The championship began on April 26th at the Par 72 Pinehaven Country Club. At the end of a competitive day one, Wellesley and New York University, ranked 9th in division III, were tied with 302 strokes. For these types of championships, five Wellesley players will hit, but the four top scores are recorded. On a par-72 course, therefore, the team value was shockingly only 14 strokes over par (288). Even more impressive were Wellesley’s places on the podium: sophomores Sarah Yeh and Audrey Wang were tied for first place overall, both only shooting one over par. Meanwhile, classmate Kaurvaki Bajpai was ranked seventh overall, tied with first-year Savannah Boyd.

On day two of competition, the Blue continued to impress. They shot 310, which combined with their prior score for 612 overall, good for first place. New York University came in second with 618. Wang won the individual competition, matching her score from the day before with another 73. Yeh was able to capture second place with a score of 39 on day two. Boyd and Bajpai remained tied in seventh place. Wang and Yeh received first-team all-conference accolades, while Boyd and Bajpai won second-team all-conference honors. To win the competition was impressive enough, but to do it led by underclassmen is all the more staggering. The program clearly has the potential to continue getting better and better.

With the win, the Blue have earned a berth to the Division III National Championships for the first time as a team. They will take place from May 13-16 at the Kingsmill Resort & Spa in Williamsburg, Va and can be viewed through the NCAA website. The Wellesley News commends our sibs on the golf team for making history and wishes them continued success at the Championships.

Contact the editors responsible for this story: Julee Sharma, Finley Tipton, Katie McCabe

Basketball defeated three conference opponents this year, improving their conference record from last year, with triumphs over Clark, Mount Holyoke College and Wheaton College. Trinity Barrow ’27 had an outstanding year, leading the Blue in points, assists and steals per game. Ava Shane ’28 led the team in rebounds per game. Forward Caitlin Windross ’25 will be greatly missed next year; she averaged an impressive 7.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Overall, the team improved this season, with a strong first year class and an improved position in the New England Men and Women’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC).

Swim and Dive finished 6th out of 10 teams at the NEWMAC championships, which took place from Feb. 20 through the 23. The Blue saw strong performances from Emily Richardson ’26 who finished 7th in the 1650 Free, Maya Hart ’25 who finished 8th in the 200 Breaststroke, and Cecilia Cai ’25 who finished 8th in the 200 Free. The 400 medley relay team of Hart, Lily Fender ’28, Chelsea Park ’27 and Ariana Mitsuoka ’25 also took 6th overall. It was a great effort to end a strong swim and dive season.

The Track and Field squad hit the New Balance track last weekend to compete in the New England Division III Championships, with showings from juniors Claire Peng and Emily Brydges on day one. Peng ran a personal record time of 3:08.55 to take 10th overall in the 1000m race, while Brydges took 20th in the 5k. On day two of the competition, Charlie Barron ‘25 took 29th overall in the 400m dash, while classmate Erin Dickinson took 22nd in the triple jump. Track and field will look to continue improving as the outdoor season picks up this Spring.

Lacrosse and Tennis have shined in the beginning of their spring seasons. Tennis opened the spring with an upset over #30 in Division III, Skidmore College, 4-3, after big wins from first-years Nandini Patel, Kotistha Modak, Sophie Buttorf and sophomore Suzanne Xu. After a disappointing loss to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), the Blue returned with a triumphant shutout of Trinity College and a 6-1 win over Bates on March 2nd. Next up, the Blue will take on Denison University, Hope College and George Fox University in Orlando during Spring Break. Meanwhile, lacrosse has achieved its first win of the season against Gordon College, who beat them in overtime last year. The team has a strong first year class, a new coach, and after a disappointing overtime loss to Husson University on Saturday March 1, 11-10, they are looking forward to redemption with a home game against the US Merchant Marine Academy on March 10th.

Last but not least, fencing will be finishing its season soon with the NCAA Northeast Regional. As of a Feb. 12 coaches poll, the Blue are ranked 5th in all of Division III. After a dominant season, they are expected to do amazing things at the competition, which will take place March 9. 

