Pod: vs. St. Joseph’s, Babson vs. Bridgewater State

Prognosis: The undefeated and defending national champion Lord Jeffs enter the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year as the favorites. Their path will likely be one of the easiest of any top seed, as they probably will not have to leave Amherst for the first four rounds of play, and the other high seeds in their region of the bracket are a group with gaudy records but lean resumes. Their potential second-round opponent, No. 13 Babson, is 25-2, but outside of an early season win against a Tufts side still getting its feet on the ground, they have looked poor against top teams, including a 61-39 drubbing at the hands of Williams. No. 15 Juniata similarly played a weak schedule, and is reeling after losing their conference championship game to Catholic, while No. 8 William Patterson could only split a season series with Kean, a team the Lord Jeffs dispatched by 23.

It is hard to find a weakness with this Amherst squad. They can get points outside with NESCAC Player of the Year Caroline Stedman or inside with senior classmate Lem Atanga McCormick. NESCAC Rookie of the Year Megan Robertson and junior guard Marcia Voigt provide depth off the bench. The team is as strong defensively as it is offensively, allowing them to compensate for any type of off-shooting night they may have. It may not have seemed it when the season began, but this could be one of coach G.P. Gromacki’s strongest teams yet.

If Everything Goes Right: Amherst cruises through the first two weekends without breaking a sweat, leaving them well rested for the Final Four. After putting away a couple of good teams in Michigan, the Lord Jeffs walk away with their second consecutive National Championship.

If Everything Goes Wrong: McCormick retweaks her injury on the opening weekend and can’t give significant minutes the rest of the way. Rhode Island College comes to town for the Elite Eight and senior forward Rachel Riley goes after Robertson, taking advantage of her inexperience and getting her into foul trouble. Amherst is forced to reach deep into their post depths and gets dominated inside the rest of the way, while RIC’s defense is able to keep Amherst from exploding. It all combine for a monumental upset

Bowdoin

Pod: vs. Southern Maine, Elms at Ithaca

Prognosis: Bowdoin has been one of the most interesting teams in the NESCAC all season. They began the season ranked 14th nationally, and proved their worth early by beating up on a strong University of New England side. But then they dropped two straight, and had lost three games before even starting their conference slate. They then proceeded to lose to Bates, and everything looked to be in shambles.

But the Polar Bears recovered, and with a strong run to a 7-3 NESCAC record earned an at-large bid. Their first round matchup is intriguing; a rematch with a Huskies side that has already beaten them once this season, 63-49 on Nov. 29. In that game, Bowdoin was outrebounded 42-34 and shot just 3-of-24 from beyond the arc.

The Polar Bears are a guard heavy team, but rely largely on NESCAC first-teamer Jill Henrikson for offense. In the team’s first meeting, Southern Maine let her have hers while the teams’ other two primary scoring contributors – senior Amy Hackett and junior Caitlin Donahoe – to just 12 combined points. Henrikson is a star, but can’t do it all by herself.

For Bowdoin to make waves, they will also need to tighten up in the post, which is tough for a team that plays four guards. The Huskies’ Courtney Cochran took advantage of that to the tune of eight point and 18 rebounds in the team’s first meeting. Colby’s Jil Vaughn has had similar luck against them in the two games the Maine rivals split, averaging 16.5 points and 13.0 boards.

The talent is definitely there for Bowdoin, but how fourth year coach Adrienne Shibles harnesses it will determine how far this team can go in March.

If Everything Goes Right: Bowdoin learns from its first matchup with the Huskies and breaks down their staunch defense while crashing the defensive boards hard and follow a similar formula to pull the upset on Ithaca. But even then, a Sweet 16 matchup with No. 3 George Fox, led by 6-foot-5 junior Hannah Munger, would likely be too much.

If Everything Goes Wrong: Their second matchup with Southern Maine is identical to their first, and they go out in the first round.

Tufts

Pod: vs. Misericordia, University of New England vs. Johns Hopkins

Prognosis: For the first time in school history, Tufts will host an NCAA tournament game on campus. In 1995, two years after the NESCAC lifted a ban on NCAA tournament play by its member institutions, the Jumbos’ men’s basketball team reached the Big Dance, but the Cousens Gym court specifications fell short of the national standards. With a renovated gym and armed with one of the nation’s top scoring defenses, NESCAC Coach of the Year Carla Berube and her balanced squad will most Misericordia in the first round.

