Football
Jake Loomis
He/him
Campus Correspondent
The UConn football team came into the 2024 season with the goal of being respected and that’s just what they did. Following a challenging season the year before where they went 3-9, the team responded under Head Coach Jim Mora by going 9-4 and securing a bowl victory. The bowl victory also marked a monumental win as the Huskies defeated the prominent Atlantic Coast Conference team, University of North Carolina, at Fenway Park. The Huskies were led by stars Skyler Bell and Cam Edwards, who will both be back for another year. The defense was also spectacular all season as they continuously kept the team in games and making keep stops, such as the one they made on the goal line to seal a 29-20 win over Temple in the final seconds of the contest. The team defied expectations and set themselves up for a strong start next season.
Field Hockey
Tyler Pruneau
He/Him
Campus Correspondent
The UConn women’s field hockey team started the 2024 season unranked but quickly proved themselves. Overall, the program ended the year owning a dominating 17-4 record, winning the Big East Championship as the No. 1 seed and punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. However, the postseason was cut short after the Massachusetts Minutemen defeated the Huskies in the first round of the playoffs. Regardless of the loss, Juul Sauer and Sol Simone made Third Team All-American, while Head Coach Paul Caddy, Associate Head Coach Sarah Mansfield-Lahi and Assistant Coach Chrissy Davidson Arisco won Coaching Staff of the Year. Additionally, Sauer, Simone and Juana Garcia earned First Team All-Region Mideast, while Natalie McKenna, Sophie Perschk and Milaw Clause secured Second Team. With that being said, Connecticut showcased a spectacular campaign, giving fans a promising future.
Men’s Soccer
Bridget Bronsdon
She/her/hers
Sports Editor
The men’s soccer squad posted a strong run, finishing 8-4-6 overall and 3-2-3 in the conference. The group opened the season with a 10-game streak of seven wins and three ties, but growing pains struck in early October. The team endured back-to-back losses to Vermont and Georgetown and only produced two wins out of nine games in the last six weeks of the season. The Huskies ultimately ended the season with a 0-2 loss to Providence in the Big East Quarterfinal. Despite struggling to find momentum in the latter half of the season, there were several bright spots for the Huskies. Senior Scott Testori earned Big East Second Team while Kieran Chandler, Max Kerkvliet and Sabri Hanni earned Big East Third Team. Testori led the team with four goals and four assists. In the net, Kerkvliet posted a save percentage of 0.814%
Women’s Soccer
Brayden Gorski
He/him/his
Staff Writer
For the first time since 2016, the Huskies punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament. After a thrilling run in the Big East Tournament, including an overtime win over Xavier in the championship game, the Huskies defeated Rutgers 2-1 in the NCAA tournament. Days later, the Huskies’ season ended with a 1-2 loss to Stanford. Earning awards for their outstanding play include Chioma Okafor, who was named an All-American on the United Coaches Third Team, First Team All-Big East, First Team All-East Region and Most Outstanding Player in the Big East Tournament. Anaya Johnson and Lucy Cappadona both earned Second Team All-Big East and Third Team All-East Region. Captain Abbey Jones rounded out the awards with a Third Team All-Big East nod. Head Coach Margaret Rodriguez and her staff won Coaching Staff of the East Region after the team’s groundbreaking 14-win season.
Cross Country
Jake McCreven
He/Him/His
Staff Writer
Catalyzed by conference champion and Regional Athlete of the Year Chloe Thomas, the UConn women’s cross-country team placed fourth out of 11 teams in the Big East this season. Thomas led all runners by rewriting the program’s history in her senior season, but massive contributions also came from Jenna Zydanowicz, Carolina Towle, Chloe Trudel and Malin Rahm in the Huskies’ historic 2024 campaign. Thomas was awarded the NCAA Division I Northeast Regional Female Athlete of the Year award after winning the Northeast Regional meet and placing ninth overall at the NCAA DI Cross Country Championships, earning All-American honors in the process.
