic team, on Jan. 12, Kaelyn Woods ’20 placed 16th out of 98 competitors in the women’s 5K freestyle. She completed the grueling course in a brisk 16:35.1. Maya Seckinger ’21 placed 39th, Olivia Skillings ’22 debuted in 44th, and Zoe McKinney placed 49th. These Bobcats finished with times of 17:32.5, 17:39.8, and 17:58.5 respectively, rounding out the carnival’s top 50 times. On the men’s team, Brad Ravenelle ’21 led the Bobcats in 58th place out of 102 individuals in the 10K freestyle race and completed the course in 30:44.2. Henry Raff ’22, captain Carter Ros ’21, and Tucker Barber ’21 were not too far behind, finishing 60th, 63rd, and 66th respectively.

On the Alpine Ski team’s mountain on opening day, Griffin Mueller ’20, who qualified and competed at the NCAA Championships last year, placed 16th in the women’s slalom. Mueller had runs of 49.19 and 51.00 seconds for a combined time of 1:40.19. Tess Coutu ’22 started her alpine ski career with a combined time of 1:44.47, which put her in 27th place. For the men’s team, Arie Van Vuuren ’22 finished 16th in the slalom while Joe Gillis ’21 placed 27th in 1:39.69. After this first day of competition, the Nordic and Alpine Ski teams stood in ninth place out of 17 teams, with 239 carnival points.

“Last year we had a great season and saw the team have some of its best results for years,” Muller said. “We would love to see a little more consistency this year and want to make sure we are getting faster throughout the season…This year’s squad stands out because we are still such a young team and are grounded by just a few upper-classmen with the bulk of the team members and the energy especially coming from the freshman and sophomores on the team,” she continued. “Also, the team has so much passion and energy driving them it is going to lead to great results.”

“Although ski is a very individual sport, since you’re the only one racing down the mountain, it’s also about the team that supports one another,” West added. “So, a goal for this season is to get as many athletes to NCAAs as we can by cheering each other on and pushing everybody in training.”

The final day of the carnival saw Nordic’s Woods finish 14th out 98 competitors in the women’s 10K classical technique race. She covered the course in 35:52.7. Seckinger ‘21 and Skillings ’22 finished second and third for the Bobcats, completing the course in 30th and 36th with times of 37:20.8 and 38:23.0. On the men’s side, Raff led the Bobcats, finishing the 10K course in 31:22.8, Ros placed 57th in 32:02.2 and Barber rounded off the scorers in 58th.

For Alpine, Gillis completed the men’s giant slalom races with a career best 19th place finish. Max Schneider ’21 tied for 32nd place out of 64 competitors with a time of 2:17.4. Calvin Wilson ’22 placed 42nd in 2:19.01. On the women’s side, Hannah West lead the way in 25th out of 73 competitors. Coutu finished her debut in 33rd place with a time of 2:28.25.

Overall, the carnival was successful for both teams, with Bates scoring 331 points and securing 9th out of 17 teams. The Nordic and Alpine teams hope to continue their success at the UNH Carnival at the Jackson Ski Touring Center in Jackson, New Hampshire this weekend, Jan. 18-19.

“I hope this team can stand in the top five at some of our carnivals,” Mueller said. “The most immediate goal I have for is to improve upon every weekend and be around to push each other.”

“Although ski is a very individual sport, since you’re the only one racing down the mountain, it’s also about the team that supports one another,” West added. “So, a goal for this season is to get as many athletes to NCAAs as we can by cheering each other on and pushing everybody in training.”

The final day of the carnival saw Nordic’s Woods finish 14th out 98 competitors in the women’s 10K classical technique race. She covered the course in 35:52.7. Seckinger ‘21 and Skillings ’22 finished second and third for the Bobcats, completing the course in 30th and 36th with times of 37:20.8 and 38:23.0. On the men’s side, Raff led the Bobcats, finishing the 10K course in 31:22.8, Ros placed 57th in 32:02.2 and Barber rounded off the scorers in 58th.

For Alpine, Gillis completed the men’s giant slalom races with a career best 19th place finish. Max Schneider ’21 tied for 32nd place out of 64 competitors with a time of 2:17.4. Calvin Wilson ’22 placed 42nd in 2:19.01. On the women’s side, Hannah West lead the way in 25th out of 73 competitors. Coutu finished her debut in 33rd place with a time of 2:28.25.

Overall, the carnival was successful for both teams, with Bates scoring 331 points and securing 9th out of 17 teams. The Nordic and Alpine teams hope to continue their success at the UNH Carnival at the Jackson Ski Touring Center in Jackson, New Hampshire this weekend, Jan. 18-19.

“I hope this team can stand in the top five at some of our carnivals,” Mueller said. “The most immediate goal I have for is to improve upon every weekend and be around to push each other.”