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

2006 Spring Sports Season Wrap-Ups

Women's lacrosse earned historical distinctions in 2006 with a 13-2 regular season record, a 7-2 NESCAC record, and 14-4 overall. The .778 winning percentage ranks as the most successful in the 28-year history of women's lacrosse at Colby.

After capturing third place in the very competitive NESCAC, Colby earned its sixth straight trip to the conference tournament and went on to receive the program's first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament bid. They set the team record for most consecutive wins in a season—11 straight games culminating in a regular-season victory over Bowdoin. The streak started early in the season when they knocked off top-ranked Williams and Colorado College.

The only regular-season losses were to then second-ranked Middlebury and a heartbreaking overtime loss to sixth-ranked Amherst. Colby's season ended in the NCAA tournament regional finals with a close loss to Bowdoin.
 
Other highlights of the season were individuals' national, regional, and conference honors. Attacker Allie Libby '07, midfielder Kate Sheridan '09, and goalkeeper Catharine O'Brien '07 were named IWLCA/US Lacrosse All-Americas. Libby is only the second Colby player in program history to earn first-team honors; as a second-team pick Sheridan is the only first-year player ever to earn All-America honors. O'Brien was selected to the third team.

Libby, Sheridan, O'Brien, defender Liz Morbeck '07, and attacker Elizabeth Ghilardi '06 were all on the Regional All-America first team. Libba Cox '07 made the second team. Head coach Heidi Godomsky earned New England Regional and NESCAC Coach of the Year honors.
Kate Sheridan '09
Kate Sheridan '09
 
Allie Libby '07
Allie Libby '07
 
Caddy Brooks '09
Caddy Brooks '09
Colby finished the season ranked second in Division III for scoring offense at 16 goals per game and was 11th in scoring margin. The team set school records for goals, assists, and total points.

Libby was the leading point producer and also led the team in assists, breaking school records for total points (88) and most assists (53) in a season. She ranked third in the country for assists per game. Sheridan led the team in goals (46) and was second in total points (59).

Sheridan, Cox, and Carrie Lovejoy '08 joined forces with Morbeck to lead the midfield and defense. The four players combined for more than half of the team's total draw controls and more than a third of the ground balls and caused turnovers.

O'Brien '07 was outstanding in goals with a stingy .530 save percentage, the best in the NESCAC. She ranked third in saves per game (11.06) and fourth in the conference for goals against average (9.92).

This was a year of improvement for men's lacrosse, which finished with a 6-8 record. The squad was very competitive, losing three NESCAC games by a single goal and another game by just two. The season highlight was a 17-9 win over Tufts, ranked 15th in the nation at that point.'
 
Caddy Brooks '09 was named NESCAC Rookie of the Year and earned a league Player of the Week honor in April. He tied for the team lead in scoring, led the Mules in assists (14), and had 24 goals for 38 points.

The offense scored 140 goals, 52 more than the previous year. The defense anchored the team, keeping opponents just under 10 goals a game.

Ryan Scott '07 had another stellar season with 35 goals and three assists from his attack position and was tied with Brooks in total points (38). Rory Murphy '07 was the third leading scorer with 23 goals and 12 assists coming off a sophomore season when he did not play due to injury.

Midfielder Drew Piekarski '08 had a breakout year with 11 goals and seven assists after an injury-riddled first year, and midfielder Dan Schupack '07 continued his consistent scoring, tallying 10 goals and six assists. Another first-year impact player was midfielder Todd Boertzel '09, with 10 goals and four assists.

Goalie Jeff Miller '06 was voted MVP by his teammates for his outstanding play between the pipes. Miller had clutch performances that kept the Mules in many games. Long-stick midfielder Nate Werlin '06 also had an outstanding spring, leading the team in caused turnovers with 48. Jonathan Bodansky '06, Kyle Haskett '07, and Chafic George '08 all had impressive performances on defense. Ryan Connolly '07, again a crucial defensive midfield specialist, was excellent between the lines.

Seniors Werlin, Miller, Christian Rieben '06, Bodansky, Bailey Stark '06, and Peter Ippolito '06, and juniors Haskett, Schupack, and Geoff Buckle '07 all made the NESCAC Spring All-Academic Team. Werlin also made the District I All-Academic Team for New England and New York.

After a 10-5 spring season and with the top three singles players—Bryan Brown '09, Brody Saunders '08, and Zach Schuman '08—all returning, the men's tennis team should be tough in 2007. Brown tied with Ben Crane '06 for the team lead in total wins with 23, while Schuman finished with 22 victories. Saunders joined the team for the spring season and contributed 16 wins.

Tim Fuhriman '09 added 20 victories for the Mules and Alex Chin '09 added 12 wins in his first season.

In women's tennis, Allison Dunn '07 went to the NCAA Division III Tournament for singles play for the first time in spring women's tennis action. Previously she earned All-America honors in doubles at the national tourney during her sophomore year.

Dunn, with a 68-38 overall college record in singles and doubles, has a chance at 100 career victories. She was 17-8 this season, having studied abroad in the fall after compiling a 28-13 record as a sophomore. The team finished the 2006 spring season with a 7-9 overall record.

