Over the past month, the clock jumped back an hour, the leaves betrayed us, leaving the world bare, and our Fall teams began wrapping up their seasons. At Smith, there are 4 varsity teams that compete in the Fall – cross country, field hockey, soccer, and volleyball. Additionally, there are two teams that compete in a few Fall matches (with the majority of their season taking place in the Spring) – crew and tennis. So how did they do? On balance, alright.
Beginning with field hockey, they were one of the most anticipated teams headed into the season coming off of NEWMAC championship and a run in the NCAA tournament last season. This season, they finished with a 4-14 record and placed 8th of 9 in their conferences. Clearly, the wheels fell off the wagon in some capacity. Head coach Jamie Ginsberg commented, “The 2019 season did not produce the overall outcome we had expected. It is our goal every year to make it into post season play, and we did not meet that goal.That being said we play an incredibly strong schedule of appoints both in the NEWMAC conference and outside of our Conference, which includes 6 nationally ranked teams…The start of next season starts now. Maintaining a competitive program is embedded in a Consistent Team Culture, Recruiting and Technical/Tactical Development…Smith’s Field Hockey program is in a good place and we expect to continue on our upward trajectory and return to consistent Post season play.”
Volleyball also finished with a harsh record of 8-21. Although, it’s important to note that their records shows improvement. Last season, the team finished with a record of 3-22. Additionally, the team is undergoing changes in staff. This past Fall was only their second year with head coach, Mia Fruge. She departed at the end of the season, and perhaps with with her gone, the program can take a new shape.
Soccer earned a fair, balanced record of 8-9-1, which is almost identical to their 2018 record of 8-10. Stats leaders from the season include Peyton McBride ‘21 with 15 points and Etienne Oliver ’21 with 11. Head coach, Jeannette Boudway, is proud of her team and optimist moving forward; she told the Sophian, “I am very proud of this 2019 Smith Soccer team for striving for improvement! Our record was slightly better than the year prior and included wins over NEWMAC teams that we haven’t had in years. And we had a lot of fun together! I expect the players and staff to continue their dedication to individual and team improvement so the program will continue moving in a positive direction!”
Cross country earned respectable results this season; as a team, they finished almost every meet in the top half of teams. Their results at the Suffolk Invite in October were particularly noteworthy. The team finished first of 21 teams. In a race with over 200 participants, Smith had four runners finish in the top 10: Karena Garcia in 2nd, Lauren Krugal in 4th, and Frances Duncan in 5th, and Katie O’Dea in 10th. Cross country had their final meet of the season, the NCAA New England Regional on November 16th; the team finished 16th of 54 teams.
While the majority of the crew season takes place in the Spring, there were three regattas this Fall. In the first, The Head of the Riverfront Regatta, Smith entered three boats in the Women’s 8+ race finishing 4th, 11th, and 20th of 25. In their next regatta, the Head of the Charles, Smith boats finished 7th and 19th of 27. In their final regatta before the Spring, Smith boats finished 5th, 8th, and 14th of 21. Their performance has a consistent ring to with all boats earning respectable places.
Tennis is in a similar position to Volleyball – historically not one of Smith’s most successful teams. They only played three official matches this Fall but lost all three. It’s important to note that all losses were reasonably close. Last year, they earned a record of 1-12, and almost all of their losses were blowouts. They have the Winter to prepare for their Spring season, and hopefully, will emerge energized and hungry for success.
On balance, no Smith team demonstrated real dominance this Fall, but in general, teams earned fair records that indicate growth and leave fans with hopes for next season. In the meantime, we can start watching games inside.
