Bobcats of the week of Nov. 7, 2011
Gilbert Brown ’15 (football) and Mira Carey-Hatch ’14 (women’s cross country)
Gilbert Brown '15
It was anything but good news on one of the very first plays of Bates’ football game against Bowdoin on Saturday, when one of its top defensive players, senior outside linebacker Cam Evans (Norwell, Mass.), went down with an injury. But into the void stepped first-year linebacker Gilbert Brown (Gloucester, Mass.), who wasted no time in becoming the surprise hero of Bates’ stellar defensive performance, as the Polar Bears’ offense was held scoreless in a 24-2 rout.
Brown sacked Bowdoin quarterback Mac Caputi for a seven-yard loss on the Polar Bears’ fifth play from scrimmage, effectively stalling out their first drive of the game. Two possessions later in the first quarter, Brown threw Bowdoin’s Pat Noone for a 1-yard loss.
A yearlong special-teams contributor, Brown finished the game with six tackles, including four for a loss and both of the Bobcats’ quarterback sacks, to go along with an interception. And even with Evans out of the game early, the Bobcats were able to hold Bowdoin to zero points, 168 yards of offense and just 10 first downs in the game.
Mira Carey-Hatch '14
Bates sophomore Mira Carey-Hatch (Laconia, N.H.) led the only women’s team that competed last week in a Bobcat uniform, the women’s cross country team, as the Bobcats finished seventh among 40 competing teams at the ECAC Cross Country Championships, hosted by Williams College. It is the Bobcats’ best team showing at the meet since placing fifth in 2008.
Carey-Hatch finished in 31st place out of 276 runners overall, covering the 6-kilometer course at Mt. Greylock High School in 24:30. Sophomore Devin Tatro (Haverhill, Mass.) came in 39th (24:43), while junior Lisa Reedich (Harvard, Mass.), junior Amanda Solch (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) and first-year Erica Gagnon (Weymouth, Mass.) were 55th, 57th 72nd in 25:02, 25:03 and 25:27, respectively. Sophomore Merrill Brady (Concord, Mass.) came in 91st.
Though most teams’ top runners sat out the meet, NESCAC squads still dominated the field, including the top seven team showings. With 254 points, Bates trailed sixth-place Wesleyan by 38, while finishing 23 points ahead of eighth-place Springfield.
Bates, currently ranked ninth in New England, competes next Saturday at the NCAA New England Regionals, taking place at Bowdoin. The women’s championship race begins at 11am, followed by the men’s race at noon.