50th Anniversary Reception & Panel, Soccer Senior Day Highlight Upcoming Friends & Family Weekend at Wellesley
Friday-Sunday, October 20-22 is Friends and Family Weekend 2023 at Wellesley College!
As part of the weekend, Wellesley Athletics will host Earning the W: 50 Years of Varsity Athletics at Wellesley on Saturday, October 21, 2023 from 3:30-5:00 pm at the Keohane Sports Center. The event will cap off a full day of varsity and club sports competitions on Saturday, including senior day for the Blue soccer team. Programming will include an informal reception from 3:30-4:15pm with appetizers followed by a panel from 4:15-5:00pm. The event is open to all current varsity and club student-athletes and their families as well as alum student-athletes. Former student-athletes are asked to RSVP.
Earning the W: 50 Years of Varsity Athletics at Wellesley
- Date: Saturday, October 21, 2023
- Time: 3:30-5:00pm
- Location: Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse, Keohane Sports Center
- Who: Past, current and future Wellesley College student-athletes and family, friends
Go Blue! Make Your Gift and Support Friends of Wellesley Athletics
Panel participants will share stories and discuss the history of Wellesley Athletics. The panel is scheduled to include:
Bridget Belgiovine
Director of Athletics & Department Chair of PERA from 2006 to 2019 and the former Director of Division III at the NCAA. Bridget was a 2020 inductee into the NACDA Hall of Fame, a 2021 recipient of the Nike Lifetime Achievement Award, and was the 2023 recipient of the Wellesley Athletics' Linda K. Vaughan Award for Exceptional Service.
Melissa Ludtke '73
An award-winning journalist who broke down baseball's gender barriers when she charged that game's commissioner with discriminating against her. In her 1978 federal court fight with him, Melissa gained the same access the male sportswriters had to interview the ballplayers in their locker rooms. She was honored with the Yankee Quill Award for lifetime journalism achievement and the Mary Garber Pioneer Award from the Association of Women in Sports Media, while she also earned a prestigious Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. She rowed on Wellesley's first intercollegiate crew team while earning a degree in Art History.
Anna Diaz Triola '95
An executive biotech leader based in the Boston-area, Anna was a four-year starter and served as captain of the Wellesley volleyball team, majoring in Psychology and Spanish. Anna earned her MBA from Harvard Business School in 2000. She lives in Carlisle, Mass. with her family and also generously volunteers her time as a member of our Friends of Wellesley Athletics National Committee.
Jennifer Fan '24
A current senior on the Wellesley tennis team and the President of our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Additional highlights of the weekend on campus will include the Alumnae Achievement Awards, the sophomore tree planting, concerts and comedy, presentations by Career Education and the Office of International Study, and an address from President Paula Johnson. You can find a preliminary schedule of events on the Friends & Family Weekend website.
Saturday, October 21
Pre-Season Varsity Swimming and Diving Blue/White Meet
9:30-11:30 a.m.
Keohane Sports Center, Chandler Pool
Pre-Season Varsity Softball Tournament
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Softball field
Club Rugby vs Smith
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Keohane Sports Center Upper Field
Varsity Soccer vs Springfield - Senior Day
1 to 3 p.m.
Varsity Soccer Field
Earning the W: 50 Years of Varsity Athletics at Wellesley
3:30 to 5 p.m.
Keohane Sports Center, Fieldhouse
Sunday, October 22
Head Of The Charles Regatta
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Wellesley boats begin around 2 p.m.)
Charles River, Cambridge between MIT and Harvard
Wellesley Athletics strives for excellence at the conference, regional, and national levels, while providing opportunities for students to achieve their potential and learn the values of discipline, leadership, critical thinking, and responsibility to oneself and others.