The Amherst men’s track and field team traveled northwest to Williamstown to face off against stiff competition for the NESCAC championships. The day opened with a brisk wind and party sunny and cloudy conditions that kept up for the remainder of the day. The Jeffs book-ended the day with two particularly stellar performances, opening and closing the day with two second-place finishes in the 10K and 4x800 meters.
The Amherst women’s tennis team took on Middlebury last Saturday. Going into the weekend, the Jeffs stood at second in the NESCAC, with the Panthers closely behind in third.
Nationally, Amherst held the No. 3 rank with Middlebury at No. 8. Amherst traveled up to Middlebury’s Proctor Tennis Courts for this NESCAC showdown and after a nail-biter of a match, came home with a loss.
In the first round of NESCAC playoffs seventh-seeded Amherst lost to second-seeded Middlebury 9-8 in Vermont on Saturday. The winning goal for the Panthers came at the end of a four-goal streak that culminated in an unassisted finish 22 minutes into the second half. “Despite the loss, our game on Saturday was one of our best performances of the season,” coach Christine Paradis said.
On April 13, Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester tried unsuccessfully to pick a Cincinnati runner off first base. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal. But Lester had not attempted a pickoff in almost two years, a span that included 66 starts for the lefty. His last pickoff attempt, on April 30, 2013, came directly before he gave up a home run.
Though the weather was volatile at the NESCAC track and field championships, going from cold and windy to warm and still, the Amherst women’s track team had a definitively sunny meet with many great performances across the board. The Jeffs grabbed a fifth-place finish as a team, their highest finish since the 2008 team finished fourth. The meet was the first championship meet of the season, starting a five-week stretch during which various championship meets take place each weekend.
The Amherst College women’s golf team placed sixth overall in the 10-team field competing at the Jack Leaman Invitational this past weekend. Amherst served as the host team for the contest as play was held at the Hickory Ridge Golf Club.
Ithaca College took first place overall on the weekend finishing with a 324 team score. NESCAC opponents Middlebury and Williams tied for second place both coming in at 325. New York University finished in fourth at 330 strokes while Five College foe Mount Holyoke rounded out the top five totaling 332.
The Amherst College baseball team maintained its perfect record in the NESCAC, sweeping Middlebury in a three-game series this weekend in addition to wins over non-conference opponents Framingham State and Castleton. The Jeffs have now won 12 of their last 13 games and their overall record stands at 18-7 (9-0 NESCAC).