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The men’s lacrosse team played its 12th game of the year against Middlebury College at noon this past Saturday, April 11. The Mules unfortunately lost to the Panthers, ending the game with a score of 9-16, despite a strong offensive strategy that allowed them four more shots on the goal. The team is ready for their season’s remaining games, Bates and Trinity, and are looking forward to applying their new knowledge on the field and ending the season strong. 

When the team started official practices at the beginning of February, they set a series of long-term goals to accomplish over the next several years. Blake Ingold `29 is looking forward to seeing the players’ hard work pay off and recognizes how much they have already improved. “I think we’ve just improved a lot. We are two different teams from the start of the year to the end of the year, and it feels like we’ve gained four years of experience in the span of a couple of weeks,” Ingold said. “We have definitely had some good non-conference wins, we beat MMA, we beat Clark, we had a good win against Springfield, and then [Connecticut] College was a really big game for us. It was the first conference win that we had had in the last two years.” 

That is not to say that this year has not presented the group with unique challenges. “We’re a really young team. Over half our roster is freshmen…We’re playing in the toughest league in the country by far, and we’re really competing…We honestly had no clue how the season was going to go, especially since there were a lot of changes from last year. We didn’t know who was going to play. We didn’t know anything,” Ingold said. 

The lacrosse team used various methods to prepare. “We read two books, one of which was ‘Team Turnarounds,’ and the other one was ‘Chop Wood, Carry Water.’ We read those in the off season, and so honestly, a big focus for us was the culture. We knew that with the young team, the success that we want might not come this year. We have had flashes of success…so there have been highs and lows with that, but the culture piece is what really was the goal, and that’s really stuck,” Ingold said. 

In addition to their theoretical lessons, Ingold feels fortunate to have such a strong coaching staff to help translate their talent onto the field. “Coach Bernhardt is a great lacrosse mind, same with [Hunter Gervais], our offensive coordinator and [Dobson Cooper], our [defensive] coordinator…Everything’s just a notch more intense and more nuanced at the college level, especially Coach B., just the way he talks about stuff. You can see he’s always 10 steps ahead. I think that kind of rubs off on you,” Ingold said. 

As the team sets their sights on the 2026-2027 academic year, they are ready to demonstrate their abilities and compete. “We’re to a point now where we have the culture, and we have freshmen that have experience now. Going into the years ahead, I think [the team] is going to really, really be a force to be reckoned with,” Ingold said. 

~ Isabella Boggs `29

The sports industry doesn’t wait for anyone.

At Colby College, a group of students has decided they aren’t waiting either. The Colby Sports Business Association, better known as the CSBA, is one of Mayflower Hill’s fastest-growing student organizations, built around a simple but powerful idea: that the business of sports is one of the most dynamic, competitive, and opportunity-rich industries in the world, and that the students who understand it earliest will be the ones who succeed in it.

Led by freshman President Kameron Mohammed `29, the CSBA’s officer board brings together students from across class years and sports backgrounds: hockey players, soccer players, and gymnasts all united by a shared passion for what happens off the field of play. The team, made up of Vice-President Ethan Soroca `29, VP of Marketing Luke Laferriere `27, treasurer Alex Duan `28, Director of Alumni Relations Mitch Humphrey `28, Director of Events Tamar Reinhorn `28, and officer Robby Ober `28, reflects the kind of diverse, driven energy that defines Colby athletics at its best.

This spring, the CSBA welcomed its first guest speaker. Whit Harwood `15, a Colby alumnus who played lacrosse for the Mules and went on to build a career spanning ESPN, Fox Sports, and NBCUniversal, sat down with members in Arey Auditorium to share a journey that took him from ESPN’s World Cup marketing operations all the way to helping launch Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming platform that debuted nationally in July 2020 with the Premier League as one of its marquee offerings. He later co-founded a sports micropayments startup and now works at United Talent Agency, where he advises clients at the intersection of sports, media, and technology, including a prediction market company that has raised $100 million.

What made Harwood’s talk so valuable wasn’t just the resume. It was his honesty.

He spoke candidly about his startup experience, which collapsed after an investor dispute left him on the outside, a painful lesson in the realities of building a company in an unproven space. He talked about opportunities that fell through before they ever fully materialized. And he was direct about what actually moves the needle in sports media careers: not credentials, not cold applications, but relationships and original thinking.

