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Michael O'BrienSeptember 22, 20172min
The gridiron is the foundation where lifelong friendships are built. At Wesleyan, this bond between teammates started way back in 1881 and has only flourished since then. It would be difficult to find a better example of the friendships Wesleyan Football produces than in the three captains from the 1988 team: Mike Charlton '89, Matt Coan '89 and Jim Lukowski '89. Charlton, a Connecticut native who grew up in Detroit, played four years on the defensive line as a nose guard. As if football and academics weren't enough, he also competed on the wrestling team throughout his college tenure. "You…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 12, 20171min
This fall, get a front seat to Wesleyan sporting events by downloading the Athletic Department’s mobile app. Wesleyan Front Row gives Cardinal fans the ability to enable notifications to access game schedules, score updates, statistics, game recaps and photo galleries. For some events, a live stream of the game is available through the app, giving unprecedented access to off-campus fans, including parents and alumni, who still want to cheer on their favorite athletes from afar. “The mobile app allows fans, parents, alumni, prospective students and current students to get information about their favorite teams instantly,” said Mike O’Brien, assistant athletic…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 11, 20172min
Wesleyan University women's lacrosse head coach Kim Williams was honored by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association (IWLCA), as she was named the 2017 Berkshire Region Coach of the Year following a historic season. The regional coach of the year award is the second postseason accolade for Williams, who was also named the 2017 NESCAC Coach of the Year during the spring. In just her second year at the helm of the program, Williams led Wesleyan to its best season in program history. The Cardinals finished 11-6 overall and 7-3 in the ultra-competitive NESCAC, setting program records for overall wins and…

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Cynthia RockwellSeptember 11, 20173min
This year, Wesleyan's four home football games each offer a highlight to draw fans from near and far to Corwin Stadium on Andrus Field. The first home game, Saturday, Sept. 23, against Tufts, is a night game — "The second home night game in Wesleyan's history," notes Athletic Director Mike Whalen ’83. "I'm thinking of it as our time to focus on Middletown, and we're reaching out to local high schools. Dario Highsmith ’20, a sophomore running back—an outstanding player—graduated from Middletown High. He's a former Gatorade High School Player of the Year, and someone to watch." On Saturday, Oct. 7,…

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Michael O'BrienJuly 31, 20172min
The 2016-17 Wesleyan University Athletics campaign will go down in the record books as one of the most successful years in Wesleyan Athletics history. Several programs notched their best seasons ever, while breaking numerous records in the process. In all, the Cardinals claimed two national championships, five Little Three titles, one NESCAC Championship, one semifinal appearance and one quarterfinal appearance en route to the No. 50 ranking out of 324 Division III schools in the Learfield Directors' Cup – Wesleyan's highest ranking since the standings were introduced in 1993-94. Watch a sports highlight video below: The Cardinals' five Little Three…

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Michael O'BrienJuly 28, 20172min
Six members of the Wesleyan women's tennis team, and four members of the men's squad were named 2017 Division III Scholar Athletes, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in July. In addition, both the men's and women's tennis programs earned All-Academic Team honors. Representing the women's team were Aashli Budhiraja '18, Dasha Dubinsky '18, Helen Klass-Warch '18, Ella Lindholm-Uzzi '17, Nicole McCann '18 and Victoria Yu '19. On the men's side, Steven Chen '18, Jonathan Holtzman '20, Michael Liu '17 and Jake Roberts '17 all earned praise. In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status, a player must be…

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Michael O'BrienJuly 27, 20173min
Former Wesleyan University men's soccer player Danny Rubenstein '17 and rising junior Tara Berger ’19 of the women’s basketball team, both won gold medals recently in their respective sports at the 20th Maccabiah Games in Israel. The games were hosted at Jerusalem's Teddy Stadium and featured roughly 10,000 Jewish and Israeli athletes from over 80 countries. Forty-three sports competed at the "Jewish Olympics." Rubenstein—a member of the United States of America men’s soccer team— played in all six contests during the tournament and earned the starting nod after the second game. After going 2-1 during the round robin format, USA defeated Uruguay…

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Michael O'BrienJune 8, 20172min
For the third consecutive year, Eudice Chong '18 of the women's tennis team was named the Division III Honda Athlete of the Year nominee for tennis, as announced by Executive Director Chris Voelz of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda. "This past season has been a crazy ride, with our team trying to make small steps each day to improve our chances of coming up on top every match," said Chong, the three-time NCAA Individual Singles Champion as well as the 2017 Individual Doubles Champion. "The camaraderie we have in our team is what keeps our team focused…

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Olivia DrakeMay 10, 20172min
On May 4, the Department of Physical Education and Athletics hosted its fifth annual scholar-athlete dinner and awards program. The 170 student-athletes in attendance distinguished themselves through both their outstanding work in the classroom and their accomplishment in athletic competition. During the event, Mike Whalen '83, director of athletics, served as master of ceremonies and presented the Maynard Awards; Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 provided comments from the administration; Dan Lynch '80, P'11, P'14 presented the Athletic Advisory Council Award; Rob Harbison '17 and Molly Schassberger '17 spoke on behalf of the scholar-athletes; and alumnus John Driscoll '62 led the…

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Olivia DrakeMay 8, 20171min
The mission of the Athletics Advantage (A+) Program is to grow, connect and develop a diverse network of alumni leaders online and through campus programs and events that will inspire, connect and prepare student-athletes for post-Wes life. On May 7, 20 alumnae returned to campus to participate in a speed networking event for women student-athletes in various stages of their post-Wes journey. They included: Blair Ingraham '14; Alicia White '15; Glenn Hartman-Mattson '14; Andrea Balkan '86; Vanessa Block '15; Michele Drossner '14; Erin Reding Glaser '06; Fran Rivkin '78; Lottie Barton '16; Corinne Rivard '16; Lisa Brummel '77; Nicole Butterfield;…

Olivia DrakeApril 19, 20172min
This spring, the Department of Athletics is offering Wesleyan Community Racquet & Fitness, a new fitness initiative at the Rosenbaum Squash Center. Both individual and small group lessons will be available. Classes will be taught by Assistant Squash Coach Tim Bacon, a certified squash, tennis and badminton coach. Bacon is a former world #23 in Racketlon and has taught all five major racquet sports since 1977. Offered classes include: Racquet Sport FUNdamentals for Children ages 10 – 17 (Age appropriate smaller racquets and slower, bouncier balls played in fun games and activities are used to teach physical literacy and FUNdamentals…

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Michael O'BrienApril 12, 20173min
On April 8, Wesleyan's men’s and women’s lacrosse teams defeated arch rival Williams College to win the Little Three Championships outright. It marked the first time in the history of Wesleyan athletics that both lacrosse programs won the title in the same season, and it was the fifth Little Three crown by a Cardinals team this season, joining football, men’s basketball and men’s ice hockey. The “Little Three” schools — Wesleyan, Amherst and Williams — first formally banded together in 1899 as the Triangular League. The League broke up briefly but reestablished competition in 1910, and has competed annually since then as…