Winter
Men’s Basketball
Sam Calhoun
he/him/his
Staff Writer
There was history on the line for the 2024-25 UConn men’s basketball team. With Dan Hurley back as head coach after flirting with the Los Angeles Lakers last June, along with Alex Karaban back to lead the team, the Huskies were a popular pick for a potential threepeat — something that has not been done since John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins. The best way to describe the 2024-25 season is a roller coaster. The highs include beating Baylor, Texas and Gonzaga in the nonconference slate of the schedule, and Hurley telling the Creighton fans how many rings he has after star freshman Liam McNeeley dropped 38 points in Omaha, Neb. The team was close to a third-consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearance but fell two points short of eventual national champion Florida in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Women’s Basketball
Avery Becker
She/Her
Associate Sports Editor
This year’s campaign for Geno Auriemma’s squad was a “Paige” out of the history books. In Paige Bueckers’ final season as a Husky, the program notched their 12th National Championship in Tampa, Florida. beating Dawn Staley and the former champions, the South Carolina Gamecocks, 82-59. Bueckers had a stellar final year, hitting the 2,000-point threshold and maintaining the fourth spot on the all-time scoring list with 2,375. In addition to her accolades, Auriemma became the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history, Azzi Fudd won the Final Four’s most outstanding player award and Sarah Strong was named the Big East freshman of the year after a breakout season. The Huskies will see the same roster next year, except for Bueckers, Aubrey Griffin and Kaitlyn Chen, who were drafted into the WNBA, and Qadence Samuels, who entered the transfer portal. UConn welcomes Kelis Fisher, Gandy Malou-Mamel and Blanca Quinonez to the for their incoming freshmen class and former Wisconsin forward Serah Williams out of the transfer portal.
Men’s Hockey
Ava Inesta
Staff Writer
203-767-4970
ava.inesta@uconn.edu
The UConn men’s hockey team had a season to remember after reaching new heights and accomplishments that the program has never seen before. From winning its first-ever CT Ice Tournament to reaching the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance, the Ice Bus did it all in the 2024-25 season. UConn was led by their captains Hudson Schandor and John Spetz, and they finished the season with a 23-12-4 overall record, having the most wins in program history. UConn was unstoppable at the net all season after finishing top 10 in the country in goals scored in addition to leading the nation in short-handed goals with nine. Joey Muldowney had an All-American, star-studded season for the Huskies, breaking records across multiple offensive statistics. The Ice Bus earned their first ever bid to the NCAA Frozen Four Tournament in the Allentown Region and defeated Quinnipiac in the first round for their first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
Women’s Hockey
Nicole Caruso
She/Her
Campus Correspondent
The UConn women’s hockey team had a stellar season, making it all the way to the Hockey East Semifinals. UConn defeated Merrimack in the Hockey East Quarterfinals, but the No. 1 seeded Huskies fell to Northeastern University with a final score of 3-1. Despite this, UConn set many milestones. They secured their second straight Hockey East regular season title under leaders like Tia Chan and Riley Grimley. Head Coach Chris Mackenzie was awarded Hockey East Coach of the Year, coaching five of his players to Hockey East All Star honors. Claire Murdoch was awarded Hockey East Rookie of the Year while Chan was awarded Goaltender of the Year. The Huskies finished the season with a 22-12-2 overall record and a 19-6-2 conference record.
Swim and Dive
Colette Doyle
she/her
Campus Correspondent
The UConn swim and dive team came off a dominant season with a 7-2-1 overall record and a 2-1 record in the Big East. The team dominated in the season opener beating Sacred Heart and Southern Connecticut State in front of a sold-out crowd. They finished strong in the Big East Championship coming in second out of seven teams just behind Villanova. Multiple swimmers earned the title of Big East Champion in their respected events: senior Maggie Donlevy in the 100-backstroke, sophomore Kate Cooper in the 3-meter dive, freshman Sydney Perkins in the 200-breaststrokes and junior Olivia Denery in the 1-meter dive. School records were broken in the 400-free relay, 200-breakstroke, 100-freestyle, 400-medley relay, 100-breaststroke, 200-freestyle relay, 200-medley relay, 100-backstroke and 400-individual medley.
