Gunning for the program’s first NESCAC title in three years, the men’s hockey team surged into the conference semifinals with a dominating 6-0 win over Hamilton last weekend.
The NESCAC-leading Jeffs (21-3-1, 17-1-0 league) — ranked No. 3 in the nation — will face off against Williams at Orr Rink on Saturday afternoon, with a berth to the championship game on the line.
On Sunday afternoon, the Amherst women’s basketball team captured its third consecutive NESCAC Championship with a decisive 65-39 win over Tufts Univ. The Jeffs earned a 66-52 victory over Colby College in the semifinal game on Saturday en route to their fourth title in the past five years.
After a game-winning jumper against Williams and a last-second layup to beat Middlebury to finish the regular season, it was hard to imagine that the Jeffs could sustain the high level of drama in the postseason. But after handily beating Hamilton in the NESCAC quarterfinals, Amherst would need to keep the same composure and execution showcased in their late-season surge to win a pair of games this weekend and earn the conference title that eluded them last year.
The 18th-ranked Lady Jeffs traveled to Harvard Univ. this past weekend, competing in the C Division of Nationals and hoping to capture the Walker Cup. Seeded second in their division, the Jeffs opened up play against Tufts Univ. on Friday, cruising to a 9-0 win. Not dropping a single game against the Jumbos, the women advanced to the semifinals of the competition, meeting third-seeded George Washington Univ. and losing a heartbreaker to the 19th-ranked (overall) Colonials.
Last Friday, the women’s ice hockey team defeated Conn. College 3-0 at Orr Rink in the quarterfinal game of the NESCAC Championship series.
The team improved to 20-4-1 (13-2-1 NESCAC) and moves on to the semifinal round of NESCACs, which will be hosted by Middlebury next weekend.
After a smattering of shots early in the game, it was Ellen Swiontkowski ’12 who broke the scoreless game in the second period. Helped by Emily Flom ’15 and Hayley Opperman ’14, Swiontkowski registered the team’s eventual game winner seven minutes into the frame.
The men’s swim team placed second to Williams in last weekend’s NESCAC championship meet for the second consecutive year. They scored 1,959 points, the highest in program history and 344.5 more points than they did last year. The first-place Ephs scored 2,011 points, winning by the smallest margin in championship history.
The Jeffs won two of nine events on the first day of the meet. Ben McBratney ’12 won the 50-yard breaststroke with a 25.84. He broke the NESCAC, meet, pool and school records with his preliminary-heat time of 25.56.
After earning two of the most thrilling victories in the program’s recent history to close out the regular season last week, the men’s basketball team seemed primed to play their best basketball to open the postseason.
While last year’s team posted an outstanding 25–4 record, they fell twice to both Middlebury and Williams; these conference losses left the Jeffs ready for vengeance this year.