Though Blue Crew and softball have yet to compete, their moments are coming very soon: for softball, it will be March 17 against Macalester College, while Crew will row on March 22 at the Washington College Invitational. As all of these teams finish or begin their seasons, the Wellesley News is ecstatic to continue covering their achievements as student-athletes.

Contact the editors responsible for this story: Julee Sharma, Finley Tipton, Katie McCabe

The first quarter saw only one touchdown, a rushing play from star quarterback Jalen Hurts in his second career Super Bowl appearance. In his last appearance, the 2023 Super Bowl, the Eagles lost to the Chiefs in a much closer call, 38-35. Despite throwing an interception at the beginning of the second quarter, which the Chiefs could not capitalize on, Hurts stunned the Chiefs’ defense for the rest of the evening. Patrick Mahomes, the quarterback for the Chiefs, matched the interception with his own later in the quarter, picked off by Cooper DeJean, a rookie who made the play of the game on his birthday. Not only was it an amazing interception, but DeJean was able to return it for a touchdown. At halftime, the Eagles were up 24-0, a shockingly bad showing for the Chiefs.

The halftime show from Kendrick Lamar was incredible — he played many hits from his most recent album, “gnx,” including “tv off” and “squabble up.” He also featured SZA, Samuel L. Jackson, and Serena Williams in the performance. Perhaps this provided the Eagles with even more energy for the second half, as their dominance did not waver for the rest of the game.

After an Eagles field goal improved the score to 27-0, and the Chiefs failed to score on yet another drive, Hurts threw a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith for over 50 yards, bringing the score to 34-0. The Chiefs managed one touchdown before the fourth quarter, but failed on the 2-point conversion, which was an interception thrown by Mahomes.

There was a notable lack of rushing plays from the Eagles compared to their games from the rest of the season, when they heavily relied on Saquon Barkley, their star running back. After spending six seasons stuck with the New York Giants, with whom he could not come close to the Super Bowl, he was quietly let go and the Eagles picked him up on a $37.75 million contract for three years. With the Eagles, he fit in as a natural leader and set the single-season record for rushing yards this year with an astonishing 2,504 yards. Though he only rushed for 57 yards in the Super Bowl, he served as a huge threat to the defense, drawing their focus away from Hurts’ passing plays.

In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs already looked defeated, and the Eagles began to celebrate long before the clock ran out. Mahomes was stripped of the ball on one of the Chiefs’ last chances to score, a devastating blow that snuffed out any remaining momentum they had. The score was 40-6 with five minutes remaining, and though the Chiefs managed to increase it to 40-22, they had stopped celebrating. For Kansas City fans, it may have been heartbreaking, but for the majority of dynasty-haters watching the Super Bowl, it was the perfect ending.

Hurts was named the Super Bowl MVP, Travis Kelce unfortunately did not propose, and the city of Philadelphia took a lot of damage. Though it was a complete blowout, this Super Bowl was still a joy to watch.  

Contact the editors responsible for this story: Julee Sharma, Finley Tipton, Katie McCabe

The overwhelming favorite on the women’s side was #1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who has been having an incredible comeback after her shoulder injury last year. She had finished last year by winning the US Open and won the Brisbane International tournament coming into the Australian Open. However, second and third seeds Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff were also expected to be strong contenders. What shocked the tennis world was 19th seed Madison Keys’ run; the 29-year-old American had yet to win a major, and though she usually performs quite well, she rarely gets to semi-finals or final matches. 

This year was different. After an easy first two rounds, she beat fellow American and 10th seed Danielle Collins in the third round in a shocking sweep, 6-4, 6-4. She then went on to beat 6th seed Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina, both in straight sets, to get to the semi-final. She faced Swiatek, a match she was expected to lose, but she only lost the first set 5-7; after that, she won the next two, 6-1 and 7(10)-6(8). In the finals, her matchup was even more daunting, as Sabalenka had enjoyed a fantastic run on her way to what would’ve been her third championship in a row. However, Keys had other plans — she managed to upset her opponent 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to become the 2025 Australian Open champion. 