The 17-10 Cougars enter as the Freedom Conference champions, defeating King’s 64-54 last Saturday. They’re led by senior Christine Marks, a finalist for the Jostens Trophy who’s averaging a double-double with 19.0 points and a conference-leading 10.4 boards per game.  Marks also tops the conference in free-throw percentage, shooting 84.2 percent from the line. The highly decorated 6-1 forward may pose problems for the undersized Jumbos, who lack a true post presence.

But for what Tufts lacks in the paint, it makes up in spades in a deep roster sporting nine players with at least 5.4 points per game. Leading the way is Kate Barnosky, a second-team all-NESCAC selection, with 9.1 points per game, and Tiffany Kornegay, the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year and only one of two players in the conference to rank in the top 10 in steals and rebounds per game (2.6 and 8.7, respectively).

This is Misericordia’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which could hurt the Cougars on the road. Tufts, meanwhile, made it in three straight seasons from 2008-10, but missed out last year. Still, with Kornegay and Barnosky providing a solid veteran presence, the Jumbos, fresh off a second-half spanking at the hands of Amherst in the NESCAC final, are poised to make a run.

What could hinder them, however, is their 3-point shooting. If Marks clogs the lane and prevents Barnosky and Kornegay from executing their slashing game, then Tufts could be in trouble. The Jumbos are shooting just 29.1 percent as a team after the graduation of All-American gunner Colleen Hart, and has struggled from beyond the arc in all six of their losses. In fact, in those games, they’re shooting 24.8 percent from downtown. For the better part of the season, that’s been masked by the nation’s fourth-best scoring defense.

If Everything Goes Right: Everything clicks, and Tufts rolls through its pod buoyed by a staunch defense, and reaches the Elite Eight after upsetting either No. 12 St. Thomas or No. 21 UW-River Falls.

If Everything Goes Wrong: The Jumbos’ 3-point shooting falters them and Marks torches an undersized Tufts lineup, bouncing the Jumbos on their home floor.

Women’s Basketball | Locked down: top-notch defense carries Jumbos into NCAA tournament (via Tufts Daily)

As Tuesday’s practice wrapped up with some scrimmaging, Berube stood on the sideline, a paper folded hot-dog style in her shorts, hands clasped behind her back. After a particularly lackluster defensive effort from her starters, Berube barked at those wearing black practice jerseys to pick up their defense. It was a verbal energy shot; the starters swarmed post entries and clogged passing lanes. They just needed a little nudge to return to the Jumbos’ way.

Three minutes into a later scrimmage littered with shot clock violations and steals, Berube ordered her players to look at the scoreboard.

It read 0-0.

Men’s Basketball | A legend in the making (via Eagle-Tribune)

AMHERST — All you need to know about the Amherst College men’s basketball program is that it actually has the date (March 17) and place (Salem, Va.) of the Division 3 national championship game on its preseason schedule.

Not even Duke does that.

Well, there is another thing you should probably know, more specifically the man behind the program and its incredible expectations — Andover’s own David Hixon.

Men’s Lacrosse | Lacrosse game to honor slain McDuffee (via Boston Globe)

All-NESCAC Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey

Women’s Basketball | Amherst has sights set on repeat title (via Tufts Daily)

The Amherst women’s basketball team is in the midst of a remarkable run on par with some of the best ever seen in Div. III sports. In the past few years, the Lord Jeffs have not only established themselves as the perennial team to beat in the NESCAC but have also become the top Div. III team in the nation. In defeating Tufts on Sunday, defending national champion Amherst extended its winning streak to 46 games overall and 63 straight at home while clinching their third straight NESCAC championship and further cementing their position as the class of the conference.

Despite the team’s dominance in recent years, the man behind the magic remains hungry as ever. Coach G.P. Gromacki, currently in his fifth season at the helm of the Amherst women’s basketball program, wants to avoid feeling content. Instead, he chooses to focus on building from each victory, treating each game as a steppingstone towards — as he puts it — “something bigger.”

Men’s Basketball | Best season in Wesleyan history ends in NESCAC semis (via Wesleyan Argus)

Basketball | All-NESCAC Teams (via NESCAC)

Men’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball | Mules snubbed from NCAA Tournament (via Morning Sentinel)

WATERVILLE — Most of the Colby women’s basketball team was gathered in the trophy room, just a short walk from the court at Wadsworth Gymnasium.

But what happens when you’re waiting to find out where to go, and it turns out to be nowhere?