“Your net worth is your network,” Harwood told the group. Every major opportunity in his career came through a connection. He described cold-emailing Kevin Mayer — the former Disney executive who oversaw the launch of Disney+ and is now Co-CEO of Candle Media — through a mutual contact, flying to meet him the same week for a 15-minute conversation, and showing up with something no one else had: a perspective that was distinctly his own.

That message carries particular weight for Colby students, who often wonder whether a small liberal arts college in Maine can genuinely be a launching pad into competitive industries. Harwood’s answer was a resounding yes, but only if you’re willing to do the work before the opportunity arrives.

“All the information you could have dug up five years ago is now accessible in an LLM,” he said. “You need to articulate your perspective above anything on the internet.”

For the CSBA, events like this one are exactly the point. The organization exists to close the gap between a Colby education and the fast-moving world of sports business, giving students direct access to industry professionals, real conversations about emerging spaces like prediction markets and AI, and a community of peers who take the intersection of sports and business seriously.

The CSBA is building something. And if this spring is any indication, they’re just getting started.

~ Kameron Mohammed `29

Over the weekend, the Colby baseball team swept a three-game series against rival Bates Bobcats, building momentum as the team heads towards postseason play. The Bobcats came into the game on a tear, boasting a 16–3 record, with highlights such as a 34–7 rout of UMaine-Farmington and a three-game sweep of Bowdoin. 

The Mules, led by starting pitcher Thomas Rioux `26, traveled to Lewiston on Friday afternoon for the first game of the set. Bates jumped out to a one-run lead in the first inning behind a sacrifice bunt, but it would be their only one of the afternoon. Rioux settled into the game afterwards, finishing with a complete-game performance, posting four strikeouts, two walks, and only five hits allowed. 

On the offensive side, the Mules broke out with a five-run sixth inning, led by a pair of doubles off the bats of Jeb Burkhart `29 and Max Diamond `28. Diamond added another RBI with a single in the ninth inning, where the Mules brought the final score to 9–1, and the series shifted to a doubleheader in Waterville on Saturday.

Matt Higgins `28 got the start on the mound for Colby in the first game, rising to the occasion with an excellent performance. He allowed no runs on one hit across five innings, giving the Mules a chance to win late in the game. A Marco Zirpolo `27 RBI single and a Will Burns `27 sacrifice fly had the Mules ahead 2–1 in the seventh, but Bates tied the game with only a single out to spare, and the game went to extra innings. Matt Mahoney `28 pitched brilliantly in five innings of his own, allowing two runs but also striking out six. When Burns came up to bat again in the tenth inning, he won the game for Colby in walk-off fashion, blasting a solo home run to dead center field, earning a roar from the large assembled crowd.

In the third and final game, the two offenses battled, with Colby taking another walk-off win by a score of 11–10. Bates had a 7–3 advantage at the conclusion of the fourth inning, with a Patrick Shrake `27 triple and sacrifices by Tony Silva `26 and Henry Silva `28 responsible for the Mules’ scoring. By the sixth inning with the Bobcats ahead by six runs, Colby began to crawl back. Tony Silva added an RBI single and Burkhart crushed a three-run home run to cut the deficit to one. Burns added to his heroics with a game-tying sacrifice groundout to tie the score and bring the tying run into scoring position. 

It would be Burkhart again making the big swing later in the inning, as his single brought Myles Gythfeldt `28 home and secured the sweep. With a huge momentum-building weekend, the Mules look forward to a matchup against Husson on Wednesday, April 15.They will be hosting the Trinity College Bantams for a three-game weekend series the following weekend. With a 4-2 NESCAC record, the Mules sit tied atop the East Division with the Bantams, giving next weekend’s series implications for postseason seeding.

~ Matt Quealy `27

Three matches in, the men’s tennis team is ready for the rest of the season. The group’s energy is just as high as their ambitions, with goals of playing in the NCAA championships already on their minds. Having won their first match against Emerson College and putting another under their belt this weekend, each athlete is hoping to end in the top four of NESCAC schools, allowing them to advance.

Colby hosted Hamilton and Amherst Colleges on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8, respectively. The Mules started the weekend strong, defeating Hamilton in five out of seven matches, with all three doubles partners winning. Colby ultimately fell to #10 Amherst with a score of 5–2. 

