Wesleyan Cardinals Gear Up for NESCAC Playoff Action, A Recap of Wins & Losses Going Into Postseason

As February comes to a close, various teams on campus are preparing for the NESCAC playoffs. There’s so much to cover, but a barrage of Argus writers are here to prepare you for all the postseason action coming up this weekend.

Men’s Basketball

This past Saturday, the Red and Black matched up with #8 Conn. College in the NESCAC quarterfinals. The Camels came to play and kept it tight throughout the first half, as the teams traded buckets and ended the first with the Cards up 43–42. In the second half, the Cards put a stop to the bucket-for-bucket pace and were able to play more to their defensive strengths, stifling the Camel attack and extending possessions on the offensive glass for second-chance points (six by Ben Lyttle ’27 alone). The Cards closed out the game 87–78, punching their ticket to the semifinals.

This Saturday at 2 p.m., Wes takes on Bates in Silloway Gymnasium for a chance to play in the finals. The sidewalks are clear, and the sun’s shining, so no excuses, Red and Black faithful: let’s show the Bobcats what home court advantage really means.

Women’s Ice Hockey

The Cards head up north this weekend to face the Williams College Ephs. Entering the tournament as the #6 seed in the NESCAC tournament after missing the tournament last year, the Cards look to make history with a playoff victory. Starting the season 0–5, it was looking rocky, but the new year proved to be a new start for the Red and Black as they soared to an 8–8 record in the second half of their season. 

Led by Dylan Green ’26 (9G, 11A), Parker Caldara ’29 (9G, 4A), Caroline Humber ’29 (6G, 10A), Lilly Place ’29 (3G, 9A), and Aimée Seppenwolde ’26 (4G, 6A) the Cards look to win their first ever play-off game and advance to the NESCAC semifinals for the first time in team history. 

The Cards are coming off a decisive 3–1 victory against in-state rival Trinity on Senior Night at home, seeing goals from Green, Seppenwolde, and Beats Tura ’27. The Cards look to carry this energy as they head into the weekend. 

The Ephs enter the weekend on a 2-game win streak after beating Bowdoin College in Williamstown, Mass., last weekend. Overall, they boast a 16–3–5 record and a 9–3–4 NESCAC record, and this is their 17th consecutive NESCAC tournament appearance. After their season ending at the hands of Middlebury in the NESCAC quarterfinals last year, the Ephs look to avenge themselves and advance to the second weekend of NESCAC playoffs. 

The Ephs are a familiar opponent for the Cards, already having met three times this season. The Cards won the first game 2–0 in an overtime shootout on Nov. 29, 2025. But, the Ephs took the next two in a 1–4, 2–6 weekend sweep on Jan. 9–10. The puck will drop at 3 p.m. in Williamstown as both teams fight to keep their season alive.

Men’s Ice Hockey

Wesleyan Men’s Hockey is back in the playoffs for the first time in three years. The Red and Black wrapped up the regular season, splitting a home and away with Trinity, to finish 8–10 in conference and 9–15 overall. Earning the 5th seed, the Cards are heading up north for a showdown with the Middlebury Panthers at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28. The two teams split the season series, with each team winning by multiple goals on its home ice. Road games have plagued the squad this year, as they have won only two of their 12 away from Middletown. For a program that has had some struggle in the last few years, winning a road playoff game against the most successful Division III program could be the program’s biggest wins in recent memory. 

Wrestling

Wesleyan Wrestling is set to compete in the NCAA Region I Championships from Feb. 28 through March 1 in New London on the campus of Coast Guard Academy. The Cards are 5–3 on the season. Hayden Myers ’27 leads the way, boasting an 18–1 record and ranked 4th nationally. It remains to be seen, however, if the 141-pounder will wrestle this weekend, as he has battled injury throughout the season. Chris Hong ’27 and Ike Guttentag ’26 have also been fantastic, with 19–4 and 17–3 records, respectively. If any of the Cards advance to the D-III National Championship, it will take place in two weeks in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Men’s Swimming 

Competing in the 2026 Men’s NESCAC Championship, from Thursday, Feb. 19, to Sunday, Feb. 22, the Wesleyan Men’s Swimming and Diving team finished 11th with a total of 223 team points. 

Tomas Gonzalez ’27 was the star of the show, qualifying for the consolation final in the men’s 200-yard butterfly on Sunday morning with a time of 1:50.34. In the evening, he set a new school record there with a time of 1:49.23, breaking the previous record from 2017. Placing first in the consolation final, he placed ninth overall, as well as having an NCAA B cut time.

Daniel Isman ’26 completed the men’s 400-yard IM with a time of 4:09.90 and the preconsolation final of the men’s 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:06.40. Isman closed out his Wesleyan career with a time of 4:10.52 in the men’s 400-yard IM, placing 23rd overall, and finished the men’s 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:07.76, placing 24th. 

