Okay, nobody freak out!! But I’m back with Bobcat Bites. And I know what you’re thinking: “mysterious Bobcat Bites writer, why did you return? Haven’t you moved on to bigger and better things?” The answer is yes, but honestly, I just felt myself being called back to this glorious post. And nobody did it last week so I figured why the hell not!

We’ve got a lot to go over, so let’s just get started!

Exciting Things

The Big Fall F-Word: No I don’t mean football! I mean our field hockey team, who is currently ranked No. 11 in the country (!!!).

Winter is Coming: Our amazing women’s basketball team, who last year were NESCAC Champions (incredible, showstopping, mind blowing, etc. etc. etc.) were recently recognized via mayoral proclamation at the Lewiston City Council meeting, which I was not even aware they did, but why wouldn’t they??

Kwei “K”wins Honors: Okay tried to be punny but I’m not sure it worked. Maddy Kwei ‘25 earned individual medalist honors at the Williams Golf Classic on Sunday. She shot a 76 on Saturday and followed that up with a 77 on Sunday, according to Bates Sports Legend Aaron Morse. It was good for a 153 and a two-stroke victory over someone from York College. If you see her, applaud loudly in her presence.

Hole-in-One: Is a thing that is possible! Congrats to first-year Henry Ehrlich of the men’s golf team who recorded his first career hole-in-one at the Bowdoin Invitational last weekend. Somebody call Tiger Woods and tell him his career is done. 

Future Games:

Football: Despite it being parent’s weekend, the football team is headed to Waterville to play Colby at 7:00 p.m., which feels like bad planning to me on behalf of the Bates Athletics office, but whatever.

Volleyball: The women have a home match tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. against inferior NESCAC Trinity College, so make sure to pack Alumni Gym to cheer for them. The next day they face off at 1:00 p.m. at home against No. 16 nationally ranked Wesleyan.

Men’s Golf: The CBB championship will take place at 11:00 a.m. at the martindale Country Club on Saturday.

Cross Country: The men and women will head to Bangor on Saturday to compete in the Maine State Meet, so please send them all of your good vibes.

Field Hockey: Has another tough fight on Saturday when they face off at home against No. 5 nationally ranked Trinity. But hopefully the parental presence in the stands at Campus Ave Field will propel the women to victory. On Tuesday they face off against the University of New England at home at 4:00 p.m.!

Women’s Soccer: The team is looking for their first NESCAC win of the season when they face Trinity at home at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The next day they’ll head to Gorham to face off against the University of Southern Maine.

Men’s Soccer: The men are also seeking their first NESCAC win of the season by playing Trinity at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at home, so make sure to cheer them and the women on! Whoo hoo. Then on Tuesday the men will be traveling to Farmington to play the University of Maine-Farmington.

Golf: The women are heading to the George Phinney Golf Classic while the men are set to compete in the Colby Classic on Sunday.

Tennis: The men are going to the ITA NEw England Championship in Brunswick on Sunday, and though I am not 100% sure what that is, I cheer them on immensely. 

Past Games:

Football: The men, who have yet to find a win this season, unfortunately dropped their first home game of the fall to Tufts 7-35. Especially sad since they beat Tufts last year, but I think they’ll find their footing soon.

Volleyball: The women dropped their match to Brandeis on Friday, losing 0-3. The following day they also unfortunately lost to fellow NESCAC, Colby, 0-3.

Field Hockey: The women, who saw a strong start to the season with wins over Bowdoin and Williams, ultimately came up short against No. 12 nationally ranked Amherst, losing 0-5 at home on Saturday. The next day, the team lost to No. 1 nationally ranked Middlebury at home 1-4. In their game against Thomas College on Wednesday, the team won 6-0.

Women’s Soccer: Though I am personally obsessed with the women’s soccer team in support of one of our assistant Arts and Leisure editors (shoutout to you, Elizabeth Patrick ‘23), the team did not find success in their Saturday game against Amherst, losing 0-2. The next day they lost to Middlebury 0-2.

Men’s Soccer: Mirroring the women, the men came up short in their game against Amherst on Saturday, losing 2-3. Following the trend, the team dropped their game against Middlebury 0-3.