Following their victories against Williams and Trinity this past week, Amherst men’s basketball stands at 15-1 (5-0 NESCAC) and appears primed for another deep run in postseason play. No. 3-ranked Amherst currently sports an eight-game winning streak.
Most recently, Amherst defeated the Trinity Bantams (who entered play with an 11-5 record and a 3-1 NESCAC record) 67-61 in Hartford on Saturday. Senior guard David Kalema led the way with 18 points, and tied the game high in scoring with Trinity guard Jaquann Starks.
The Amherst track teams began their season in earnest in the last couple weeks, with meets at Tufts, Wesleyan, and Boston University. The women’s team’s stellar performance at the Terrier Invitational in Boston was particularly impressive, as three different athletes set school records.
The Jeffs had one meet before Winter Break at Smith College on December 7th. The majority of the team’s cross-country runners did not compete, according to Coach Erik Nedeau, who said that the meet was “primarily for our jumpers and sprinters.”
Over the month of December, the Amherst women’s basketball team posted five out-of-conference wins, each game by a margin of victory of at least 10 points. The Jeffs took on Eastern Connecticut State, Albertus Magnus, Bridgewater State, Vassar and Marywood. Megan Robertson ’15 continued to have stellar performances during each game, contributing heavily to points and rebounds for the Jeffs. Other notable performances over the course of December included Marley Giddins ’16, Cheyenne Pritchard ’16 and rookie twins, Meredith Doswell ’17 and Ali Doswell ’17.
The Amherst women’s hockey team has had a demanding and successful string of games over the past month, compiling an impressive record of 9-3-3 overall and 5-1-2 in the NESCAC.
Just before break, the No. 9 Jeffs took on No. 4 Norwich Univ. and lost a heartbreaker 4-3 after conceding a goal with just 1:47 left in regulation.
“It was our fourth game in nine days, all against top ten teams… I believe it could have gone either way, and despite the tough 4-3 loss, our squad will be better for it in the long run,” Coach Matthews noted.
The men’s ice hockey team kept themselves busy over break, taking down Middlebury on Dec. 6, before falling in a tough 1-0 loss to archrival Williams at home the following day.
Following the new year, the Jeffs returned to action at the Northfield Savings Bank Holiday Tournament in Norwich, VT. They managed to split their two games, with a 4-3 win over Plymouth State, and a 5-1 loss to Norwich University.
Men
The Amherst Men’s Swimming and Diving Team notched two more victories at Colby College and then at Wesleyan to improve to 3-0 on the season.
On Saturday, Nov. 23, the meet at Colby started off with a pleasant surprise in the 200-yard medley relay as Amherst’s “E” team won the event with a time of 1:38.47.
Amherst took the next three places as well, foreshadowing a great performance by the Purple and White.
The next two events, the 1000-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle, were both won by Amherst in dominating fashion.
The Amherst women’s ice hockey team has looked strong throughout the first couple weeks of the season with a record to 3-0-1 in the NESCAC and 3-1-2 overall.
Adding to the NESCAC standings were two games against little-three rival, Wesleyan Univ. In their first match-up 3-2, the Jeffs garnished their 20th straight win over the Cardinals, who have not beaten the Jeffs since the 2003 season.