Keys had previously made the semi-finals in Australia as a 19-year-old exactly 10 years ago, but had not gone as far in the tournament since. This year, though, she could not be stopped. After her win, she said tearfully: “I have wanted this for so long … I have been in one other grand slam final and it did not go my way, and I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to get back to this position … and my team believed in me every step of the way, so thank you so much.”

TWN: Hi Berenice! Which team do you support and how long have you been a supporter?

BL: Barca! I have been a fan since I was very young. Since I could remember, I would watch games with my dad and my brother on the TV. I feel like I was raised a soccer fan. I played all throughout middle school and high school and literally all of my family plays soccer as well. It’s a very big part of my Mexican-Guatemalan heritage. 

TWN: What was the process of getting a ticket like?

BL: So stressful. I’m grateful I went to the game with my friend Rose who is also so passionate about soccer because I feel like it was a process you don’t go through unless you REALLY want to go. We used this website, Viagogo, that was pretty easy to use but the process of getting the ticket was the hard part. We wanted digital tickets but because of the high demand of the game, Real Madrid fans were renting their season passes. So instead of tickets, we were using someone’s card pass. We had to get those hand-delivered and also had to return them to the seller after the game. It seemed very sketchy to us but we learned it’s very common for the biggest games. 

TWN: Describe your game day experience.

BL: It was so exciting. We went to Madrid very early from Córdoba because we wanted to take our time making our way to the stadium and see what a home game looked like in Madrid. Vibes were amazing. The whole area around the stadium was packed and lively. And there were people from literally everywhere. So many different accents and languages in the same place all wearing the white Real Madrid shirts. Personally, as a Barcelona fan, I had to be undercover in a Real Madrid shirt because sadly…  these events can get people really worked up and aggressive. But I really didn’t mind what jersey I was wearing because I got to watch some of my favorite players in real life with my own two eyes. And it was beautiful to see the way soccer brought people together and to experience this with my friend who loves soccer the way I do. 

TWN: What was your favorite moment of the game?

BL: Definitely watching Lamine Yamal score his first goal in a clásico! He is the youngest player to ever score in a clásico. It was so surreal. I’m such a fan of his. He is so young, yet so skilled, and it’s genuinely impressive and inspirational. Especially because of how action packed the second half of the game was, it felt like a Barca-fan dream. His goal was the third of the half and it made me so happy and full of hope because my team was winning. It was like an adrenaline rush which was also so different from how Madrid fans were reacting around me. A lot of them were leaving by that point. 

TWN: What has the El Clásico experience meant to you?

BL: Everything. My dad is the biggest soccer fan I know and that is where my love for soccer comes from. I got to see his team play and win and I truly wish he could have the experience one day as well. In a way, I was experiencing it for him and it made it that much more special. It was a dream come true and I could not be more grateful for the absolute blessing it was to be there. 

Contact the editors responsible for this story: Julee Sharma, Katie McCabe

Swim

The biggest story in Olympic swimming this year is undoubtedly the domination of Léon Marchand, the 22-year-old French phenom who took gold in every individual event he entered, along with helping France win bronze in the 4x100m medley relay. It was not Marchand’s first Olympics for France, but his first he went medal-less. He has since spent four years developing on the University of Florida’s swim team, building to a performance where he broke a Phelps record and went unchallenged in most fields. The best part? He got to do it at home.

On the women’s side, it was a tough contest between the Australians and the Americans, with the US narrowly winning more gold medals, 8-7. Katie Ledecky continued her untouchable streak in the 800m freestyle, along with winning the 1500m freestyle. In the 1500, she won by a comically large margin of 10 seconds.

Courtesy of NBC

The Americans also set a world record for the 4x100m medley relay, defeating the previous record by .75 seconds. However, women’s swim was not completely dominated by the US and AUS; Canada’s Summer McIntosh, at just 18 years old, won gold comfortably in the 200m butterfly, 200m IM and 400m IM. 

