This January, the Amherst men’s ice hockey team caught fire, posting seven impressive wins over both conference and non-conference rivals. Following a rare stretch of losses to NESCAC opponents before the break, the purple and white went on a revenge tour that saw 33 goals for and just 10 goals against.
The Amherst women’s basketball team had a perfect six-week stretch over interterm. The team showed off their dominating offense, beating all of their opponents by at least 15 points, and bringing the team’s record to an impressive 17-0.
The women played their last official game of the first semester on Dec. 13, capping off the first half of the season with a strong win against Bridgewater State. Ali Doswell ’17 led the team with a game-high of 16 points. It was a great overall team effort, with 30 of the team’s points coming from bench players. The final score was 71-45.
While the rest of campus was on break, the Amherst men’s swimming and diving team was busy training and competing. Over interterm, the team competed in three meets and traveled to Puerto Rico for a week-long training trip.
Amherst’s fourth dual meet of the 2016-2017 season took place on Dec. 31, against Union College. Amherst defeated Union, 157-83, continuing the team’s undefeated start to the season. The team was propelled to victory by claiming nine first place finishes and the top-three finishes in three events.
Following the investigation of the Amherst men’s cross country team that began in early Dec. 2016, the team has been placed on “athletics probation” for four semesters, until the fall of 2018.
On Dec. 11, the student-run commentary publication, The Indicator, reported on emails that were exchanged between members of the Amherst men’s cross country team containing material that was derogatory to people of color, women, and many other groups.
The Amherst women’s ice hockey team had a great start to the new year. The women played eight games over interterm, compiling a record of 6-1-1, winning the last five straight games.
On New Year’s Day, the purple and white pulled out a strong 8-0 victory in a game at the University of Southern Maine. Anne Malloy ’20 scored first for Amherst, recording her first collegiate goal. Further contributing to Amherst’s impressive margin was sophomore forward Alex Toupal ’19, completing a hat trick for her third, fourth and fifth goals of the season.
After a lengthy fall of workouts, the Amherst men’s track and field team opened its season at the Smith Winter Classic. With nearly all of the cross country and longer distance athletes just getting back into training after a long and competitive cross county season, only a portion of the track and field team competed at the meet. For nearly all of the track and field athletes who don’t compete in cross country, it was their first time running in competition since the 2015-2016 season. And for the first-years, it was their first time competing in the Amherst uniform.
After an extremely successful start to the season, the Amherst men’s ice hockey team suffered two minor setbacks against NESCAC opponents. Despite notching two emotional wins over top 10 teams last week, the purple and white could not overcome Wesleyan and Trinity.
On Friday, Dec. 2, the purple and white were shutout for the first time this season against Wesleyan, 3-0. James Kline opened the scoring for the Cardinals with a goal on a six vs. four power-play in the second period.