That’s what the Mules faced Monday afternoon as they watched the NCAA Division III selection show. The teams were revealed in groups of eight and, when all 64 teams had been listed, Colby — despite a 19-7 overall record and the sixth-toughest schedule in the country — was not one of them.

Colby senior Jil Vaughan nervously buried her head in her hands before the final eight teams were shown, but when it became obvious Colby’s season was over, everyone in the room was speechless.

“They were in shock,” Colby coach Julie Veilleux said a few hours later. “They might still be in shock right now, to be honest. I know they’re hurting inside. I know they’re upset.”

Baseball | Bates off to hot start down south (via Daily Progress)

“We are a young team,” former St. Anne’s-Belfield pitcher Michael Spinosa said. “We worked really hard in the offseason. We are going to be really good. We are going to try and make the playoffs.”

The Bobcats were aided in the second game by the former Saint, who pitched six scoreless innings to earn the victory, striking out seven, while giving up three hits and walking two.

“I did well,” Spinosa (1-0) said. “I got a lot of help from my defense. It was good to get the jitters out from the first few games. I had a few strike outs, and that was sweet. I got on a roll after a rough first inning. A guy got on third without any outs, but I got three outs without letting him score.”

On the season, Spinosa has pitched 11 innings over two games, giving up three earned runs.

Men’s Lacrosse | Jumbos work out kinks in early scrimmages (via Tufts Daily)

The graduation of the heart of the men’s lacrosse team’s offense left more than a few question marks around the team’s chances at a third consecutive appearance in the national championship game. After receiving a controversial No. 3 preseason ranking — a spot shared with Dickinson — Tufts will have to be stellar from day one of the season to stay atop the standings.

In order to prepare for their March 10 season opener against a virtually unknown Hamilton squad on the road, the Jumbos scheduled a pair of Div. I scrimmages just three days into the official practice season and two more this past weekend.

NESCAC Players of the Week

Men’s Basketball: Sophomore G Aaron Toomey, Amherst
Women’s Basketball: Junior G Marcia Voigt, Amherst
Men’s Ice Hockey: Sophomore G Steve Messina, Bowdoin
Women’s Ice Hockey: Junior F Kayte Holtz, Bowdoin

HADLEY, Mass. – Defending national champion Amherst College will have the opportunity to defend its title when the Lord Jeffs open play in the 2012 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Friday evening at home.

The Lord Jeffs (27-0), who won their third NESCAC title this past weekend, were announced as one of the 64 participating teams in this year’s tournament on Monday afternoon. Also joining Amherst from the conference are Tufts (21-6) and Bowdoin (19-7). The Jumbos will host a first and second round set for the first time ever at Cousens Gymnasium this weekend, while the Polar Bears will travel to Ithaca, N.Y.

All first round games are Friday with second round contests taking place on Saturday.

The Jeffs and Polar Bears are on the same side of the bracket but cannot potentially meet until the national semifinals. The Jumbos are on the opposite side of the bracket, meaning they could not possibly face either Amherst or Bowdoin until the national championship game. The 2012 NCAA semifinals and final are being hosted by Hope College in Holland, Mich., on March 16-17.

Amherst, one of four undefeated teams in this year’s tournament, will face St. Joseph’s of Brooklyn (13-13), which earned a Pool B berth into this year’s championship as an NCAA Division III independent. Also at Amherst this weekend will be Babson (25-2), champions of the New England Women’s & Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) and Bridgewater St. (19-7), the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) champions.

Tufts, which finished as the runner-up to Amherst in the NESCAC Women’s Basketball Championship this past weekend, will take on Misericordia (17-10), the champion of the Freedom Conference. Joining the two at Cousens will be Johns Hopkins (23-4) and the Univ. of New England (22-5), both at-large selections to this year’s tournament. Johns Hopkins comes from the Centennial Conference, while UNE is a member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference.

Bowdoin, an at-large selection from the NESCAC along with Tufts, will take on Maine rival Southern Maine (21-6), an at-large representative from the Little East Conference. The two teams will play at Ithaca College (23-4). The host Bombers, who won their way into the tournament by claiming the Empire 8 title, will take on Elms (20-8), champions of the New England Collegiate Conference.

The Lord Jeffs have reached the national semifinals in each of the last three years and became the first conference team to win the NCAA title last winter. This will be the fifth overall appearance for Amherst in the NCAA Tournament, with all five showings coming in the last five years.

The Polar Bears will make their 12th consecutive appearance and 13th overall in the tournament. Bowdoin, which reached the national title game in 2004 but fell 59-53 to Wilmington (Ohio), lost in overtime to Babson in last year’s sectional round, 61-58.

