Photo by Frank Poulin

On a Friday evening in late August as the sun went down, Blue Field Hockey did something extraordinary: They played the first night home game in the history of Wellesley athletics. (They also happened to trounce their visiting opponents, 3-0, but that wasn’t that unusual.) What was new were the lights in the newly named Butler Stadium, and the world-class turf they were playing on, and the track that circled the field. Nearby were also sparkling venues for pole vault, shot put, javelin, and discus throwing.

The renovations, completed this summer, were done thanks to Alice Lehman Butler ’53 and her husband, John; Suzanne Sandman Pasko ’90, P ’23, and her husband, Chris (a Wellesley trustee); and the Martore family, classes of ’73 and ’10.

“This is a surface as good as any in the world,” says field hockey co-captain Hannah Maisano ’20, calling the new facilities “a jewel that will be a great recruiting tool that will bring the best student-athletes to Wellesley.”

Co-captain Clare Doyle ’20 points out that the ability to hold practices at night has “drastically improved our academic flexibility.” Previously, if athletes had late afternoon seminars or labs, they’d either come to practice late or miss it entirely. “I am so grateful for these continued efforts to support and improve our Wellesley experience, both as students and as athletes.”