Bryn Mawr College hosts a variety of athletic teams, ranging from field hockey to swimming to badminton. However, it lacks one sport that people expect might be present at a historically women’s college (HWC): softball.
The most common stereotype about HWCs is that the student populations, for the most part, identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. A simple Google search for “gayest colleges in America” generates multiple lists that characterize Bryn Mawr as such. Softball’s history as an exclusively women’s sport has spurred similar stereotypes that classify softball players as gay.
Bryn Mawr, despite lacking an official softball team, does have a club softball team. The club was founded by senior Sarah Chapman during the spring semester of 2022 and registered as a club sport before the spring of 2023.
Co-captain of Bryn Mawr’s club softball team, Sena Kaper-Dale, Bryn Mawr ’25, echoes sentiments of surprise at Bryn Mawr’s softball deficit, saying, “I definitely expected that Bryn Mawr would have a softball team, considering that it is an HWC, and that nearly every other team in the [Centennial] Conference does have a team.”
Indeed, Haverford College established their official softball team in 1996 with the construction of a varsity field after several years of club softball. Christina Fink, Athletic Director at Bryn Mawr, simply states, “We do not have the space to have a softball field.”
However, Bryn Mawr’s lack of space for the construction of new athletic facilities has not stopped track and field from conducting practices. Bryn Mawr does not have a track, but makes use of the Johnson Track and Throwing Facility at Haverford during the winter and spring track and field seasons. The Bi-College Consortium supports the communal use of programs and facilities, including classes, dining halls, and libraries. This raises a question—why couldn’t a Bryn Mawr softball team use Haverford’s field?
Haverford sophomore and softball player Adelaide Sapirstein imagines sharing the team’s space, explaining, “We already share facilities with so many people…maybe some people would be annoyed about that, but personally, I wouldn’t care. I think it’d be fun to have another team using our stuff as long as we’re not kicked out.”
Sapirstein mentions that a softball team at Bryn Mawr could foster a friendly rivalry, as exists among other Haverford and Bryn Mawr teams, including soccer, basketball and field hockey. She even suggests holding scrimmages between Haverford’s softball team and Bryn Mawr’s club team as a form of informal and diverting practice.
Unfortunately, the creation of an official Bryn Mawr softball team does not seem to be imminent; Fink says that she does not foresee the establishment of a team “in the near future.” Luckily, any Bryn Mawr students wishing to begin or continue their softball careers can join BMC Club Softball this spring!
