Olivia DrakeWesleyan students, parents, alumni and friends who attended Homecoming/Family Weekend festivities witnessed a historic moment Nov. 2, when the Cardinals claimed the Little Three football title for the first time in 43 years. The Little Three is a rivalry between Wesleyan, Williams College and Amherst College, which dates to the late 19th century. The Cardinals defeated Amherst 20-14 on Oct. 19, and the 16-14 Homecoming victory against Williams secured them the 2013 title and a 7-0 record. Watch NBC Connecticut's coverage of the Little Three victory here. Since 1970, Wesleyan has won Little Three titles dozens of times in sports…
Brian KattenWesleyan’s scholar-athletes continue to achieve in the classroom and on the field. Thirteen athletic teams have been honored for academic achievement by their national coaches associations for the 2012-13 year. Men's and women's cross country, field hockey and volleyball all were recognized academically during the fall. Men's and women's swimming and diving earned academic distinction for both the fall and spring semesters individually while the wrestling team was a winter achiever. Over the spring, women's lacrosse, softball, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's tennis received honors. Among the 11 teams cited for scholastic accomplishment, the field hockey…
Wesleyan students, staff, faculty, friends, families and neighbors in the Middletown community enjoyed a plethora of activities at Middletown Day, held Sept. 21 on campus. The afternoon of games, live music, poster-making and balloon art, led up to the first night football game in the NESCAC, as the Cardinals faced the Tufts University Jumbos in the season’s first contest. Wesleyan won the game 52-9. (Photos by Ryan Heffernan '16 and Hannah Norman '16) (more…)
Kate CarlisleWesleyan’s friends and neighbors in the community are invited (along with students, staff and faculty) to enjoy Middletown Day on campus Sept. 21. A menu of family activities is planned for the afternoon, leading up to the first night football game in the NESCAC, as the Cardinals face the Tufts University Jumbos in the season’s first contest. From 2:30 until about 4:45 p.m., Freeman Athletic Center will be the scene of games, live music, poster-making and balloon art, a bouncehouse for small visitors and various farmers’ market vendors. Free popcorn and beverages will be offered as well. At afternoon’s end,…
The smack of the football in a receiver’s hands, the percussive thud of runners’ feet on the straightaway, the roar of spectators as the tape is broken or the ball goes through the uprights: these things don’t change. Other things do. Wesleyan athletes returning to campus this month were greeted by a sparkling new artificial turf field and track, glistening almost in Technicolor behind Freeman Athletic Center. The $1.6-million facility, funded by more than 100 generous supporters, will be home not just to track meets and everyday runners, but will serve as a practice surface for the football and other…
On Sept. 7, Wesleyan men's and women's swimming and diving teams participated in the fourth annual Swim Across America (SAA), held in Narragansett, R.I. at Roger Wheeler State Beach to help make waves in the fight against cancer and raise money for cancer research and the Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island. Wesleyan swimmers and divers raised $12,782, which almost doubled the $7,500 amount the teams raised last year. Despite not being able to swim in the event because of the jellyfish, Liyan Yao '16 from Laurel Hollow, N.Y., was Wesleyan's top fundraiser, accounting for $935. In all, a…
It’s not small-town Texas, it’s not high school, and the organizers aren’t expecting any drama except for the kind that usually plays out on the gridiron; still, let’s call it Saturday Night Lights. The first night football game in the history of NESCAC will be played on Andrus Field on Sept. 21. Wesleyan will host Tufts in the season’s opening contest at 6 p.m., with an experienced Cardinal squad facing a Jumbos contingent of returning starters and some strong recruits. “It’s only fitting that the first night game be played on the oldest college football field in the country,” said…
Four Wesleyan faculty and staff members completed the Litchfield Hills Olympic Triathlon held July 14 in New Hartford, Conn. The triathlon featured a 1.5K swim, a 40K bike course, and a scenic, rural back road 10K run. Wesleyan participants included Mike McAlear, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry; Tom DiMauro, analyst programmer in ITS; James Taft, assistant director of technology support services in ITS; and Brian Northrop, assistant professor of chemistry. Northrop came in third place overall.
Echoes of the fight song were still bouncing off Foss Hill after Commencement when word got around about a big offseason win for Wesleyan athletics: a generous commitment by Frank Sica ’73 to endow the position of athletic director. Sica is a former trustee who wrestled and played football at Wesleyan. The gift to fund the post currently held by Michael Whalen ’83 firmly establishes the importance of athletics in co-curricular learning at Wesleyan, according to Dennis Robinson ’79, P ’13, immediate past chairman of the Athletics Advisory Council. “Nearly 25 percent of the entire student body plays a varsity…
After 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…
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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…