PFL Weekly

The two highest goal scorers for the top-ranked Middlebury women's lacrosse team join PFL Weekly! They discuss their partnership in attack, the NCAA tournament, and future plans.

This week, all three men’s tennis senior captains –– Aidan Harris ’23.5, Andrew Mueller ‘23.5, and Robby Ward ‘23.5 –– join the PFL crew in the studio. Prior to winning the NCAA regional tournament at John Hopkins, men’s tennis retained its title as NESCAC champions, which it has held since 2019. The captains share their insights on building a championship-caliber team, highlights from a recent team trip to Guatemala, and their upcoming journey to Orlando for the final rounds of the NCAA tournament.

Men’s golf senior, Hogan Beazley ’23, tied for first at NESCAC championships to help the team hoist its 10th NESCAC championship plaque. Beazley, who has lived in Weybridge for the past nine years, shares more on his decision to go to Middlebury College, his golf development over the past four years, and what it means to bring home the championship in Coach Beaney’s last season at the helm. Curious to hear Beazley’s favorite hole on the Ralph Myhre course? Check out this week’s episode to find out!

Baseball senior captain, Alex Price ‘23, just broke the Middlebury career strikeout record (178) during last weekend’s series against Williams. This week, PFL interviews Price about his introduction to America’s favorite pastime, the intricacies of being a pitcher and his preparation ahead of the postseason. Price is a force to be reckoned with on the mound and as Marco discovers, also on Stat of the Week. What do you think is his favorite pitch to throw on a 3-2 count? Check out this week’s episode to find out!

Women’s golf captain, Katie Murphy ’23, shot two under par in her last round this past weekend to help Middlebury set two new team records. This week, PFL interviews Murphy about her journey to Midd, interesting preseason workouts and rituals, and her current half marathon training. How much does Murphy know about setting records? Tune in to find out!

Attacker Russell Thorndike ’25 leads men’s lacrosse in points as the team climbs into the top five nationally. This week, PFL interviews Thorndike about his journey to Midd, what has driven the team’s success, and what he participates in at Middlebury outside of lacrosse. Thorndike gets put to the test with some lacrosse team trivia and Marco drops another one of his famous guarantees. This one’s a must-listen!

Women’s tennis standout, Nathalie van der Reis ’25, joins the show! Going from an injury that sidelined her last spring to being undefeated since September, Nathalie has charted a stunning comeback. How has she done it? Nathalie also describes her early tennis years and deciding on Middlebury. Is teammate Amanda Frank ’23 to thank? Finally, check out this week’s episode to hear Marco’s new variation of his stat of the week.

PFL weekly returns from spring break with a bang! Drew Petzing ‘09, the recently appointed offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals, comes on the show to share his journey from Middlebury to the NFL. Tune in to hear about Drew’s favorite dining hall, the Middlebury memorabilia in his office, and his reaction to getting the job offer.

On our last episode before spring break, women’s alpine skier Sofia Yubero ’22.5 joins the show. The conversation takes an interesting spin to bungee jumping?! Women’s tennis highlights why the NESCAC is the most dominant conference in the country and Marco knocks on wood after Blaise gives a daring statement about men’s lacrosse. Captain presents this week’s Panther All-Star, and it features a former walk-on who is now stealing headlines. Finally, you won’t want to miss the women’s lacrosse game on Thursday before heading out for spring break!

This week, PFL spotlights the men's basketball NESCAC Player of the Year, Alex Sobel '23. A first-year Panther headed to NCAAs for the pentathlon? You won’t want to miss this week’s trivia! After hitting his Marco guarantee last week, Marco drops maybe his boldest one yet in this episode. Eli sends us all the way to Alabama for his Panther of the Week and Captain gets us ready for an NCAA women's hockey game this Wednesday.

After last week's snow, it's only fitting that we kick off with some Nordic skiing trivia. Ciara Dale '24 runs us through her two championship wins at New Englands, while Marco gives us the scoop on Men's Basketball's road to the NCAA tournament. Last week's Panther All-Star, Riley Griffis '24, talks about his three Middlebury records and qualifying for nationals. To round out the episode, Eli's Panther All-Star puts the student in "student-athlete" and Captain gives us the rundown on what teams to look out for in the coming weeks.

A new season of PFL Weekly kicks off with Alexa Mustafaj's take on eclipsing 1,000 career points in a Middlebury jersey. Do we have World-class athletes at Middlebury? Absolutely. After an almost undefeated squash season, Maya Bardorf talks about preparation and the mental game of squash. Eli gives us our Panther of the Week and Captain lets us know what teams are still making a deep post-season run. Tune in to see what team has a historic win on the horizon.

