student athletes

Wesleyan's Athletic Department hosted its fourth annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day celebration on Jan. 26 at the Freeman Athletic Center. Wesleyan coaches and student-athletes taught local girls in kindergarten through sixth grade about various sports, including track, soccer, softball, field hockey, volleyball, lacrosse, and more. In addition to the lessons, participants had the opportunity to watch a women's basketball game and a women's ice hockey game. The women's ice hockey team also hosted a "Skate with the Cardinals" where players welcomed fans and the girls to join them on the ice. Pizza was provided to all participants.…

The Wesleyan fall athletic teams put a total of 56 student-athletes on the 2018 NESCAC Fall All-Academic Team, while 8 Cardinals earned All-Sportsmanship honors. 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 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 coursework at the institution. The women's soccer team led the charge for the Cardinals, with 18 honorees, while the football program saw 11 players earn…

Julia Mitchell '19 paced the women's cross country team with a first-place finish at the Little Three Championship on Sept. 8 in Amherst, Mass. Although Williams College ultimately won the Little Three title, the Cardinals had four runners place in the top 10 as they finished in second place, ahead of Amherst College. Little Three Championships are declared when a varsity team from Wesleyan, Williams, and Amherst defeats the other two rivals. The fierce competition among the schools dates back to at least 1910. In 2017-18, women’s crew, volleyball, men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse won Little Three titles. Mitchell, of Bellevue, Wash.,…

On May 4, Wesleyan Baseball Coach Mark Woodworth ’94 inducted six new members into the Wesleyan Baseball Wall of Fame. Also inducted was a historical class of eight alums who graduated between 1866 and 1931 who were instrumental in the early years of the program. This year, a new brick backstop was built not only for the field, but to serve as an actual “Wall” for the Wall of Fame. (more…)

On May 26 Eudice Chong ’18, a member of the Wesleyan tennis team, did something that no other collegiate tennis player—in any division—had done before: She won her fourth consecutive National Collegiate Athletic Association Singles Championship. And to add a twist to that already thrilling game, Chong, ranked number one on Wesleyan's team, played the final match against her teammate, doubles partner, and friend, Victoria Yu ’19, ranked second on the team. Back on campus following the victory, Coach Mike Fried reflected on the program and the experience. As an undergrad at Brown he had played on their tennis team…

On May 27, 2018, Wesleyan lacrosse won its first National College Athletic Association Championship, defeating Salisbury University, 8–6 at Gillette Stadium for the Division III title. When Lacrosse Head Coach John Raba, a graduate of the University of New Haven, began at Wesleyan in 1997, he was 25 and an assistant coach with the football team. Lacrosse—now his sole focus as head coach—was something additional that first year. “If someone had told me back then that Wesleyan would win a national championship, I would've said, ‘Oh, great. What sport?’ Twenty-one years later, here we are. Congratulations, team!” In a Q&A,…

The 2018 spring season will go down as the greatest in Wesleyan University Athletics history. On May 26, Eudice Chong '18 of the No. 5-ranked Wesleyan University women's tennis team made history at the NCAA Division III Individual Championships in Claremont, Calif., as she became the first person to win four NCAA Singles Championships in any division of college tennis. She competed against her teammate, Victoria Yu ’19, in the finals while the duo also finished as runner-up in the doubles bracket. As a team, Wesleyan women’s tennis reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships for the first-time ever. Read a…

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…

Graduation came early this year for men’s lacrosse players for the best possible reason. With the team competing in the NCAA championship game on Commencement Sunday for the first time in the program’s history, graduating students missed the regular ceremony. The graduating seniors, and one student receiving an MA in graduate liberal studies, received their degrees at a special ceremony in the Admission building, attended by President Roth and Provost Joyce Jacobsen, on Wednesday, May 23. Also present were the families of the graduates, as well as Director of Athletics Mike Whalen and Vice President for Student Affairs Michael Whaley.…

On May 2, the sixth annual Scholar-Athlete Dinner was held in Beckham Hall to honor top scholar-athletes in all 29 varsity sports. Photos from the event are below: (Photos by Tom Dzimian) (more…)

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…

According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 1 in 8 American women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime, and every day new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed. On April 15, more than 40 teams from Wesleyan and the Middletown community participated in the inaugural Cardinal Community Classic, a 3v3 basketball fundraising tournament. All proceeds, totaling nearly $3,400, were donated to Middlesex Hospital's Comprehensive Breast Center to support local individuals affected by breast cancer. The event was spearheaded by men's basketball team member Jordan Bonner '19, whose aunt is a breast cancer survivor. Bonner recruited Lina Marzouk…

Coaches, Student Athletes Teach Local Girls about Sports

56 Student-Athletes Named to NESCAC’s Fall All-Academic Team; 8 Earn All-Sportsmanship Honors

Cross Country’s Mitchell ’19 Takes 1st Place at Little Three Championship

Wesleyan Inducts 6 Alumni to 2018 Baseball Wall of Fame

Eudice Chong ’18, Coach Mike Fried: A Scholar-Athlete Program for Champions

Q&A with Lacrosse Coach John Raba: What Makes a Winning Team

2017–18 Athletic Season Concludes with 2 National Championships

125 Student-Athletes Make NESCAC All-Academic Team

Senior Lacrosse Players Graduate Early Before Winning National Championship

Student-Athletes Honored at 6th Annual Dinner, Awards Ceremony

2017–18 Winter Athletic Season Ends with Historical Victories

Cardinal Community Classic Raises Funds for Local Cancer Center