Recapping The Year (So Far) in Wellesley Athletics
We've hit the midway point of the 2016-17 Wellesley Athletics season and if you missed any of the action during the fall semester, you can get caught up with season recaps below. To check out a complete list of award winners to date, click here. Looking for photos of Wellesley teams in action? Check out our photo galleries by clicking here. Galleries are updated throughout the year.
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Fall Season Recaps
Blue Crew's defense of their 2016 National Championship started with three events this fall. Wellesley opened the season with a 14th place showing from the Varsity in the Division I race at the Head of the Housatonic Regatta. The Blue's second and third varsity boat's also garnered second and third place finishes at the event, while the novice boats earned a pair of top-five finishes. The Blue then returned to the Head Of the Charles Regatta in Boston, taking 6th and 18th in the Women's Collegiate Eights. Crew closed out the fall with an eighth-straight Seven Sisters Championship, overcoming the loss of the varsity boat's rudder by sweeping the remaining races to win the title. Wellesley's Kathryn Barth '17 and Sydney Dollmeyer '17 and Arielle Wons '20 all earned All-Seven Sisters honors for the Blue.
The Blue locked up three first place team finishes in 2016, winning the season opening Roger Williams Invitational, as well as the Bowdoin Invitational, and the Seven Sisters Championship. Wellesley earned the Seven Sisters title at Wellesley's Nehoiden Golf Course behind All-Seven Sisters performances from Sonja Cwik '17, Edie Sharon '17, Sara Vannah '17 and Taylor Fortnam '18. The Blue would go on to take second at the NEWMAC Championships, with Cwik, Sharon, and Vannah honored as All-Conference performers. Cross Country ended the season at the NCAA Regional Championships in Westfield, Mass., where Cwik and Sharon capped their careers with All-Region accolades.
A 10-8 season for Wellesley Field Hockey ended with an overtime loss to rival Mount Holyoke in the first round of the NEWMAC Tournament. The Blue entered the tournament with a 5-3 conference record and as the No. 4 seed, thanks to regular-season victories over Wheaton, WPI, Springfield and Clark. Three of those wins came in overtime off the stick of Hannah Maisano '20, as the Wellesley first year scored three overtime game-winning goals in just her first season. The Blue earned a trio of NEWMAC All-Conference and NFHCA All-Region awards following the season, with Courtney Peterson '17 and Nikki Sharkin '17 landing on both first teams and Emmy Hamilton '18 earning a spot on the second team at the conference and regional level.
The golf team enjoyed arguably the best fall seasons in program history, earning three Liberty League Rookie of the Week awards and finishing fifth at the annual Ann S. Batchelder Invitational. The Blue opened the year with a team record score of 316 to defeat Husson and RIC at Nehoiden. With a one-over round of 73 at the event, Kalau Tanaka-Pesamino '20 garnered the first Liberty League Rookie of the Year honor in program history. Classmate Ryan MacVicar '20 then went on to win two Rookie of the Week awards after leading the Blue to a fifth place finish at the Mount Holyoke Invitational and a ninth place finish at the Williams Fall Classic. The team returns to action April 8 at the Vassar Invitational in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Blue soccer started off the 2016 season, the first under the guidance of new Head Coach Missy Price, with three consecutive victories over Simmons, Farmington and Elms. Carley Phillips '20 netted three goals and an assist in her first three collegiate games, earning NEWMAC Player of the Week honors on September 6. Phillips prowess, which later included a hat trick in a 4-0 NEWMAC victory over Coast Guard, earned the first year NEWMAC First Team All-Conference honors. Seniors Maddie Carlborg '17 and Kyla Petrie '17 combined to score nine more goals for the Blue, as Wellesley went 4-5-1 in conference play and made their first trip to the NEWMAC tournament since 2013. Soccer's season came to an end with a NEWMAC first round setback at MIT.
Blue Tennis enjoyed a tremendous fall season, going 10-2 overall while making the team's first appearance in the NEWMAC Championship match since 2013. The squad earned a big non-conference win over No. 30 TCNJ before enjoying a seven-match win streak from September 11-October 22 that included seven-straight wins over NEWMAC opponents. At the conclusion of the season, Sarah Yan '20 earned NEWMAC Rookie of the Year honors to go along with first team All-Conference recognition in both singles and doubles. Yan led the way for Wellesley, as six players combined to win seven All-Conference awards, including: Yan, Justine Huang '19, Korina Hernandez '20, Selina Peng '20 and Andjela Stojkovic '17 in singles and Yan, Stojkovic, Peng and Rosanne Hu '19 in doubles. Tennis wll host the annual Nor'Easter Bowl and compete in the Seven Sisters Championship in the spring.
Led by NEWMAC All-Conference and AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region selection Yasmine Reece '19, Volleyball finished the season with a 12-16 overall record. The team advanced to the NEWMAC tournament before ending the year with a 3-0 setback to Clark. Reece also earned a pair of NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors during the year as the team earned wins over Bates, Colby and UMass Boston while also winning a pair of matches versus Maryville and Covenant when they traveled out-of-region to play in the 2016 Emory Invitational in Atlanta, Ga. The 3-2 win over UMass Boston was the highlight of the season, as the Beacons were the top-ranked team in the region entering the match that took place on same day as the inauguration of Paula A. Johnson as Wellesley's 14th President.
Up Next for Winter Sports...
Basketball is off to a 3-4 start this season, that included winning the title at the USJ Tip-Off Tournament, and will return to action when they host a pair of games over the Holidays. The Blue will welcome UMass Dartmouth to Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse on Thursday, December 29, and Salisbury on Friday, December 30. Both games will tip-off at 1:00 PM. SCHEDULE >
Fencing has faced a highly-competitive schedule over their first month of competition and has emerged with a 9-11 record, including a 4-1 mark at the LIU Post Invitational last weekend. The team will continue the season with their only home event of the year on Wednesday, January 25 vs. Brandeis. SCHEDULE >
Blue squash opened the season with a 3-0 record for the first time since 2010, earning victories over Boston College, Colby, and Connecticut College. Now 3-1 on the year, the Blue will return to the courts on January 16 when they face off with Drexel University in Philadelphia. SCHEDULE >
The Blue will host their first home meet of 2017, and their final home meet of the season, on Thursday, January 5, at 1:00 PM, versus Babson and Coast Guard. Wellesley will also recognize Rebecca Jennings '17 and Maddie Stern '17 during a senior day ceremony prior to the meet. SCHEDULE >
Track & Field got the indoor season started at the Smith Winter Classic on December 3, where Hannah Cohn '20 earned a first place finish in the 60m Dash and a runner-up finish in the 200m Dash and Isabella Narvaez '17 took third in the 400m Dash. The season continues for the Blue on January 14, 2017 at Brandeis University's Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational. SCHEDULE >
Wellesley Athletics supports the mission of the College by serving as an integral part of the overall educational experience. Through competitive intercollegiate athletics, students strive to achieve their potential while learning the value of discipline, leadership, critical thinking, and a sense of obligation to, and responsibility for, others. Consistent with Wellesley's national reputation, the program's focus is excellence at the conference, regional, and national levels.