The winter sports season at Bowdoin College is coming to a close, but the excitement is ongoing for a pair of teams. Here’s a glimpse:

Basketball

The women’s basketball team is on to the national tournament once again. In the NESCAC tournament, the Polar Bears beat Tufts (65-54), then lost to Colby (75-64) in the semifinals. Regardless, Bowdoin earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III tournament and will host a regional this weekend. The Polar Bears (20-6) will play Baruch at 7 p.m., Friday, right after the University of New England and Western Connecticut square off. The winners meet Saturday at 7 p.m. in the second round. This is Bowdoin’s 10th straight tournament berth.

The men’s squad wasn’t as fortunate. Bowdoin lost, 80-64, to rival Bates in the NESCAC quarterfinals and finished the season 13-12. With 18 points against Bates, senior center Mark Phillips managed to surpass the 1,000 point mark for his career.

Hockey

The men’s hockey team survived an epic NESCAC quarterfinal round game with Colby last weekend, winning 2-1 on Jordan Lalor’s overtime goal. Bowdoin (now 18-5-1) will host Hamilton at 1 p.m., Saturday in one semifinal, while Middlebury and Trinity square off in the other at 4 p.m. The championship game is Sunday at 2 p.m.

The women also play on. Seeded fifth entering the NESCAC tournament, the Polar Bears upset No. 4 Williams, 4-2 in the quarterfinals. Bowdoin is at top-ranked Amherst in its first semifinal since 2007, Saturday at 1 p.m.

Track

The men’s indoor track team was sixth at New Englands. Thompson Ogilvie’s time of 4 minutes 12.34 seconds in the mile was good enough for eighth place individually and reached the NCAA provisional qualifying standard. Colman Hatton posted the best finish in the Division-I loaded field by placing fourth in the 5,000 meter race (14:48.56). Matt Hillard earned a fifth-place showing in the 1000 meters (2:30.27).

The women’s team came in fifth at New Englands. Elsa Millett and Christine Head both bested their own program records while Emily Barr collected her first school mark. Millett posted a time of 58.08 seconds in her 400 meter dash trial to break her own school mark and finished in 10th place overall in the event in 58.87. Her time qualified provisionally for the NCAA championship. Head’s pole vault height of 10 feet-11.75 inches also shattered her own program record and earned her an eighth-place showing overall. Emily Barr broke a record formerly held by Millett when she finished the 200 meter dash in 26.10, clipping Millett’s mark of 26.34 set in 2009.

Nordic skiing

The Bowdoin College Nordic ski team placed 10th of 13 teams at the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association Championship at Middlebury College. Spencer Eusden led the way for Bowdoin with a 13th-place finish in Sunday’s 20K race.

Squash

The men’s squash team improved on their national ranking and finished 14th at the College Squash Association National Tournament. The Polar Bears, ranked 15th entering the tournament, went 1-2 in the Hoehn “B” Division and finish their season with an overall record of 13-11.

On the women’s side, the Polar Bears improved their national ranking by one spot, earning 21st in the nation at the College Squash Association National Tournament’s Walker Cup “C” Division. The Polar Bears went 2-1 overall and finish their year with a record of 8-12.

Swimming

The Bowdoin men’s swimming and diving team shattered eight school records in a strong performance at the NESCAC Championship this weekend. The Polar Bears finished in ninth place overall. Nathan Mecray and Mac Routh led the way with several school records and NESCAC championship winning performances. Mecray set a school and pool record in the 50-yard breaststroke preliminaries, posting a scalding time of 26.15 seconds. He followed it up with a time of 26.46 to claim his first NESCAC title. Mecray also established a school record in the leadoff leg of the 200 free relay with a time of 20.87 seconds. Routh also set a school and facility record in the preliminary session, carding a time of 22.49 seconds in the 50-yard butterfly. He sealed his first NESCAC crown with a time of 22.68 in the finals to claim first place. In addition, his time of 24.40 in the finals of the 50 yard backstroke was also a school record as he took sixth place. He finished fifth in the 100 butterfly as well, breaking the school record in the preliminaries (50.51).

The women placed eighth. Allen Garner led the way for the team by qualifying for three championship finals and earning a trio of relay placements.

Bowdoin’s Mitch Dillon leads a breakaway during Bowdoin’s 2-1 overtime victory over Colby in the NESCAC quarterfinals Saturday.

Bowdoin’s Ryan Blossom wins the puck along the boards during the Polar Bears 2-1 overtime victory over Colby. Bowdoin will host the NESCAC semifinals this weekend.

Bowdoin’s Jeff Fanning gets a shot off on Colby goalie Cody McKinney. Fanning’s shot was pushed wide, but the Polar Bears found a way to win and advance.

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