Brian KattenAfter serving as interim head coach of men's and women's tennis at Wesleyan during the 2012-13 season, Mike Fried has been appointed faculty head coach of both teams, Wesleyan Athletics Director Mike Whalen announced in June. Fried will hold the rank of adjunct assistant professor of physical education. "We are very excited to have Mike Fried as our head tennis coach," stated Whalen. "His accomplishments over the past year are just a starting point and there is no question that he is committed to building a program that will compete on a national level. His passion and dedication are second…
Olivia Drake(more…)
Wesleyan fashioned one of its finest spring sports seasons in history, highlighted by Little Three titles in a first-ever combination of baseball, softball and men's lacrosse. The squads combined for an outstanding 62-32-1 overall record. Wesleyan had its fair share of NESCAC honorees as the baseball squad had the largest contingent of any NESCAC college with six individuals honored, led by Head Coach Mark Woodworth ’94, who secured his second NESCAC Coach of the Year award. He was recognized by his conference coaching peers for the first time during his rookie season in 2002. First-team picks included conference batting champ…
The Department of Athletics recognized the accomplishments of 173 scholar-athletes during a dinner at Beckham Hall May 1. Howard Tobochnik '13 and Roger Laura Kurash '13 received the Maynard Memorial Award, presented annually to the top senior male and female scholar-athlete at the university. Those invited to the gathering were members of the sophomore, junior and senior classes who had distinguished themselves both in the classroom with a minimium GPA of 3.2 and in athletic competition as a significant contributor to the success of their chosen sport(s). Tobochnik was an NCAA Division III qualifier in 2012-13 after finishing third at…
Mike Fried, the interim head men's and women's tennis coach, was named NESCAC men's tennis co-Coach of the Year in recognition of the team's unprecedented conference success. Men's tennis posted a 7-10 record which included a best-ever 5-4 NESCAC record, giving the Cardinals their first-ever bid to the NESCAC tournament, seeded fifth among the six teams. Fried, who also serves as a visiting instructor in physical education, adds tremendous playing and coaching experience to the Cardinals' staff. He came aboard as an assistant during the spring of 2011, and was elevated to head women's coach during the spring of 2012.…
The Wesleyan softball team, led by head coach Jen Lane, captured the 2013 Little Three title after taking two of three games from Amherst over the weekend. Combined with their two wins earlier this year over Williams, the Cardinals went 4-2 for the Little Three crown. Su Pardo '16 picked up both pitching wins vs. Amherst, giving up just six hits and one earned run over 12 innings of work with 13 strikeouts. Jill Gately '15 was tremendous at the plate, going 5-for-9 in the series with two doubles, a home run, five runs scored and six RBI. She broke…
Assistant football coach Jeff McDonald will be a regular columnist/blogger for the online edition of American Football Monthly, the top college football coaches' magazine in the country, during 2013. His first article titled, "The Importance of Off-Season Self Scouting to Keep Your Defensive System Evolving," is currently live. In addition, McDonald has an article in the February edition of the print magazine involving the use of the iPad as a coaching tool. The article can be seen in part here, but is only available fully to magazine subscribers. This past summer, McDonald began working with AFM with a series of instructional videos…
Wesleyan's Athletics Hall of Fame will induct its sixth class Friday, Oct. 19 as part of the university’s Homecoming/Family Weekend. This year’s inductions will include an outstanding coach, administrator and leader and the championship wrestling team he coached in 1983–84. The coach and team will join the 30 individuals and five teams currently in the Hall. Being honored and inducted is recently retired and long-time athletics director John Biddiscombe and the New England Championship Wrestling Team he coached in 1983–84, Wesleyan’s last New England wrestling champion until this year’s 2011-12 title squad. (more…)
Benjamin Travers(more…)
Peter Solomon has been appointed faculty head coach of men's and women's swimming and diving at Wesleyan University as well as aquatics director, it was announced April 16 by Wesleyan Athletics Director John Biddiscombe. Solomon is an 18-year veteran head coach of men's and women's swimming and diving at NESCAC colleges Middlebury (1997-2011) and Amherst (1993-97). "Wesleyan is very excited to welcome Peter Solomon as our swimming and diving coach," Biddiscombe says. "He brings to the position a wealth of experience and a winning tradition." "I’m proud to represent Wesleyan and I look forward to getting to know the team…
The Recess at Wesleyan Program welcomed 100 students from a local intermediate school who were rewarded for exemplary behavior with a midday recess excursion to Wesleyan's Bacon Field House. Dozens of university student athletes hosted the children in a variety of play activities including basketball, kickball and capture the flag. Recess at WES is an ongoing partnership with regular visits by student athletes to the Intermediate school. It is supported by the Wesleyan Athletics Advantage Program, which integrates community service into the undergraduate student athlete experience. [youtube width="640" height="420"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc5CPIZI29Y[/youtube]
(more…)