alpine
Coach: Stever Barrett
Captains: Tim Gabett ’23, Bradshaw Underhill ’25, Sofia Juvelo ’23
Players to watch: Bradshaw Underhill ’25, Sofia Juvelo ’23, Axel Bailey ’25, Ari Nurmeyer ’24, Mike Ann Reja ’25
Background:
The men’s and women’s alpine teams finished 10th overall at last season’s NCAA Nationals. After graduating from a few major skiers, he’s looking for a new face to score points with the Panthers. In the women’s division, Arinurmeyer ’24 almost made it to the NCAA competition last year as she raced on her circuit in her World Cup, including recording her 21st-place slalom finish at the 2022 Winter Olympics. did not do it. Heading into this season, NULLMEYER’s schedule for her NCAA competition remains a question mark in the midst of FIS World Cup competition and World Championship competition. But the rest of the team is well equipped to put out strong scores, including returning skiers Sofia Yubero ’23 and Mika Anreja ’24, who had solid performances at her NCAA Nationals last year. . The men’s team also has a strong roster of returning skiers hungry for national titles, including Bradshaw Underhill ’25 and Axel Bailey ’25. Pre-season training and his Noram competition will end soon, and Carnival his season will begin on his January 13th at Bates.
Nordic
Coach: Andrew Johnson
Captains: Sam Hodges ‘22.5, Wilson Moore ‘22.5
Players to watch: Logan Moore ’25, Charlotte Ogden ’23, Josh Valentine ’24
Background: The Middlebury Nordic team is looking to have another strong season after finishing 10th in last year’s NCAA Ski Championships. He was the only two seniors to graduate last year, but the team has improved and is well positioned to continue its success. On the women’s team, Ogden, her NCAA qualifier last year, leads a relatively young group of skiers with a lot of potential. On the men’s side, Sam Hodges ‘22.5 has a number of qualifiers ready to fight for victory, led by Sam Hodges ‘22.5. The Nordic team’s season kicks off on his January 13th weekend at the Bates Carnival.
Key competitions: Williams Carnival (Away, Weekend 17 February), EISA Championship (Away, Weekend 24 February)
women’s basketball
Coach: KJ Krasko
Captain: None
Players to watch: Alexa Mustafaji ’25, Augusta Dixon ’24, Emily Downer ’24
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Background: The women’s basketball team got off to a good start, going 3-3 after losing on Day 1. The Panthers have a relatively young team, and he’s the only player in the starting rotation who won’t return next year, so he’s expected to continue to grow and improve throughout the season. Alexa Stafaj ’25 has been the team’s go-to scorer so far, averaging a staggering 21.2 points per game and shooting 47.8% from behind his arc from 3-point range, but Augusta Dixon ’24 and Gabby His Stuart ’26 were both effective. Scorer too. The Panthers have six games left to fine-tune their tactics and chemistry before NESCAC play begins, and in 2019, he sent the team to the national tournament for the first time in 20 years. His head coach is in command. It peaked in time for league play.
Major tournaments: Union (home, Sunday 11 December), Babson (away, Friday 30 December), Amherst (home, Saturday 7 January)
men’s basketball
Coach: Jeff Brown
Captains: Nash Goldman ‘22.5, Thomas Zoda ‘22.5, Alex Sobel ’23
Players to watch: Sam Stevens ’25, Noah Osher ‘23.5, Jayden Bobett ’25
Background: The men’s hoops team got off to a strong start to the season, coming out of the gate with five straight wins before losing to No. 10 Rochester University 72-70. The Panthers will face stiff competition in the second half of the season when NESCAC competition begins against currently undefeated Williams and Trinity. But there are high expectations for the Panthers and their lineup of talented players. That includes Alex Sobel ’23, who currently leads the conference in points per game, rebounds per game, and blocks per game. Panthers fans can expect the team to improve from his NESCAC semifinal loss last year in pursuit of their first league title since 2017.
Key tournaments: Colby (home, Saturday, January 14), Williams (home, Saturday, January 21), Tufts (home, Saturday, January 28)
women’s hockey
Coach: Bill Mandigo
Captains: Jenna Letery ‘22.5, Eva Hendrickson ‘22.5
Players to watch: Jenna Letery ‘22.5, Cece Ziegler ’25, Eva Hendrickson ’23, Cat Appleyard ‘24.5
Background: After having a perfect 27-0 season and winning the national championship last year, the women’s hockey team has high hopes for this season. Despite losing major contributors like last year’s NESCAC Player of the Year Madley Late ’22, the Panthers have a strong core capable of defending a national title. Letterie, who led his NESCAC with 32 goals and 26 assists respectively last year, is definitely expected to contribute to the team’s offensive side, but the depth of the team means the Panthers excel on both offense and defense. means However, the start of the season was not smooth sailing. The team is now 4–3 after back-to-back losses to NESCAC rivals Amherst this weekend. This is not the start the hockey team hoped for, but they still have the talent and spirit to compete for another national championship this season.
