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Michael O'BrienJune 4, 20182min
The Wesleyan University spring athletic teams put a total of 125 student-athletes on the 2018 NESCAC Spring All-Academic Team on May 18, while 11 Cardinals earned All-Sportsmanship Team honors as announced by the conference office May 17. To be named to the All-Academic Team a student-athlete must have reached sophomore academic standing and be a varsity letter winner with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.40. Transfer students are eligible as long as they have completed at least one year of coursework at the institution. Tufts ranked first in the conference with 157 athletes on the All-Academic list, while Middlebury checked in…

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Michael O'BrienApril 27, 20183min
The 2017–18 winter season was a historic one for the Wesleyan athletic programs, highlighted by the men's basketball team winning its first-ever NCAA Tournament game, while Laila Samy '18 of women's squash, Caroline Murphy '20 of women's swimming and diving, and Isaiah Bellamy '18 and Devon Carrillo '17 of wrestling all earned All-American honors. Here is a team-by-team breakdown: Men's Basketball (22–7, 7–3 NESCAC) * NCAA Second Round / NESCAC Finals Set a program record in overall wins (22) and tied a program record with seven NESCAC victories. Hosted first- and second-round games in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the…

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Olivia DrakeMarch 6, 20182min
For the first time in Wesleyan's history, the Cardinals not only hosted an NCAA Division III Tournament at Silloway Gymnasium but they also won their first-ever NCAA game, with a 101–71 triumph over Southern Vermont on March 2. The Cardinals finished the season with a 22–7 overall record—the most wins in a single season for the program. The unit was anchored by three outstanding seniors—Jordan Sears, Nathan Krill and JR Bascom—who helped lead the winningest class in Wesleyan men’s basketball history. The No. 15–ranked Wesleyan University men's basketball team cut a 21-point, second-half deficit to three midway through the final half on March 3,…

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Michael O'BrienFebruary 19, 20183min
Laila Samy '18 highlighted the day for the Wesleyan women's squash team as she was named the 2018 Betty Richey Award winner Feb. 18 at Harvard. The award is the most prestigious annual honor bestowed by the College Squash Association (CSA). With another win on Feb. 18, Samy concluded her dual-match season with a perfect 24-0 record; however, the 21st-ranked Cardinals lost to 18th-ranked Tufts, 7-2, to finish fourth in the Walker Cup "C" Division of the CSA National Team Championships. The Betty Richey Award is given to the women's college squash player who best exemplifies the ideals of squash…

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Michael O'BrienFebruary 16, 20182min
Wesleyan Athletics Giving Days (WAGD) is a competitive fundraising initiative bringing together donors and volunteers in support of Wesleyan Athletics. For a week, athletic teams compete for the greatest percentage of donor participation for their sport. At the end of the week, the highest scoring teams—one men’s and one women’s—each win $5,000 for their most critical needs. The program runs Feb. 21–28, 2018. Donors making a gift online or over the phone at 860-685-2110 increase their team’s overall participation percentage, moving them up the leaderboard. The WAGD website will be updated each day. In addition to the winning men’s and…

Olivia DrakeFebruary 5, 20182min
On the basketball court, there really is nothing that Maddie Bledsoe cannot do. The senior captain on the Wesleyan University women's basketball team averaged 7.5 points and 5.4 rebounds during her junior campaign, but during the 2017-18 season, she has taken the next step and become a truly elite, game-changing type of player for the Cardinals. The evolution began with the versatile athlete becoming a dominant rebounder on both ends of the floor, increasing her boards per game to 10.8, which is the most in the NESCAC. Bledsoe corralled a career-high 21 rebounds, to go along with 18 points, during…

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Olivia DrakeJanuary 29, 20181min
On Jan. 27, the Athletic Department hosted its third annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration at the Freeman Athletic Center. As part of the celebration, more than 50 female Wesleyan student-athletes and coaches led a sports clinic for local grade-school children. Seventy-three girls participated in seven sports sessions on softball, field hockey, tennis, lacrosse, crew, volleyball and soccer.  (more…)

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Lauren RubensteinNovember 7, 20172min
This month, Wesleyan students, many affiliated with athletic teams, are raising awareness and raising funds for men’s health through the Movember Foundation. According to its website, the Foundation is the only charity tackling men’s health on a global level, with a focus on addressing prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. It has funded over 1,200 men’s health projects in 21 countries. Wesleyan has had an official Campus Representative with the Foundation for the past four years. This year Luke Forsthoefel ’20, a member of Men’s Crew team, is the Campus Representative for all of Wesleyan. “The issue…

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Michael O'BrienOctober 2, 20172min
The Wesleyan University volleyball team won its first Little Three title since 1992 on Sept. 30, as it swept arch rival Amherst College by scores of 25-15, 25-16, 25-14. Later in the day, the Cardinals defeated Stevens Institute of Technology in four sets (25-18, 30-32, 25-10, 25-23) to conclude the doubleheader sweep. The Little Three title is just Wesleyan's second in program history. Additionally, the win over the Mammoths is the program's first since 2008, and it's the Cardinals first sweep against Amherst in exactly 12 years to this day. "It was great to win the Little Three Championship and…

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Michael O'BrienSeptember 27, 20171min
Trailing by 14 with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, quarterback Mark Piccirillo '19 helped orchestrate an incredible comeback as the Wesleyan University football team defeated Tufts University Sept. 23 in overtime, 24-17. The Saturday game was the second night game in school history, as the Cardinals picked up its first win of 2017.This is DiCenzo's eighth season coaching, and third season as head coach in 2017. Piccirillo found captain Eric Meyreles '18 in the corner of the end zone for a 24-yard score with :06 on the clock, and minutes later connected with senior Mike Breuler for a 14-yard…