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Posts tagged as “sports”

UMass hockey looks towards postseason

Elizabeth Muirhead ’20 | Assistant Sports Editor

Here at Smith, most of our winter sports are wrapping up, and we can begin looking toward the spring season. But in the world of Division I sports, the winter season stretches into March. Hockey fans, in particular, can look forward to enjoying the UMass Amherst Minutemen’s performance. They rattled the hockey world with their strong play straight out of the gate. Last season, the Minutemen finished with a record of 17-20-2 and got knocked out of their conference tournament in the second round by Northeastern University; they didn’t earn a spot in the following NCAA Men’s tournament to compete for the championship. But this season, the best in the team’s history, has been a totally different story. At this point, their record stands at 24-7, and they have held a No. 2 ranking for the majority of the season.

Rachel Simmons teaches Smith athletes to fail well

This fall, Rachel Simmons worked with coaches in the athletic department retreat at the beginning of the semester. Kristin Hughes said, “I thought some of her messages, especially as they related to failing, could be really powerful for our student-athletes as well.” Hughes added: “Handling failure is as much a part of the athletic experience as is winning. So, building skills and a mentality that allow you to grow from it and not be stopped by it is really significant. And Rachel is a former athlete and has a great delivery and connection with students.” Simmons was eager to take on a project at Smith and had been looking to collaborate with different departments. She thought that a team dynamic would be a perfect way to work regularly with Smith students and pitched her idea for the “Failing Well” series to the athletic director and the coaches.

What the Senior Bowl means for the NFL draft

This past Saturday, sandwiched in-between the NFL’s conference championship and the Super Bowl, a significant college game took place: the Senior Bowl. The Senior Bowl is a North vs. South all-star game for draft prospects. Compared to the NFL’s all-star game, the Pro Bowl, which took place the next day, the stakes are much higher. For these players, their football future is on the line, making it both tense and competitive. It’s one of the last opportunities for players to showcase their skills before the draft in April.

UMass hockey finishes incredible first half of season

This season, the UMass men’s hockey team has taken UMass athletics and the college hockey world by storm with their phenomenal opening half of the season. As of Mon., Dec. 10, their record stands at an impressive 13-2, and they’re ranked second behind St. Cloud State in Minnesota. Their record looks even more impressive when you consider the mixed results that the team earned last season; they finished with a record of 17-20-2. So what changed this season to make the team more successful?

Smith College ice hockey nets a win in doubleheader weekend

This past weekend, Smith College ice hockey had a packed weekend with two competitions: the first doubleheader weekend of the season and the team’s second and third contest. The team faced off against Mount Holyoke’s club team Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at the Fitzpatrick Arena. In the past, Smith has had a strong game against Mount Holyoke and has won every game against their program for the past five years. This year’s matchup was no different. The starting line included goalie Anna Freund ’20, senior captain Raegan Stokes at center and wings, Shaia Bierman-Cow ’20 and Florence Zhang ’20, along with the defensive pair Eleanor Donaher ’20 and Elizabeth Muirhead ’20. The second line was sophomore captain Kate Ginder with Olivia Sheets ’22 and Sophia Foster ’20 and defensemen Rebecca Schaffer ’19 and Natalie Schindler ’19. The third line of the game included Meghan Johnson ’19 and Jocelin (Jojo) Ong ’22 on wing with Madeline Hubbard ’19 centering and Hannah Vogel ’21 and Sophie Guthrie ’20 on defense.