Cross-country runner Meredith Cronin ‘21 receiving All-American Laurels at NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships
Much like the sudden modifications of the academic year, the 2019-2020 Connecticut College athletic season was largely unprecedented. This past year sports at Conn truly had it all: historic team and individual performances, major personnel changes, and a heartbreaking end to the Spring season and the careers of its senior athletes. It is impossible to do justice to all the achievements and dedication of the college’s athletes in a short article, but the following is a glimpse at some of the major developments and accomplishments of the past school year.
This academic year marked the beginning of a new era for Connecticut College’s athletic department. At the end of the 2018-19 school year, longtime Director of Athletics, Fran Shields transitioned into a new role within the college’s administration. As the inaugural Director of the Camel Athletics Network, Shields now works to build a bridge between the college’s athletic programs and the broader alumni community. In September, the college hired Mo White as the new Director of Athletics, the first time a woman has held the position in the college’s history.
The past year was full of impressive performances on both the team and individual levels, marking the beginning of the Mo White Era. The Fall season brought historic results for the men’s soccer program. At the end of a record-setting 2018 season, reigning NESCAC Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year Kenny Murphy retired from Connecticut College. The departure of Coach Murphy and a large senior class could have damaged the team’s chances of success in the following 2019 season, but that was not the case under first-time Head Coach Reuben Burk. By reaching the “Elite Eight” national quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament, the team advanced further into postseason play as the first Connecticut College varsity program of the last 20 years. The only other time Conn teams enjoyed such success at the national level was the late 1990s, when the men’s basketball program reached the Final Four and women’s soccer advanced to the Elite Eight. Experience played a large role in the success of the men’s soccer team in 2019. In 2017 and 2018, the team made the NCAA tournament, but failed to advance beyond the first two rounds. According to sophomore midfielder Lorenzo Bocchetti ‘22, “the experience of being upset in the tournament and playing a tough schedule made us really fired up for the [NCAA Tournament] games this year. We felt as though we underperformed last year and needed to make sure that did not happen again.” While finishing the season as the 6th ranked team in all of Division III is certainly an accomplishment worth celebrating, Bocchetti and his teammates are clearly not satisfied. He was clear in stating the group’s expectations for next season: bring some silverware to New London. In his words, “Winning the NESCAC championship is the next step forward for the program. That’s what everyone’s eyes are set on. Continuing to progress further in the NCAA tournament would also be great.” Clearly, fans of Camel soccer have plenty to be excited about in the Fall.
Cross-country runner Meredith Cronin ‘21 helped start the year off strong by earning All-American honors in the Fall. Unsurprisingly so, as Cronin has been the top women’s cross country runner for Connecticut College since arriving at school; however, this was the first year in which Cronin qualified for the NCAA championships and established herself on the national level. An increase in confidence helped Cronin to overcome the last obstacle to earning All-American status: her own mind. She writes, “I think the greatest adversity that I faced was myself. I honestly never thought I would become an All-American, let alone make nationals. I think when I learned to trust myself and my body, I was able to push it further and further.” Thanks to the grueling nature of NESCAC competition Cronin learned to trust in herself. The NESCAC Championships were a turning point, as she writes, “I think looking back after that race I realized that I could compete with other really strong runners. At NESCACs running up the hill at Williams, pushing myself, I finally realized that I could do it.” Unfortunately, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, Cronin will not have the opportunity to compete in outdoor track, although her main concern throughout this crisis is for her teammates. She says, “It is heartbreaking to see seniors that have dedicated so much time to have it ripped away. I feel especially bad because the seniors on the team were some of my first friends at Conn, and they have really shaped my life on campus. Watching them never to be able to say goodbye to the sport that gave them so much is just really sad to see happen. Especially this year our team has been through so much, from late fall when our team mate Caroline Grape passed away.” While there will be no closure for her senior teammates, Cronin has one more year to solidify her legacy. As the third women’s cross-country All-American in school history, Cronin will continue to set a high standard throughout her senior year as she attempts to lead the Women’s Cross-Country team to the NCAA Championships.
The 2019-20 Winter sports season was defined by individual accomplishments and institutional transitions. With the off-season hiring of Tim Sweeney, the men’s basketball team started their season with a new permanent head coach for the first time in two decades. Given his track record and the team’s development over the course of the season, it appears as though Coach Sweeney is well positioned for success in New London. Sweeney has clearly won over his players, as senior point guard Bailey Whitman said, “I had three head coaches in college, which I never thought would happen when I signed up for this. I can say that out of the three styles I’ve experienced, Coach Sweeney’s is the one the program needs to follow. He knows how to win and with the right tools in place his work ethic, recruiting, and intensity will get the job done. He just really cares about Conn, the program, and each one of us.” While his college career is finished, Whitman is excited to see how the team improves moving forward and will miss the opportunity to compete with and against his teammates. Individual highlights in Winter sports included Sami Ashton ‘20 and Daniel Draffan ‘19 who surpassed 1,000 career points for the women’s and men’s basketball teams, respectively. Another Winter standout was men’s hockey goalkeeper Conor Rodericks ‘20. In his final season as a Camel, Rodericks secured program records in career save percentage, goals against average, and shutouts to go along with single season save percentage and goals against average highs. As a Winter season team, women’s squash matched the best finish in program history by winning the Epps Cup and finishing 25th nationally.
For athletes at Conn and all over the planet, the adverse end to the Spring season was as tragic as the Fall and Winter were exciting. Just several weeks into competition, all Spring athletes saw the campus closed, and their seasons cancelled. Additionally, Winter athletes and teams who qualified for NCAA events were unable to compete. Obviously, the severity of the COVID-19 epidemic necessitated drastic measures, but that does not ease the suffering of the athletes. The impact on seniors is especially severe, as they lost their final chance to play the sport they love at a competitive level. While it may have ended prematurely, the 2019-20 school year was full of athletic achievement and reasons to be optimistic heading into the Fall. With over a dozen team and individual records, 126 Academic All-NESCAC selections, 16 all-conference athletes, 10 NCAA-qualifying teams and individuals, and many more impressive accomplishments in just two full seasons, the Mo White era is off to a promising start, and the 2020-21 seasons have the potential for great success.