Tracy Nale '07 played second singles this spring and first singles in the fall while Dunn was abroad. Nale led the team in total wins with 21. Anna Erdheim '06 had 17 victories, and Lauren Uhlmann '06 finished with 15 wins.

Nicole Veilleux '09, earned some key victories among her 10 wins at fifth and sixth singles and was the only Colby player to go 2-0 for the day in a 5-4 victory over rival Bates. She also had a key singles win in a 5-4 win over NESCAC rival Trinity.

The baseball team won 10 and was competitive in nearly all of its games, finishing with a 10-21 record with many of the top starters returning next year.

Andy Carr '07 led the Mules in batting average (.408), total hits (49), doubles (13), homers (4), RBI (37), and slugging percentage (.633). Carr earned NESCAC first team all-conference honors and will be a captain for the second season in 2007.

Roddy Ames '06 (.356) had just one error at first base, while Tyler Hales '06 batted .315. Tom Salemy '07 (.325 batting average), Colin Riggs '08 (.304), Craig Cooper '09 (.287), and Nick Spillane '08 (.280) are other top returning hitters.

Pitchers Justin Clark '08 and Zachary Helm '08 had the best earned run averages, pitching in relief and as starters. Sam Kennedy-Smith '08 also returns after leading the Mules in innings pitched (39.2).'
 
The softball team finished with an 11-20 record after a difficult spring break schedule in Florida, where it lost some very close games to powerhouses Luther College and the University of Wisconsin—;Whitewater. The team battled back for wins over the University of Southern Maine and Oberlin before heading back to Maine.

The brightest spot of the Florida trip was the return of pitcher Lauren Olmsted '06, who missed nearly her entire junior season with a thumb fractured on the 2005 Florida trip. This year Olmsted took a 2-1 win over USM down south, and her most rewarding win was the last of her college career—a nine-inning, 3-2 victory over Tufts in which she gave up no earned runs. Olmsted's 2006 ERA (1.01) was the best in the NESCAC.'
Lauren Olmsted '06
Lauren Olmsted '06
 
In an early game against Trinity, right-fielder Miki Starr '07 tore her ACL and was out for the rest of the season. Starr, an All-NESCAC selection in her first two years, had led the Mules in hitting in 2005.

Pitching kept Colby in most games, and by the end of the year the bats started to come alive. In addition to the win over Tufts, the Mules notched a 1-0 win over Bowdoin. Olmsted pitched a gem, and third baseman Carlie Minichino '09 blasted one over the left-field fence for Colby's only run.

Recognized for major contributions were first baseman and Rookie of the Year Tory Starr '09, second baseman and Best Defensive Player Mollie Puskar '08, outfielder and Most Improved Player Amy Palmer '07, and pitcher and Most Valuable Player Lauren Olmsted '06.

The women's crew made the NCAA Division III Rowing Championships for the fourth time in five years. The varsity eight finished the season with a 13-3 dual race record, finished fifth at the New England Rowing Championships and sixth at the ECAC National Invitational Regatta, and earned an at-large selection to the 2006 NCAA Women's Rowing Championship. The second varsity eight had a tremendous season, recording the highest finishes at the New England Championships and the ECAC National Invitational Regatta since 2003.

Katie Curtis '06 and Valerie Friedman '06 were named to the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association's All-American first team, making Colby the only program to place two athletes on the first team. Four members of the varsity eight were named National Scholar Athletes.

With seven members of the varsity eight boat returning and young rowers having success in the other Colby boats, the Mules, national champions in 2003, are expected to be strong again for the 2006-07 season.

The 2005-06 men's crew season carried momentum from the 2005 Henley Royal Regatta, where the 2004-05 squad became the first Colby men's crew to win an international race.

This spring season featured a series of close races against NESCAC's perennially strong competition. The highlight was a ninth-place finish at the New England Rowing Championships and selection to the ECAC National Invitational Regatta. With the graduation of two seniors and the return of many key first-year rowers who competed in both the varsity and second varsity crews, the team looks forward to continued success in the 2006-07 season.

Anna King '08In women's outdoor track and field, Jess Minty '06 and Anna King '08 (left) each qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship meet, where Minty finished ninth in the 10,000 meters and King was 10th in the 3,000 steeplechase.

Minty won the 10,000 meters at the NESCAC Championships, where Melissa Cianciolo '07 was second in the javelin and King placed third in the steeplechase. Minty was second in the 1,500 meters at the New England Division III Championship, and Hillary Easter '06 took third in the steeplechase.

The outdoor team won the Bates Invitational and placed third at the Aloha Relays at Bowdoin before going on to place seventh at the NESCAC Championship and 10th at the New England Division III Championship. Thirty of Colby's 46 team members had personal-record performances, and school records were broken in the 1,500-meter run and a 3,200-meter relay.

Jason Foster '06 In men's outdoor track and field, Jason Foster '06 (right)  finished his career in style, earning All-America honors by placing fourth in the hammer throw at the NCAA Division III Championship meet in May. Foster also earned All-America honors during the indoor track season in the 35-pound weight throw and was second in the hammer throw at both the New England Division III Championships and the NESCAC Championships

Madison Gouzie '08 took third in the 400 hurdles, and Jeff Alden '07 placed fourth in the 3,000 steeplechase at the New England Division III meet. Dan Vassallo '07 added a second in the 10,000 meters at the NESCAC meet.