Spring
Baseball
Tyler Lato
He/him
Staff Writer
After losing five games in a row to kick off the 2025 campaign, the UConn baseball team, led by Head Coach Jim Penders, is now one of college baseball’s hottest programs. Having defeated some of the nation’s best, the team currently holds a 30-18 record (14-4 in the Big East) and looks poised to make a run to Omaha in June. Sophomore infielder Tyler Minick has become a household name in the college baseball world, slashing .369/.452/.756 while leading the Big East with a whopping 18 home runs. Other key contributors in the Huskies’ lineup include the “Connecticut Kids” — Ryan Daniels, Caleb Shpur and Beau Root — as well as redshirt freshman Rob Rispoli and junior Aidan Dougherty. If their bats continue to stay hot and the pitching staff keeps delivering, the Hook C certainly has all the pieces in place for postseason success.
Softball
Patrick Minnerly
He/him/his
Campus Correspondent
The UConn softball team had an excellent spring 2025 season, ending up second in the Big East conference with a 32-17 overall record and an 18-6 in-conference record. The Huskies started out the season shakily as they found their identity as a team, but soon began racking up victories, culminating in a nine-game winning streak from April 11 to 27. Their top offensive player was junior catcher Grace Jenkins, who hit 18 home runs with 63 runs batted in and had a .418 batting average. The pitching staff was anchored by graduate student Payton Kinney, who boasted a 12-4 record in 22 starts and 30 appearances. With the softball team’s success, there’s more to watch in the playoffs, as the Big East Championship starts May 7.
Golf
Bridget Bronsdon
She/her/hers
Sports Editor
The 2024-2025 men’s golf campaign was fueled by dominant, well-rounded performances, but the season isn’t quite over for sophomore Alex Heard. His standout regular season was capped off with an -11 finish to earn the Big East Championship title. The performance also clinched Heard a spot in the NCAA Regional on May 12 to14. Though Heard’s season isn’t quite over, he and his teammates consistently delivered high-preforming results throughout the regular season. Out of UConn’s 12 regular season contests, the Huskies finished in the top three in nine matches. The team’s second place finish out of 17 teams at the Golfweek/Stifel Spring Challenge was a highlight performance of the season. The Huskies were led by junior Connor Goode, who finished fourth, and senior Vikram Konanki, who tied for eighth. The Huskies capped off the Big East Championship tying Villanova for fourth place and with a championship title for Heard.
Track and Field
Avery Becker
She/Her/Hers
Associate Sports Editor
With the Big East tournament on the horizon for the UConn track and field team on May 15, it’s time to reflect on their ascendant outdoor campaign. Most recently at the Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania, the squad had multiple podium and first-place finishes. Runners Jessica Starr and Sarah Trainor each set personal bests in their respective events — the 400-meter hurdles and the 5,000-meter steeplechase. In this meet, freshman Griffin Mandirola solidified himself in the No. 5 all-time spot for fastest 300-meter Steeplechase. The squad looks to notch a consecutive Big East Championship and the NCAA tournament.
Women’s Tennis
Bridget Bronsdon
She/her/hers
Sports Editor
The UConn women’s tennis team defined their 2025 season by excellence and execution, finishing 16-5 overall and 9-1 in the Big East. Although the No. 2 seed Huskies ended their season with a 3-4 upset by No. 4 seed Villanova in the Big East semifinal match, strong Husky performances in doubles and singles didn’t go unnoticed. Doubles team Olivia Wright and Maria Constantinou performed like seasoned professionals, winning nine matches together. The program also earned several awards for the dominant results. Wright was named Big East Women’s Player of the Year, Head Coach Glenn Marshall was named Big East Coach of the Year and the UConn staff earned Big East Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year.
Women’s Lacrosse
Thaddeus Sawyer
He/Him
Campus Correspondent
After putting up an 11-6 regular season record, the UConn women’s lacrosse team earned the No. 3 seed in Big East Women’s Lacrosse Championship before falling in a first round match up to Villanova. The Huskies dominated when playing at home this year, finishing with a 7-1 record on the turf of Morrone Stadium. UConn also thrived in Big East play with a 4-2 record, while sophomore Abby Beran won Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Beran anchored a unit that was second in the conference in defensive scoring. The two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Week led the conference with 47 ground balls, while placing second in caused turnovers with 30. Beran, senior defender Riley Daly and redshirt sophomore attacker Rayea Davis all made the All-Big East first team. Attacker Jenna Giardina, defender Meghan Lane and goalkeeper Tori Cini, all graduate students, made the conference second team.