A freshman highlight of the tournament was Jeremiah Tomioka ’29, who demonstrated good performances in both the 1000 and 1650 men’s freestyle. He finished the 1000 free with a time of 9:43.72, placing 16th out of 30 swimmers. Tomioka also finished the 1650 free with a time of 16:24.18, placing 16th out of 34 swimmers.

The Cards earned 10th place out of 22 teams in the men’s 800-yard freestyle relay with a team of Ben White ’29, Gonzalez, Chan, and Tomioka, finishing with a time of 6:57.80.

Women’s Swimming

With a pre-championship home record of 4–1 and an away record of 0–4, the Cards headed to the Webster Family Natatorium for the NESCAC Championships from Thursday, Feb. 12 to Sunday, Feb. 15. 

In the 800-yard free relay, the team led by James LaCroix ’27, Mia Dezelic ’27, Charlotte Fishman ’29, and Zoe Kuhn ’26 placed sixth with a time of 7:37.07, which was roughly 20 seconds faster than the seed time.

Friday morning was celebrated with Sarah Bohacek ’26 in the 50-yard breaststroke, breaking the school record that has stood since 2019 with a time of 29.46. In the finals, Bohacek clocked in at 29.47 seconds, placing seventh overall. That evening, a second school record was broken during the 200-yard free relay finals by a team of Anne Conway ’26, Kuhn, Fishman, and LaCroix for a time of 1:35.61, finishing in seventh place.

During the 50-yard butterfly preliminary on Friday, Conway proceeded to break a third school record dating back to 2019. She later placed 12th in the consolation finals with a time of 25.62 seconds.

Friday night was also highlighted by Jacqueline Constantine ’28 and Dezelic qualifying for the 50-yard backstroke consolation finals. Constantine finished with 26.55 seconds and Dezelic with 26.70 seconds, placing 11th and 13th, respectively. 

In the 1-meter dive, Ella Hall ’28 qualified for the championship final with a preliminary score of 376.65. Hall scored 363.55 in the finals, becoming the first Cardinal diver to place eighth since 2019.

The Cards continued the great performance on Saturday. In the morning, Bohacek qualified for her second championship finals this year, and later placed sixth with 1:04.86 in the 100-yard breaststroke.

The air was electric that evening, with Dezelic, Bohacek, Conway, and Kuhn placing fifth and clocking in at 1:43.56 in the 200-yard medley finals for an NCAA B cut time. In the 200-yard freestyle, LaCroix and Fishman placed 14th with 1:54.64 and 17th with 1:54.72, respectively.

Closing Sunday evening, Dezelic, LaCroix, Conway, and Kuhn finished in sixth place with 3:29.67 in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Bohacek marked the fourth school record that weekend, breaking a record that had stood since 2016, finishing at 59.46 in the 100-yard IM.

The Cards showed an unmatched spirit as they broke four school records, made numerous personal bests, and finished in eighth place with a total of 596 team points, the best NESCAC championship record since 2020.

Track and Field

Both men’s and women’s track and field achieved high performances throughout the winter season. 

On the women’s side, Sydni Chandler ’29 has been dominant in the 60m hurdles, breaking the program record six times over the course of the season. She first got the record on Dec. 6 at the Wesleyan Winter Invite, and most recently ran a 9.23 at the Triangle Classic on Feb. 20–21, breaking her own record by another eight hundredths of a second. 

More highlights from last weekend for the Red and Black include four different podium finishes in long-distance races. Mia Vientos ’28 crossed the line in second place in the 1000m, Jane Kakalec ’26 finished third in the 800m, Audrey Leff ’29 placed third in the mile-long race, and Nadia Lim ’26 completed the 3000m race in third as well. 

The men’s team has dominated throughout the season, giving them significant momentum heading into the regional championships this upcoming weekend. At Middlebury’s New England Small College Invite on Feb. 1, Rami Hayes-Messinger ’26 broke an 11-year program record in the indoor weight throw at 16.98m. 

After 17 top-10 finished at the Tufts Quad Meet on Feb. 7, the 4×400 relay team erased a 27-year-old record, as Reese Connors ’29, Jack Park ’29, Steve Paul ’28, and Alex Hofmann ’29 ran a 3:22.61 Valentine Invitational on Feb. 13. Last weekend at the Triangle Invitational, August Doetsch ’29 won the 600m race, and Bruce Lenes ’26 and Ben McKinney ’27 finished first and third respectively in the 800m. 

Both the men and women compete this upcoming weekend at the New England D-III Championships in Boston, Mass., where athletes will look to qualify for the Indoor Nationals taking place over Spring Break. 

Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.

Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.

Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.

Leila Feldman can be reached at lfeldman01@wesleyan.edu.

Grace Lee can be reached at glee01@wesleyan.edu.