On September 22nd, members of the Wellesley College community came together to celebrate Earn The W Day, a Wellesley sports tradition that takes place once every semester. It is meant to encourage school spirit and support for the Blue. Usually, it takes place on a day when many teams have matches or games. On the 22nd, the teams were tennis, soccer and field hockey. The tennis team traveled to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regionals in Middletown, Connecticut, while the soccer team stayed home to face off against Wheaton and the field hockey team hosted Mount Holyoke. The Blue took the title of the day and ran with it.
Annissa Mu, a senior Wellesley Tennis player, moved on to round 32 in the A singles draw of the ITA Regionals. This was the highlight of a strong showing for the Blue at the tournament, and another promising addition to the fall season. A couple weeks prior, the Blue impressed at the Wellesley invitational, and coming up they will be playing at NEWITT.
Next up was the soccer team, facing off against Wheaton at home. The Blue had struggled the two games prior, falling by just one point to WPI and Trinity, but pulled through an impressive win. After falling to Wheaton last year in a tough match, Blue Soccer was excited for redemption. Sophomore Elina Saab-Sundén led the Blue with two goals, one assisted by senior Willa McGough. The audience also had a blast; Wellesley Athletics provided popcorn and a raffle for merchandise, and the weather was perfect. The Blue are now 1-1 in the NEWMAC (New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference), with plenty of games left to continue to shine.
At the end of the day, the Field Hockey team took to the turf to face fellow HWC Mount Holyoke College. The Blue pulled ahead in the first quarter thanks to first-years Alex Butulis and Katie Golla, and kept a comfortable lead for the remainder of the exciting game. The audience was ecstatic; there was ample support for the Blue, a beautiful sunset, and many alumni visitors. The game marked the second NEWMAC win for field hockey this season, with a 6-3 record overall.
If you missed Earn the W day this semester, don’t worry! Get excited for the Spring, when one can usually watch lacrosse, softball, tennis, fencing, swim and dive, track and field, and golf. It’s a wonderful day to show school spirit, eat free snacks, and possibly earn some great swag. The next home game for Soccer will be against Mount Holyoke at 4pm on Oct. 4. For Field Hockey, it will be against Smith at 12pm on Oct. 14. Blue Tennis plays in its last tournament of the semester on Oct. 6-8. If you’d like to keep up with the Blue’s efforts this fall, be sure to check out the Wellesley Athletics website for more information.
