Colby College
Office of Alumni Relations
4310 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, ME 04901-8843
P: 207-859-4310
F: 207-859-4316
alumni@colby.edu
 

2005-06 Winter Sports Recap

Skiing for the women's alpine ski team at the NCAA championships in Steamboat Springs, senior Abbi Lathrop won Colby's first-ever national skiing title—in giant slalom—on March 8. Then, two days later, she took seventh in the slalom, giving her All-America honors in both events this year. Lathrop had the best times in both runs of the GS and the best time in the second run of the slalom. In the GS, her combined time of 2:16.85 edged Denver University's Florence Roujas by a full tenth of a second. Jamie Kingsbury of the University of Vermont, last years GS champion, was third.

It was her fourth All-American performance in GS and her second in slalom. Skiing for head alpine coach Mark Godomsky, Lathrop was the fourth athlete in Colby history to win an individual national championship, following Todd Coffin '83 (1983 steeplechase), Jamie Brewster '00 (1997, 1998, 2000 hammer throw), and Cindy Pomerleau '97 (1997 heptathlon). In 2003 women's crew won Colby's first team championship.
Abbi Lathrop '06
Abbi Lathrop '06
 
Amanda Comeau '09
Amanda Comeau '09
In his second season as women's ice hockey head coach, David Venditti was honored as NESCAC Coach of the Year after leading the team to a record number of wins in a single season and a trip to the conference semifinals. Colby finished with a 15-8-1 record and gave eventual NESCAC champion Middlebury a run for its money in a league semifinal game. Tied 0-0 after two periods and 1-1 in the third, Middlebury finally pulled away for a 3-1 win.

Seven of Colby's top eight scorers were first-year students and the eighth was a sophomore, and the Mules will lose just two seniors to graduation. First-year forward Laura Anning earned conference first-team honors after leading Colby in scoring with 20 goals and 16 assists. Classmates Rebecca Julian (15 goals, 11 assists) and Amanda Comeau (6 goals, 13 assists) were other top scorers. Sophomore goalie Genevieve Triganne made the NESCAC second team after finishing second in the conference in save percentage (.918).
 
Men's ice hockey finished 15-9-1, and head coach Jim Tortorella was honored as Co-NESCAC Coach of the Year for his work with a young squad. There were no seniors among Colby's top eight scorers, and most of the defensemen and goalies are juniors or younger.

Sophomore forwards T.J. Kelley (16 goals, 24 assists) and Josh Reber (6 goals, 32 assists) were the top scorers. Kelley earned NESCAC second-team honors as did sophomore defenseman Arthur Fritch (7 goals, 19 assists). Reber led the NESCAC in assists, and junior forward Greg Osborne (17 goals, 15 assists) was first in power-play goals with 11.
 
Men's basketball junior center Drew Cohen established himself as one of the best players in the NESCAC, earning league Defensive Player of the Year honors and being named to the conference first team. Cohen, at 6' 6", was first in the nation in NCAA Division III in total blocked shots (111) and blocked shots per game (4.83). He also led the NESCAC in rebounding (10.7) and was second in scoring (19.7). Cohen shot 48 percent from the field despite defenses designed to stop him.

The Mules missed some key players during the course of the season and finished 11-14, including a hard-fought 84-81 loss at Trinity in a NESCAC quarterfinal game. Junior point guard Nick Farrell averaged 12.8 points per game and was second in the conference in assists per game (5.56) and steals per game (2.32). Sophomore guard Mark Gaudet led the conference in three-point shooting at 49 percent and averaged 10.4 points per game for head coach Dick Whitmore.
Nick Farrell '07
Nick Farrell '07
 
In her first year, women's basketball head coach Lori Gear McBrider McBride helped improve the Mules' season record by four wins over last year, returning the team to the NESCAC playoffs after a year's absence. Colby (10-15) qualified for the league playoffs by taking a big 60-38 road win at Middlebury in mid-February.

In their league quarterfinal the Mules played a solid first half, staying close to Bates before the Bobcats pulled away. Over the season sophomore forward Katie McCabe led the team in scoring (12.6), rebounding (6.9), and field-goal percentage (.526).

