Around the Herd: Sept. 14 to Sept. 20

Cross Country

Hosting this year’s edition of the Little Three Championship, the men’s and women’s cross country teams performed extremely well, with a first place finish for the women and a second place finish for the men.

The women put on a dominant display on the UMass Cross Country Course, sweeping all top four spots and occupying six of the top 10. Mary Kate McGranahan ’23 led the way once again after her victory at the Cardinal Invitational last week won her NESCAC Performer of the Week honors. She finished first in the 6 km this week with a time of 21:38.8, her personal best. Finishing second for the second week in a row was Julia Schor ’25, crossing in a personal best 22:07.7, and Sophie Wolmer ’23 crossed third for her best collegiate finish with a time of 22:14.3. Not far behind was Allison Lounsbury ’26, who one-upped her fifth-place finish from last week by crossing the line in fourth.

The victory marks the first time the Mammoths have won the first two meets of the season since 2007 — a year in which they won the national championship.

Theo Dassin ’24 led the charge for the men’s second place finish with a personal-best 8 km time of 25:40.1, good for a fourth-place finish, the best of his collegiate career. First-years Henry Dennen ’26 and Aidan Gemme ’26 finished sixth and 10th respectively, while Spencer Davis ’23 finished 11th. George Cahill ’26 was the final Mammoth scorer, finishing 16th.

Both teams have a week off before the Purple Valley Invitational at Williams on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Women’s Tennis

The women’s tennis team participated in the MIT Invitational in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this past weekend. Playing against a talented cohort consisting of MIT and NESCAC foes Tufts and Bowdoin, the Mammoths posted solid performances across the board in their first competition of the new season.

Calista Sha ’23 and Sophie Diop ’26 both reached the championship in the singles bracket, outlasting the pool of 32 competitors by defeating four opponents each. The pair will meet in a final to be played at the Amherst tennis courts, though the match has yet to take place. Julia Lendel ’24 was the runner-up in the singles consolation bracket, and the pair of Amy Cui ’25 and Katelyn Hart ’25 finished as the doubles runner-up.

Up next are the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regionals, to be played from Friday, Sept. 23 to Sunday, Sept. 25 in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Men’s Golf

The men’s golf team finished 13th out of 16 teams this past weekend at the Williams Fall Invitational. They finished with a cumulative score of 625, shooting a team-total 317 on Saturday before improving with a score of 308 on Sunday.

Steven Chen ’25 finished with a team-best 3-over-74 on day two of the tournament, finishing with a two-day total of 152 that tied him for 31st place. Mark Vitels ’26 was close behind with a two-day total of 157, placing him second on the team but 51st overall. The remainder of the Mammoths’ scorecard, John Beskid ’26, Paari Kaviyarasu ’26, and Tommy Whitley ’24, finished with total scores of 159, 161, and 165, respectively.

The team’s busy fall schedule continues this weekend with a trip to Brunswick, Maine, on Saturday, Sept. 24 for the Bowdoin Invitational.