NCAA Tournament – Page 2 – Nothing But NESCAC

Champions in February, Champions in March? Amherst NCAA Preview

#7 Amherst (23-4, 7-3, Defeated Hamilton to Win NESCAC Championship)

Prior to the NESCAC Tournament, Amherst was in a very good position to snag a spot in the Big Dance. Their résumé included a 20-4 overall record, with a season sweep of Williams along with win at Middlebury. Instead of leaving it up to the committee, however, the Mammoths pulled off three straight, eventually defeating Hamilton en route to their 8th NESCAC Championship. They’re headed back to the NCAA Tournament after missing out for the first time since 2010 last season, and look poised to make a deep run.

The Mammoths went on a tear to end the regular season, winning nine of their past ten games. They finished ranked #7 in D3 polls, the highest ranking among NESCAC teams. Given its recent historical success in the NCAA tournament (19 appearances, 4 Final Fours, 2 National Championships all within the last 25 years), to not make the postseason tournament last season was a disappointment to say the least. With such a deep and talented squad that’s peaking at the right time, Amherst is ready to make a deep run in March.

How They Got Here:

On paper, Amherst did not have the most talented team in the NESCAC, nor would many have thought they would win a NESCAC Championship this season. They lost their top two scorers in Mike Riopel ‘18 (12.7 PPG) and Johnny McCarthy ‘18 (11.9 PPG), and while Grant Robinson ‘21 and Fru Che ‘21 averaged a combined 17 PPG as freshman, it was a tall task to ask these two to lead the Mammoths back to the postseason. Well, the duo exploded onto the scene in the 2018-2019 season, with Robinson in particular taking the bull by the horns, averaging 17.8 PPG and 5.5 REB/G and putting his name into consideration for NESCAC Player of the Year. Amherst’s offense was much better once conference play kick-started, as they had the second-highest field goal percentage in conference play along with the most rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game. Robinson and Che (12.3 PPG, including 17.3 PPG in his last six games), were two of nine members who logged at least 10 minutes per game, and six of those nine averaged at least 8.0 PPG. But for all the improvements on the offensive side, it’s the defense that paved the way for Amherst to become NESCAC Champions. They were the league’s second-best defense in points per game allowed, suffocated opponents by allowing a league-best 40% field goal percentage, and had by far the best rebounding margin (+9.9 per game) in the NESCAC. They say defense wins championships, and if the Mammoths carry their high caliber defense into the postseason, they will most certainly be a tough out for even the most offensively savvy squads.

How They Lose:

More often than not, Amherst gets into trouble when the games they play become high-scoring affairs. Two of their three losses in league play came when Colby and Hamilton scored over 80 points, and Amherst does not have enough consistency on offense to get into shootouts. I’d liken them to a Virginia-esque squad in the sense that they have players who can take over a game and put up points, but they have much more success when the defense grinds down opponents and they slow the pace of the game to their liking. Another thing those two losses had in common was both Colby and Hamilton shot plenty of free throws; Colby attempted a ridiculous 41 free throws (converting 33), while Hamilton made 17 of their 21 free throw attempts. Because it is so hard to repeatedly convert shots against Amherst’s defense, the best bet for opposing teams is to take the ball to the rack and get to the line as often as possible. Amherst is also a poor three point shooting team (31.6%) and does not generate a ton of assists (just 13.4 assists per game) so opposing defenses should look to pack the paint and force the Mammoths to beat them from beyond the arc.

The Competition

Rosemont Ravens (15-12, 8-4, Conference Champions)

The Ravens won the Colonial States Athletic Conference for the first time in program history, defeating #1 seed Cairn and earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. It’s Rosemont’s first NCAA Tournament appearance, but similar to Amherst, the Ravens got hot late and are currently on an eight-game winning streak. This squad brings a dangerous plethora of offensive weapons (even with the loss of Basil Thompson ‘19 (16.1 PPG) early in the season due to unknown reasons) to test Amherst’s resilient defense; three Ravens average double figures, led by Keith Blassingale ‘20 (19.1 PPG), who averaged a ridiculous 31.4 points per game in his last five contests including a 45 point performance in Rosemont’s 113-79 semi-final victory over Wilson College. 6’6’’ forward Jaylen Myers ‘19 is an excellent scoring option as well, nearly averaging a double-double with 15.6 PPG and 9.6 REB/G. The Ravens like to get out and score, averaging 82.0 PPG, shoot close to 47% from the field, and are excellent free throw shooters at 75.4%. The ability to score plus the great free throw shooting numbers point directly to a potential upset, however the Ravens play in a much weaker basketball conference than the NESCAC where defense seems optional (none of the teams in the conference allow less than 77 PPG). They also struggle to rebound the ball, something Amherst does exceptionally well. It’s possible Blassingale and Rosemont come out hot and give the Mammoths a scare, but Amherst should be able to settle in and take care of the Ravens.

University of Rochester Yellow Jackets (20-4, 12-4, finished second in Conference)

The runners up in the University Athletic Association Conference and #23 in the D3 polls snagged one of the 21 at large bids handed out by the NCAA Tournament committee. The UAA doesn’t have a postseason tournament, but Rochester lost to Emory on the final day of the regular season in what was a de-facto Championship game. Like Amherst, the Yellow Jackets are a very good defensive team; the allow just 66.4 points per game and force opponents to shoot just 40.8% from the field. On offense, they are led by the UAA Player of the Year in senior guard Ryan Clamage ‘19 (16.2 PPG, 6.6 REB/G), and Jacob Wittig ‘19 chips in with 10.6 PPG and neary five AST/G. They’re a much similar team to Amherst in respect to their defensive strength and uncertainty on offense, but head-to-head the Mammoths have the stronger offensive unit from top to bottom. They key will be limiting Clamage and keeping the Yellow Jackets out of the paint as they get most of their offensive from inside the arc in addition to their solid free throw percentage (73.3%).

