I have some seriously devastating news. This is the last Bobcat Bites of the season. It’s hard, it’s emotional, it’s almost too much to bear. I am trying to stay cool, but please imagine me, your anonymous Bobcat Bites-er, sitting on my bed, crying softly while listening to some sort of like emo, soft, acoustic music. I will miss you all.

Anywho, spring sports are finally picking up a little bit. Slow and steady wins the race, people! Here’s what’s been going on and what’s coming up in the beautiful world of Bates Athletics.

EXCITING NEWS:

First NESCAC Win: If you see a member of the women’s lacrosse team, make sure to run up without warning and give them a really aggressive chest bump, because they just won their first NESCAC matchup of the season against No. 12 nationally ranked Hamilton this week! Major congrats to their new head coach, Renee Olsen, on her first-ever NESCAC win!

Byrne Burns the Competition Up (Ha! Get it?): Liam Byrne ‘23 made it onto the Bates all-time top 10 list in the javelin on Saturday after his performance at the Tufts Quad Meet. Amazing!

PAST GAMES:

Women’s Tennis: Despite their wins against Connecticut College and Trinity, the women unfortunately lost to their final Connecticut NESCAC, Wesleyan, on Sunday, finishing the match 0-9.

Men’s Tennis: The men also played Wesleyan on Sunday and dropped their matches as well, coming up short 2-7.

Women’s Lacrosse: The women unfortunately lost to No. 14 nationally ranked Bowdoin on Wednesday, 10-18. Then, as you saw in the amazing “exciting news” category, the women earned their first NESCAC win of the season, beating No. 12 nationally ranked Hamilton in a thrilling 13-12 finish on Saturday! Hooray!

Men’s Lacrosse: The streak continues. The men dropped their Wednesday game to Bowdoin 11-16. They weren’t done with their week, however, as the men traveled to Clinton, N.Y., to play Hamilton, losing 4-10.

Softball: Major congratulations are in order for the softball team; the women won back-to-back games against Thomas College on Wednesday, 5-0 and 3-1. The women then faced off against Colby on Saturday, losing 3-9 and 3-10. The next day they also played Colby, losing 13-16. On Tuesday they played University of Maine Farmington twice, winning 5-3 and 13-6!

Baseball: The men played Thomas College as well, winning 10-9 on Wednesday. On Sunday the men played Tufts, losing 5-16 and 2-12. 

Rowing: The women’s first varsity eight beat No. 1 nationally ranked Wellesley on Saturday, before losing to them on Sunday. The men’s 1V placed behind Tufts on Saturday but won their races on Sunday. Both teams’ other boats also thrived over the weekend, consistently coming in first or second in each of their races. 

Track and Field: The men and women both came in fourth in their meets against Rochester Polytechnic Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday. 

Club Water Polo: The women played in a tournament at Bowdoin this weekend, winning 8-6 against Coast Guard and 16-1 against Tufts! It’s weird to me that the Coast Guard has an inferior water polo team. I would think they’d be really insanely good, but our Bobcats are clearly just better. The women lost close games against Yale and Middlebury, but both those schools are lame so we’re fine.

UPCOMING GAMES:

Women’s Tennis: The women play Colby at 2 p.m. in Lewiston on Saturday! Go, team, go!

Men’s Tennis: Hoping to find success, the men head to Tufts to play at 3 p.m. on Thursday. On Saturday they have a home game (show up!) at 10 a.m. against Colby.

Women’s Lacrosse: The women look to score their second NESCAC win in a row when they head to Medford, Mass., to play Tufts on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Next they head to New London to play against Connecticut College at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Men’s Lacrosse: The men hope to earn their first win of the season tonight; they have a home game against Tufts at 6 p.m., so if you want to watch them, head on over to Garcelon. Another home game for the men on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Connecticut College.

Softball: The women will be in Brunswick on Friday at 4 p.m. playing Bowdoin. The next day, they play the Polar Bears at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. at home!

Baseball: The men face off at home against Dean College today at 3 p.m. Show up and watch! They will continue to play in Lewiston on Friday at 3 p.m. when they take on the Colby College Mules. The next day they head to Waterville to face the Colby squad at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Track and Field: On Friday and Saturday the men will be in New London to compete in the Silfen Invitational, while the women will travel to Standish to take part in the Monks Invitational (Heptathlon).