NEW LONDON, N.H. - After a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Colby-Sawyer student-athletes returned to play with excitement and a fire to win. Six of the eight fall sports teams made an appearance in post-season play, with three of those six teams bringing home a conference championship title.  
 
Women's Tennis: 
To start, the women's tennis team finished what is considered to be an astonishing season with an overall record of 11-1 and a perfect undefeated conference record of 8-0 with 65 set victories and 0 losses. On Oct. 23, 2021, the women defeated the Pride of Regis College 5-0 to earn the conference title for the 2021 season. Sophomore Lindsay MacDonald (South Yarmouth, Mass.), junior Emily Hill (Wilmington, Mass.) and first-year Grace Carpenter (Milford, N.H.) made first team all-conference for singles play, while Hill and Carpenter also made first team in doubles. First-year Elise Hogan (Duxbury, Mass.) received second team for her performance during singles play along with second team in doubles play with partner MacDonald. Not only did four Chargers make it on an all-conference team, but the Player of the Year award was awarded to MacDonald with Carpenter following as the Rookie of the Year. 
 
Cross-Country: 
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, marked new cross country head coach Ryan O'Connell's first and second conference championships as a Colby-Sawyer Charger. "We had a fantastic season on both the men's and women's side," said O'Connell. "We had 13 first years that came in and changed our whole culture and brought some much-needed energy to the team". One of those first years being Dylan Flewelling, who led the men to victory finishing in first place as an individual and helped his team place 1st out of six, edging out second place Norwich University by just 5 points. With a finishing time of 28:04, Flewelling earned an all-conference first team nod as well as both the Runner and Rookie of the year conference awards. Moving on to the women's team, Colby-Sawyer finished as the top squad out of nine teams, with three Chargers earning All-Conference first or second team awards. The women were also led by a first year, Samantha Carus who recorded a personal best of 24:25 and finished in second place as an individual. After an outstanding performance in the conference championship, seven runners from each team moved on to the NCAA regionals in which the women recorded their best finish in program history, placing 9th out of 33 teams. Carus crossed the finish line in 38th place, ultimately breaking the record for the highest finisher as an individual in the NCAA regionals in Colby-Sawyer cross-country history. 
 
Field Hockey: 
The 2021 Colby-Sawyer field hockey team partook in its best season in program history, finishing 16-4-0 overall and 10-1-0 in conference play. Early in the season, the women successfully defeated both Plymouth and Keene State for the very first time in Colby-Sawyer field hockey history. Some of the team's top performers including junior Aoife Daly (Harwich, Mass.), graduate student Julia Lanctot (Sandown, N.H.), and senior Jess Shatford (Derry, N.H.) each received a first-team award. Sophomore Aleah Murph (Portland, Maine), graduate student Chelsea Perry (Oakland, Maine), and goalkeeper Lauren Wilkinson (Lynn, Mass.) collected second team awards while first-year Courtney Larson (Auburn, Maine), senior Chrissy Coffield (North Conway, N.H.), and junior Bella Silva (Danvers, Mass.) each received third team awards. The Chargers fell to the Wildcats of No. 2 Johnson & Wales during the GNAC Championship game in which the Chargers were fortunate to host after being named regular season champions. To add to the countless broken records, this was the team's first appearance at a conference championship game in program history. 
 
Rugby:
The 2021 women's Rugby team appeared in the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) tournament semi-finals for the second time since entering the conference in 2019. Going up against the No. 1 seed, Bowdoin College, the Chargers were able to score seven on the Polar Bears and keep them to only 54 whereas earlier in the season, the team took a tough loss to Bowdoin 79-0. The women finished their season with a 3-4 overall record with wins against Castleton University, Endicott College (Friendly), Saint Michael's, and New England College. The team will graduate two seniors for the 2021-2022 school year – Captain Sophia Zaragoza (Mount Tabor, N.J.) and Captain Bella Paul (Asbury, N.J.). After the Chargers performance during post-season play, head coach and Director of Rugby Ed McKenna stated ""It was clear, especially in the first 30-40 minutes, that we've taken monumental steps toward building a strong rugby program and culture, which would not have been possible without the leadership of our captains and returners. I'm humbled to be their coach and excited for the future." 
 
