Sitting in the stands by the poolside, Mount Holyoke families and students cheered on athletes competing in the annual Mount Holyoke Swimming and Diving senior meet, hosted at home against Smith College on Feb. 5. Mount Holyoke triumphed with a score of 163-131, with diver Kathryn Murphy ’22 breaking the one-meter board school record for the second week in a row.
For Cheryl Anderson Chaney, swimming at Fairmount Water Works Pool in Philadelphia was a source of joy. As a teenager growing up in the 1960s, she learned to swim from her father, who worked for the water department, according to an article published by WHYY PBS. Chaney, who is Black, grew up during racial segregation, when restrictive laws made it challenging for communities of color to access adequate public services — including swimming pools.
Four foilists and four épéeists from Mount Holyoke Fencing represented the College at the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference Big One tournament on Saturday, Nov. 7. The competition, which was hosted by Vassar College, featured over 10 teams belonging to various NCAA athletic divisions, including Smith College, Dartmouth College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Female handball players are no longer required to wear bikini bottoms and sports bras in competition, according to a rule the International Handball Federation changed on Oct. 3. As reported by The New York Times, the rule originally stated that female athletes must wear bikini bottoms “with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg,” with sides that could not measure more than four inches.
Field Hockey
Mount Holyoke Field Hockey defeated New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference rival Wheaton College 1-0 last Friday evening at home in their final game of the season.
Soccer
Mount Holyoke College Soccer finished their 2021 regular season in a 0-0 draw with Wellesley College after two overtimes, totaling 110 minutes of game play, at a NEWMAC game on Saturday, Oct. 30.
Cross Country
Mount Holyoke College Cross Country continued their season on Saturday, Oct. 30 in the New England Women and Men’s Athletic Conference Championships at the Nehoiden Golf Club in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Volleyball
Mount Holyoke College Volleyball finished off their season on Saturday, Oct. 30 with a 3-0 shutout loss to Emerson College at home. The set scores were 25-22, 25-16 and 25-19.
In a unanimous vote on Thursday, Oct. 14, the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee approved a proposal to expand the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship bracket by four teams. Beginning in 2022, the proposal would allow 68 teams to compete in the tournament instead of the previous 64. The same change was approved for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship in 2011.
Rowing
The Mount Holyoke rowing team made their way to Boston for the Head of the Charles Regatta last weekend. The Head of the Charles Regatta is one of the oldest head races in the country and has been running since 1965. The Regatta draws more than 11,000 competitors and thousands of spectators.
Volleyball
Mount Holyoke Volleyball traveled to Amherst College and Smith College on Saturday, Oct. 23, to compete against Westfield State University and Bates College in the Volleyball Hall of Fame Tournament.
Cross Country
On Saturday Oct. 16, Mount Holyoke College Cross Country traveled to Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, Connecticut, to compete in the Connecticut College Invitational. The Lyons raced among 26 additional teams, including top scorers Williams College (74 points), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (99 points) and Tufts University (120 points). Unlike the other teams, Mount Holyoke did not generate an overall team score and ended the competition with a DNF, meaning “did not finish.”
Soccer
On Saturday Oct. 16, the Mount Holyoke College soccer team was setback 9-0 at home against Babson College, which puts their record at 2-8 on the season.
Content warning: this article discusses transphobia.
The Texas State House and Senate approved a bill restricting transgender student athletes from K-12 sports, following House sessions on Thursday, Oct. 14, and Senate sessions on Friday, Oct. 15. Filed by Representative Valoree Swanson in September 2021, House Bill 25 aims to “[require] public school students to compete in interscholastic athletic competitions based on biological sex.” The bill passed through the house 76-54, with one abstained vote.
House Bill 25 is the fourth piece of legislation introduced this year that concerns transgender children in Texas. Prior legislative motions recorded by the Texas Legislature included multiple bills akin to failed House Bill 1399, which aimed to specifically restrict insurance coverage of transgender healthcare procedures. House Bill 25 does not target medical care, but requires the legal affirmation of the sex listed on the child’s birth certificate to determine which sports team they’re allowed to play on.
On Sept. 20, over 500 current and former athletes and coaches submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. These amici, described as "current and former athletes who are, or were at some point, able to become pregnant — regardless of gender identity" urged the protection of abortion rights for the first time in history.
According to WBUR, the brief was filed in light of Mississippi’s recent efforts to overturn a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that blocked the state from imposing an abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The ban was in conflict with Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that ensured people the right to an abortion . On Dec. 1, 2021, the state will be heard by the Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Tennis
Mount Holyoke’s tennis team traveled to Brunswick, Maine, where Bowdoin College hosted the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Regional Championships this past weekend. It was the team’s first tournament since the pandemic halted sports in March 2020.
Riding
Mount Holyoke Riding tied for first place with University of Massachusetts Amherst for the High Point Title at last weekend’s Muddy Brook Farm Show, hosted by Smith College. The Lyons snagged 15 of the 20 classes and amassed 36 total points.
Last weekend, Mount Holyoke Volleyball hosted their third trimatch of the season against Bay Path University and nationally ranked Babson College. The Lyons were shut out in the first match with 3-0 sets by the Babson Beavers. Sarah Bishop ’22 had a team best of eight kills for Mount Holyoke. The Beavers then took on Bay Path and swept the court in 3-0 sets against the Wildcats.
The National Football League kicked off its regular season this September with a new “first” for women in sports. After starting out in the NFL’s Officiating Development Program, Maia Chaka recently became the first Black female NFL referee. Originally from Rochester, NY, Chaka was a line judge for the first Sunday Night Football game of the season on Sept. 12 between the Carolina Panthers and the New York Jets.
Tennis
Mount Holyoke Tennis opened their competition season at home against College of the Holy Cross on Sept. 16. Annissa Aamoum ’22 beat the competition in the No. 3 singles match with scores of 6-2 and 6-1.
The Lyons fell to Holy Cross in the rest of the singles and all of the doubles matches. The Lyons’ doubles pairings were Aamoum and Annika Chai ’25, Shweta Kiran Cavale ’23 and Vy Hoang ’24 and Hannah Middleton ’22 and Nikki Cheng ’22.
