After advancing to the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA Tournament, the Amherst men’s basketball team hit the practice courts with a vengeance over the summer and fall in order to further improve on the impressive accomplishments of the 2010-11 squad.
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The swimming and diving teams are coming an very impressive season. The men’s team posted a perfect 8-0 dual meet record and placed second in the NESCAC finals with a program-high score of 1,614.5, while the women’s team was the NESCAC runner-up for the sixth time in the past 10 years. The women placed ninth in the NCAA finals, which was their ninth consecutive top-10 finish, and the men came in sixth for their fourth consecutive top-10 finish.
Men
The Lord Jeffs are coming off a 14-9 campaign, which is the best program record since 1977, that saw them finish 19th in the national rankings. They took home third place in the 2011 Summers Cup at the end of last season as part of the C Division, but they aim to return to the B Division this season, which means they will need to earn a rank between ninth and 16th nationally. If they succeed, the Jeffs will play in the Hoehn Cup in February, where they will hope to re-establish their place among the country’s elite programs.
The women’s ice hockey team, who posted a 19-6-2 (13-2-1 NESCAC) record last year, will look to a core of returning players and some fresh new faces as they work their way through a demanding schedule, including facing the top five teams in the current national Div. III poll.
After a grueling preseason of intense lifting workouts and breakneck skating drills, the men’s ice hockey team is looking to improve on last year’s 12-9-4 record and challenge for the NESCAC title this winter. The Jeffs start their campaign with a home tilt against Hamilton on Friday night.
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Men
This season marks head coach Erik Nedeau’s 15th year at the helm of the program, and this year will be the first time he is exclusively the head of the men’s team.
The Jeffs placed sixth at the NCAA championships last year with 18 points, which are both program bests. The men also had a strong showing at the ECAC championships, placing fourth of 53 teams.
The field hockey team ended its impressive postseason run on Sunday when they lost to Middlebury 1-0 at Skidmore in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
After earning their at-large NCAA bid last Sunday night, the Jeffs hosted Gwynedd-Mercy College on Wednesday and delt them a decisive 7-0 shutout. Sarah McCarrick ’12, Katie McMahon ’13 and Madeline Tank ’15 each contributed a pair of goals, with Krista Zsitvay ’14 rounding out the Jeff’s offense with the seventh.