After missing the cut last year, the Jumbos are back for the fourth time in program history, as all four appearances have come in the last five years. Tufts advanced as far as the national quarterfinals in 2008, coming up short to Messiah 55-49.

NESCAC Sports | A weekend four-bagger for Amherst (via MassLive.com)

Ice Hockey | ECAC East/NESCAC wrap: Feb. 27 (via USCHO.com)

Women’s Basketball | Lord forbid: Amherst cracks down in second half to earn title (via Tufts Daily)

An upset appeared on the horizon at halftime. Minutes later, the opportunity vanished.

Coming off back-to-back dominant efforts in its first two playoff games, the women’s basketball team lost to No. 1 Amherst in the finals of the NESCAC tournament yesterday afternoon. Despite a great first-half performance, in which the Jumbos kept pace with the undefeated Lord Jeffs, the visitors collapsed in the second period, ultimately losing 65-39. The Jumbos had not allowed that many points since their second game of the season on Nov. 20.

Ice Hockey | Season ends in overtime thriller for Jumbos (via Tufts Daily)

The Jumbos thought that they had won.

Moments into the 20-minute overtime period of Saturday’s NESCAC quarterfinal game at Malden Forum, Tufts briefly celebrated what looked to be the game-winning goal against Williams. But as the players prepared to clear the bench, the officials waved off the goal because the net had come out of place in the scuffle. Just minutes later, the visiting Ephs walked away victorious, besting the Jumbos 4-3.

NESCAC & Oscar Interlude (via WKTV)

LOS ANGELES, C.A. – Among those receiving Oscars at Sunday night’s Academy Award ceremony was a Hamilton College graduate.

Actor and screenwriter Nat Faxon, of the Class of 1997, won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Descendants during the February 26 Academy Awards.

The award, which he received with co-writers Alexander Payne and Jim Rash, is given to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source (usually a novel, play, short story, or TV show but also sometimes another film).

Tufts has moved up to No. 2 in the latest USILA Div. III coaches poll despite not playing a game, thanks to Dickinson’s freefall from 3rd to 13th following a loss to St. Mary’s.

Atop the poll is Salisbury, the defending national champs who steamrolled No. 10 Roanoke, 22-5, pushing the previously No. 2 Maroons out and allowing the Gulls’ opponent in the past two title games to move into second. Still, Salisbury garnered all 18 first-place votes, so that one phantom vote that had New England lacrosse analysts outraged has officially migrated. 

But this makes sense. Tufts was tied for third last week, and two teams above the Jumbos lost. So, as is the case with polls, little rethinking was done, and 0-0 teams just shuffled their way up the rankings.

Other NESCAC teams ranked in the top 20 include No. 4 Middlebury and No. 6 Amherst, both of which are widely believed to present a serious challenge to the Jumbos. No. 16 Trinity and No. 20 Bowdoin round out the NESCAC’s appearance in the poll. Wesleyan and Colby also received votes.

Full poll courtesy of Inside Lacrosse.

Rank		Team	Points	1st Place Votes
1		Salisbury University	360	18
2		Tufts University	323
3		Cortland	316
4		Middlebury College	301
5		Stevenson University	295
6		Amherst College	293
7		Rochester Institute of Technology	268
8		Stevens Institute of Technology	254
9		Lynchburg College	185
10		Roanoke College	164
11		Endicott College	144
12		Union College	134
13		Dickinson College	120
13		Denison University	120
15		Gettysburg College	98
16		Trinity College	84
17		Cabrini College	73
18		Springfield	65
19		Saint Mary’s College of Maryland	57
20		Bowdoin College	55
ALSO RECEIVING VOTES Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Ithaca College , University of Mary Washington , Washington and Lee University , Keene State College , Wesleyan University , Colorado College , Western New England College ,Goucher College , Skidmore College , Ohio Wesleyan University , Geneseo , Messiah College , Babson ,Saint John Fisher College , Hampden-Sydney College , Widener University , Colby College ,

Men’s Basketball | So long, farewell to the Jumbos’ sixth man (via Tufts Daily)

Long blames his lack of free-throw success on his running inner dialogue. He admits that with the leadership role came constant responsibility and worry for the team’s performance, and that he often found it hard to clear his head of strategizing thoughts.

“Free throws are such a mental thing,” Long said. “I just think I always have trouble getting to the line and removing myself. I struggled with that the last few seasons because so much of my game is thinking and being smart. I was never a good free-throw shooter in high school either, but it wasn’t a duck-and-cover kind of thing.”