Additionally, the Wellesley News is incredibly proud of Lara Dashti ’26’s participation in the 100m Breaststroke representing Kuwait. We look forward to watching you this season!!

Soccer

They’re BACK! After a long drought in American dominance in women’s soccer worldwide, the US women’s team managed to pull off a gold medal finish in this year’s Olympics. New coach Emma Hayes was hired only last November, and made some dramatic changes to the roster only months before the competition began. Soccer experts seemed to come to the consensus that the team was too fresh, not sufficiently bonded, and that more experienced teams would go the distance this year. That was until the US dominated their group stage and pulled off a win against Japan in the quarterfinals. Most then expected their journey to end against Brazil in the finals, yet they managed to emerge victorious, having silenced the doubts surrounding their team and proven that the dynasty US women’s soccer has been revived.

Track

Speaking of people who are back, Sha’Carri Richardson, in her Olympic debut, earned silver in the 100m and gold with her teammates in the 4x100m relay. In the 100m race, she was bested only by St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred. Though it could have been a devastating moment, Richardson’s sportsmanship was admirable, and Alfred’s reaction to winning St. Lucia’s first ever olympic gold medal was heartwarming. 

The Americans did earn gold in many other individual events, but the victories of Gabby Thomas and Sydney McLaughlin were the most impactful. Thomas, a Harvard graduate who works in a healthcare clinic for people without insurance, was coming off of a slightly disappointing bronze medal in her Tokyo olympic debut. She was the overwhelming favorite this year, and she delivered, finally winning her gold. Then, of course, there is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the best 400m hurdles track runner the world has ever seen. She has broken the world record in the event six times; this year, with an outstanding time of 50.37 seconds. She dominated the field, while fellow American Sierra Cockrell earned silver.

Gymnastics

The best comeback story in history. Simone Biles returned to Olympic competition as if she had never missed it; she won the gold medals in the individual and team all-around competitions as well as the vault and silver on floor, making her career collection 11. The most decorated gymnast of all time had the performance of her life at 27 years old. Should you get the chance, the Wellesley News urges you to watch her performances on YouTube — she defies physics. Her teammates Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles also saw incredible performances, and Jade Carey won silver in the vault competition. Biles was often followed in ranking by Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who at 25 years old proved that the age at which female gymnasts can perform is not just larger on Biles’ account. Andrade performed beautifully on floor in the individual competition, the only one in which she bested Biles, but the two share an inspiring friendship. Women’s gymnastics not only brought us inspiration, but a shining example of women supporting women.

Contact the editors responsible for this story: Julee Sharma (js115@wellesley.edu) and Finley Tipton (ft101@wellesley.edu)

At this time last year, the Wellesley Golf team was unranked among Division III teams in the Women’s Golf Coaches Association polls. Now, they are tied for 8th. For a program to make that big of a jump, it requires talented newcomers, strong leadership from upperclassmen and good coaching. One of these talented newcomers, first-year Aileen Du, set a program record for the lowest 36-hole score at the Jack Leaman Invitational on Sunday, placing second in the entire competition. Fellow first-year Audrey Wang finished third overall. Golf is now preparing for the Liberty League championship this weekend, which they hope to capture after a second place finish last year. If their improvement thus far is any indication, they should perform remarkably well.

Track and Field won nine events in the Smith and Mount Holyoke tri-meet on Saturday, April 20, with junior Emily Doyle winning three of them. She continued her triumphant throwing season with the wins in discus, shot put and javelin. Sophomore Ella Whinney won another two, taking first place in the high jump and the 1500m with a personal-best time of 4:38.21. Junior Aoife Fitzgerald also took two wins, in the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles, while the 4×100 team dominated with a season-best time of 50.18 and the gold medal. Still to come are the NEWMAC Championships next weekend at Springfield College, where the Blue hope to build on the motivation of this triumphant performance.

