Courtesy of Sean Elliot
Fall Weekend continues to be one of the most anticipated campus-wide events. Families come from across the country to join in on the fall festivities, including HarvestFest, ArboFest, and the Acapella Showcase. Camel Athletics are in full swing throughout Fall Weekend, showcasing student-athletes and giving their families a chance to watch them perform in front of a large home crowd. Fall Weekend 2024 highlighted all fall sports, with alumni in attendance. Let’s take a look at how each team performed:
Connecticut College Cross Country:
Fall Weekend serves as the home meet for Connecticut College’s men’s and women’s cross country teams. At Harkness Memorial State Park, the Conn College Invitational is home to picturesque views of the water and green trails throughout. Both teams placed well, with the women finishing ninth out of 37 teams and the men coming in 17th out of 35 teams. Grace McDonough ‘26 led the way for the women, placing 26th overall with a time of 21:52.2 (6k). Abby Williams ‘27, Alsacia Timmerman ‘26, Abby Fernald ‘26, and Kiera Tallas ‘27 rounded out the Camels’ scorers. April Schilling ‘27 and Addie Fuller ‘27 finished 6th and 7th for Conn respectively. For the men, Matt Scardigno ‘26 paced the group with a 25th place finish and a time of 24:51.0 (8k). He was followed by Ellis Iurilli-Hough ‘27, Anthony Belford ‘27, Josh Barzilai ‘28, and Sam Walker ‘25. Deem Quinn ‘26 and Kevin Lieue ‘26 rounded out Conn’s top-7. After a strong showing at the home meet, the Camels will head up to Brunswick, ME for the NESCAC Championships on November 2.
Connecticut College Field Hockey:
Connecticut College’s field hockey team faced off against twelfth ranked Bates College on October 19 of Fall Weekend. The Camels and Bobcats were locked in a scoreless contest up until the fourth quarter. With 6:06 remaining, Bates was awarded a penalty corner. Conn’s goalie Liz Winemaster ’27 was able to save the original shot, but Anna Cote of Bates was eventually able to slot the ball into the goal. This one-point margin was enough to give Bates the win and move the Camels’ conference record to (3-5). Despite the frustrating loss, this was a day of celebration for Conn’s seven seniors: Sadie AbuHaidar ‘24, Rowan Galanis ‘24, Bridget Mason ‘24, Sophie Moniz ‘24, Abby Ragland ‘24, Chloe Therrien ‘24, and Hannah Webster ‘24. The field hockey team will close out their regular season with a home game against Wesleyan on October 29 on Silfen Field.
Connecticut College Men’s and Women’s Rowing:
Men’s and women’s rowing traveled to the iconic Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, Massachusetts over Fall Weekend. The Camels entered one boat in the men’s club 4+ event and finished 33rd out of 42 boats. The pilot of the boat was Samira Grossmann-Ferris ’26, who was joined by crew members Parker Russell ’27, Finn McKitterick ’26, Ian Cullen ’26, and Philip Eppen ’25. The women raced in Saturday’s club 4+ event, finishing in 47th out of 49 boats. The Camels were represented by Katherine Hicks ’27, Mimi Noe ’27, Maeve Hurley ’27, Jessica Marks ’27, and coxswain Alana Maguire ’27. Sunday’s collegiate 4+ event resulted in a 32nd out of 39 place finish by coxswain Cecilia Duffiled ’27 and crew members Emily Fairchild ’26, Ruth Schmidt ’27, Eldana Zhakypbaeva ’27, and Sadie Joseph ’28. Both men’s and women’s rowing will conclude their fall seasons on October 26 at the Wormtown Chase in Worcester, MA.
Connecticut College Men’s Soccer:
The Connecticut College Camels defeated the Bates College Bobcats 3-0 on Fall Weekend. The first half of the game ended in a scoreless tie, as both teams were generating solid chances but couldn’t find the back of the net. As soon as the second half whistle blew, the Camels seemed to find a spark. Fifteen minutes in, Charlie Miles ’27 fired a shot and scored, giving the Camels a 1-0 lead. Only twenty seconds later, Marco Perugini ’27 crossed the ball into the box, finding Gavin Mpiana ’27 to make it 2-0. The Camels’ third goal came in the sixty-ninth minute when Jack Lavorel scored on a header from a Rye Jaran ’25 corner service. Peter Silvester ’25 earned a clean sheet in goal for the Camels, and the win improved Conn to 7-1-4 in conference play. Connecticut College honored eleven seniors on for senior day: Peter Silvester ‘24, Sam Boehm ‘24, Alessandro Horvath Diano ‘24, Rye Jaran ‘24, Luke Cibelli ‘24, Matt Scoffone ‘24, Jorge Mendo ‘24, Jake Creus ‘24, Brendan Clare ‘24, Jack Kelesoglu ‘24, Christian Perugini ‘24, and Jack Lavorel ‘24. The Camels close out the regular season with a NESCAC matchup against Wesleyan on October 29 on Freeman Field.
