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Men
The Jeffs finished a respectable fifth out of 10 over the weekend at the NESCAC Fall Qualifier against the league’s stiffest competition.
It was another 1-1 Saturday for the Lady Jeffs, but, as was the case last weekend, the win came when it counted most. This time, the Jeffs defeated NESCAC rival Hamilton in impressive fashion before falling to a talented New Paltz squad.
The victory pulled the Jeffs back up to an even 2-2 in conference play.
On the road in Clinton, N.Y., the Lady Jeffs took on the Continentals, who came into the match at 6-7, in the first of two contests on Saturday, Sept. 29.
When I first heard, sometime last November, that Major League Baseball would be going to a 10-team playoff format for the 2012 season, I wasn’t happy. There they go, I thought, making a mockery of the only game with any remaining semblance of tradition. I guess that’s how the hardcore purists must have felt back in the late 60s when — gasp — baseball began holding the League Championship Series instead of going straight to the World Series. Still, my inner cynic went wild at this patently scandalous move by the league office, and I swore I was finally done with baseball for good.
If ever there were a time when a 1-1 weekend could come as a blessing for the Firedogs, that time is now. Although Coach Sue Everden’s squad dropped a disappointing home contest to Skidmore, they salvaged the weekend by winning their first NESCAC game against Trinity.
The Amherst team played host to the Bantams on Friday, Sept. 21, entering the matchup at 0-2 in league play. Meanwhile, Trinity had already beaten Tufts, who themselves had already topped the Jeffs by a 3-1 score. Undaunted, however, the Lady Jeffs jumped out to an early lead, taking the first set, 25-21.
The Lady Jeffs’ season had started promisingly, but, unfortunately, that has changed quickly after the Amherst squad dropped two league contests over the weekend of Sept. 14-15.
Both Bowdoin and Tufts proved to be too much for the Jeffs to handle, and in each case, the final score was 3-1 in the opponent’s favor.
The Lady Jeffs started their season off right with three consecutive 3-0 victories as they prepare to enter NESCAC play.
Saturday, Sept. 8, saw the Lady Jeffs record wins over the Univ. of St. Joseph and Mt. Holyoke, extending their winning streak in season-opening matches to nine.
Playing at Mt. Holyoke, the Amherst squad cruised to wins in both matches, sweeping all six sets on the day and never allowing more than 17 points in a single set. Against St. Joseph, the Jeffs surrendered only 22 total points, dropping the Blue Jays to 1-5 on the season.
The women’s volleyball team, or Firedogs as they like to be called, are hoping to build on a 2011 campaign that saw them finish 20-7 and grind their way to the No. 5 seed in the NESCAC tournament.
The highlight of the regular season was undoubtedly their come-from-behind victory over Williams, in which Amherst prevailed, 3-2, after trailing by a 2-0 score.
In the quarterfinal round of the conference championship, the Amherst women fell to Trinity, 3-1, despite a strong effort from stalwart Cristy Meier ’12.