Tennis is on a four match conference winning streak, having defeated Emerson, Mount Holyoke, Smith and Wheaton in the last week. Against Emerson the Blue had a clean sweep, winning all three doubles and all six singles matches. Seniors Annissa Mu and Melinda Alviar had standout performances both as the first doubles pair and as individuals. Smith was a narrow win, 5-4, but first years Kriti Sarav and Suzanne Xu provided clutch performances that kept the Blue in the game. The Blue only have three conference matches remaining, and it will be interesting to see if they keep their record at only one conference loss.

Blue teams have seen remarkable improvements this year, with both tennis and golf climbing the Division III rankings and individuals from track and field besting their competition. Anticipate exciting conclusions to these teams’ seasons in the coming weeks.

Or, rather, they were bitter. Until they decided to do something about it.

It was soccer that first concocted the idea. After hearing crickets at their Sept. 6 game against Endicott at home, a game they lost in the deafening silence, an anonymous senior slapped a junior in the locker room. After a moment of silence, the two began a full-fledged battle, and, rather than intervening, the team began to pick sides, screaming in support of their chosen fighters. In the end, there were only a few scratches and bruises to be seen, but both players felt more gratified than ever before. The team then enjoyed a lovely dinner together in Lulu, feeling truly bonded, with their bitterness released. 

A field hockey player, upset with similar turnouts, overheard the fight; they decided to reach out to their friend on soccer to see if they could get in on the action. On Sept. 17, the first inter-athletics fight club was held in Severance Hall’s Dungeon of Fun. There were three fights total: a captains’ show-down, a sophomore 2v2, and an all-out first-year brawl. In the end, soccer took home the win, but all of the players had resolved their bitterness for the time being.

Though their teammates were loud, both teams wanted the crowds bigger. They contacted every team in the following weeks, with everyone agreeing to participate privately except crew, because it was past their bedtime. Each Sunday night thereafter in the Dungeon of Fun, athletes would get bloodied, bruised, and feel the unmistakable ecstasy of glory. Most had rarely experienced loud crowds or wins before, and both became addicting.

When winter came, the fight club was at its peak. There were 10 battles every Sunday. The organizers, soccer and field hockey, wanted to end the semester with a bang; they scheduled a night full of the most high-stakes battles yet. The highlights included a volleyball vs. tennis match, where a setter and hitter pair smacked volleyballs at two tennis players and the tennis players responded by serving tennis balls right back at them. It was a game of chicken- the first partnership to stop would lose- and tennis ultimately took the win. There was also a swim vs. dive wrestling tournament in a kiddie pool and a battle of the fencers with real swords and armor. The night was unforgettable.

However, just after the last battle, a group of first-years hungry for a party stumbled into the DOF, and the fighters fled the scene. The Wellesley Athletics Fight Club dissolved that day; since then, an anonymous source has exclusively shared the story with the Wellesley News, who is always excited to highlight athletes’ hard work. Why, you may ask? Well, she said, with tears in her eyes, “I miss the beauty of the brawl, and the memories I made with my friends while we KO’ed those softball players.” She wanted to publish the story to let her fellow fight clubbers know that she is still willing to try the whole thing again, changing times and locations, and bribing new RAs to ignore the noise complaints. Until then, she submitted the following photo that reminds her of the good ol’ times, for everyone to enjoy.

Fencing concluded its season on March 10 at the NCAA Northeast Regional in Brookville, New York, with sophomore Phoebe Li making the foil finals and placing 12th. Sophomore Gina Huang and first-years Lauren Khoo and Alisha Li also had standout performances. Since the competition, eight members of the team have received New England Fencing Conference Academic All-Conference Honors. 

Swim and Dive concluded their fantastic year by competing in the NCAA Division 3 championships in Greensboro, North Carolina last week. They competed in the 200 and 400 medley relays and the 200 and 400 free relays. Sophomore Kavita Sekhon competed individually in the 100 breaststroke, the 200 individual medley and the 200 breaststroke, while fellow sophomore Tracey Liu competed individually in the 100 back. Sekhon advanced to the finals and placed 8th in the 100 breaststroke, becoming an All-American. The Swim and Dive team also saw 13 members placed on the NEWMAC all-academic team at the end of their season.

