The Bates Bobcast

This week we recap the first games played by Bates sports teams in more than a year. Both lacrosse programs picked up wins over Saint Joseph’s and the women’s basketball team split a pair of games against Colby. Hear from our Bobcats of the Week and more, on the Bates Bobcast!

Interviews this episode:

0:37 -- Ariana Dalia '22, Women's Basketball (Female Bobcat of the Week).

6:10 -- Chris Costello '21, Men's Lacrosse (Male Bobcat of the Week).

15:10 -- Brett Allen, Head Coach, Women's Lacrosse.

Last week was a big one for Bates Director of Athletics Jason Fein.

Not only was he named one of four Division III athletics directors of the year, but Bates announced the return of intercollegiate competition, including NESCAC play for spring sports.

We sit down with Jason to talk about the exciting news.

The Bobcats are back, on the Bates Bobcast!

This week we continue our Senior salutes with the field hockey team. We talk to senior captain Elsbeth Caulo and head coach Dani Ryder Kogut gives her perspective on where the program is headed now.

This week we continue our "senior salutes" with the men’s soccer team. We talk with the senior captains and head coach Tyler Sheikh gives his perspective on the men’s soccer class of 2021!

The Bates seniors did not have a losing season during their time as Bobcats. In fact, they made some history, matching the program record for NESCAC wins in one season in 2019.

This group was led by a pair of senior captains, goalkeeper David Goodstein and defender Blaise Marceau. Goodstein and Marceau reflect on their careers while coach Sheikh honors all the graduating seniors, including team captain Peder Bakken, who missed most of 2019 due to injury and came back this fall for a fifth year with the team, only to see the season canceled due to the coronavirus.

This week we continue our Senior Salutes with the women’s soccer team. A trio of Bobcats join the show and head coach Joe Vari salutes the senior class for their leadership in a difficult time.

The Bates women’s soccer class of 2021 went through a coaching change prior to their junior year and then had their senior year wiped out by the coronavirus. Nevertheless, seniors So Kim, Elizabeth Bennett and Nellie Breen stuck with the program all four years. As you will hear from all three, they’ve enjoyed their times at Bates and look forward to seeing what the future holds for their current teammates.

The Bates football class of 2021 is in an awkward spot. Some may be returning this fall to take advantage of their extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA. But we don’t know yet who that may be.

So this week we continue our senior salutes with senior captain Connor Hunt and head coach Malik Hall joining us to look back on the last four years.

Bates Director of Photography and Video Phyllis Graber Jensen grew up competing in a wide variety of sports with the boys in her New York City neighborhood of Kew Gardens in Queens. At age 12, she took up tennis and even got to hit with Billie Jean King.

But when she entered high school, she discovered no opportunities for girls to compete in varsity sports. So then 16-year old Phyllis appealed to play on the high school boys tennis team. And 50 years ago, despite a fair amount of backlash, she won her case.

And this week, Phyllis Graber Jensen joins the Bobcast!

With this past fall’s sports season canceled due to COVID-19, we begin our Class of 2021 senior salutes with the Bates volleyball program. Angel Echipue, Ruby Lightbourn, Delaney Mayfield and Olivia McCulloch are the four senior captains this year.

We salute them and chat with the team's head coach, Melissa DeRan, on the latest Bates Bobcast!

On this week's Bobcast we conclude the “Why I Coach” series with our softball and baseball coaches! Softball head coach McKell Barnes and baseball head coach Jon Martin join the show.

McKell Barnes completed her seventh season as the head coach of the Bates College softball program in 2020, having taken over the position in January of 2014.

In 2018, Barnes led the Bates softball team to its most wins in program history and the Bobcats' second appearance in the NESCAC tournament. Bates finished the season with an overall record of 20-14. The Bobcats returned to the NESCAC Tournament in 2019 and the promising 2020 squad finished 6-2 in a pandemic-shortened season.

Jon Martin was hired as Bates baseball’s head coach in August 2016. In his first season at the helm of the team, he led the Bobcats to their third-ever appearance in the four-team NESCAC Tournament.

He followed that up with another appearance in the NESCAC Tournament in 2018 and in his third season at Bates, Martin was named the 2019 NESCAC Coach of the Year after leading the Bobcats to a 19-17 overall record, a 9-3 record in NESCAC East Division play, and a berth in the four-team NESCAC Championship tournament for the third straight season.

This week we continue our “Why I Coach” series with our lacrosse coaches. Women’s lacrosse head coach Brett Allen and men’s lacrosse head coach Peter Lasagna join the show to talk about their backgrounds and what led them to what is known as the “The Creator’s Game.”

Appointed as the Bates women’s lacrosse head coach in 2006, Allen led the Bobcats to the NCAA tournament in 2016 and was named the NESCAC Coach of the Year. Bates has appeared in the national rankings numerous times during his tenure and today he joins the Bobcast to give us a look into why he coaches.

Lasagna spent 18 years coaching at his alma mater Brown University. He has coached the Bobcats in the 20 years since then, leading Bates to the top of the national rankings and two NCAA tournament appearances.