Connecticut College Women’s Soccer:
Connecticut College and Bates College Women’s soccer competed on Freeman Field for the first of two soccer games on Fall Weekend. Prior to the contest, seven incredible seniors were honored for the Camels: Ella Davidyock ‘24, Lexi Gudaitis ‘24, Sarah Hobbs ‘24, Ella Kahrl ‘24, Maddie Lynch ‘24, Clare Mulvihill ‘24, and Molly Monzeglio ‘24. Unfortunately, Conn fell short of a senior day win. The two teams battled hard for the entirety of the game, with the Bobcats’ lone goal coming in the last minute of play. Bates’ Abby Alter ’25 scored off a header from the corner taken by Gwyn Jamison ’28, leaving the Camels heartbroken. Conn ended the game with an advantage of 17-12 shots and a 9-5 advantage on corner kicks. Ella Gazo ’26 recorded three shots on target for the Camels, but the team was not able to capitalize. With this loss, Connecticut College fell to (2-5-0) in conference play.
Connecticut College Women and Coed Sailing:
The sailing teams hosted the Open Atlantic Coast Tournament here on the Thames River over Fall Weekend. Connecticut College placed fourteenth out of eighteen teams and scored 296 points over the two racing divisions. In the A division, Henry Scholz ’27 and Skylor Sweet ’26 served as skippers, alongside crew members Coco Carragher ’25, Aurora Kreyche ’25, and Vivian Smith ’27. Together, the team earned 157 points. In the B division, William Hurd ’27 skippered the boat, with Alejandro Amezcua ’25 serving as the crew member. Hurd and Amezcua recorded 145 points for the Camels. Sailing will conclude their fall season on October 26-27 at Yale and Brown University.
Connecticut College Men’s Water Polo:
Men’s water polo traveled to Baltimore, MD and competed in the CWPA D3 Eastern Championships over Fall Weekend. The team finished with a 1-3 record, beating Washington and Jefferson in game two with a score of 14-8. Game 1 resulted in a close 11-10 loss to Austin, as Thomas McDonough ’28, Jesse Ellis ’27, and Cormac Stevens ’27 each recorded one goal at the end of the match. Time ran out on the Camels, giving them their first loss of the tournament. Conn responded in game two, ending the game on a 3-1 run with goals from Ellis ’27, Jeffery Harrington ’27, and Paul Podrebarac ’28. The next two games proved to be difficult for the Camels, resulting in a 16-7 loss to MIT and a 15-10 loss to Johns Hopkins. Despite the results, the Camels have returned to New London ready for the remainder of their season, which concludes on November 13 against Wheaton College (MA) in Lott Natatorium.
Connecticut College Volleyball:
Connecticut College Women’s volleyball competed in two matches across Fall Weekend, securing 3-1 victories in both. Friday, October 18’s matchup was against the Amherst Mammoths. The Camels took the first two sets, with the Mammoths fighting back for the third set. Conn was able to seal the deal in the fourth set, winning 25-18. The Camels were led by Rae Wartelle ’27, Josie Kelly ’28, and Taylor Merrifield ’27. Wartelle ’27 recorded a career-high 26 kills, while Kelly ’28 was an offensive machine, ending the game with a season-high 59 assists. Merrifield ’27 led the way in aces, with a career-high of six, and combined that with a match-high 26 digs. On Saturday, the Camels took on the Continentals from Hamilton College. Conn honored their two seniors Katherine Randall ‘24 and Amanda Kreidler ‘24 prior to the match. The Camels went on to win the second, third, and fourth sets to secure the victory. Merrifield ’27 once again led the way in digs with 22, and Kelly ’28 recorded 47 assists. With these two Fall Weekend victories, the Camels improved to 13-6 overall, 3-5 in conference play. They close out their regular season against Colby on November 2.