As for the teams beginning their seasons, the Crew team swept the competition at their first event of the year, the Washington College Invitational in Maryland. Before this great start, senior Anya Hanitchak and sophomore Hannah Bates had been named Athletes to Watch by the College Rowing Coaches Association in their annual list; both rowed for the Wellesley “A” boat that won the first Varsity 8 event in Maryland. Blue Golf won the Jekyll Island Women’s Invitational on March 24, and first-years Sarah Yeh, Grace Sun and Audrey Wang all had top-ten finishes. They defeated Williams College, in second, and Amherst College, which took third. Lacrosse has struggled with numerous close games in the first half of their season, with all of their losses in the past week being within four points or less. However, sophomore goalie Anna Blake Patrick has already achieved 65 saves on the season, and junior defender Ryan Boone picked up a career-high six ground balls in the Blue’s most recent match against Clark. The Blue will face MIT on Saturday, March 30 to continue conference play. 

Softball played ten games in Clermont, Florida over Spring Break and had an overall record of 6-4, defeating Middlebury, Clarkson and Elmhurst, among others. First-year Emily Kulhanek scored the 2-run homer that won the Blue the Elmhurst game, while junior Lauren Young and first-year Sarah Wicker had impressive showings pitching against Clarkson and Millikin. Softball will face Clark at home on Saturday, March 30. Blue Tennis has had an astounding season so far, with a current record of 5-1 after a very close loss to NYU. The Blue had a perfect Spring Break, decisively defeating George Fox, Lewis and Clark, and Linfield. They hope to continue their winning streak also on March 30 against Springfield.

1. How long have you been working at Wellesley?

Tim Snyder (T.S.): This is my ninth year at Wellesley! 

Nico Santiago (N.S.): I have been working here since 2018, so six years. 

2. What was your educational journey like?

T.S.: I went to Endicott College for undergrad and majored in athletic training. I continued my education at Ithaca College in which I received a master’s in exercise physiology.  

N.S.: I majored in physical education with a minor in coaching in college. I always knew I wanted to stay involved in athletics.

3. What drew you to a career in training athletes?

T.S.: Fundamentally, I love working with people and helping them achieve their goals. I also love sports, anatomy and physiology, as well as biomechanics. Strength and conditioning is a great blend of all of those. There is nothing like training with teams and seeing their progress and reaching their goals.   

N.S.: I originally wanted to be an athletic trainer. However as a student athlete, I fell in love with what strength and conditioning brings. As strength coaches, we want our athletes to be stronger, faster, quicker with the ability to bounce back from injury.

4. How do you plan out a session for a team?

T.S.: In terms of planning, it starts by creating a plan for the full year. We typically make a plan each semester including winter and summer break. Within the semester a team may have three or four phases. Each phase has an objective or theme; this can be based on the needs of the team, demands of the sport, injury risks and where they are in their season. Training in-season should be different than training outside the season.  

Once you have an objective for the phase then you build out each week. There are a plethora of ways you can program but I try to focus on the objective of the team and how it flows within the Varsity Weight Room.  

N.S.: I like to be explosive first. If you are a running sport, you will most likely do some type of sprints. If you are not a running sport, you will go straight into explosive weight lifting movement first. From there, depending on the team in the year, we do an alternating lower and upper body focus that attacks all angles of the movement patterns. 

5. What is your favorite part of your job?

T.S.: I truly love every aspect of my position. If I had to say one, then my favorite aspect is working with our student-athletes and general student body. Strength and conditioning is all about progress and getting 1% better each day. If I can help them achieve that it is very rewarding and you see how it can positively affect the student or student-athlete as well.   

N.S.: To see the athletes grow confidence, to challenge themselves to do something they never did or would have thought they can do. I love being able to take the athletes outside of their comfort zone and watch them grow not only as an athlete but as a person.