Around the Herd: Feb. 14 to Feb. 20 in Athletics

Women’s Swimming

This past weekend, the women’s swim team scored 836.5 points, placing sixth in the NESCAC Championships. Nevertheless, individual Mammoths posted some exceptional results.

First-year Maeve Kelley ’27 set another school record in the 1650 yard freestyle, breaking the one she set earlier this season with a time of 16:52.96. Kelley finished in second place while Junior Megan Lee '25 finished in sixth with a time of 17:13.18. The 400 yard freestyle relay, made up of Paige Arnold ’27, Lucy Smith ’27, Grace Walker ’24, and Lee placed third in 3:26.03.

Selected members of the swim team will compete at Regionals on the weekend of March 1st at Colby College.

Men’s Basketball

The men’s basketball team defeated Conn College 65-57 in the quarterfinal of the NESCAC tournament on Saturday. Charlie Randall ’26 scored 22 points, the highest point total of the game, earning him his first NESCAC Basketball Player of the Week. The Mammoths coasted to victory after holding on to the lead they created with an 8-2 run to start the game. And, through Randall’s efficient sixteen points, the lead widened to 37-22 with about a minute to go in the first half. The Camels were able to fight back, even cutting the lead to 59-55 with less than a minute left in the game, but a clean pass from Will Scherer ’25, who had fourteen points in the game, found Randall to secure the victory.

On Saturday, the Mammoths will face Williams College in the semifinals of the NESCAC tournament.

Women’s Basketball

On Saturday, the women’s basketball team fell to Middlebury College in the NESCAC tournament’s quarterfinal. Amherst’s tough defense carried them to a 26-18 lead at halftime, however, Middlebury turned a switch on in the third quarter, immediately going on a 6-0 run. The Mammoths were still able to retain their small lead throughout the third quarter, but the Panthers’ energy reached another level with an 8-3 run to start the fourth. Star player Kori Barach ’25 even tried to end the run with a three, but it was immediately answered by two straight Middlebury threes. Amherst never got much closer to eating away the Middlebury lead---the game ended 59-48. Maya Cwalina ’25 recorded an impressive sixteen points and three blocks, but it was not enough for the Mammoths to move on to the next round of the tournament.

The Mammoths will know if they earned a bid to the NCAA tournament next weekend.

Men’s Ice Hockey

The men’s ice hockey team finished 1-1 on the weekend, as they fell to Williams College on Friday, but won against Middlebury the following evening.

Ben Kuzma ’25 likely had one of the best games of his career against Williams, involving himself in every Amherst goal through a hat-trick along with an assist. With five minutes left in the third period, the score was tied, however, the Ephs’ intensity netted them two goals in quick succession, and even a last minute goal by Kuzma was not enough. The Mammoths outshot their opponents 41-28.

On Saturday, Kuzma somehow managed to repeat his exceptional performance, recording another hat-trick, but, this time the team edged out Middlebury 5-2. The Mammoths started off hot with a tap-in by Ryan Tucker ’24, and a counterattack by Vincent Velocci ’27, assisting Kuzma’s first goal for a 2-0 lead. After the lead extended to 4-0 by the middle of the 2nd period, Middlebury tried everything to get back into the game, including pushing their goalie up front, but their measly two goals didn’t really get them anywhere, and the game ended 5-2.

The team will face Hamilton College this Saturday at 1 p.m.

Women’s Ice Hockey

This past weekend, the women’s ice hockey faced archrival Williams College twice, and managed to beat them by at least two goals in each game, improving their record to a mighty 20-2-2.

Williams didn’t score a single goal in the first game on Friday, as star goalie Natalie Stott ’26 recorded 21 saves and her eighth shutout of the season. The Mammoths’ first goal came ten minutes into the first period, but the tension remained as they couldn’t find the net again until the beginning of the third period as Maeve Reynolds ’26 flew through three Williams defenders for a beautiful solo goal. Amherst outshot Williams 50-21 in the 3-0 win, completely dominating their historical rival.

And, as if it wasn’t enough, the Mammoths did it again the next day. The Ephs scored first, their first goal in three games, but Amherst immediately struck back ten minutes later through another goal by Reynolds assisted by Mary Thompson ’24. It was only until the beginning of the third period that Anna Baxter ’25 was able to take advantage of a rebound in front of the goal for an easy score. Rylee Glennon ’24 notched the dagger with 17 seconds left, securing a 3-1 victory.

The win earned the Mammoths the first seed in the NESCAC tournament. They will face Bowdoin this Saturday at 3 p.m.

Men’s Squash

Although the top four seats were swept, an extremely strong showing from the bottom half of the Amherst ladder carried the Mammoths to win the quarterfinal of the Hoehn’s cup against Franklin and Marshall College. Yeshwin Sankuratri ’24 fought diligently in a match that lasted 77 minutes, with two games going to 22 points. The effort pushed Amherst to a close 5-4 victory.

Nevertheless, the team was unable to take advantage of their win as they fell to Williams again by a margin of 3-6. Three Mammoths recorded hour-long matches, but were unable to win any of them, eliminating Amherst from the tournament, and their season as a team.

Women’s Squash

The women’s squash were also eliminated by Williams by the exact same 3-6 margin, but in the quarterfinal of the Kurtz Cup. Just like their men’s team, the Ephs were able to win the marathon length matches, and these proved to be the deciding factor in the loss.

Still, the Mammoths earned themselves two back-to-back 7-2 victories in the consolation bracket, against NESCAC opponents, Bates and Bowdoin, in order to place fifth in the tournament, ending their season as a team on a high note.

Men’s Track and Field

The men’s track and field team participated in the Triangle Classic at Springfield College on Saturday.

George Cahill ’26 won the 3000m with a time of 8:45.58 closely followed by his teammate Aidan Gemme ’26 who recorded a time of 8:46.25. Hugh Lemmon-Kishi ’24 placed 5th in both the shot put and the weight throw while Alec Kuzyk ’27 tied for fourth in the pole vault.

Those who qualified for the New England DIII Indoor Championships will compete in the major meet this upcoming weekend.

Women’s Track and Field

This past Saturday, the women’s track and field team ran in the Triangle Classic at Springfield College.

Bella Lozier ’27 won her first ever collegiate mile race with a time of 5:14.08. Nikki Chopra ’27 notched her first ever collegiate win with a time of 10:45.12 in the 3000m. Finishing in fourth place, Olivia Steele ’25 recorded a personal-best 9.61 seconds.

The women’s track and field team will go to Boston this weekend to participate in the New England DIII Indoor Championships.