As another year of championship celebrations, historic achievements and clutch performances comes to a close, The Herald looks back on 10 of Brown Athletics’ most memorable moments from 2024.
January: Margot Norehad scores “Michigan” goal
Unlike every other entry on this list, this moment developed quicker than a championship won, an accolade earned or even a game decided. It occurred in a matter of mere milliseconds, when first-year Margot Norehad ’27 — with the game tied at 1-1 in the third period — pulled off the extraordinary “Michigan” goal, in which a player slides behind the net, scoops the puck onto their stick and deposits it past the goalie into the net.
Since Mike Legg of the University of Michigan made the move famous in 1996, fewer than 10 NHL players and only one woman before Norehad had executed it on record. The remarkable play earned Norehad the No. 1 spot that day on SportsCenter’s Top 10.
February: Squash claims second-straight club championship
Competing in the club nationals for the second time after being demoted from varsity status, the co-ed squash team earned its second consecutive national championship. The team dominated their opponents, crushing both Boston University and the University of Pennsylvania by finals of 9-0 and beating University of Chicago in the championship 8-1.
As time continues to elapse since their recruitment of varsity players concluded, the team will look to maintain their dominance over the club championships in the coming years.
March: Men’s basketball’s magic run to Ivy Madness
Though they came up one point shy of clinching a March Madness berth, falling to Yale 62-61 on a brutal buzzer-beater, it can be easy to forget just how much earlier the 2024 men’s basketball team’s season could have ended. After opening the season 6-17, the Bears went on an exhilarating six-game win streak to steal the last spot in the Ivy Playoff Tournament. As undeniable underdogs, the Bears rode their late-season momentum to a stunning 90-81 semifinal upset of top-seeded Princeton and held a 60-54 lead over the Bulldogs with just 27 seconds to play in the Ivy Championship before finally running out of magic.
Even as their Cinderella story was ultimately left without a happy ending, the team provided one of the most memorable rides in recent Brown history — and with just one last stop, they could have brought Brown back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 38 years.
April: Women’s rugby repeats as CRC Rugby 7’s Champions
For the second consecutive spring, the women’s rugby team emerged victorious from the Collegiate Rugby Championships. After defeating the University of Minnesota, West Chester University and the United States Naval Academy — outscoring those opponents 102-10 — the Bears rematched in the Championship with the United States Military Academy, earning a defense-dominant 12-5 victory.
With back-to-back national titles under their belt, Brown rugby has cemented itself as the team to beat entering the 2025 Rugby 7s season.
May: BMo caps phenomenal season with fourth National Championship
Proving once again why they’re considered one of the University’s premiere athletic squads, men’s club frisbee team Brownian Motion earned their first championship since 2019. Entering USA Ultimate’s National Tournament as the No. 8 seed, they took down California Polytechnic State University 15-11 in the decisive contest on the day after commencement. Only the University of North Carolina and University of California, Santa Barbara have won more titles than Brown’s four.
Adding to the season’s accolades, Ultiword named Jacques Nissen ’24 the D-I Men’s Frisbee Player of the Year and Brown’s staff Jake Smart, Jonathan Stout and Nate Taylor as D-I Men’s Coaches of the Year.
May: Sailing receives second Fowle Trophy
For only the second time in program history, Brown sailing was awarded the Leonard M. Fowle Memorial Trophy — given by the Intercollegiate Sailing Association to the nation’s best team according to a combination of various race results — for their performance in the 2023-2024 season. The Bears placed in the top five in five out of seven National Championships during the season.
Bruno’s received their only other Fowle Trophy in 1991, when they became the first Ivy League team to win the award since its creation in 1972.
July-August: Brunonians compete, earn medals at Paris Olympics
This summer, a number of former and current Bears made their presence felt at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Alum Emilie Bydwell ’08 coached the U.S. Women’s Rugby Sevens team to a bronze medal, earned in a dramatic victory against Australia. Alums Henry Hollingsworth ’22 and Gus Rodriguez ’22 represented U.S. men’s rowing, with the former Brown captain Hollingsworth helping claim a bronze medal in the men’s eight. Zehra Bilgin ’25 and Amie Barrow ’26 represented Turkey and The Gambia in the 4x200-meter freestyle race and the 100-meter breaststroke, respectively, with Barrow becoming the first woman to represent her nation in the sport.
Meanwhile, skater Vincent Zhou ’25.5 was finally presented with his gold medal after an anti-doping violation retroactively displaced the Russian Olympic Committee from their first-place honors, giving the U.S. the top spot.
September: Football beats Harvard for first time since 2010
It was the failed snap heard ‘round College Hill. Down by five with forty-five seconds remaining, the Bears were staring down the barrel of what seemed an inevitable thirteenth consecutive loss to Harvard when the Crimson fumbled a field goal attempt, allowing Bruno to reverse their recent rivalry history.
When Jake Willcox ’24.5 connected with Mark Mahoney ’24.5 on a 27-yard touchdown pass, the team had sealed a miraculous 31-28 victory. Brown’s stadium was sent into an unforgettable frenzy as fans stormed onto the field, finally leaving fourteen years of frustration in the past.
November: Men’s water polo advances to NWPC Championship Game
Following a strong 2023 campaign, the men’s water polo team this fall advanced to the Northeast Water Polo Conference Championship Game for the first time since 2016.
As the No. 3 seed in the NWPC, the Bears defeated Long Island University 23-13 in the quarterfinals and narrowly overtook Harvard 11-9 in the semifinals before falling to No. 1 Princeton 17-6. Felix Mercado, completing his 16th season as Head Coach, was named Coach of the Tournament.
November: Women’s soccer advances to Ivy Championship Game
The 2024 Brown women’s soccer team embarked on their season with all the weight of the program’s four-year streak of Ivy regular-season titles from 2019-2023 — during which time they were absurdly undefeated in Ivy Play — but without three of the centerpieces of that recent dynasty’s core.
While their reign over the Ivy standings and undefeated streaks both came to a close, the team put together yet another successful season. Bruno earned third place in the conference and defeated Columbia 2-1 in the Ivy semifinals before falling to No. 1 seed Princeton 2-0 to miss out on an NCAA tournament bid.
Linus is a Sports editor from New York City. He is a junior concentrating in English, and when he's out of The Herald office you can find him rooting for the Mets, watching Star Wars or listening to The Beach Boys.
