Women's Cross Country Places Third in New England, Qualifies for Nationals, Freeman Goes to Wisconsin for the Men; Court Named Regional Coach of the Year

The Bates College women's cross country team had one of its best seasons in history, finishing third at the NCAA qualifying meet, making them the first Bates cross country team and only the fourth Bobcat team in any sport to qualify for an NCAA championship. This year's NCAA Championship race was held in Lacrosse, Wisc., and the Bobcats finished 18th of 21 teams. In New England competition, coach Carolyn Court's top seven runners finished no lower that fourth among Division III competitors at any New England meet this season, and were second or first five times. They were led this season by first-year runner Adelia Myrick of Kodiak, Alaska. Myrick was the team's top finisher at nearly every meet and earned All-State, All-NESCAC and all- New England honors. Other top performers were sophomore Melissa Leier (Hoyt Lakes, Minn.), who also garnered All-State, -NESCAC and -New England and sophomore Abigail Phelps (Concord, N.H.), who also qualified for All- New England. In leading a team composed of just two seniors, four sophomores and a first-year student, including several runners who hadn't competed prior to arriving at Bates, Coach Court was named New England Coach of the Year.

The men's cross country team sent one runner, sophomore Justin Freeman (Franklin, N.H.), to the NCAA Championships. Freeman finished 10th overall at the qualifying meet, earning All-New England, and 81st at nationals. Senior Sean Galipeau (Warren, Maine) also just missed joining Freeman on the All-New England team, finishing 21st overall. As a team, first-year coach Al Fereshetian's runners finished second at the State of Maine Meet, held at Colby College, and ninth of 28 teams at the New England Qualifiers.

Football (1-7) Finally Breaks Through, Earns Share of CBB Title

For the first time in five years and 39 games, Bobcat football came through. Bates had been close two of the last three weeks, falling 23-16 at Wesleyan and 28-23 to Middlebury, the two closest games of the 37-game losing streak. On November 4, nearly five years to the day since their last win, the Bobcats beat Bowdoin, 33-29. Sophomore running back P.J. McGrail (Westwood, Mass.) had one of Bates' all-time outstanding performances. He rushed for 231 yard on 33 carries and two touchdowns and also caught three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown. It was the third best rushing day in Bates history and earned McGrail NESCAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, ECAC Division III Offensive Player of the Week and the prestigious Gold Helmet award, presented to the outstanding performance by any Division II or III player in New England. To make the victory even sweeter, Bowdoin topped Colby the next week to give all three teams an equal share of the CBB Trophy. Senior captain and offensive lineman John Rogaris earned all-NESCAC honors for the season.

Volleyball (24-19) Reaches ECAC Tourney, Falls Short Against Tufts

Marsha Graef earned her 11th consecutive 20-win season and qualified for the post-season for the fifth time in six years, but could not beat Tufts for the third straight time this season, falling to the Jumbos in five games. The season got off to a slow start, as the Bobcats lost 4 of their first five matches. They rebounded to claim eight in a row, including a 5-0 record in winning the Bates Round Robin tournament. They qualified for the playoffs in all but one of their remaining invitationals. Despite a 2-3 showing at the Eastern Connecticut Invitational, junior hitter Sundra Durkis (Belmont, N.H.) earned NESCAC Player of the Week honor for the week of October 7. Durkis also earned 2nd team All-State. Other post-season honors went to junior setter Tasha Hawthorne (Belton, Mo.), who was 2nd team All-State, and All- New England and 1st team All-NESCAC, and senior middle back Colleen Matlen (Spokane, Wash.), who was 2nd team All-NESCAC and honorable mention All-New England.

