Belén Yudess ’25
Copy Editor Intern
On Oct. 11 Scripps President Amy Marcus-Newhall, Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty and Professor of Biology Jennifer Armstrong, and Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Dr. Sha Bradley attended the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) women’s soccer game against Occidental College. Publicized as Scripps Night at Athenas Soccer, Scripps students were able to rally together to support their peers while entering a raffle to win Scripps or CMS merch at the match.
The Athenas emerged triumphantly that night with a score of 3-0. During the game, Laura Ovenell ’24 earned the title of SCIAC player of the week following her first career goal. The game also featured impressive performances from Emma Fogg ’25 and Ivy Doran ’26.
This inaugural Scripps Night at CMS was initiated by Marcus-Newhall, Armstrong, and Bradley due to their communal devotion to athletics as well as Marcus-Newhall’s history with both of the colleges on the field. “As a former Occidental College tennis player, I appreciated the opportunity to see CMS in action against my alma mater,” Marcus-Newhall said. “Although my loyalties were slightly torn, I was thrilled that the Athenas emerged victorious.”
Defensive player Ivy Doran ’26 appreciated the promotion of the match and the presence of Scripps fans. “The Scripps support night was super cool because a lot of what we do for soccer is on CMC’s campus and it was nice for all the Scrippsies to be recognized by fans and the Scripps administration,” she said.
The CMS women’s soccer team has a four win, four loss, and one tie record in the SCIAC conference thus far, with wins against the University of La Verne on two occasions, Occidental College, and Caltech. Although off to a rocky start, the Athenas have turned their season around with a series of victories in league play, a testament to the team’s resilience and spirit.
Doran noted that her teammates’ encouraging and vibrant natures are what makes being a part of the team such an important part of her college experience. “My time on the Athenas soccer team has been amazing so far,” she said. “I absolutely love my teammates and being able to connect with people from all three schools,” she said. “Our team is made up of some of the kindest and most hard-working people I know, making me feel so supported in my first two years here.”
This night was just one snapshot of the extraordinary performance and camaraderie of Scripps student athletes, which President Marcus-Newhall aims to bring to light through these events. “Their experiences working together as a team greatly contribute to the classroom and to the overall vibrancy of our community,” she said. “They demonstrate the importance of productive collaboration and the value of achieving goals through teamwork, illustrating that it is possible to accomplish more as a group than as individuals.”
The Athenas CMS teams have already seen a successful start to the 2023-24 athletic year, with women’s volleyball and cross country garnering much recognition in the past couple of weeks. The volleyball team is on the road to Nationals with an undefeated record in the SCIAC, and the cross country team is expected to repeat a SCIAC championship after going into the season 12th in the nation.
Doran is optimistic about the remainder of her season and is proud of the team’s ongoing growth. “I think the whole team is excited for our next two games as we are playing two teams we lost to earlier in the season,” she said. “We know we can win and we have been putting in the work. We have grown and improved so much this season and we have high hopes for the postseason!”
The Scripps administration is also enthusiastic about the several women’s CMS matches lined up for the year, and they encourage students to attend these events in order to cheer on their fellow Scrippsies. “We had a lot of fun at the game, and we look forward to cheering on the CMS Athenas across various sports and events throughout the academic year,” Marcus-Newhall said in a joint statement with Armstrong and Bradley.
On Dec. 6, Marcus-Newhall will continue her attendance at CMS games as a guest coach for the Athenas basketball team alongside Associate Dean of Racial Equity and Professor of Chemistry Mary-Hatcher Skeers.
Image Source: Belén Yudess ‘25
