For Starters

The Bryn Mawr College field hockey team, led by head coach Victor Brady, made history this season as they advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time. 

After starting the season unranked in the preseason poll, Bryn Mawr climbed to No. 10 nationally in the Division III Field Hockey Coaches Association poll. The Owls achieved their first NCAA tournament victory, 1–0 against No. 17 SUNY Geneseo, in the first round. The defense stood tall, while a critical penalty corner goal in the third quarter secured the victory. Bryn Mawr field hockey’s season concluded in the second round against seven-time reigning national champions No. 2 Middlebury College, marking a strong finish to a groundbreaking campaign.

Brady, in his ninth year as head coach, has been instrumental in transforming Bryn Mawr’s field hockey program. A three-time Centennial Conference Coach of the Year, Brady has led the team to multiple firsts in program history, including their inaugural appearances in the Centennial Conference Tournament and the achievement of a national ranking for the first time. With 80 wins during his tenure, Brady has solidified his place as one of the most successful coaches in the College’s history, second only to Hall of Famer Jenepher Shillingford. Brady’s staff also includes assistant coaches Lauren Fuchs, Christie Jones, Ashley Ross, and Maggie Titus ’23, who have proved indispensable to Bryn Mawr’s successful season.

A highlight of the season was Bryn Mawr’s first-ever win against a top-10 opponent,  defeating No. 10 University of Lynchburg, 4–1. The Owls also recorded a five-game winning streak against ranked teams, showcasing their consistency and determination. Seven of Bryn Mawr’s 15 wins came against nationally ranked teams, after entering the season with only three such wins in program history.

In the postseason, Bryn Mawr competed in the Centennial Conference Tournament for the third consecutive year and won their first-round game against No. 24 Swarthmore College, 3–0. The  Owls fell to No. 5 Johns Hopkins University in the semifinals. This season underscored Bryn Mawr’s rise as a competitive force in Division III field hockey and sets the stage for continued growth in the years to come.

– By Lauren Gusikoff

Bryn Mawr’s campus played a supporting role in the latest music video from Japanese Breakfast, fronted by musician and writer Michelle Zauner ’11. “Orlando in Love” features Zauner and Bryn Mawr, as seen in this behind-the-scenes photo, and was produced by Ivy Howell ’11. Watch the video at mawr.life/orlando

Samir Datta joined the College on March 3 as vice president for finance and administration. Datta will oversee a range of functions, including the offices of Controller; Human Resources; Facilities Services, which includes campus sustainability; and Budget, as well as administrative services, including conferences and events, dining services, environmental health and safety, transportation, the book shop, daycare, and the post office.

A 360° class held in 2022 recently had two papers published in the peer-reviewed journal Museum & Society, a rare case of an entire class of undergraduate students having their research published. The 15 students in Minerals, Museums & Western Colonialism were coauthors on the papers with Associate Professor of Geology Selby Hearth; Curator/Academic Liaison for Art and Artifacts Carrie Robbins, M.A. ’08, Ph.D. ’13; and Collections Manager Marianne Weldon. The papers examine how mineral cataloging practices erase the environmental and human cost of mineral extraction, and how they could be revised to instead center and preserve those stories.

Read more at mawr.life/360papers