Sports
Another strong regular season has Belchertown girls tennis primed for postseason
By RYAN AMES
The Belchertown girls tennis team has been a model of consistency since Alanna Grady assumed the head coaching position in 2021. Grady has guided the Orioles to winning records in each of the previous five seasons and this spring’s squad is arguably the best of the bunch.
HS Baseball: Underclassmen-heavy Amherst building for the future
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — It wouldn’t be unreasonable to believe that some coaches in the midst of a difficult losing season begin counting the days until it’s over around this time of year. And players on that team may feel the exact same way.
UMass hockey: Minutemen unveil 2025-26 schedule; open at home against Northern Michigan
By RYAN AMES
The UMass hockey team unveiled its 2025-26 schedule on Wednesday and a unique slate awaits the Minutemen next season.
HS Tennis: PVCICS boys sweeps Belchertown, 5-0 (PHOTOS)
By RYAN AMES
AMHERST – On a beautiful, sunny day at Hampshire College on Thursday, the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School swept Belchertown, 5-0, in boy’s tennis action. The Dragons (8-2) put together a near flawless performance as they shut out the Orioles in the majority of the total games played for their third match victory in a row.
UMass Men’s Basketball: Florida standout joins UMass men’s hoops roster
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — Frank Martin has finalized his roster, and the fourth-year UMass men’s basketball coach went out with a bang for his final commit.
32nd Amherst Ultimate Invitational: Hometown Hurricanes capture Div. 1 girls title
By RYAN AMES
AMHERST – As dark clouds rolled over the fields behind McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Amherst Regional and Four Rivers Charter School girls ultimate varsity teams put on a show during the Girls Division 1 championship at the 2025 Amherst Ultimate Invitational. Tied 8-8 after regulation, both teams traded possessions for at least 20 minutes in sudden-death overtime, before the Hurricanes finally broke through and found the end zone to win 9-8 and punch their ticket to the National Invitational Tournament.
UMass women's lacrosse breezes past St. Joseph’s for Atlantic-10 tournament title
By RYAN AMES
Champions once again.
Hadley’s Beau Elson thriving in first year as Fordham University relief pitcher
By GARRETT COTE
Beau Elson couldn’t feel a thing.
Shawn Durocher beginning first season as Amherst Golf Club head pro
By GARRETT COTE
Shawn Durocher spent her weekend mornings and afternoons wheeling a small gas grill behind the clubhouse at Amherst Golf Club, where she would cook hamburgers and hot dogs for those playing. She was in high school and needed a way to make some money, so Amherst’s head golf professional, Dave Twohig, hired Durocher – an Amherst native – to handle grilling duties.
High school baseball preview 2025: Hopkins Academy optimistic it can continue postseason success
By RYAN AMES
HADLEY – The Hopkins Academy baseball team has hit the field for the 2025 season and head coach Dan Vreeland is cautiously optimistic in this year’s edition of the Golden Hawks.
HS Lacrosse Preview 2025: Defending champ Amherst girls looking to “re-load”
By RYAN AMES
The Amherst girls lacrosse team had the most successful season of head coach Andrew MacDougall’s tenure in 2024. The Hurricanes went 19-3 and won their first ever Western Mass. tournament Class B title in an overtime victory against Belchertown.
High school tennis preview 2025: PVCICS loaded again and ready for another postseason run
By GARRETT COTE
HADLEY — Lee Ferguson didn’t just take Hampshire County and western Massachusetts by storm last spring; try the entire state. Ferguson, now a seventh grader on the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School boys tennis team, wasn’t much taller than the net last year. Just a sixth grader then, he wasn’t as physically developed as his opponents on the court.
UMass Men’s Basketball: Three Minutemen enter transfer portal
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — Well, it didn’t take long for Division 1 men’s basketball players to take advantage of the transfer portal opening on Monday. As of Friday morning, there are already more than 1,000 total D1 men’s players in the portal. Some of them are still playing in the NCAA Tournament right now. Three of them have departed from UMass.
Amherst’s Ryan Leonard makes NHL debut for Washington Capitals in 4-3 win over Bruins in Boston
By RYAN AMES
Amherst native and former Boston College hockey star Ryan Leonard helped the Washington Capitals defeat the lowly Boston Bruins, 4-3, during his NHL debut April 1 at the TD Garden.
Div. 3 Women’s Ice Hockey: Amherst College falls to Wisconsin-River Falls 3-1 in national title game
By RYAN AMES
Bailey Olson’s goal and two assists lifted the Wisconsin-River Falls women’s hockey team past Amherst College, 3-1, in the NCAA Division III national championship game on Sunday afternoon in River Falls, Wisconsin.
NCAA Div. 3 Women’s Ice Hockey: Amherst College defeats Colby, 4-1, heads to Final Four
By RYAN AMES
AMHERST — For the second time in three years, the Amherst College women’s hockey team is Frozen Four bound.
UMass basketball: Mullins Center says goodbye to the Atlantic 10 with final league home game before move to MAC
By GARRETT COTE
AMHERST — When the final buzzer sounded to signal the end of the UMass men’s basketball team’s regular season, which ended in a 74-51 loss to Loyola Chicago on Saturday afternoon at Mullins Center, the arena’s staff immediately began tearing up the floorboards of Jack Leaman Court to get ready for the Minutemen’s hockey game at 7:30 p.m.
“Instilling an expectation of success:” How Greg Carvel became UMass hockey program’s all time winningest coach
By RYAN AMES
‘Winning’ and ‘UMass hockey’ were like oil and water before Greg Carvel arrived in Amherst.
Amherst’s 4x400-meter relay team captures title at 37th annual New England Interscholastic Indoor Track & Field Championships
By GARRETT COTE
BOSTON — The Amherst Regional girls 4x400-meter relay team will go down in history as one of the best units western Massachusetts has ever seen.
Boys basketball: Granby pulls off rally for the ages, stuns Drury in OT to capture PVIAC Class C title (PHOTOS)
By GARRETT COTE
WESTFIELD — It will go down as the greatest comeback in Granby boys basketball program history.
