On Mar. 16, 2024, the Smith women’s basketball team completed their final game of the season at the NCAA Division III National Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Although New York University (NYU) defeated Smith 51-41, their journey to the national championship game was still a victory for the program.
Posts published in “Sports and Wellness”
Katherine Welsh ’26 of the Smith Swim and Dive team placed 13th in the 1-meter dive and 14th in the 3-meter dive at the NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Diving Championships hosted by Colby College in Waterville, Maine on Mar. 1-2, 2024. This is the second time Welsh has qualified for Regionals in her career at Smith and her highest placement so far.
Smith Athletics boasts a mission committed to “prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion” for both student-athletes and staff, but behind the scenes, Smith College Athletic Department is dependent on the unpaid labor of the graduate student assistant coaches.
As they made their way to the starting line of the Boston University (BU) indoor track, Pria Parker tuned out the screams and cheers of the hundreds of athletes, coaches, and fans gathered in the stands and infield.
Smith Rugby won the New England Wide Collegiate Rugby Conference (NEWCRC) championships for the second year in a row on Nov. 4. Throughout the fall season, Smith Rugby fought hard and held their own against the 20 other teams in the NEWCRC to qualify for the conference championship. On the day of the championship, dressed head to toe in their signature red and black uniforms, Smith defeated Yale 24 to 17 in a close game to win the title.
This fall, Smith Crew made program history finishing fourth at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston. While only a fraction of the team was on the competing boat, the victory was the culmination of hard work by everyone.
Catherine (Kate) Winstanley is a new graduate assistant Strength and Conditioning coach at Smith. Smith’s graduate coaching program allows their students to obtain coaching experience with one of the varsity teams on campus while simultaneously earning their master’s degree in exercise and sports science. Alums of the program have gone on to earn head and assistant coaching jobs from a variety of places, including Brown University, Boston University, Harvard University and even national professional athletic teams.
If you decide to get up bright and early at 6:30 a.m. during the week and walk the bike path or nearby trails, you may run into the Smith College Intercollegiate Running Club (SMIRC) getting in their morning practice before classes.
The New England Women and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) 2023-2024 Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released on Oct. 19, ranked Smith Basketball first out of the twelve teams in the conference. Smith received the votes of every team except two, resulting in ten first place votes.
Kelsey Hunter Named Assistant Athletic Director for Equity, Inclusion and Student-Athlete Well-being
Kelsey Hunter was recently named the Assistant Athletic Director for Equity, Inclusion and Student-Athlete Well-being in July 2023. Hunter graduated from Smith in 2017, where she was a varsity athlete on the equestrian team and majored in psychology. She began working for Smith Athletics in 2019 as Coordinator of Student Athlete Development and Enhancement, which later evolved to Student Athlete Wellness Coordinator, and now to her current position.