2024 Fall Season Recap

Link: 2024 NESCAC Fall All-Academic Team

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The 2024 fall season was one to remember at Williams College.

The results over the last few months on campus have been extraordinary. Field hockey reached the Final Four and men's soccer qualified for the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division III Tournament, as both programs hosted regional events on campus during Nov. 16-17. Furthermore, women's cross country placed third at the NCAA Championship, which was tied for the program's best finish on the national stage since winning the event in 2015.

The Ephs also excelled in the classroom, as 116 fall student-athletes earned NESCAC All-Academic recognition.

"It is always a highlight of the fall to have teams arrive back on campus to practice and begin competing again," said Williams College Athletic Director Lisa Melendy. "Watching our student-athletes train and prepare, and then test themselves against the competition is among the joys of my job. On top of that, we had spectacular fall weather and results." 

See below for team-by-team highlights.

Field Hockey (16-4 Overall, 9-1 NESCAC):

• The Ephs' 16 wins were the most in a single season in program history and the squad earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament.
• At Trinity on Sept. 21, head coach Alix Barrale picked up her 300th career win at the Division III level and 250th victory at Williams.
• Williams raced out to the best overall (11-0) and NESCAC (9-0) starts during the Barrale era, dating back to 2000. Kiki Higgins led the NESCAC with 16 assists, while Ellie Smith ranked first in shutouts (7) and save percentage (.832).

Men's Soccer (12-4-4, 5-3-2):

• The Ephs defeated then-No. 1-ranked Amherst, 1-0, on Sept. 14, marking the program's first win over the Mammoths at Cole Field since 2005.  From Sept. 14 – Oct. 26, the Ephs recorded an 11-game unbeaten streak. 
• The Ephs defeated Wesleyan, 2-1, in the NESCAC Quarterfinals and Messiah, 1-0, during the NCAA Second Round. Andrew Coelho and Henry Kirkman recorded the double-overtime, game-winning goals in the respective games.
• Ben Diffley went 12-4-4 and recorded seven individual shutouts. Lorcan Mitchell (8 goals, 2 assists) and Alex Bethencourt (5 goals, 5 assists) combined for seven game-winning goals.

Women's Soccer (8-5-3, 6-2-2):

• The Ephs defeated then-No. 4-ranked Tufts, 2-1, on Sept. 7, as Tori Huang buried the game-winning goal with 4:12 remaining. Huang ranked second in the NESCAC in game-winning tallies (5).
• Margaret Huelin started all 16 games and went 5-1-3, with nine combined shutouts. She ranked first in the conference in save percentage (.920) and goals-against average (0.24).
• Bria Abbiati compiled five goals and three assists, while Sam Phan (5 assists) and Brianna Wright (6 goals) finished in a tie for fifth and ninth in assists and goals, respectively, in the NESCAC. Ava Simunovic was phenomenal on defense, as the Ephs kept 10 opponents off the scoreboard.

Football (5-4, 5-4):

• The Ephs began with victories over Hamilton (42-7) and Colby (24-19) on Sept. 14 and 21, respectively. Williams ended with a 21-0 Homecoming win over Amherst. Holden Gering (2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 10 solo tackles) and Owen Johansen (2 rushing TDs) led the charge.
• At Middlebury, Ivan Shuran broke his own program record with five made field goals, going 5 for 5 in the game. He went 9 for 9 on field goals and 29 of 29 on PATs during the season. Shuran connected on a career-high, 47-yard field goal, in a 24-21 victory against Bates.
• Owen McHugh threw for 1,416 yards and 12 TDs and rushed for 307 yards and 6 TDs. Mario Fischetti carried the ball 79 times for 532 yards, to go along with five TDs.

Volleyball (13-11, 5-5 NESCAC):

• The sixth-seeded Ephs defeated third-seeded Tufts, 3-2, during the NESCAC Quarterfinals, as Keely Campuzano posted a career-high 21 kills. Campuzano was named NESCAC Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks on Nov. 4 and 11.
• Sidra Wohlwend led the team with 377 digs and Morgan Daetz led the charge with 672 assists.
• Other strong contributors were Annaliese Fricke (246 kills, 105 digs), Tatum Baker (187 digs, 175 kills), Kate Lane (131 kills), Chi Obi (109 kills, 69 blocks), Lilly Carstens (200 assists), Kami Israelski (190 digs, 47 service aces) and Helen Qian (73 kills, 43 blocks).

Men's Cross Country:

• The Ephs won the 2024 NESCAC Championship and finished second at the NCAA Regional.
• Chuckie Namiot earned the individual title at the NESCAC Championship and placed second during the NCAA Regional. Namiot earned All-American recognition with a seventh-place performance at the national championship race.
• During the NCAA Regional, Namiot, Malcom Oakes (14th), Rick Yanashita (15th), Luke Zanuck (22nd), Keiyu Mamiya (23rd), Alex Kemp (26th) and Ryan Hardiman (30th) earned All-Region honors.

Women's Cross Country:

• The Ephs won the 2024 NESCAC Championship and NCAA Regional.
• Kate Tuttle placed eighth at the national meet and earned All-American recognition, alongside Tamar Byl-Brann (27th) and Kate Swann (33rd).
• Tuttle finished fourth during the regional championship and earned All-Region honors, along with Swann (10th), Byl-Brann (11th), Nora Johnson (15th), Lily Yampolsky (19th), Charlene Peng (25th) and Jordan Liss-Riordan (28th).

