With several teams hoping to win the Ivy League title this season, here’s what you need to know about fall sports.
A few weeks into the fall athletics season, many Yale teams are gearing up for the start of Ivy League games. Here are the most important things to know for each sport.
FOOTBALL: The football team opened their season with a tough test against Holy Cross No. 13, lost 38–14. Predicted to finish fourth in the Ivy League, Blue and White open conference game against Cornell this weekend. There’s reason to be optimistic, as last year’s pitchers, receivers and front runners all returned with another year of experience under their belts.
Quarterback Nolan Grooms ’24, in particular, is expected to take a step forward.
“[The groom] is really growing, he’s really growing,” said head coach Tony Reno. “The game really slowed down for him.”
On November 19, the team will travel to Boston to try to avenge last season’s loss to Harvard.
GOLF: After a strong season last spring, both the men’s and women’s golf teams are looking to continue their dominant spell. The men’s team won the Ivy League Championships last year with ’25 rookie Ben Carpenter winning the Bulldogs’ third consecutive individual title and men’s head coach Colin Sheehan ’97 earning a second consecutive Ivy Coach of the Year.
Over the summer, second-time female captain Ami Gianchandani ’23 played the USGA Women’s Open Championship and the Women’s Amateur Championship, the latter of which was also played by teammate Kaitlyn Lee ’23. While the women’s team will play away at Princeton this weekend, fans can watch the men’s team host the MacDonald Cup near Yale Golf Course. Both teams played the fall and spring season which was ended by the Ivy League Championships.
FOOTBALL: The women’s squad won three of their first four matches and drew the other. Since then, they have lost all four away games against stiff competition. All of that goes out the window as the Bulldogs open Ivy League play at home against Princeton this Saturday.
After finishing second in the Ivy League last year, the men’s team has continued from its last position. After drawing their first two games, the team had won four games in a row, including a thrilling loss against West Virginia, who were then ranked 23rd in the country. In pre-season media polls, Yale was chosen to finish second at the conference, trailing only Princeton. They have one more tune-up next week at the Duke before starting the conference game.
CROSS-COUNTRY: The Bulldogs have competed in only one race so far this season, falling in the overall score to adversaries Harvard and Princeton. Senior Cade Brown ’23 and Kosana Weir ’23 secured the top 10 positions in the men’s and women’s sides respectively. There are a few events left before postseason play and a few years of talent, this team has the potential to be even more competitive this year.
TENNIS: While the women’s team has yet to compete this season, expectations are high as the team showed great potential last year and is now accepted into the twelfth-ranked recruiting class in the country. On the men’s side, the team competed at the Duke Bonk Invitational last weekend, where Luke Neal ’25 and Theo Dean ’24 advanced to the semifinals. After last year’s 10-12 season, the Bulldogs are hoping that a strong performance is an indication of improvement to come.
FIELD HOckey: With a 4–2 record, first-year head coach Melissa Gonzalez has led the field hockey team to their best start since 2010. Ellie Barlow ’25 has scored a clutch two game-winning goal, and the team looks poised to take a step forward from a record 9 -8 years ago. The team opened up the Ivy League game when they traveled to Providence to face Brown on Friday.
SAILING: The Bulldogs won the Women’s National Team Championship and Open Team Championship last year, in addition to the Fowle Trophy, which is awarded at the end of the season for the best overall sailing program in the country. Two weekends into the regatta, and it looks like the top-ranked team in the country is on the way to continue their dominant ways. Despite last year’s College Sailor of the Year Shawn Harvey ’22 graduating in the spring, his strong first-year class has picked up the slack, securing several first-place finishes.
Correction: Previously this article stated that Shawn Harvey ’22 did not win the 2022 College Sailor of the Year. In fact, he won the award.
Hamera Shabbir contributed reporting.
ANDREW CRAMER
