2001 Football
Hopes are high for Bates football in 2001 after a series of near-misses in 2000. The Bobcats put together a stretch early in the season in which they dropped three games by a total of eight points. They scored the most points ever by a Bates team over arch-rival Bowdoin in a 44-13 win and produced one of the most heralded post-season teams in school history, placing three players on the All-NESCAC team and another conference Rookie of the Year. Under fourth-year head coach Mark Harriman, the Bates defense will look to return to the 1999 form that ranked it among the top units in the NCAA statistics in three categories, while the offense returns almost all of its significant contributors from 2000.

The offense features All-NESCAC running back Sean Atkins (New York, N.Y.). Atkins finished second in the conference and among the top 40 in Division III in rushing yardage, while finishing in the top 25 nationally in all-purpose yards from scrimmage. After stepping into the starting role midway through the 2000 season, junior quarterback Kane Jankoski (Spencer, Mass.) will call the signals behind a veteran offensive line led by senior John Dubzinski (Leominster, Mass.). The wide receiver corps features Owen Miehe '04 (Glen Rock, N.J.) and John Katsarikas '03 (Quincy, Mass.), in one of the Bobcats' deepest pools at that position in a number of years.
The special teams will look to replace one of the best kickers in school history, two-time All-NESCAC selection Rejean Guerriero (Spofford, N.H.).
The strength of the Bates defense has always been its linebacking corps, and 2001 will be no different. For the third time in five years, a Bobcat was named NESCAC Defensive Rookie of the Year, with sophomore Pat Foley (Newburyport, Mass.) earning the honor in 2000 for his performance stepping in for injured senior captain Bob Rosenthal '01 (Walpole, Mass.), the 1997 winner of that award. Meanwhile, junior Ben Johnson (Lyndonville, Vt.) led the team with 79 tackles. The defensive line loses a two-time All-NESCAC selection in Ryan Gray '01 (Mansfield, Mass.), but captain Jaime Sawler (Stratham, N.H.) also earned All-Conference honors in 1999 and will look to return to the team as a senior after tying for the team lead in sacks. Three four-year starters are lost from the defensive backfield, but junior Pat Boyaggi (Cleveland, Ohio), the fourth starter, and converted receiver Rob Maguire '04 (Wayland, Mass.), will lead that group in 2001.
The Bobcats play their home games on historic Garcelon Field. During the off season, the team is able to use some of the finest indoor facilities in the Northeast. The Davis Fitness Center houses the team's weight training facilities. This 5,200-square-foot facility includes 11 free-weight multi-use stations, along with a complete set of dumbbells, Body Master selectorized machines and a complete Nautilus circuit. Cardiovascular machines are located in Davis as well as in nearby Merrill Gymnasium. Merrill Gymnasium includes a state-of-the-art indoor track facility that doubles as an indoor practice facility. The locker room, inaugurated in 1995, features NFL-style lockers and a sports medicine room that meets each individual's needs.