MEDFORD, Mass. — For the second time in program history, the Bowdoin College women’s volleyball team is heading to the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals.
The Polar Bears prevailed in a Cinderella run through the New England regional, capping it off with an impressive 3-0 sweep of 21st-ranked Johnson & Wales on Sunday afternoon to earn a trip to nationals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The NCAA will announce quarterfinal matchups today when the field of eight is set.
Bowdoin began its weekend run with a 3-0 victory over Endicott on Friday in the opening round.
On Saturday against host Tufts, the Polar Bears prevailed in five sets, 3-2.
Against Johnson & Wales on Sunday, Bowdoin came out on top with set scores of 28-26, 26-24, 25-18.
Caroline Flaharty and Ashley Williams each picked up 12 kills in the victory. Jaida Hodge-Adams added nine kills, while Ella Haugen (20 assists) and Kate Kiser (18 assists) split setting duties. Emily King (17 digs) and Allyson Hawkins (14 digs) contributed to the win.
Flaharty, Cori Gray and Hawkins were named to the All-Regional team, with Flaharty the MVP.
Women’s rugby
Bowdoin recovered from an early deficit to defeat the University of New England, 27-5, and win the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association Division III title on Sunday at Harvard.
The Polar Bears finished their season with a record of 8-2. It is the first-ever Division III tournament in the history of the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association, which was founded in 2018.
The Nor’easters took the first lead of the game approximately a minute in, as inside center Mariah Chase took a lineout ball to slice through the defense and offload to Katie Berger for the corner try.
Bowdoin dominated from there, scoring four first-half tries to take a commanding 22-5 lead at the break.
Wing Molly Petronzio and fullback Sophia Karris both scored a pair of tries in the victory, while Petronzio added a conversion to end the match with a team-leading 12 points.
Men’s hockey
Bowdoin opened its season with a 6-4 NESCAC victory over Middlebury on Friday in Vermont.
Bowdoin got on the board midway through the first period as Ethan Kimball tallied his first collegiate goal, redirecting a shot from Collin Van der Veen.
Middlebury tied the game with under three minutes to play in the opening frame, and the Panthers took the lead seven minutes into the second period as Mitchell Allen snuck the puck inside the right post from below the goal line.
Max Ginsberg tied the game for Bowdoin two minutes later, finishing off a cross-ice feed from Ronnie Lestan.
Bowdoin went ahead 4-2 with two more goals in the period, first with a Graham Rutledge point-blank shot, and then off a one-timer from Lestan off Cam Berube‘s feed.
Joe Alexander made his Polar Bear scoring debut with a power play goal five minutes into the final stanza.
The Panthers scored a pair of goals to pull within 5-4 in the third, but a Berube empty-netter sealed the win for Bowdoin with 1:17 to play.
Alex Zafonte turned away 31 shots in the Bowdoin cage.
Bowdoin (1-1) dropped a 5-1 decision to Williams on Saturday.
Bowdoin’s goal was scored by Jimmy Duffy, with Albert Washco and Pat Geary earning assists.
Bowdoin visits rival Colby this upcoming Saturday at 7 p.m.
Women’s basketball
Two-time national finalist Bowdoin opened its campaign with a 79-60 victory over Endicott on Saturday.
The fifth-ranked Polar Bears improved to 1-0 on the year, dealing Endicott (1-1) its first loss of the campaign.
The Gulls came out of the gate quickly, jumping to an 11-4 lead in the opening five minutes.
Bowdoin answered with a 13-0 run, seven coming from Maddie Hasson, as they took the lead for good, 17-11 later in the period.
Bowdoin owned a 39-30 advantage at halftime and extended its lead to as many as 22 points in the second half on their way to the 19-point victory.
A balanced attack for the Polar Bears featured four players in double figures, led by 17 from Maddie Hasson and 16 apiece from Moira Train and Samantha Roy. Roy added seven assists and six rebounds on the day while Train finished with four 3-pointers. Annie Maher added 10 points and six rebounds off the bench for Bowdoin, which finished at 41% shooting for the game and held a 54-32 advantage in rebounding.
Bowdoin will return to action on Tuesday night when the Polar Bears travel to Gorham to play the University of Southern Maine at 5:30 p.m.