The PFL team welcomes Shea Brams '26 of the Middlebury Nordic Ski team to the pod this week! As a first year, Brams has led the women's team, with multiple podium finishes at the Bates and St. Mike's Carnivals. Shea talks all about her experience as a collegiate skier and why she's proud to be a Panther. The Track and Field Team hosted the Middlebury Invitational, where Marco Motroni beat his own 60m school record, Cady Barns broke her own triple jump record, and Emily Rubio set a new pentathlon record! Men's Basketball beat #4 Keene State and #6 Williams back-to-back to improve to 15-2 overall. Women's hockey swept Bowdoin over the weekend, again buoyed by Britt Nawrocki's offensive production. Men's hockey pulled off a huge upset against #4 Norwich and went on to pick up a huge NESCAC win vs. Bowdoin. Give it a listen!

The PFL Crew is back! After a holiday break, your favorite cohosts are back in the studio to bring you all things Middlebury College Athletics. The winter sports teams have been competing at a very high level: Cady Barns '23 and Marco Motroni '25 broke the 60 meter school record for the Women's and Men's Track and Field Teams. Women's Hockey beat a tough #9 Colby team twice over the weekend after being propelled by Britt Nawrocki '26's offensive heroics. Men's basketball continues to stack wins behind their strong core of Sobel, Stevens, and Osher. Women's basketball remains very competitive in the NESCAC with a very high margin of victory. Its a great day to be a Panther!

Men’s and women’s swimming snag wins at Springfield College, and the PFL hosts check in with sophomore swimmer Cara Fritz for the inside scoop on their season. Guest Hosts Ian Bolton and Nima Khodakhah join the PFL Crew to get you up to date on Midd Athletics. Women’s ice hockey beats UMass Boston to return to their winning ways. Men’s ice hockey takes two tough losses versus Hamilton and Amherst. Men’s and women’s basketball combine for a 6-0 record this past week, with strong offense and stifling defense across the board. The teams now head into a bit of winter break. Tune in!

And we’re back! Panthers for Life Weekly hosts Ben, Sam, Dan, and Cole bring you the highlights from early-season winter NESCACtion. Men’s squash is undefeated, and we caught up with star sophomore Julian Sandoval to hear all about the matches so far, and what to look forward to. Numerous fall athletes earn all-region and all-american honors. Field Hockey takes the natty in a 1-0 overtime contest for their fifth-straight NCAA Champsionship. Ice hockey teams battle through tough early seasons and earn gritty wins. Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving start the season 1-1, while Ryan Greguski impresses with consistency on the diving board. Men’s Basketball is hot sitting at 5-1. Next week, Panthers take on their last opponents of the 2022 calendar year. Tune in, y’all!

Field Hockey is headed to the NCAA Final Four after cruising past MIT and Trinity in NCAA tournament play; Bob Ritter ends his career as head football coach in a shootout against Tufts; Men’s and Women’s Cross Country competed in gritty regional races, with Alec Gironda and the men’s team punching their ticket to nationals; Men’s Soccer loses their NCAA tournament match; Women's Soccer and Volleyball are rewarded with numerous All-NESCAC selections; winter nears with season openers for Swim, Ice Hockey, and men's basketball coming up. It's a great day to be a Panther!

Tough games, fierce competitions, and sweet sweet victory. This past week has been all about NESCAC tourneys and the start of ice cold Panther winter practices. Men’s soccer concedes a hard-fought NESCAC semifinal in overtime vs. the Amherst College Mammoths but earns an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Volleyball ends their season in the quarterfinals vs. #3-seeded Williams. Football takes another win against Hamilton, currently sitting at 7-1 with one game remaining. Field Hockey wins the NESCAC and sets their sights on defending their NCAA national championship. The PFL crew also welcomes Cady Barns '23, who talks about the women's track and field team's quest to defend their NESCAC title.

This week, Dave Filias '25 chats with the PFL team about Football's back-and-forth, comeback win vs. Colby on Saturday. Dave talks about what it was like to fight in the trenches in such a close game, as well as how Colby's offensive line prepared for him specifically with double-teams and trap plays. Ben provides a recap on the Crew teams' performance at the Head of the Charles Regatta. As this weekend was the start of the NESCAC tournament for soccer and field hockey, men's soccer and field hockey both picked up important wins against Hamilton. Women's soccer lost to Trinity, but still remain in contention for an NCAA tournament bid. Men's and Women's Cross country had strong performances at the NESCAC Championships at Hamilton, with the men finishing 3rd and the women 8th. Volleyball wrapped up its regular season and now looks to the volleyball NESCAC tournament. It's a great day to be a Panther!

Link to Butch Varno's in memoriam article: https://athletics.middlebury.edu/news/2022/10/20/general-middlebury-mourns-the-loss-of-butch-varno.aspx The PFL Team is joined by Emily Stone '25, a starting defender for the Field Hockey team; Emily talks about the team's response to their loss against Trinity, how they're preparing for the NESCAC and NCAA tournaments, and how upperclassmen lead the team; Football handled a late Bates comeback in an important road win; Volleyball placed second at the New England Challenge; Women's Soccer tied a strong Tufts side; Men's Tennis had an excellent showing at the Dartmouth Invitational; and much more!