For most Middlebury students, the end of exams in December signifies a return home and a break from the regular routine of school life. However, for many of Middlebury’s student athletes, winter break means a time for training camps and extra competitions. Since our last edition of The Campus on Dec. 7, nearly all of Middlebury’s winter teams have been in action.
Here’s how each of them fared:
Women’s Swim and Dive
The #20 ranked Panthers have enjoyed a strong start to 2024, sandwiching a loss to Colby College (138–161) with wins against #24 ranked Bowdoin College (153–120) and #23 ranked Bates College (146–141). Chloe Katz ’25 continues to be a standout performer for the Panthers, with a handful of other swimmers including Louise Hay ’24 and Evelyn Buetow ’27 also racking up individual wins. The team recently honored its five graduating seniors before their meet against Bates: Hay, Annika Edwards ’24, Hailey Vandenbosch ’24, Marian Zottola ’24 and Mia Zottola ’24.
Men’s Swim and Dive
The men’s team matched the women with an impressive victory over Bowdoin College to start the calendar year, but they have since gone on to lose meets two in a row, first in a tantalizingly close loss (143.5–155.5) against Colby College and then more comprehensively against Bates College (132–165). There have been quite a few performances to celebrate however, as Luke McNamara ’26 and Riley Griffis ’24 continue to churn out wins, and the trio of divers Ran Brown ’24, Owen White ’26 and Liam Smith ’24 have routinely topped the podium. The team celebrated a very large senior class on Sunday, with Brown, Edwin Fan ’24, Dom Frerichs ’24, Griffis, Ben Merz ’24, Alex Oh ’24, Chris Pedersen ’24.5, Andrew Planting ’24.5 and Smith were all honored.
Women’s Indoor Track and Field
The Panthers kicked off their season on the indoor track this past Saturday, placing second out of five teams at the Snowflake Invitational. Mary Scott Robinson ’24, Lilly Wurtz ’26, Anna Krouse ’25.5, Ciara Dale ’24, Macy Daggitt ’25 and Michelle Louie ’24 all recorded individual wins in the shot put, weight throw, 400m, 500m, 60m and 200m, respectively. The team returns to action this coming weekend at the Middlebury Winter Classic in the Virtue Field House.
Men’s Indoor Track and Field
The men’s team similarly placed runners up in the Snowflake Invitational, finishing behind the University of Vermont. Dave Filias ’25 bagged a pair of victories in the shot put and weight throw, while Aiden Tam ’27, Sam Opawuyi ’27 and Joel Kofman ’24 all recorded wins in the 60m hurdles, triple jump and pole vault, respectively. The team rested a number of its distance runners, who will return to action with the rest of the team this weekend for the Middlebury Winter Classic.
Alpine Ski:
The alpine team is the only winter squad yet to compete this season after suboptimal slope conditions delayed the alpine portion of the Vermont Carnival this past weekend. The team is currently training for their new opening carnival of the season, which will take place this coming weekend Jan. 19 and 20 at Sugarloaf Mountain hosted by Colby College. The team has been bolstered by the additions of Sara Paradis ’27 and Nicholas Unkovskoy ’27, both of whom are familiar with the region’s terrain after skiing at the Burke Mountain Academy in high school.
Nordic Ski
The Nordic team kicked off their season at the Vermont Carnival hosted by the University of Vermont. The team put in a strong showing to secure second place behind Dartmouth College ahead of the rescheduled alpine portion of the contest, which will now take place Jan. 26 and 27. Jack Christner ’25 earned fifth place in the men’s 1.5k sprint, while Logan Moore ’25 claimed fifth in the men’s 10k freestyle. Maggie Wagner ’26 claimed seventh in the women’s 1.5k sprint, while Shea Brams ’26 took sixth in the women’s 10k freestyle.
Women’s Hockey
The women’s hockey team has impressed this past month, recording two wins and two ties. The Panthers whooped UMass Boston in a 7–0 blowout to close out 2023 before earning a respectable tie against #14 ranked Endicott College to open 2024. The team followed up with a double header against #9 ranked Colby College, drawing the first before overpowering the Mules the following day in a 2–0 win. Middlebury is now ranked fifth in the division and is riding a five game unbeaten run.
Men’s Hockey
Things have not been so rosy on the men’s side. The team has recorded just one win from their last six games at the time of writing. The Panthers suffered particularly heavy losses against #1 ranked Hobart and William Smith College and #3 ranked Plattsburgh State, falling 1–8 and 0–5, respectively. One bright spot for the team has been the performance of Jin Lee ’25, who has tallied four goals and four assists so far this season. With an important slate of NESCAC games on the horizon, the Panthers must turn their fortunes around to make a return to playoff hockey possible.
Women’s Basketball
The women’s basketball team has enjoyed a strong start to 2024, winning five out of six games and picking up several crucial in-conference wins. The Panthers have clawed their way back up the standings and now sit in third place in the NESCAC with a slew of divisional games still to come. Alexa Mustafaj ’25 has once again been the standout performer for the Panthers, leading the conference in points per game. Augusta Dixon ’24.5 has emerged as another integral member of the team, leading the league in rebounds per game.
Men’s Basketball
The Panthers are only 8–8 on the season, but they are riding high after stringing together three consecutive wins against NESCAC opponents. The team’s recent success has largely been driven by the finishing ability of Noah Osher ’23.5, the rebounding of David Brennan ’24.5 and the playmaking of Evan Flaks ’26. The team still has a number of key NESCAC games yet to come, but momentum is certainly with the Panthers at the moment.
Women’s Squash
The team has looked unbeatable for much of the season, earning an 8–1 record and currently sitting on a six game winning streak. Save for a heavy loss (2–7) to Georgetown University to start the calendar year, which can largely be attributed to a lack of match sharpness after a long gap in their competition schedule, the Panthers have been hugely impressive and are certainly looking like a NESCAC heavyweight. Sabrina Schwarz ’27 has seemingly nailed down the #1 position on the squad, while fellow first-years Madeline Schwarz ’27 and Mariana Reedich ’27 are both yet to lose a match this season.
Men’s Squash
There was concern that the men’s squash team’s momentum would come to a screeching halt after their home loss to Colby College (3–6) on Jan. 12, but the team has rebounded with comprehensive wins against Bates College (9–0) and Bowdoin College (8–1) to ease any doubts about this team’s ability. The men’s squash has quickly become one of Middlebury’s most exciting teams this season, driven largely by PK Keller ’23.5 and Alex Stimpson ’23.5, who boast 7–1 and 8–1 records, respectively.
Charles Crounse '24 (he/him) is the senior sports editor for the Campus. He has previously worked as a writer and staff editor for the section. Charles is pursuing a major in environmental policy and a minor in French, and in his free time he enjoys biking, hiking, and exploring Vermont. He is also a member of the club soccer team on campus.