Men's Soccer:
The men's soccer team finished 5-10-0 on the year, with the team's best game of the season coming on September 22nd against GNAC-rival Rivier University winning 5-0. Junior Finn Husband (Elk Rapids, Mich.) scored the first goal for the Chargers to get the 1-0 lead. He was soon followed by First year, Conner McKearin (Proctor, Vt.) who scored twice for his team. The Chargers finished the season with a total of 18 goals scored and 192 shots on net. The men also outscored their opponents on corner kicks, with Colby-Sawyer taking a total 92 as opposed to their opponents 62. Going into the GNAC tournament as the No. 8 seed, the Chargers were set to play against No. 1 Saint Joseph's College of Maine to which the team held the Monks to only three goals on the day, dropping the match 0-3 and ending their 2021 season. The Chargers were awarded with the Team Sportsmanship award after showing great charisma throughout the season. Senior captain and LGTBQ+ Student-Athlete of the Year nominee Couper Gunn (Easthampton, Mass.) was also placed on the All-Sportsmanship team for his amazing attitude and great character on and off the pitch. 
 
Women's Soccer: 
The Colby-Sawyer women's soccer team finished with a record of 4-10-1 on the year, with first year Bridget O'Connell (Peabody, Mass.) leading the Chargers with 5 goals scored and 21 shots on net for the year. Junior Brenna Humphrey (Cornish, Maine) scored the second most goals with 2 on the year and had a total of 3 shots on goal for the season. The Chargers best game of the season came on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 against Anna Maria at home, where Sophomore Kara Keiper (Peterborough, N.H.), First year, Halle Pletzer (Barre, Vt.), and first year, Bridget O'Connell (Peabody, Mass.) all scored goals to seal the win for the Chargers, 3-1. This improved Colby Sawyer's record to 4-7-0 on the year. Senior Sophia DeMarco was honored with the All-Sportsmanship award for her passion and champion of character attitude towards her team, coaches, officials, and opponents. 
 
Volleyball: 
Women's volleyball finished the year 12-17 overall, with their best game of the season coming against GNAC rival Dean College on Oct. 8, taking the match 3-0 with scores of 25-11, 25-17, and 25-14. The women also shutout Elms College, Salem State University, University of Saint Joseph, Fitchburg State, Anna Maria, Emmanuel College, and to finish their season, Albertus Magnus. The most impressive set of the season came against GNAC rivals and defending champions Johnson and Wales when the Chargers took a set off the Wildcats for the first time in five years. One of the team's key players, Senior Anna Allen (Los Angeles, Calif.) collected her 2000th career assist in a 3-2 win over the Badgers of NVU-Johnson on September 23, 2021. 
 
Coaches of the Year: 
Athletic Director Mitch Capelle stated, "We are fortunate to have a tremendous group of coaches in our department who put so much time, hard work, and effort in to training and coaching our student-athletes, preparing them for success. Not only are Barry, Emily, and Ryan amazing coaches, they are even better people" when asked his opinion on his coaches of the year. Capelle continued "There is so much behind-the-scenes work that goes into on-field/court/course success, and these three do not shy away from it. I am delighted to see their efforts recognized by the conference and their peers as a reward for the success of their programs this fall."
 

• Head women's and men's tennis coach Barry Schoonmaker was undoubtedly named Coach of the Year after a remarkable undefeated conference record and a 2021 Championship title to show for it. Prior to entering the GNAC, Schoonmaker received three "Coach of the Year" awards during his time in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC).  
• After a record-breaking season, Emily Dewdney, the Colby-Sawyer women's field hockey and lacrosse head coach, was named "Coach of the Year" by the GNAC for the 2021 field hockey season. Dewdney led her team to their first-ever championship appearance in which the women took the "Runners-up" title after a well battled game against Johnson & Wales University. 
• Head men's and women's cross-country and track and field coach Ryan O'Connell collected not one, but TWO conference "Coach of the Year" awards after winning the championship title with both his men and women's cross country teams. 

 
These performances are only the beginning for the Chargers as they look to continue their streak during the winter season, seeking to set more records and compete in conference championships. To date, Colby-Sawyer has claimed eight GNAC titles as an institution over a four-year span, and will look to continue the trend of winning as time moves forward.  
 
(Story by Brendan Sullivan)