Men’s basketball
Bowdoin built a big first-half lead and held off a late rally to defeat Framingham State in the opening night of the Roger Williams Tournament on Friday night, 79-70.
Bowdoin senior David Reynolds became the 26th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points.
Bowdoin shot 56% from the field in the opening half as the Polar Bears built a 20-point lead by intermission. Zavier Rucker was unstoppable, scoring 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of- 3 from the free throw line, starting the game with a hoop-and-harm.
The Polar Bears never trailed, taking as much as a 26-point lead in the opening stanza.
Reynolds finished with 21 points, including three 3-pointers. Rucker added 18 points, while Sam Grad chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.
In the championship game on Saturday, host Roger Williams rolled to a 79-58 victory over the Polar Bears, who are 1-1 heading into Tuesday’s matchup at the University of Southern Maine (7:30 p.m.).
Reynolds was named to the All-Tournament team after finishing with 17 points and eight rebounds to lead Bowdoin. Rucker had 13 points, seven boards and four assists while Grad added 10 points for Bowdoin.
Women’s hockey
The Polar Bears swept Wesleyan University in its NESCAC opening weekend following a 4-1 win on Saturday afternoon.
The Polar Bears improved to 2-0 (2-0 NESCAC), while the Cardinals dropped to 0-2 (0-2 NESCAC).
Bowdoin went ahead midway through the first. Gretchen Klens took a shot from the slot and Allegra Grant turned away the bid. Kathryn Kester collected the rebound and took a shot from the right side which was again turned away. Jess Cloutier received the puck off Grant’s pads and wristed a shot top shelf from beyond the crease.
Cloutier tallied her second of the day four minutes later. Brett Stoddard controlled the puck on the back boards and fed Cloutier unmarked between the dots for another wrister.
With just 10 seconds remaining in the period, Wesleyan broke through. Alicia Nickolenko battled for the puck in the left corner of Bowdoin’s zone and poked the puck out to Colleen Castro. Castro wrapped around to the right post and tucked the puck five-hole.
Tala Glass gave Bowdoin a two-goal lead five minutes into the third, and the Polar Bears made it 4-1 when Angelina Joyce tipped a Glass shot.
Dani Marquez had 32 saves for the win.
On Friday inside Watson Arena, Bowdoin rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory over the Cardinals.
Joyce tallied the overtime winner.
Bowdoin returns to action on Friday at home against Colby at 7 p.m.
Cross country
Williams swept the New England Division III Championship races on Saturday at Bowdoin College.
The Eph men totaled 24 points to run away with the crown over second-place Colby (93), while the Williams women scored 64 points to edge MIT (84).
In the men’s 8K, Aidan Ryan of Williams won in 24:51.6.
Bowdoin’s Luca Ostertag-Hill was 26th in 25:35.7, while teammate Andrew Meredith finished 35th.
In the women’s race, Williams was led by a balanced attack, with MIT’s Izzy Gengaro winning the 6K in 21:19.1.
Bowdoin had a pair of outstanding individual performances as Caroline Shipley finished seventh in 21:38.5, followed by Delany Bullock in 13th with a time of 21:55.8. Both earned All-New England recognition.
Shipley, Bullock and Ostertag-Hill advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, this upcoming Saturday.
Squash
The Bowdoin men and women were both in action, with the Polar Bear men earning wins over Bates and Vassar.
In a 9-0 victory over Vassar, Travis Raw, Edwardo Perez and Henry Somerby earned 3-0 wins.
Bowdoin downed the Bobcats, 5-4, on Friday, the first Polar Bear win over Bates since 2002.
A key win came from Bowdoin’s Drew Clark, who earned a 9-11, 11-4, 11-4, 10-12, 11-5 win at the No. 8 spot. Deven Kanwal won a tough match, while Adham Sobhy made it a 3-3 match.
Tyler Shonrock pushed Bowdoin over the top with a three-set win.
The Bowdoin women broken into the win column with a 6-3 victory over Vassar.
After dropping a 7-2 decision to Bates on Friday, the Polar Bears battled back, with Clio Bersani and Caroline Burkhart winning in straight sets.
Bowdoin takes on Hamilton at Wesleyan University on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
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