WOMEN
When the collegiate golf spring season kicks off on March 23, the Amherst women’s golf team will take the course as defending NESCAC Champions for the second consecutive season.
The program has developed into a perennial national contender under the guidance of head coach Michelle Morgan, having won 11 tournaments in the past three years. Once again, this team is deep with talent and will likely contend for another NESCAC Championship.
Last Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs visited the Los Angeles Clippers in a meeting of Western Conference frontrunners. It was, by all accounts, your typical NBA game. At least, it looked that way for 47 minutes and 50 seconds.
But, oh. How a game can change.
Looking to cap their undefeated season in style, Amherst’s football team (7-0) travelled to Williamstown on Saturday to take on their archrivals. Touted as the “Biggest Little Game in America,” the matchup would have had all the intensity of a playoff game even without the added stakes. A Lord Jeff victory would give Amherst the NESCAC Championship and perfect season, so the Ephs could not have been happier to get the chance to play spoiler.
With NESCAC title hopes on the line, the football team hosted Trinity on Saturday in one of the most anticipated matchups in the rivalry’s history. Both teams came into the contest with undefeated records, sitting at 6-0, and with only two games left in the season, the victor was guaranteed a share of the NESCAC crown. For the Jeffs, it would mean a chance to earn only their second-ever outright title, while the Bantams, quite accustomed to regular-season success, were looking for their fifth title in the past decade.
With two impressive weeks of golf, the women’s golf team put the finishing touches on what has been a remarkably successful fall season. The Lady Jeffs earned third place out of eleven teams at the Williams Fall Classic two weeks ago and followed up that performance by placing second in the year-end event, the Wellesley Invitational, this past weekend.
Last weekend, the men’s golf team traveled to Wesleyan to compete in the NESCAC Championship Qualifier tournament.
The Jeffs were looking to build on their success last year when they placed third, earning a spot in the spring NESCAC Championship for the first time in team history.
The Jeffs started out the weekend quite strong, putting themselves in great position to qualify for the spring championship.
Their opening-day 301 was the third-lowest score, giving the Jeffs a two-shot lead over Middlebury and a three-shot cushion over Hamilton and Colby.
The men’s tennis team opened their fall season at the USTA/ITA New England Regional Tournament last weekend. Hosted by Williams, Regionals is the major tournament of the fall season — a unique experience for players, in that they compete only individually rather than as a team. Adding to the intrigue of the weekend, the tournament represented the first competitive play for the Jeffs since capturing their first-ever NCAA Championship last season.
