Much of the recent success of both men’s and women’s crew can be attributed to the walk-ons, athletes who were not recruited for the sport and joined the team after arriving at the College.
This past weekend, seven of the College’s fall varsity teams — men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, football, field hockey, men’s and women’s cross country — and two of the College’s club ultimate frisbee teams all competed at home. Hosting this many sporting events was no easy feat: Executing a home weekend requires hours of planning from a wide range of Operations & Maintenance staff, as well as administrators in the athletic department.
Aidan Ryan ’22 broke the Div. III mile record on Sunday, Jan. 30, completing the race in 3:56.88. He is the second Div. III athlete to run the mile in under four minutes.
Women’s cross country, men’s cross country, and football all ended their seasons with NESCAC championship titles, beating out their conference rivals and, in football’s case, going undefeated with a 9–0 record. Women’s and men’s cross country won NCAA Regionals and qualified for NCAA Nationals from there. They will compete this weekend.
Eph sports have gained several achievements this spring season, with men’s tennis and men’s crew claiming NESCAC titles, as well as men’s and women’s tennis and women’s golf earning bids to the NCAA Div. III tournament.
This weekend, Ephs returned to the field for their first NESCAC competitions in over a year. While this spring season will most certainly be untraditional, the opportunity to play and compete again has been greeted with enthusiasm from coaches and players alike.
Last June, President Maud S. Mandel announced that the College’s fall sports teams would not compete during the fall semester. Fall coaches subsequently had to make major adjustments to their usual practice and game routines.
