Hamilton College Athletics, on the rise of late, looks to take further strides under the tutelage of new coaches for two women’s teams — volleyball and field hockey. The 2017 season will see Melissa “Missy” Mariano at the helm of the field hockey team and Kristin Baker heading the coaching staff for volleyball.

Mariano inherited a strong field hockey team that went 12–5 overall last year and tied for second (with Middlebury and Trinity) in the NESCAC regular season standings for the 2016 season. Mariano is a NESCAC alumna herself: she participated in varsity field hockey, varsity golf and varsity alpine skiing while at Middlebury College from 2000 to 2004. As a varsity field hockey player, she took her team to the NESCAC finals in 2003 as their captain and led the Panthers to an incredible 19–1 record. She only acquired more accolades from there. Mariano became assistant coach of the field hockey team at William Smith College immediately after graduation. In the four years in which Mariano assistant coached, the team won four league titles.

Mariano continued her upward trajectory by heading the Division III field hockey program at Franklin & Marshall College in 2008. In her first season as head coach for Franklin & Marshall, the Diplomats struggled, posting only a 0.353 win percentage. By just her fourth season, the field hockey team had an 18–4 record, and the team’s win percentage did not drop below 0.750 for the next six seasons, a trend that the Diplomats surely hope to continue. In her nine seasons at F&M, the team won the Centennial Conference regular season title five times, won the conference title in 2012 and won 33 all-conference honors, in addition to a plethora of other accolades.

Defensewoman Anna Scutt ’19 expressed the team’s enthusiasm for the new coach, saying “Coach Mariano is an awesome addition to our program. She has a lot of experience and has had a lot of success in the past, so I know we are all really excited to see what she can bring to the team.” The Hamilton program looks to capitalize on their momentum and recent playoff appearance. Scutt emphasized the importance of this particular season, describing how “Last season was a huge turning point for our team. Luckily, we have a lot of returners, so we are looking forward to building upon the success we had last year and having a strong presence in the NESCAC this year.” Mariano’s proven success both on and off the field is sure to help the rising Continentals as they establish their dominance in the conference.

Kristin Baker, another New York native, joins the Continentals’ volleyball program this season, leaving her post at Colgate University. The former Division I assistant coach takes the helm of the struggling, but improving, Hamilton team. The Continentals finished 3–7 in the NESCAC in 2016, an improvement over a 1–9 2015 mark. Last season, the Continentals had a 10–10 overall record, and look to break 0.500 for the first time since 2014 (15–12 overall). Baker was the team captain at SUNY University at Albany from 2003 to 2006, during which time she went to two Division I championships with the team. After graduation, Baker coached youth volleyball until 2008.

In 2008, Baker joined Colgate University as their assistant coach, where her husband, Ryan Baker, is the head coach. In her eight years at Colgate, Baker helped the Raiders achieve an impressive Patriot League record of 86–34. Seven of those seasons saw Colgate make appearances in the league championships, and in four of those, the Raiders made it to the league finals. The 2012 season was particularly impressive, as the Raiders won the league and thus the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA championship. As Baker moves to the head coach position at Hamilton College, her fellow assistant coach at Colgate University, Derryk Williams, will move with her, staying on as assistant coach to the Continentals’ team. The combined experience of Baker and Williams will hopefully prove to be the spark that will vault the volleyball team to a winning record.

Field hockey’s first home game with Mariano as coach will be Wednesday, Sep. 6 at 7:00p.m. on Goodfriend Field. Baker’s first home game with the Hamilton volleyball team will be Friday, Sep. 15 at 8:00p.m. in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.