Sophomore women's swimming All-American Kelly Norsworthy earned three individual All-America honors, in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, and 200 individual medley, at the NCAA Division III Championships in Minneapolis. Norsworthy set school records and came in second in the 100 breaststroke (1:03.32) and 200 breaststroke (2:18.18). She placed seventh in the 200 individual medley (1:47.05) with another school record of 2:07.84.

First-year Kelsey Potdevin, sophomore Maddie Given, and first-year Courtney Chilcote joined forces with Norsworthy to earn honorable mention All-America honors by taking ninth in the 200 medley relay at the nationals. Earlier Norsworthy won two league titles and helped the Mules finish in sixth place at the NESCAC meet, where Potdevin won the league title in the 50 backstroke. The same 200 medley relay team placed second at the NESCAC meet.

The Mules had a 9-3 dual meet record for head coach Tom Burton. Colby finished 15th at the national meet and has had top 20 finishes there in each of the past three years.

Men's swimming had its best finish ever at the NESCAC meet, where the Mules took fifth place. The team had no individual champions at the league meet, but had consistent finishes throughout the three-day event. Junior Jabez Dewey, who earned a trip to compete in the NCAA meet in mid-March, placed second in the 50 backstroke and was fourth in the 100 backstroke at the league meet, where sophomore Evan Mullin placed fifth in the 200 freestyle. Colby had a 7-4 dual meet record during the regular season.

On the women's indoor track team, senior Jess Minty earned All-America honors for the second straight year in the 800 meters at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track Championships at the national meet in Minnesota and won the New England Division III title at that distance. At the nationals Minty placed eighth in the 800 meters, while junior Anna King finished ninth in the mile, one spot away from All-America honors. Senior Liz Turner and junior Karen Prisby both had success in the 5,000 meters for head coach Deb Aitken.

In men's indoor track, senior thrower Jason Foster set a new school record in the weight throw with a toss of 61 feet, placing seventh and earning All-America honors at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. Foster broke his old school record by nearly three feet with the toss.

Foster had top-five finishes in two New England meets for head coach Todd Coffin '83. A throw of 58'1.25" took fourth place in the weight throw at the Open New England Championships and set a Colby record that he beat at the nationals. He also placed third in the event at the New England Division III Championships.

Women's squash finished 12th in the country under head coach Sakhi Khan, as the Mules got fine records from their second and third position players.

Senior Emilie Slack went 19-10 at the second spot, and sophomore Nina Delano was the top winner for Colby with a 21-5 record at the third position. First-position player sophomore Stacy Petro won 10 matches and went to the National Individual Championships with Slack. First-year players Jessica Vogel and Catherine Monrad each showed promise with 14 wins apiece for the team, which finished the season 13-13.

Men's squash ended the year ranked 19th in the country with junior Andy Carr leading the way with a 20-4 record. Carr played the ninth position at the start of the year but moved up to the sixth spot and went 6-1 there. Sophomore Brett Willis and senior Nate Stone both had 14 wins for the team, which finished 11-15. Sophomore Ryan Maher added 11 wins at the third position, while first-year Jake Leiby held down the first position for the entire season.

In men's alpine skiing senior Charlie Reed qualified for the NCAA Skiing Championships for the fourth straight year and sophomore Jody Centauro went to the national meet for the first time. Centauro placed 16th in the slalom and Reed was 25th at the NCAA meet. Centauro was the most consistent skier for the men's team, earning four top-10 finishes during the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) season.

With first-year skier Kathleen Maynard leading the way, women's Nordic skiing had a solid season under head coach Tracey Cote. Maynard finished in 11th place in the 10-kilometer freestyle to help the Mules place fourth in that event at the Williams carnival. She finished 17th at Colby's own ski carnival to start the season. Senior Alex Jospe had the best individual finish of the season—ninth in the classic sprint at the Colby carnival.

Men's Nordic skiing improved this year, posting some fine finishes. The best team finish was fifth, at the Dartmouth carnival in the 20-kilometer freestyle event. Junior Fred Bailey was the top skier for the Mules, with a 12th place finish in the 10K classic at the Eastern meet at Middlebury. Bailey also took 13th at St. Lawrence and had a 15th in the Dartmouth meet. Senior Kris Dobie was 19th at Dartmouth.