Key tournaments: Bowdoin (home, Friday 20th January and Saturday 21st January), Wesleyan (home, Friday 3rd February and Saturday 4th February)
men’s hockey
Coach: Neil Sinclair
Captains: E Mac Bentley ‘22.5, Brett Pastor ‘22.5,
Vice Captains: Antonie Belisie ’23, Billy Dobensky ’23, Chris Garbe ’24
Players to watch: EMack Bentley ‘22.5, Jin Lee ’25, Andrej Hromic ’24
Background: Middlebury men’s hockey finished 6-13-3 last season, losing in the NESCAC Tournament to Tufts in the first round of the playoffs, and the younger side could become a more dominant team in 2022-23. I hope to show you… the season. The Panthers, who graduated only three of his seniors from last year, currently hold a 1–5–0 record and beat NESCAC matchups to Colby (3-2 OT), Bowdin (3-4) and Tufts (3-4). 0-5) and beat Connecticut College on December 3 (3-2). Repeaters Jin Li ’25 and Andrei Fromik ’24 have emerged as top scorers, with three and four goals respectively so far this season. Last year’s top scorer and captain E MackHis Bentley ’22 .5 has also been a player to watch this season, scoring a total of 24 goals last season and he scored one in his first six games for the team. . With plenty of tough competition remaining, only time will tell if the Panthers can turn their record around and make waves in the conference rankings.
Key competitions: Wesleyan (Away Friday 3 February), Williams (Home Friday 10 February and Away Saturday 11 February)
women’s swimming and diving
Coach: Bob Ruppel
Captains: Louise Kim ’23, Lilly Seamasco ’23
Players to watch: Zoe Trey ’25, Chloe Katz ’25, Hannah Baumgartner ’26
Background: The Panthers, who finished sixth in last year’s NESCAC, are looking for a breakout year after several seasons finishing in the middle of the league. They started the season with real promise, posting a strong win over the University of Connecticut before losing to a competitive Amherst team ranked 14th in the nation. The 26 is impressive so far this year, with three individual wins and two in the relay. The team still has some young stars full of potential, so it could be a dangerous team by the time the NESCAC Championship kicks off in February.
Key competitions: Bates (Away, Sunday 8 January), Middlebury Invitational (Home, Weekend 27 January), NESCAC Championship (Away, Weekend 9 February)
men’s swimming and diving
Coach: Bob Ruppel
Captains: Ethan Ding ’23, Aidan McEnrick ’23
Players to watch: Paul Shen ’26, Riley Griffiths ’24, Ran Brown ‘23.5, Sam Hughes ’25
Background: The Panthers start the season 1-1. The team narrowly defeated the University of Connecticut, taking a Day One victory before losing heavily to Amherst. Despite the loss, the team still had some positives, especially the diving crew that shined. Ran Brown ‘23.5 claimed both his 1m and his 3m dives, while Ryan Gregsky ’25 and Owen White ’26 finished on the podium in both events. The Panthers are led by experienced coach Bob Rüppel, but he has yet to find success with NESCAC since their only league title in 2002. The team has not finished higher than fifth in the league since his 2013 and has not appeared in a national competition since 2018. As such, this season is all about the Panthers’ growth as they battle to break his third straight eighth-place winning streak at NESCAC.
Key competitions: Bates (Away, Sunday 8 January), Middlebury Invitational (Home, Weekend 27 January), NESCAC Championship (Away, Weekend 16 February)
women’s squash
Coach: Mark Lewis
Captain: Kieran Sunsa ‘23.5
Players to watch: Lindsay Burnham ’26, Abbie Holding ’25, Izzy Ronda ’26
Background: The 17th-ranked Panthers got off to a strong start to the season, going 3-1 in their first four games. A 2-7 scoreline doesn’t look impressive on paper, but with the Panthers forced a few games past his usual 11-point finishing point, many of the individual matchups were slammed. It doesn’t reflect how close we were. The Panthers finished 7-9 last year, but it seems likely that they will finish with a winning record given their start to the season. The team is also fairly young, with freshman Lindsey Burnham ’26, Izzy Ronda ’26 and Margaux Comai ’26 taking his 1st, 3rd and 4th places respectively. Fans can start getting excited about the Panthers’ chances this year, as the team continues to grow and only get better as the season progresses.
Key competitions: Bates (Away, Sunday 15 January), Tufts (Home, Sunday 22 January), Dartmouth (Home, Wednesday 1 February)
men’s squash
Coach: Mark Lewis
Captain: PK Keller ’23
Players to watch: Nathan Feinstein ’25, Will Lichstein ’25, Caleb Boateng ’26
Background: The men’s squash team got off to a great start to the season, winning all of their first four games by an aggregate score of 32-4. The Panthers have looked dominant in every game so far, with some individuals still boasting undefeated records, although the #23 Panthers have five matchups scheduled against the top 20 teams in the nation. The road ahead will be even more difficult because of the The team finished with a disappointing 5-12 record for him last year, so there’s no doubt he’s improved a lot since then. The Panthers are expected to get tighter as the season progresses, but for now there’s no reason to believe they can’t sustain their winning streak.
Key competitions: Franklin and Marshall (Away, Sunday 8 January), Williams (Away, Thursday 19 January), Amherst (Home, Tuesday 24 January)
Charles Crounse ’24 (he/he) is the senior sports editor on campus. He previously worked as a writer and staff his editor for this section. He majors in Environmental Policy and minors in French, and in his spare time enjoys biking, hiking, and exploring Vermont. He is also a member of the on-campus club soccer team.