Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams have gotten off to impressive starts at Bates College, with both teams undefeated through the first three weeks of the season.

The men’s team is off to the best start in program history, winning its first eight games, including tournament titles at Brandeis, UMass Boston and Norwich. The Bobcats have dominated the competition, winning by an average of more than 17 points and leading at halftime in all but one game. The team also started the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin series with a win, defeating Bowdoin in Brunswick, 85-66.

The women’s team is ranked 21st nationally by D3hoops.com. The Bobcats are 6-0, gaining national attention with a 61-37 drubbing of the University of Southern Maine, ranked second nationally, in the third game of the season. Olivia Zurek ’05 (Arlington, Mass.) was named the NESCAC Player of the Week on Dec. 6 and became the 13th member of the 1,000-point club earlier this season.

The men face the University of Maine at Farmington at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gymnasium on Wednesday, while the women host the University of Maine at Presque Isle on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

For the latest sports news, scores and updates, visit the Bates Athletics Web site.

The Bates College men’s cross country team advanced to the 2004 NCAA Division III Championship with a fourth place finish at the New England regional on Saturday afternoon at Twin Brook Recreation Center.

Fifth-ranked Tufts won the meet, placing all five runners in the top 20 to score just 62 points. Williams, ranked 10th, was second with 83 points, while Keene State was third with 112. Bates scored 145 points, edging Wesleyan (189) and 20th-ranked MIT (190) for the final qualifying spot.

Dan Johnson ’06 (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) led the Bobcats, finishing 13th in the 280-runner field with a time of 26:29.5 on the five-mile course. MIT’s Ben Schmeckpeper beat Williams’ Neal Holtshulte by less than two seconds in 25:37.6.

Joel Anderson ’05 (New Brighton, Minn.) and Steve Monsulick ’07 (Kents Hill, Maine) were both less than 25 seconds behind Johnson in 26th and 27th, while Michael Downing ’05 (Gorham, Maine) was 34th. Matt Biggart ’06 (Cheshire, Conn.) was 45th to round out the scoring for the Bobcats, who will return to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 1999.

The national championship meet will be held next Saturday at the Chippewa Valley Convention & Visitor’s Bureauin in Eau Claire, Wis.

For the latest sports news, scores and updates, visit the Bates Athletics Web site.

The Bates College men’s cross country team is ranked ninth nationally among NCAA Division III institutions, and the women’s soccer team made its debut in the national polls on Tuesday, ranking 21st.

The men’s cross country team has won three meets this season, including the State of Maine championship last weekend. The Bobcats’ lone finish outside of first came at the Open New England Championships, where Bates was 12th overall and fourth among D-III schools. The Bobcats have been ranked nationally all season, with this week’s ranking the highest in the tenure of head coach Al Fereshetian, in his ninth season at Bates.

The women’s soccer team is ranked third in New England, moving up from sixth last week. The Bobcats, now 8-2-1 overall, 3-2-1 NESCAC, posted a 6-0 win over Skidmore and a 4-0 win over Wesleyan last week. With three games remaining in the regular season, Bates sits in fourth in the NESCAC standings.

The men’s soccer team is also regionally ranked, sitting in ninth place in the New England polls. The Bobcats, who tied Wesleyan 1-1 on Saturday, are 7-2-1, 2-2-1 and are in sixth place in the conference standings with four games remaining.

Both soccer teams play a pair of road games this week, facing Trinity on Wednesday and Middlebury on Saturday. The men’s cross country team has this weekend off, but will compete for the NESCAC title next weekend at Colby.

Visit the Bates Athletics Web site for the latest information on Bates varsity sports.