The Bates Bobcast

This week we chat with Mike Milliken, Bates Manager of Community Wellness and Club Sports, about how the Bobcat community can use the B Well program to stay active this fall, even during a pandemic. For more information on B Well head to bates.edu/b-well.

Over this past week, Bates students returned to campus. We talk with senior women’s cross country captain Vanessa Paolella about her experience returning for what promises to be a year like none other. Plus, Assistant A.D. for Athletic Performance Nick Cooke has an additional title now: he’s also the Director of the Bates Testing Center. That’s coming up, on the Bates Bobcast. Interviews with epis...

Olivia Zurek was a star for the Bobcats on the Alumni Gym court in both volleyball and basketball during her time in Lewiston. In volleyball, she helped lead the Bobcats to three 20-win seasons, including a 26-9 overall record in 2003, culminating in a run to the NESCAC tournament championship match. After earning second team All-NESCAC recognition in 2003, Zurek led the conference in kills per se...

Will Boe-Wiegaard '06 was the national runner-up in 2005 but entered the 2006 NCAA men’s tennis singles championships as a senior unseeded in the field of 32. He proceeded to run the table, winning the national title. He became the first non-track and field Bates student-athlete to capture an NCAA championship. Then he went on to have a 13-year professional career, becoming the head tennis coach a...

Colleen O’Brien '92 starred as a women’s soccer and softball player during her time as a Bobcat. She was a two-time All-American in women’s soccer, leading Bates to the 1991 ECAC championship with her game-winning goal against Smith College in the final. Playing third base, O’Brien helped lead the Bates softball team to multiple winning seasons as well, earning regional All-America honors in 1990....

This week we honor Leigh Campbell from the class of 1964, who passed away Friday at the age of 79. In his 39 years of service as a financial aid officer at Bates, most of that time as director, Leigh Campbell became a trusted confidant, adviser, and friend to thousands of students. He first became involved with Bates men’s basketball as a student manager in the early 1960s. Campbell graduated in 1...

Today, the Bates rowing program is a national powerhouse, with the women having won four NCAA championships in the last five seasons and the men having become the first NESCAC program to compete at the IRA National Championships. Sporting a donor-funded boathouse on the Androscoggin River that is the envy of collegiate rowing, the Bobcat program is a force to be reckoned with. But Bates rowing has...

This week, with Major League Baseball's season finally starting, we take a deep dive into Bates baseball's past, as we learn about the Bobcats' first big leaguer: Harry Lord '08. During his nine seasons in the major leagues, Lord captained both the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox, and spent a year in the outlaw Federal League. And recently, Bob Muldoon '81 found out a bit more about Lord'...

Rob Thompson '66 starred on the soccer pitch for Bates in the program’s first four seasons as a varsity sport. Starting in 1962, the Bobcats went 24-10-7 during Thompson’s collegiate career. And in 1965, he became the first All-American in team history. The big fullback stood six-foot-four and anchored the Bobcat defense. He also starred on the tennis court for two years, playing doubles with Jame...

Sherry Deschaine, at the time Sherry Yakawonis, was hired to teach physical education at Bates in 1968 straight out of the University of Maine at Presque Isle and immediately became the school’s first women’s basketball coach. Thirty years later, she retired after having had a hand in almost every women’s sport on campus. She served as the head field hockey coach for 26 years and as the head softb...

Nancy Ingersoll Fiddler '78 was a pioneer in more ways than one during her time as a Bobcat. She joined the field hockey team as a first-year in 1974. Then that spring, she led the charge to start a women’s lacrosse program at Bates. As a sophomore, she joined a young Bates women’s Nordic skiing program despite having no experience with the sport. But she immediately started winning every race, ev...

Along with classmate Rudy Smith, John Douglas '60 starred for the Bates men’s track and field team in the late 1950s. Bates became a regional powerhouse during his time in Lewiston, at one point defeating 31 opponents in a row over the course of 21 meets between 1957 and 1959. Douglas competed in numerous events for the Bobcats and his name is still number one in the Bates record books in both the...

You can find Thom Freeman '63 all over the Bates baseball record book. He pitched 18 complete games in three seasons and struck out 181 batters -- both are program records to this day. In 1962, Freeman was the winning pitcher in seven of the Bobcats’ 12 victories, leading Bates to the Maine State Series title and the Eastern NCAA Finals. And in 1963, he was named a second team All-American in the...