Field Hockey (8-6) Exceeds Expectations, Just Misses Post-Season

First-year coach Stacey Watts took an inexperienced team and led them to only the second winning season in the past eight. The Bobcats started the season on a three game winning streak, including a win over Middlebury, a team which had reached the Final Four last year. It was Bates' first win over the Panthers since 1983. First-year forward Rosie Lenehan (Concord, N.H.) scored three goals in that first week, including the first goal against Middlebury and earned NESCAC Player of the Week honors. Lenehan ended the season with seven goals and 16 points, both tops on the team. The Bobcats return two of their top three scorers next season in Lenehan and Amanda Schall (Chevy Chase, Md.), as well as the first-year tandem of goaltenders 'Cil Bloomfield (Exeter, N.H.) and Wendy Zimmerman (Denver, Colo.) who combined to record shutouts in 4 of the Bobcats' eight wins.

Women's Tennis (5-5) Starts Strong, Ends at .500

After winning three of its first four matches this season, the Bobcat women's tennis team struggled towards the end of the season to end at .500. in three of their five wins during the season, they were victorious by 8-1 margins, including wins over Colby-Sawyer and UMaine-Orono. First-year student Lisa Gralnek (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) and Emily Kleinman (Acton, Mass.) were the team's top winners, each winning five matches. The doubles team of senior captain Annalee Gunlicks (Glencoe, Ill.) and junior Autumn Shurin (Kansas City, Mo.) also won five matches each as a tandem.

Women's Soccer (6-7-1) Shows Flashes of the Future

The Bobcats finished the season 6-7-1, falling short of their 1994 record of 11-5- 1. Seven of the 11 NESCAC schools sent its womenÕs soccer team to postseason play, including three teams to NCAA Championships. The Bobcats took their first win of the season at Norwich (5-1) Sept. 15, after losing their season opener at University of New England the week before. With a 3-5 record late in the season, the Bobcats battled for a win three games in a row, bringing them to a 6-5 standing. Their winning streak brought down the University of Southern Maine in a 7-0 shutout, Gordon in a 3-1 contest and St. JosephÕs, 9-1. Bates lost their touch in the last three games of the season falling to Conn. College, 1-2, and arch rival Bowdoin, 0-6 and tying with Colby, 1-1. Overall, the team outscored their opponents 30 to 23 for the season. The three top scorers all tied with 16 points this season and all will return next year. Junior Breck Smith (Kennebunkport, Maine) led the team with seven goals and had two assists, while first-year students Colleen McCrave (Walpole, Mass.) and Meghan Lockwood (Rye, N.H.) each had five goals and six assists.

Men's Soccer (5-7-2) Has Its Ups and Downs

After playing one of the strongest schedules in New England, the Bates College menÕs soccer team finished its 1995 campaign with a 5-7-2 record. While playing at a consistently high level of play all season, the Bobcats only hinderance was the lack of a consistent scoring threat. After losing their season opener, the team rallied to win three of their next four, including 2-1 victories over the University of California-Santa Cruz, and Trinity, and a 5-0 shellacking of Norwich. After those wins, the Bobcats entered a four game scoring drought, though they were able to manage 0-0 ties against post-season qualifiers Amherst and Tufts, thanks to superb play by senior back Dan McGee (Meriden, N.H.) and goalkeeper Mike Marsh (Manchester, Conn.). In their biggest game of the season, Bates snapped the scoreless string and topped the number two ranked team in New England, Wheaton, 1-0, on a goal by senior Kyle Darling (Williston, Vt.). Coach George Purgavie's team was led in scoring by senior Breck Taber's (Plainfield, N.H.) who had two goals and five assists for nine points.

Golf Enjoys Successful Season

Coach Robert Flynn's golf team faced some tough competition this season and handled it rather well. Four times this season the Bobcats finished second or better in a meet. In their first action of the season, Sept. 10-11, they placed second at the Husson Invitational, led by Tim Sargent's (Morrisville, Vt.) 159 score and third place finish. In two events hosted by Southern Maine, Bates won a dual meet, recording a one day score of 310 to USM's 342, and finished second in the USM Invitational, just one stroke behind Husson College, thanks to senior Mark Behn's (Carrboro, N.C.) two-day total of 160, good for third place. In the tightly contested CBB (Colby-Bates-Bowdoin) Tournament, Bates finished second with a score of 437.

© 1995 Bates College. All Rights Reserved. Last modified: 12/13/95 by rlm