Gigi Picard
staff writer
Sports
Featured
On March 15, the University of the Southwest men’s and women’s golf team van suffered a fatal head-on collision with a pick-up truck that killed nine people on a Texas road. CBS 7 reported that two of the nine deceased include a 13-year-old boy who was behind the wheel of the truck and his 38-year-old father, Henrich Siemens, who was in the passenger seat. ABC News reported that the other seven deaths include the golf team’s head coach, Tyler James, and student-athletes Maurico Sanchez, Travis Garcia, Jackson Zinn, Karisa Raines, Laci Stone and Tiago Sousa. There were two survivors of the crash: Dayton Price and Hayden Underhill, both of whom were on the university’s golf team. Initially in critical condition, Price and Underhill were taken to a hospital in Texas after the crash. CBS 7 stated the two were stabilized as of March 16.
Mount Holyoke Lacrosse took on fellow New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference team Wheaton College at home in their Senior Day game on Saturday, April 16. Before the game started, the crowd and team took a moment to recognize seniors Emma Legacki ’22, Allie Brown ’22, Annika Brooks ’22, Sandra Prendergast ’22 and Emma Bowler ’22. The match resulted in a 18-4 loss against the Wheaton Lyons.
Mount Holyoke Track and Field finished their regular season at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sean Collier Invitational on Saturday, April 23.
This year marked the 36th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day The United States holiday, which was celebrated on Feb. 2, recognizes the achievements of female athletes and the ongoing struggle for equality in women’s sports.
Mount Holyoke College Squash blanked Bard College 7-0 in the team’s third overall victory this season. The Lyons’ triumph against the Raptors last Sunday afternoon brought the team’s record to 3-6.
Mount Holyoke College Basketball fell to the Smith College Pioneers on Saturday, Jan. 29 with a final score of 85-27.
Last weekend, Mount Holyoke Volleyball hosted their third trimatch of the season against Bay Path University and nationally ranked Babson College. The Lyons were shut out in the first match with 3-0 sets by the Babson Beavers. Sarah Bishop ’22 had a team best of eight kills for Mount Holyoke. The Beavers then took on Bay Path and swept the court in 3-0 sets against the Wildcats.
The National Football League kicked off its regular season this September with a new “first” for women in sports. After starting out in the NFL’s Officiating Development Program, Maia Chaka recently became the first Black female NFL referee. Originally from Rochester, NY, Chaka was a line judge for the first Sunday Night Football game of the season on Sept. 12 between the Carolina Panthers and the New York Jets.
Tennis
Mount Holyoke Tennis opened their competition season at home against College of the Holy Cross on Sept. 16. Annissa Aamoum ’22 beat the competition in the No. 3 singles match with scores of 6-2 and 6-1.
The Lyons fell to Holy Cross in the rest of the singles and all of the doubles matches. The Lyons’ doubles pairings were Aamoum and Annika Chai ’25, Shweta Kiran Cavale ’23 and Vy Hoang ’24 and Hannah Middleton ’22 and Nikki Cheng ’22.
Over the summer, Amherst College received a wrongful termination lawsuit from former men’s lacrosse Head Coach Rashad Devoe. According to the Boston Globe, Devoe was fired one year into his three-year contract because he “verbally mistreated” the lacrosse athletes. The alleged verbal mistreatment occurred after athletes reportedly held a practice outside on an Amherst College green, in violation of the college’s COVID-19 rules. But Devoe, a Black man, felt there was more to the story.
After 542 days of waiting, Mount Holyoke College fall sports have begun their first official competitions. The first teams to kick off their season were Mount Holyoke Cross Country, Field Hockey, Soccer and Volleyball.
As the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts continue, the sports world has turned its focus onto the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Last year, the 2020 Olympic games were postponed until 2021 because of the pandemic. Since workout facilities had to shut down, the Olympic hopefuls needed to find a way to stay in shape. Some athletes were able to rely on home gyms, while others came up with creative alternatives depending on their sport. One climber made use of their kitchen and basement.
On April 6, 2021, filmmaker and former Mount Holyoke rower Mary Mazzio ’83 spoke at a panel to discuss her 2020 documentary “A Most Beautiful Thing” alongside Arshay Cooper, who wrote the memoir that inspired the film. The documentary is about the first African American high school rowing team from the west side of Chicago, which Cooper joined and eventually led. Facilitators of the panel included current Mount Holyoke rowers Jaya Nagarajan-Swenson ’22, Claire Gabel ’22 and Casey Roepke ’21. Former Mount Holyoke rower, Cynthia Thornton ’83, was another panelist.
Last week, the Mount Holyoke athletics department participated in the NCAA’s Division III Week with its own spirit week. According to the NCAA, the purpose of Division III Week is to “celebrate the impact of athletics and of student-athletes on the campus and surrounding community.” National Student-Athlete Day took place during Division III Week on April 6.
Mount Holyoke student-athletes spent the summer waiting for news about future practice and competition schedules, which were made uncertain by the COVID-19 pandemic. For many spring student-athletes, their season came to a premature close in early March 2020. The affected teams included lacrosse, riding, rowing, tennis and track and field. While there were hopes of competitions resuming this school year, they were once again canceled at the beginning of the year. Current track and field juniors reflected on what they have learned over the course of the last year being unable to compete.
On Feb. 26, it was announced that Lori Hendricks ’92 would be retiring from her position as the director of athletics and chair of physical education and athletics for Mount Holyoke College. Hendricks remained in the position until Feb. 28, 2021.
This edition’s team of the week is Mount Holyoke Lacrosse. The team is led by Head Coach Miriam Esber, now entering her 14th season in the position, and Assistant Coach Liz Kemp. Previously, Lacrosse ended after only four games in their 2019-2020 season. The final close was a fifth game at home against Smith College.
Less than a month after President Joe Biden signed over a dozen executive orders on his first day in office, a new piece of state-level legislation in Utah has been passed that defies one of Biden’s orders surrounding equality for transgender athletes in sports. On Feb. 17, 2021, the Utah House passed Bill 302 by a vote of 50-23, seeking to ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports.
Mount Holyoke Tennis is the first spring 2021 Team of the Week. While the team typically competes from September to April, their season got cut short in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the Lyons with a 2-3 record. During the fall of 2019, the team was able to compete in the Tennis Hall of Fame Invitational, ITA New England Regionals and the NEWITT Tournament.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) cancelled all collegiate sports, even one of their biggest money makers — March Madness. While this means that funding for college sports has taken a hit, it is a significantly harder blow for women’s sports.
While men’s sports have traditionally dominated news coverage and brand sponsorships, this may not be the case in the future. Recent data show that women’s sports are significantly rising in popularity among TV audiences, and the gains are likely just beginning.