Liz Wanless's list of athletic accolades is long and impressive. As a Bates volleyball player, she was a four-time All-NESCAC selection and one time All-American, while the Bobcats went a combined 105-41 over four seasons. But Wanless '04 stood out even more competing for then-head coach Carolyn Court as a track and field athlete at Bates in her specialty, the shot put. As a senior in 2004, Wanles...

Each week this spring we are honoring the seniors of a Bates team that didn’t get to finish its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, we salute the Bates rowing dynasty, a group that combined for six NESCAC titles and three national championships in three seasons! Interviews this episode: 1:03 -- Holland Doyle '20 (Coxswain) and Maxwell Milavetz '20 (Team Captain), Men's Rowing. 24:41 --...

Each week this spring we are honoring the seniors of a Bates team that didn’t get to finish its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, we chat with the senior captains from the tennis teams, plus an interview with head coach Paul Gastonguay. That’s coming up, on the Bates Bobcast! Interviews this episode: 0:53 -- Suzanne Elfman '20, Lauren Hernandez '20, Isabelle Rovinski '20, Women's Ten...

Each week this spring we are honoring the seniors of a Bates team that didn’t get to finish its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, we chat with the two senior captains from the softball team, plus an interview with head coach McKell Barnes. Interviews this episode: 1:14 -- Julia Panepinto '20 and Kirsten Pelletier '20, Softball captains. 15:53 -- McKell Barnes, Head Coach, Softball.

Each week this spring the Bobcast is honoring the seniors of a Bates team that didn’t get to finish its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, we chat with the three senior captains from the baseball team, plus an interview with head coach Jon Martin! Interviews this episode: 1:02 -- Jack Arend '20, Nolan Collins '20 and Will Sylvia '20, Baseball captains. 17:53 -- Jon Martin, Head Coach,...

The Bates men’s lacrosse program went through a lot this year both on and off the field. Plagued by injuries, the Bobcats got off to a slow start before their season ended prematurely. Then came the news that two-time All-American Jack Allard '16 was sick with the novel coronavirus. Allard is well on his way to recovery, now home with his family. But it’s been a tough few months for the Bobcats. S...

Each week this spring the Bobcast honors the seniors of a Bates team that didn’t get to finish its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, we chat with the three senior captains from the women’s lacrosse team, plus an interview with head coach Brett Allen! Interviews this episode: 1:10 -- Caroline Kerrigan '20, Avery MacMullen '20, Liv Sandford '20, Women's Lacrosse captains. 15:05 -- Bret...

Each week this spring the Bobcast will honor the seniors of a Bates team that didn’t get to finish its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, we chat with four seniors from the men’s track and field team, plus an interview with head coach Al Fereshetian! Interviews this episode: 0:50 -- Anas Reda '20, Brendan Donahue '20, Beaufils Kimpolo '20 and Justin Levine '20, Men's Track and Field....

Each week this spring the Bobcast will honor the seniors of a Bates team that didn’t get to finish its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, we chat with four seniors from the women’s track and field team, plus an interview with head coach Jay Hartshorn! Interviews this episode: 1:05 -- Olivia LaMarche '20, Ashley Pratt '20, Paige Rabb '20 and Megan Seymour '20, Women's Track and Field....

Each week this spring the Bobcast will honor the seniors of a Bates team that didn’t get to finish its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, we chat with three seniors from the women’s swimming and diving team, plus an interview with head coach Peter Casares. Interviews this episode: 1:18 -- Emmy Daigle '20, Janika Ho '20 and Hannah Johnson '20, Women's Swimming and Diving NCAA Champions...

This week we’re celebrating the track and field teams making the most of their opportunities at the Tufts Final Qualifying Meet, with Bates sending 11 to the NCAA Championships after entering last week with only two Bobcats assured of a berth. Plus, the women’s tennis team is off to a strong start and we talk with our two squash senior captains to wrap up the season and their careers. All that and...

The skiing teams are sending a pair of student-athletes to the NCAA Championships, the track and field teams shined at the New England Championships and we preview the 2020 Bates softball season. All that and more, on the latest Bates Bobcast! Interviews this episode: 0:56 -- Rachael Deptula '21, Women's Lacrosse. 3:09 -- John Rex '21 and Brendan Donahue '20 (Male Bobcat of the Week), Men's Track...