Courtesy of Ed Harrison ’28
Another fall sports season has come and gone and the Camels have once again made history. From historically fast 6k times set by Women’s Cross Country or generational team play by Men’s Soccer, the blue and white showed out for the past two and a half months. For anyone who tuned into the 10 teams who competed week in and week out for the fall of 2025, you know how exciting this season was and The College Voice is here to recap the dozens of goals, blocks, kills, and photo finishes that made it so special.
Women’s Cross Country
Starting off with the team which might best embody the term historic, women’s cross country was on a tear all season. Coming into the season ranked 12th in the nation, expectations were already sky high. While that ranking would fall to 19th by season’s end, it doesn’t make the feats of the season any less impressive. Starting with breaking the Conn Coll fastest 6k time by Grace McDonough ‘26 with the time of 21:04.7 at the Connecticut College Invitational at Harkness Memorial State Park. McDonough broke her previously held record of 21:13 last season placing her eighth in the competition, helping the team place eighth in the meet, a one place improvement from the previous season. Right behind her was Kiera Tallas ‘27 at 20th place (21:22.5) and Abby Williams ‘27 at 27th (21:55.3). In the NESCAC Championship, also hosted at Harkness Park, the team placed third led by McDonough at second place (21:05.0) and closely followed by a string of personal bests from Tallas, who also set the fourth fastest time by a Camel (21:19.2), Williams (21:46.5), and Alexa Estes ‘26 (22:16.1). The team also showed out in the NCAA Mideast Regional placing third en route to a 19th place finish in the NCAA Championship with McDonough, Tallas, Williams, April Schilling ‘27, Abby Fernald ‘26, Estes, and Liz Freeman ‘26 all placing. McDonough was named All-NESCAC first-team while Tallas and Williams named All-NESCAC second-team combining for the most All-NESCAC honors in a season for the Camels, rounding out a season that may go down as the best in Camel history.
Men’s Cross Country
The 2025 season for the men’s cross country team was headlines by the breakout of third-year runner Ellis Iurilli-Hough ‘27. Iurilli-Hough dominated virtually every course he took to, starting with the first meet of the season at the Trinity Invitational where he placed second with the time of 16:24.9, closely followed by Brendan Capodanno ‘27 at third (16:37.90), Griffin Selber ‘29 at sixth (16:41.90), and Ronan Staab ‘27 at ninth (16:56.30). The team continued to have solid performances throughout the season including a respectable eighth place finish in the NESCAC Championship, led by Iurilli-Hough who finished ninth with his personal best at 24:37.3. The team then excelled in the NCAA Mideast Regional, placing seventh of 26. By virtue of his seventh place finish there, Iurilli-Hough was invited to compete in the NCAA Championship where he placed 48th (24:49.3), the highest Camel placement in the competition since Matt Carter ‘22 who placed 19th in 2022. Iurilli-Hough also earned All-NESCAC second-team honors as an additional cherry on top to a stellar season.
Women’s Field Hockey
The Camel’s Field Hockey program has remained steady, earning exactly six wins each of the past three seasons. The team started off hot, going 3-2 through the first five weeks, including a 3-2 OT win over Colby College to extend the Camels’ win streak over them to four straight and bringing #16 Amherst College down to the wire in a 3-4 OT loss. They struggled after this point, dropping seven of the next 10. Despite their struggles, offensive ace Bridget McGann ‘26 put up nine goals on the season, ending her career with 37 total and tying with Sam Landau ‘87 for fourth-most in Camel history. McGann is also ending her field hockey career with 82 points to jump Landau for fourth in points. McGann was also selected to the NFHCA Senior Team and All-NESCAC first-team to extend an already impressive resume of field hockey awards. Even with the unfortunate ending to the season, the team played their opponents, especially their ranked opponents, to the wire, showing incredible fight every game. This is in large part due to the diversity of scoring options the team exhibited this season. 2025 was the first year since 2015 that the roster had three or more players with double-digit points, showing some promise for the 2026 season that past rosters have not exhibited.
Courtesy of Sean Elliot
Women’s Rowing
Women’s rowing has been the epitome of consistency, with their four-straight 32nd place finishes in the Head of the Charles competition in a mix of 4+ and 8+ performances. In the biggest regatta of the year, the team outpaced rivals Middlebury College, Hamilton College, and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The team started their season at the Snake Regatta, finishing 19th, with the other boats finishing 21st and 22nd. The team’s success continued at the Head of the Housatonic with the team finishing fifth of 11 before finishing the fall season at the Wormtown Chase with a 13th-place finish out of the 22 eligible boats.
Men’s Rowing
The men’s rowing team consistently improved throughout the fall season, showing the team’s chemistry building with each regatta. Starting with the Head of the Snake, the team finished 18th of the eligible 20 boats. The team made a modest jump to 17th of 23 in the Head of the Housatonic before making their leap at the Head of the Charles. The Camels finished 27th of 40, outperforming competitors like Lehigh University, Middlebury College, and Amherst College. They refused to cool off going into the Wormtown Chase, placing 15th of 23 with an impressive performance out-rowing UConn.
