NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College Department of Athletics held a celebration to honor the national accomplishments of student-athletes and teams on Thursday. 

Among those honored were Claire Sammons '25 of women's ice hockey; Justin Finkel '25, Matthew Morris '26, Carrick Shea '28 and Nicholas Holovacs '28 of men's swimming & diving; Abby Fernald '26, Grace McDonough '26, Alexa Estes '26 and Lilla Kate Tucker '27 of women's track & field; Matt Scardigno '25 and Chris Koskinen '25 of men's track & field; and the members of the men's soccer team. All excelled on a national stage while representing the Camels within the past academic year.

The program opened with a welcome from Director of Athletics Mo White, after which the student-athletes and teams were introduced by their respective coaches. 

Sammons capped a four-year career on the ice with All-NESCAC First Team and NESCAC Player of the Year honors. She became the first player in program history to earn the conference's top honor, as well as the first to earn All-America recognition. She was also named a finalist for the Laura Hurd Award, the highest honor in Division III women's hockey.   

Finkel won a pair of NCAA individual titles in the pool and was a repeat selection as Division III national swimmer of the year. He posted victories in the 500 freestyle and 200 butterfly and also finished third in the 100 fly, earning All-America First Team status in each event. His time in the 200 fly also broke his own national Division III record.

The 400 medley relay team of Finkel, Morris, Shea and Holovacs also garnered All-America First Team status with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA meet. The group broke the school record and earned Conn's best relay finish at nationals since 2014.  

On the track, the squad of Fernald, McDonough, Estes and Tucker finished third in the distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. It marked Conn's best finish in an NCAA relay and the first time in school history that a relay team earned All-America First Team honors. In addition, McDonough finished third and broke the school record in the mile and recorded another All-America First Team nod.

A total of five Camels combined for seven NESCAC individual titles this past year. Both Finkel and McDonough won a pair of conference crowns, the former in the 100 and 200 fly and the latter in the 1500m and 5000m. Estes picked up a win in the 800m while Scardigno and Koskinen took first in the 10,000m and pole vault, respectively. Finkel (200 fly) and Koskinen (pole vault) finished their careers as three-time champions in their events, while McDonough (1500m) and Estes (800m) were repeat winners in theirs. 

The men's soccer team was honored for winning the first NESCAC Championship in program history. After getting past Amherst and Williams to reach the title game for the third time in four years, the Camels captured the first men's team title in school history with a 3-1 win over Middlebury. Conn continued its strong play in the NCAA Championship, advancing to the national title game for the second time in four years and finishing as national runner-up.