Two big victories over the weekend have left the Amherst women’s swimming and diving team full of confidence heading into the NESCAC Championships. The winning run started Saturday when the Mammoths upended No. 8 Massachusetts Institute of Technology and included a home victory over Springfield College on Sunday.
The Amherst women’s track and field team competed this weekend in the Cupid Challenge at Tufts’ Gantcher Center. The Mammoths, competing only for individual accomplishments as no team score totals were counted, put forth a strong showing. Only 25 members of the 45 person roster, however competed in the event, due to a combination of premeditated rest and illness. Amherst did not field competitors in the 5000 meter run, the 4x200-meter relay, or the 4x80-meter relay. Amherst also did not participate in the weight throw or shot put.
In the penultimate weekend of regular season action, the Amherst men’s basketball team split its two away contests, falling to Tufts before besting Bates. The Mammoths, however would also fall to Wesleyan in a Tuesday evening NESCAC battle.
Tufts proved to be a significant challenge for the visiting Mammoths, who saw their four-game win streak come to an end.
On Sunday night, the Philadelphia Eagles toppled the New England Patriots, fending off the reigning champions and grabbing hold of the city’s first Super Bowl championship. Those who feared they would never escape the crippling imprisonment of the Patriots’ dynasty walked away from the Super Bowl like Andy Dufresne emerging from the sewer, arms flung skyward in the falling rain. And Eagles fans kicked off a “celebration” from which the city of Philadelphia may never recover.
Entering the NESCAC Championships, the Amherst men’s squash team knew it faced an uphill battle to contend for the conference title. However, despite this reality, Amherst had managed to secure the fifth-overall seed with wins in three of its four matches leading up to the tournament and was looking to make it to the semifinals for the first time since 2009.
Amherst men’s swim and dive had a full weekend, highlighted by a dominating victory on senior night on Sunday, Feb. 4 at Pratt Pool. To kick off the weekend, however, the Mammoths travelled to No. 4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Saturday, Feb. 3 to compete in a dual meet.
In last week’s sole game action, the Amherst women’s ice hockey team dominated the Plymouth State Panthers, 7-1, at home in Orr Rink. With the non-conference win, the Mammoths’ record stands at 12-5-3 overall and 7-3-2 in the NESCAC.
While Plymouth State’s Shannon Hickey opened the scoring early for the Panthers, Amherst proceeded to explode with seven unanswered tallies.
