Around the Herd: March 15 to March 21 in Athletics

Swim and Dive

The Amherst swim and dive team had a stellar showing in the NCAA Division III Championships. On the first day of the event, sophomore Gabriele Lunardi on the men’s team finished 19th in the 500-yard freestyle, swimming a personal-best time of 4:30.71. He then went on to place 28th in the nation for the 200-yard freestyle and concluded his championship debut by getting 21st in the 1650-yard freestyle.

On the women’s team, the mammoths earned two All-America honors with Sydney Bluestein finishing 4th in the three-meter dive and Jess Gordon finishing 6th in the 500-yard freestyle. Additionally, sophomore Megan Lee finished 10th in the 500-yard free, earning Second Team All-America, and the Amherst women’s swim and dive concluded the first day of events by placing 11th with 35 points.

Later in the competition, Sydney Bluestien won the national championship in the one-meter dive with a score of 431.40. Bluestein wraps up a phenomenal sophomore season, adding to her title as the NESCAC Diver of the Year with a national title at the NCAA Division III Championships.

Amherst College wrapped up the final day of the championships finishing 12th with 101 points, and 10 All-America honors.

Women's Lacrosse

The women’s lacrosse team pressed on to improve their record this season with their games against Ithaca and Bates College. In their match against Ithaca, the freshman class of 2026 powered the offense as they collectively score 17 of the 21 goals scored by the Mammoths in the game. Though the Mammoths gained an early lead in the game with goals scored by Bridget Finley, the two teams engaged in a fairly tight game for the first half of the game. However, the Mammoths completely took over the match with a slew of goals scored in the second half, culminating in a 21-13 in favor of the Mammoths.

The team later extended their winning streak in their game against conference rival, Bates college. Another tight match during the first half had the Mammoths leading with a tentative 5-4. Ultimately, the fate of the game was decided with the string of goals scored by Sofia Guttmann and Bridget Finley in the third quarter as the Mammoths improved to a comfortable lead of 9-4 and managed to hold off Bates for the remainder of the game. Their win against Bates College betters the team's season record to a 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the NESCAC play.

Men's Lacrosse

The Amherst College Men’s lacrosse team also took on Bates College in a conference game at the Mustang Classic hosted by Stevenson University. The Mammoths took the early lead in the first quarter and maintained it for the remainder of the game, never giving the Bobcats a chance to turn the tide of the game. With Jake Bennett leading the Amherst offense in terms of goals, the Mammoths won 15-8 over Bates College and improved their overall season record to 2-1.

The next day of the Mustang Classic, the men’s lacrosse team took on York College in a neck-and-neck game. Though the team fought for a 5-1 lead in the first minutes of the game, York refused to yield ground and managed to score 4 unanswered goals. The rest of the game unfolded in a similar manner as the Mammoths struggled to secure a comfortable lead. Going into the fourth quarter with a tied score of 14-14, a goal from Nicholas Kopp began Amherst’s offensive attack in the final minutes of the game. The game ended in 18-15 in favor of the Mammoths.

Baseball

On their spring break trip to Florida, the baseball team earned a 13-1 win over Beloit College and improved to a 3-1-1 record in the season so far. The game ended after 7 innings and 12 hits for the Mammoths. Jack Boyle spearheaded the offense, going 3 for 3, while Tristin Kim performed beautifully on the mound, only allowing two hits over six frames.

Softball

The Amherst College softball team concluded their spring break trip in Florida with back-to-back wins in their games on Saturday. Their first game against Union College commenced with the Mammoths trailing by 3. However, over the course of the game, they were able to build to a 6-4 lead and win with Abby Moravek ’26 leading the charge.

Their second game against Carleton College ended in a 12-1 mercy rule win for Amherst with the Mammoths having had 12 hits over the course of the game. Megan Taketa ’23 established the team’s unceasing lead, going 3 for 3 over the course of the game and scoring two runs. The Mammoths ended their six-day journey with an impressive 10-2 overall record.