Men’s basketball made its fourth straight appearance in the NESCAC championship this past Sunday, but was unable to secure its fourth consecutive NESCAC championship after a nail-biting overtime loss to Wesleyan. However, even though Amherst’s loss meant that Wesleyan earned the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, Amherst will be making its fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance due to the team’s strong work during the 2014-2015 regular season and 2015 NESCAC tournament.
This past Saturday, Amherst squared off against Bowdoin in the semifinals of the NESCAC tournament. Despite three Jeffs scoring in double figures, the team was not able to come back from a strong run by the Polar Bears in the first half. After the first five minutes of play, Bowdoin gained momentum as they took the lead for good.
The Polar Bears went into the half with a 43-22 lead, outshooting the Jeffs 53.1 percent to 30.8 percent from inside and 80 percent to 10 percent from downtown.
The men’s ice hockey team had a convincing victory over Middlebury this past weekend as the Jeffs defeated the Panthers in the NESCAC quarterfinals. The win ensured the Jeffs a spot in the upcoming NESCAC semifinals, which are to be held at Orr Rink against the eight seed, Tufts. The Jumbos eliminated top-seeded Trinity in a thrilling upset during their quarterfinal match.
The women’s ice hockey team capped off a long regular season this weekend with a win and a loss against Bowdoin. Their win on Saturday, 4-3 and loss on Sunday, 3-2, left the Jeffs with a 16-4-4 record for the regular season. In addition, the Jeffs remained second in the highly competitive NESCAC with a record of 10-3-3 behind rival Middlebury. Coming into the last weekend of the season, the Jeffs knew they would have to execute their game with few mistakes, as Bowdoin is a talented team.
This past week, boxing fans were delighted to hear the news that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao had finally agreed to terms for a fight in May. This ends the almost six-year period that fans have waited for a fight between two of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of all time. According to Pacquiao and Mayweather, a chance meeting at a Miami Heat game was a key factor in reopening the negotiations. In the past, disputes concerning revenue split and drug testing were the biggest obstacles in the way of one of the most-anticipated fights of the modern era.
The Amherst men’s squash team competed in the MCSA National Team Championships Feb. 20-22. The 24th-ranked Lord Jeffs team competed in the Summers Cup (C Division) hosted by Wesleyan.
The tournament opened on Friday with the Jeffs playing against NESCAC rival No. 17 Middlebury. The purple and white fell to the Panthers 8-1 in their second matchup of the season.
Men
The Amherst College men’s track team traveled to Springfield last Saturday to compete at the 2015 Div. III New England Championships. The Jeffs earned 40 points to finish tied for seventh overall with Bowdoin in the 26-team field.
The highlight of the day for the team was the distance medley relay, in which four Amherst runners continued their strong performances this season. The team of Jesse Fajnzylber ’17, Nathan Showalter ’17, Chris Butko ’18 and Greg Turissini ’15 claimed first place with a time of 10:19.21.
