I met Asha Walker before I even knew I wanted to go to Amherst. I was sitting in Valentine Dining Hall during my visit as a high school senior, and she came and sat down at the table full of softball players.
She immediately struck up a conversation with one of her friends on the team, and it took about five minutes for her to look at me and say, “Hey, you’re new.”
Seniors Danielle Griffin and Leonie Rauls led the Amherst women’s track and field squad to an impressive fourth-place finish this weekend at the Branwen Smith-King Invitational. Tufts played host to 16 of the country’s top Division III competitors, and Amherst continued their dominant season with a score of 77.33 total points, finishing just behind Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wesleyan and Stonehill College.
When I asked Ali Doswell’s family, friends, coaches and professors to describe her, the most common word was not “athletic” or “talented” or any of the typical superlatives you would expect for the reigning Division III Player of the Year for women’s basketball. Instead, the common trait attributed to the Richmond, Virginia native was “grace.”
The Amherst College women’s golf team notched a first-place finish at the Williams Spring Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, April 22-23 to conclude regular season action.
Competing against a six-team field, the Mammoths, led by first-year Morgan Yurosek and senior Jamie Gracie, shot an impressive 304 on day one and a 308 on day two to claim the victory.
Amherst finished the first day six strokes ahead of Williams thanks to standout performances by Kate Weiss (75), Gracie (76) and Yurosek (76).
Amherst baseball won their first two home games this week in blowout fashion, rolling over Springfield for a 20-5 victory on March 29 and taking down regional rivals Keene State on April 3. The purple and white’s victory over the Owls of Keene State came after five straight games were postponed due to inclement weather.
Amherst women’s swimming and diving wrapped up an impressive season with its 21st consecutive top-15 finish at NCAA Championships March 15-18. The team finished 15th, and the showing was highlighted by several standout individual performances.
Amherst baseball saw an exciting start to their season last week, March 12-19, as the team went 3-5 on their spring break trip to Port Charlotte, Florida. The purple and white took down two ranked teams, recording wins over No. 4 Keystone College and No. 21 Marietta College.