Sailing
The season was incredibly successful for the co-ed sailing team. The roster took multiple major jumps from last season, showing growth as the program prepares for spring sailing. Starting off at Yale University, the Camels placed 16th of 18 competing boats, a bit of a step back from their 13th place last year. After that moment, the team turned their season around, placing fourth of 18 at Brown University, jumping from 12th last year. The team also performed well at the Open Atlantic Coast Tournament Finals, placing 10th of 18, improving from 14th in 2024.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s roster had an almost identical season to 2024, putting up back-to-back five-win seasons. The team started strong, going 3-1 before falling to a slate of NESCAC opponents. The roster struggled offensively and had a rotation at the goalie position with three keepers logging starts, the most for the Camels since 2021. The team was able to nab a NESCAC win against Bates College, which they have dominated 7-2-1 over the past decade. The team is still gathering its footing and showed some impressive defensive sparks on the road, shutting out opponents four times in their own stadiums.
Men’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team has continued its dominance, keeping its championship window wide open. With a 12-3-6 record on the year, the Camels extended their streak of 12+ win seasons to three. After a loss in the NCAA Championship in 2024, the Camels started the season ranked second with major expectations for the season. After a relatively slow 1-1-2 start through the team’s first four games, the team closed the season strong, going 8-1-2 before the NESCAC tournament. The roster attempted to defend their NESCAC Championship title before falling to #1 Tufts University 0-1. The team would recover and return to the NCAA Championships for the third straight year before falling to Bowdoin College in the Sweet 16. This ended their season ranked #7, a still incredibly impressive result considering the loss of championship-winning goalie Peter Silvester ‘25 and forward Matt Scoffone ‘25 to graduation. With the loss of such major talent, remaining players filled in seamlessly, with four players, Dylan Hoke ‘28, Max Haberman ‘27, Marco Perugini ‘27, and Gavin Mpiana ‘27, being named to the All-NESCAC first-team and one player, Charlie Miles ‘27, being named to the All-NESCAC second-team, becoming the Camels’ largest All-NESCAC class in program history. Perugini led the way offensively, building upon his four-goal 2024 campaign into a seven-goal season in 2025, tying for sixth in the division. He earned one of the Camels’ two NESCAC Player of the Week nods on the season for his two-goal, two-assist combined performance against Trinity College (Sept. 30) and Rhode Island College (Oct. 4). The other award was given to senior forward Elliot Spatz ‘26 for a goal in back-to-back games against the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Sept. 9) and #17 Bowdoin College (Sept. 13). On defense, Haberman set the standard for the entire NESCAC earning him the Defensive Player of the Year award, becoming the first Camel to do so. With the surplus of talent on both sides of the ball, the team’s momentum should be expected to continue into 2026.
Women’s Volleyball
The 2025 volleyball season was a tale of halves; or more accurately, fifths. The team was streaky all season with the roster going on five three-win or -loss streaks. Regardless of the hot or cold spell hitting the team, they remained formidable with impressive flashes coming from a collection of players. This was headlined by junior Rae Wartelle ‘27 who led the team in kills with 262, tying for ninth in the NESCAC. Her kill mark, combined with her fourth place division finish in total points (339), led to Wartelle being named to the All-NESCAC second-team. Adding to Wartelle’s offensive production was Aubrie Letourneau ‘29 whose 812 assists were second in the division, tied for the most assists in a game played by a NESCAC team at 46 against Wesleyan University on Oct. 2, and were eighth all-time for a Camel. This allowed for Grace Anderson ‘28 and Vibha Sheth ‘29 to each stamp their names in Conn Coll history with the fourth and tenth highest hitting percentages in a season in Camel history, respectively. The team struggled primarily against ranked NESCAC opponents, culminating in two back-to-back losses against #6 Colby College, the latter of which ended the Camels’ season in the NESCAC quarter-finals. With three-straight 12+ win seasons this program has cemented itself as one of the most successful in the division.
Courtesy of Sean Elliot
Men’s Water Polo
The excitement for the 2025 water polo season began before anyone had even touched the pool with the program moving to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). The new division, now of only DIII programs, would give the Camels an opportunity to grow their program. Even with a 6-14 record, this season should be labeled a success with a fifth of seven team finishes in the division’s eastern-conference standings and an explosion of points on the stat sheet. Junior Jesse Ellis ‘27 took a major leap from last season being named to the All-MPSF second-team with 92 points, five shy of last season’s team total while playing one fewer game and eighth in the MPSF, 40 assists (10th in the MPSF), and 38 steals (third in the MPSF). This explosion of Ellis was joined by Jeffery Harrington ‘27 who earned MPSF Player of the Week for his four goals against Wheaton College on Nov. 14. The team’s growth led them to a ninth place finish in the MPSF Tournament with a ton of room to excel with another year in their new division.