Men's Crew:

• During the Head of the Charles, the Ephs' "A" team placed seventh and the "B" squad finished 19th out of 42 teams during the Collegiate Eights, while Williams also placed 25th out of 42 in the Collegiate Fours. At the Head of the Housatonic, Williams earned a ninth-place finish out of 20 in the 8+ Collegiate (IRA) and recorded a seventh-place effort out of 22 during the 4+ Open. 
• The "A" boat at the Head of the Charles and the 8+ Collegiate (IRA) lineup at the Head of the Housatonic consisted of Christina Zhang (coxswain), Noah Phipps (stroke), Michael LesStrang (7th seat), Owen Maier (6th seat), Justin Schoenfarber (5th seat), Jack Wagner (4th seat), Dalton Peters (3rd seat), Quinn Carroll (2nd seat) and Kyle McHugh (bow).
• The "B" team at the Head of the Charles featured Kipp Kaplan (coxswain), Myer Liebman (stroke), Ben Floyd (7th seat), Austin Connelly (6th seat), Aidan Spellacy-Urken (5th seat), Jack Archer (4th seat), Luke Guleserian (3rd seat), Chris Pohlmann (2nd seat) and Trent Boone (bow). The Four lineup at the Head of the Housatonic consisted of Ellia Chiang (coxswain), Pablo Fox (stroke), Alden Knox Weaver (3rd seat), Nyamekye Akosah (2nd seat) and Hallsey Souder (bow). Chiang (coxswain), Fox (stroke), James Johnson-Brown (3rd seat), Blaz Vavpetic (2nd seat) and Brij Howard-Sarin (bow) made up the Collegiate Fours boat at the Head of the Charles.

Women's Crew:

• During the Go for Gourd event, the Ephs placed first overall out of 13 boats during the First Varsity Eight. Williams finished third out of 34 in the Collegiate Eights during the Head of the Charles Regatta.
•The lineup for both races consisted of Ariana Oppenheimer, Isabel Mikheev, Audrey Riddle, Vivian Johnson, Laela Clark, Sophia Clavenna, Prairie Resch, Grace McLaughlin and Betsy Owens.
• The Ephs placed second out of 33 during the Women's Open 8+ at the Head of the Riverfront Regatta, as the lineup featured Oppenheimer (coxswain), Mikheev (stroke), Riddle (7th seat), Johnson (6th seat), Clark (5th seat), Clavenna (4th seat), Resch (3rd seat), McLaughlin (2nd seat) and Carolyn Fortin (bow).

Men's Golf:

• Alex Moller was the team's top-performer in all five fall events.
• During the Skidmore Fall Invitational, the Ephs placed in a tie for second out of 21 teams, as Moller finished third.
• Williams placed three golfers in the top-10 during a second-place finish at the Ekwanok Sap Bucket Challenge. Moller placed in a tie for second overall with a 71, while Will Rich (T-5th) and Owen Nielsen (T-10th) recorded rounds of 72 and 75, respectively. 

Women's Golf:

• The Ephs placed first out of 13 teams at the Polar Bear Shootout, as Maryanne Grace won the individual title with a five-under-par 141 (71-70). Natalie Cheong earned a runner-up finish with a four-under 142 (68-74). Euna Lee finished in a tie for fifth with a score of 75-73-148.
• Cheong earned medalist honors during the George Phinney Classic with a line of 73-73-146.
• Gio Kim was the team's top-finisher at the Williams Invitational (76-74-150) and Hamilton Fall Invitational (78-77-155), placing in a tie for ninth and seventh, respectively.

Men's Tennis:

• During the ITA Regionals, Nicholas Chen won in the Round of 64 and 32 in the Main Singles Draw. 
• Leon Liu, Shawn Berdia and Diego Marin recorded victories in the Main Singles Draw.
• Jack Ling won a singles match in the "B" Draw.

Women's Tennis:

• During the ITA New England Regionals, Yuu Ishikawa and Margaux Molyneux won doubles matches in the Round of 32 and 16.
• Annabelle Siegel and Jane Ladaga teamed up to win a doubles match in the Round of 32. 
• Molyneux and Ellie Stark won singles matches in the A and B Draw, respectively, during the Round of 64.

First Team:
Chuckie Namiot (Men's Cross Country)
Kate Tuttle (Women's Cross Country)
Tamar Byl-Brann (Women's Cross Country)
Kate Swann (Women's Cross Country)
Ellie Smith (Field Hockey)
Pilar Torres (Field Hockey)
Kiki Higgins (Field Hockey)
Tim Forth (Football)
Ethan Scott (Football)
Ben Diffley (Men's Soccer)
Ava Simunovic (Women's Soccer)
Tori Huang (Women's Soccer)
Keely Campuzano (Women's Volleyball)

Second Team:
Ryan Hardiman (Men's Cross Country)
Lily Yampolsky (Women's Cross Country)
Jordan Liss-Riordan (Women's Cross Country)
Nora Johnson (Women's Cross Country)
Linda Bibeau (Field Hockey)
Meaghan Boehm (Field Hockey)
Mario Fischetti (Football)
Joseph Ngnombouowo (Football)
Holden Gering (Football)
Ivan Shuran (Football)
Leonardo Maiuolo (Football)
Felipe Gutierrez (Men's Soccer)
Griffin Labonski (Men's Soccer)

Most Outstanding Performer: Chuckie Namiot (Men's Cross Country)
Rookie of the Year: Keiyu Mamiya (Men's Cross Country) and Ellie Smith (Field Hockey)
Coaching Staff of the Year: Dusty Lopez, Stephanie Mauer, Mike Blair and Barb Grossov (Men's and Women's Cross Country), Alix Barrale and Kate Lenox (Field Hockey)


Written by Trevor Wenners
Manager of Athletic Statistics and Record Keeping
tw11@williams.edu