Entering their next matches, the group plans to keep up the strategies that led them to victory on Saturday and are eager to continue their previous success. Against Hamilton, Colby immediately took the lead, winning all three doubles matches. “We definitely started off on a stronger note. Our doubles win kind of set the tone early for us, and we kind of just never looked back and maintained the lead. Individually, I think everyone did a really good job. [We] just kind of stayed composed and stayed positive,” Rhys Spano `29 said. 

Considering the role mentality plays in tennis, team members recognize how important it is to receive support from those watching off the court. “It’s all about bringing energy… I think we outmatched [Hamilton] a lot in spirit. That’s one of the biggest things. We were way more competitive than where they were, louder than they were, just all around, just more supportive with our team teammates in general than they were,” Spano said. 

Jason Daly `28 has already noticed the difference this passion brings to the team and is excited to see its long-term impacts. “We had a bit of an off year last year, we lost to Hamilton last year, so winning this year is already a huge step in the right direction,” Daly said. “I think after this weekend, our energy was pretty unmatched. We definitely got to the hearts of our opponents early on.” 

Beside the energy, Daly also recognizes a change in the team’s makeup, as well as the advantages and disadvantages that it provides. “I think we have an extremely young team. Our starting lineup when fully healthy is only freshmen and sophomores for singles and doubles, which is very unusual for tennis. I think [this makes] trying to stay calm under pressure difficult because we’re so young,” Daly said. “I think we’re all really great competitors. I don’t think anyone gives an inch during the match. I think every point is like a brand new point, which is really important, and our support for each other is amazing. I mean, in the field house this weekend, there was not a moment where it was silent. So I think that’s really impressive, especially for a team that is really young and has not played that many matches.”

As the team rests their cheering voices and continues to practice their game over the next week, they plan to keep up their attitudes when they play MIT on March 14. “We’re going to keep it going,” Spano said.

~ Isabella Boggs `29

On Saturday, the Colby women’s lacrosse team lost 11–9 to the Williams College Ephs, the second consecutive loss for a side that has rarely lost during its regular season in recent years. The Mules opened their season with a preseason national ranking of #3 and dropped their season opener to #2 Tufts University a week prior. When the Ephs arrived on Mayflower Hill, the two sides faced off on a misty, overcast day in front of a large crowd.

Colby got off to a quick start courtesy of Corinne Kapalka `29, who scored 40 seconds into the match, her fourth career score in just her second game. Williams squandered an opportunity of their own on the opposite end of the field, and a Colby clearance led to a goal by Stella Regan `26, who took an assist from Emily Counihan `28 to double the lead. The Ephs answered back with a goal by Reece Willison, but Julia Maimonis `26 restored the lead a minute later with her first goal of the season. Williams clawed back while leveraging their dominance at the draw, evening the score with five minutes remaining in the first period. The Ephs controlled 15 draws to the Mules’ seven, giving them a significant edge in possession that played a large role in the final score. Before the first period closed, Zoey Verbesey `27 and Maimonis responded with another pair of goals, and the Mules had a 5–3 advantage at the first break. 

Most of the second period’s action took place in 50 seconds, when Kepalka and Williams’ Katy McCullough scored for their respective teams in quick succession. Verbesey hit the crossbar on an attempt to extend the Colby lead, but an amazing backhanded shovel from Regan would provide the first-half’s final point. After the break, with the Mules in control of the scoreboard, 7–4, the Ephs began to storm back. Franny Donohue recorded the first goal of the second half to cut the lead to two before Joselyn Silva `29 restored it. Moments later, Williams found the back of the net yet again, but Maimonis completed her hat trick and negated the Ephs’ gain. Coco Norman scored to keep the Ephs competitive, but the final period of play opened with Williams down two goals.

In the fourth quarter, Williams took over the draw control, barely allowing the Mules to possess the ball. A pair of quick goals knotted the score within the first five minutes of the frame before Sydney Puntus gave the Ephs their first lead of the match, 10–9. At this point, Williams’ focus shifted to the defensive end of the field, where goalkeeper Savoy McMahon stopped several point-blank shots to keep the Mules trailing. McCullough extended the Ephs’ lead to two with only two minutes left in the match, all but sealing the victory for the visitors.

Colby gets a break from their NESCAC schedule with a midweek contest at the University of Southern Maine before hitting the road to face a strong Wesleyan University team next weekend.

~ Matt Quealy `27