student athletes

Maeve Hoffman ’23 looked for a single positive outcome from every race of 2021-22 women’s indoor track season. It could be something big – like a win, of which there were many – or a technical improvement that brought her closer to her ideal performance. No matter what, she sought to find one good thing. “Running is, for me, a lot about positive momentum. If you find that one good thing and channel it, you know the next (meet) will be better. If you don’t, the weeks are going to fly by and it’s not going to go your way,”…

Silloway Gymnasium was pretty dead in the early days of the pandemic. The men’s basketball team had cancelled its season. Because of social distancing requirements, even playing one-on-one was prohibited. For the few players remaining on campus, there was nothing but drills. Lots and lots of drills. In those mundane practice sessions, the seeds were planted for a NESCAC championship. “We were practicing a new offense this year. We wanted to really get out and push the ball and just be faster than teams offensively and defensively,” said Sam Peek ‘22. And, just maybe, all that time in the gym…

One good bounce and the Wesleyan men’s basketball team would still be playing in the NCAA Division III Tournament. After an exciting start to the weekend where Wesleyan trounced Husson 81-61 in a first-round matchup Friday night, the Cardinals fell just short against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 59-58 in Saturday’s second-round game. After a hard-fought last few minutes where the lead kept changing hands, Preston Maccoux’s ['23] fallaway jumper hit the front rim and bounced away as time expired. “There isn’t much to say in those circumstances except to give (the players) a hug, tell them you care about them and…

Men’s Basketball defeated Williams 78-75, in overtime, winning its second NESCAC Championship in program history. In a matchup that had all the makings of an instant classic heading in, the thousand-plus on-hand were gifted a game for the ages as these two storied rivals battled for 45 minutes in a back-and-forth contest that featured 20 lead changes and 16 ties, all of which culminated on center court with the Wesleyan men's basketball team celebrating as NESCAC Champions. The top-seeded Cardinals (24-3), playing in front of packed Silloway Gymnasium for the second straight day, locked horns with the Williams College Ephs…

The men’s basketball team is in the midst of a prodigious season, having just matched the single-season wins record of 22. Currently, the team is just one win away from setting a single-season record, and for the first time ever, Wesleyan is the number 1 seed in the NESCAC Tournament. Silloway Gymnasium will be the host site of the upcoming NESCAC Championship weekend, with the Semifinals set for Saturday, Feb. 26 followed by the title game on Sunday, Feb. 27. “This season has been amazing so far—it exceeded my expectations personally and team-wise,” Nicky Johnson ’25 said. “I enjoy every…

There are moments in the careers of many great athletes where they take control of the game – victory is within their grasp and they will not be denied. Michael Jordan dunking in the NBA Finals, Derek Jeter diving into the stands to catch a fly ball at Yankee Stadium, Simone Biles defying gravity at the Olympics – just to name a few. Grace Devanny ’23, a forward on the women’s soccer team, had her moment against eighth-ranked MIT in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals. She had opened the scoring early in the game with a goal. MIT tied and…

The incredible postseason run for the Wesleyan women's soccer team came to an unfortunate end in the national semifinals on Friday as the No. 14 nationally-ranked Cardinals were defeated by the No. 1 ranked TCNJ Lions, 1-0, from the UNC Greensboro Soccer Stadium. Wesleyan (18-2-2) concludes a historic season that featured program-firsts and records galore while the Lions (21-0-2) will vie for the fourth NCAA title in program history tomorrow against Christopher Newport. Facing a juggernaut of an opponent in the top-ranked Lions, the Cardinals were the ones on the front foot right from the opening whistle as Wesleyan generated…

Rob Borman, Wesleyan’s grounds manager, watched as Wesleyan and Emerson’s soccer teams went through warmups on a beautiful late summer day. It was warm and the sun shined as the players went through passing drills and stretched on the perfect turf. Emerson’s players shouted through their drills. Wesleyan’s goalies bounded from side to side as they practiced knocking away shots on goal. Borman, though, wasn’t looking at the players. He was checking out his brand-new field, installed in May. “That is 100 percent Kentucky bluegrass,” he said. “The ball should roll awesome.” For the first time in two years, Jackson…

Although many amendments have been ratified since the first election in this country more than 230 years ago, the simple fact remains: Voting is a right and a privilege. With just 46 days (upon the publishing of this article on Sept. 18), remaining until Election Day 2020, Audrey McMahon ’22 of the Wesleyan women’s ice hockey team has set an ambitious goal: to get 100% of eligible student-athletes registered and pledged to vote. McMahon has taken on the role of Wesleyan’s resident ambassador for Voice in Sport (VIS), a nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to supporting women student-athletes. In an initiative…

On May 21, the Wesleyan University Athletic Department hosted a virtual event to honor and celebrate the accomplishments of scholar-athletes. The ceremony combined the annual Scholar-Athlete Banquet with the end-of-the-year Senior Awards presentations. It was hosted by Director of Athletics Mike Whalen '83 and featured remarks from President Michael Roth '78. Several coaches presented individual awards to the student-athletes. Hockey goalie Tim Sestak '20 and women's soccer defender Mackenzie Mitchell '20 were the recipients of the Roger Maynard Memorial Awards, which are presented annually to the Wesleyan male and female scholar-athlete who best exemplifies the spirit, accomplishments, and humility of Roger…

Wesleyan's Athletic Department is celebrating student athletes' recent achievements and is honoring members of the Class of 2020. They include: Men’s Lacrosse Senior Day Women’s Lacrosse Senior Day Six Men’s Lacrosse Players Named Maverik DIII Media All-Americans Wrestling Earns Several All-NEWA Awards Walker Harris '20 Named Third Team All-American Walker Harris '20 Honored with Joe Concannon Award Field Hockey Places Nation-Leading 25 on NFHCA National Academic Team

Wesleyan's winter athletic teams put a total of 80 student-athletes on the 2019–20 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Winter All-Academic Team, while eight earned a spot on the 2019–20 NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team. In order to earn a spot on the All-Academic Team, a student-athlete must have reached sophomore academic standing and be a varsity letter winner with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 or equivalent on a 4.0 scale. Transfer students are eligible as long as they have completed at least one year of study at the institution. Wesleyan ranked seventh out of 11 schools with…

Hoffman ’23 Earns All-American Honors in Women’s Indoor Track

Peek ’22 Named Division III All-American in Men’s Basketball

Men’s Basketball Caps Off Record Season With NCAA Tournament Run

Men’s Basketball Wins NESCAC Championship in Overtime

Men’s Basketball Team Shoots For Record-Breaking Season

Soccer Forward Devanny ’23 Named NCAA D3 All-American

Soccer’s NCAA Tournament Run Comes to an End in the National Semifinals

Student-Athletes Return to Regular Play Following 2-Year Hiatus

A Call to Action: McMahon ‘22 Pushes for Student-Athlete Voter Registration

Scholar-Athletes, Seniors Honored for 2019–20 Accomplishments

Student Athletes Celebrated, Honored

NESCAC Announces Winter All-Academic, All-Sportsmanship Honorees