Some people still have faith that Long’s free-throw shooting will improve in his post-college career.

“[Assistant] coach Chad Onofrio says that they’re bound to start falling … that I’m going to be the best men’s league free-throw shooter of all time.”

“His mother taught him how to shoot free throws,” Sheldon joked. “Put that in the article.”

Men’s Ice Hockey | ECAC East/NESCAC picks: February 24 (via USCHO.com)

So, I may be putting too much confidence on the home ice advantage in the quarterfinal round with my picks for only one road team winning in the matchups on Saturday. Emotion and adrenaline will surely have a lot to do with the outcomes, as will experience, on the ice and behind the bench. As noted in my column earlier in the week, it is all about execution now. Play better than the other guy, work harder, and win the one-on-one battles, likely means your team is moving on.

Women’s Basketball | Tough task ahead for Colby women (via Kennebec Journal)

Even with a 19-6 overall record, the Colby College women’s basketball team still drew undefeated Amherst in the New England Small College Athletic Conference semifinals.

Amherst — 25-0 and ranked first in Division III in both national polls — will host the Mules at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Colby nearly knocked off Amherst on Jan. 21, but lost 51-50 in Waterville. Amherst starting forward Lem Atanga McCormick did not play in that game. McCormick has returned to the floor, although she did not play when the Lord Jeffs defeated Trinity 94-59 in the quarterfinals.

Men’s Soccer | Amherst assistant coach Edwards named Knox College head (via Knox Athletics)

Women’s Swimming | Polar Bears enjoy unprecedented NESCAC meet (via Bowdoin Orient)

Men’s Ice Hockey | Amherst fine-tunes the machine (via USCHO.com)

Now let’s see: What’s that old expression? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

For NESCAC’s number one seed Amherst Lord Jeffs, it really doesn’t seem like anything is “broke” on their 20-3-1 record heading into this weekend’s quarterfinal matchup with Hamilton at home. The fact is they really haven’t changed much all season with their schemes, and their success in the post-season will come down to their excellence in execution as I discovered at their first practice of the week yesterday at Orr Rink.

“We have a couple of different forechecks, breakouts, penalty kills and power plays,” said coach Jack Arena. “We really haven’t used a lot of different things this year at all. There have been times when things on the ice have not been going great and we have discussed changing things up, but at the end of the day, this group has always figured it out and made things work.”

Women’s Ice Hockey | Trinity a threat once more (via USCHO.com)

Fast forward to two months later and Trinity is now 14-10 on the season and the No. 4-seed for the NESCAC Tournament after compiling a 13-4 record in the new calendar year.

“We knew we were going to have to play a different style of hockey and not turn to one or two kids to score the goals,” Duggan said. “We needed some of the younger kids to step up, and they have. The returning players were excited for this year, because they knew they were kind of counted out of things and not have as high of expectations. This group has a lot of desire to prove people wrong.”

Men’s Ice Hockey | Lord Jeffs favored entering NESCAC Tournament (via Tufts Daily)

This year, the NESCAC men’s hockey tournament will be entering unchartered territory — there will be no defending champion, since Bowdoin’s title was vacated after a violation of institutional policy. Nevertheless, the puck will drop this weekend, and No. 4 Tufts will take on No. 5 Williams at home after its best season in the NESCAC era.

To get you ready, the Daily breaks down the tournament team by team, starting with top-seeded Amherst.

No. 1 seed: Amherst (20-3-1 overall, 17-1-0 NESCAC)

Unquestionably the most dominating squad in the conference this year, Amherst comes into the NESCAC tournament looking to cap off a tremendous regular season in which the team nearly went undefeated in conference play. The Lord Jeffs have the most balanced squad in the league, finishing second in goals per game and first in goals allowed.
Interestingly, though, the Lord Jeffs have nobody in the top 10 in the league in individual scoring, a testament to the depth that brought them success during the course of the regular season. Between the pipes, the strong performances have all come from senior goaltender Jonathan La Rose, who leads the league in goals against average and has played over 1,000 minutes this season. Amherst will be the squad to beat this year, and if the Lord Jeffs continue their impressive regular season form, they should walk away with the title.

Men’s Ice Hockey | Amherst standout Baran named semifinalist for Concannon Award (via Amherst Athletics)

Squash | All-NESCAC Teams announced (via NESCAC.com)

Men’s Lacrosse | A first picture look at Amherst men’s lacrosse (via Flickr)