Farmingdale State Rams (20-7, 16-4, Conference Champions)

Farmingdale State earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament via winning the Skyline Conference. The Rams were the number one seed headed into the tournament with an impressive 16-4 record in conference play, and have won ten consecutive games. This is a unit similar to Rosemont where they have the ability to put points on the board (85.2 PPG), but possess an average defense, allowing 75.2 PPG. Surprisingly, the Rams only shoot 45.7% as a team but hold opponents to just 41% from the field, which doesn’t quite correlate to their strong offensive numbers and average defensive numbers. Where they get into trouble on the defensive side is when they continuously foul opponents and send them to the free throw line, which happens quite often. Farmingdale State is lead by a trio of seniors in Matthew Graham ‘19 (15.9 PPG), George Riefenstahl ‘19 (14.4 PPG, 11.0 REB/G) and Ali Mableton ‘19 (12.0 PPG, 3.2 AST/G, 1.7 STL/G). Junior Ryan Kennedy ‘20 is lethal from deep, connecting at a 40.6% clip. Just like Rosemont and Rochester, Farmingdale State is a very good free throw shooting team, hitting over 76% of their shots from the line. If they end up meeting in the round of 32, Amherst will have to force the Rams to beat them with long two’s and limit the amount of free throws in order to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Year of Destiny: Hamilton Regional Preview

#10 Hamilton (23-4, 7-3, Lost to #7 Amherst in NESCAC Finals)

The Continentals have been a clear cut choice to make the tourney since before week 1. With a preseason ranking of #9, Hamilton has maintained their top-25 status throughout the season. This alone ensured them entry into this year’s NCAA regionals. They have performed so well, in fact, that they have earned themselves hosting rights for the first two regional games.

Kena Gilmour is the best in the ‘CAC, but can he be the best in the dance?

How They Got Here:

Hamilton was fairly even keel all year long. They were poised for not only a NESCAC playoff run but an NCAA playoff run as well, and now they are presented with that opportunity. Hamilton was consistently successful all year long, all four of their losses coming to NESCAC teams. They started their season running, winning their first 13 straight contests. Leading the scoring for the Continentals during this time was Kena Gilmour. Gilmour was the leading scorer for Hamilton all year long and helped to create a dynamic offense which helped them to such a good season. After their hot start to the season, things got a little bit more shaky as they lost two of their next five to Colby and Wesleyan. The Colby loss was seemingly out of nowhere and was their first home loss of the year. After these two losses the Continentals continued to roll, only losing once more to Middlebury, garnering them the #2 seed in NESCAC play. After beating Colby in their quarterfinal rematch, Hamilton had to opportunity to host the remainder of the NESCAC playoff games after #1-seed Middlebury lost to #8-seed Tufts. Hamilton was able to hold off Tufts, 89-85, in the semi-finals but would then have to take on Amherst. The NESCAC championship was a close contest, but the Mammoths were able to hold off Hamilton until the final buzzer, but hey, nothing wrong with silver.

How They Lose:

One thing is consistent in each of Hamilton’s 4 losses this season, their 3-point shooting. On the season, the Continentals are shooting an impressive 35% from downtown as a team. When looking more closely at each of their 4 losses, we can see that these games do not stack up to those stats. In the NESCAC Final against Amherst, Hamilton put up 19 3s and was only able to convert 3 of them, shooting at a 15.8% clip. In their neck-and-neck battle with Midd at the end of the year where they lost by just one point, Hamilton was just 6 for 21 from downtown. Against Colby they were 4-16 and against Wesleyan they were 6-26. Point being that when Hamilton doesn’t shoot as they can, they put themselves in a much more difficult position. If Hamilton is able to keep up the shooting numbers that they have been putting up all year, they could make a serious run. If they have another 3-19 streak, it could be an early exit.

The Competition

Penn State – Behrend (23-4, 14-4, AMCC Conference Champs)

Penn State – Behrend comes in with an impressive record at the end of the season. The Lions were the #2 seed in The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference but were able to take down #1 La Roche in their conference championship. Very similarly to Hamilton, Penn State’s only losses have come from within their own conference. They have 3 All-Conference players on their roster: Andy Niland and Mike Fischer both earned First Team selections while Justin Gorney was selected to the second team. Niland is the best shooter on the Lions, shooting nearly 43% from downtown and 93% at the line so far this season. He is also the team leader, and all-time program leader, in assists with just over 6 per game. Similarly, he only needs 7 more 3-pointers to become the all-time program leader in 3-pointers made. Against bad teams Penn State – Behrend has shown that they are a lockdown defensive team, at times winning by a 30 or 40 point margin. Hamilton should certainly have the advantage in this game, but i wouldn’t sleep on the Lions.

Andy Niland poses a real shooting threat this weekend.

Keene State (20-7, 13-3, Won LEC)

Keene State enters this competition riding a 12-game win streak. They easily defeated Western Connecticut State by a 27 point margin in the LEC semifinals to advance them to a championship game against none other than Eastern Connecticut State. This was a much closer competition as Keene State was down by 1 at the half but managed to pull out a 72-69 victory to capture the conference title. Some NESCAC fans should be familiar with Keene State already as they have had 2 NESCAC opponents in their schedule, including Hamilton. Early in the season Keene State went to Middlebury and took a tough 93-88 loss. Keene State’s Ty Nichols was fantastic for them against Midd, putting up 26/14/7 for a monstrous near triple-double. Although his performance was noteworthy, it was still not enough to take down the Panthers. Their game at Hamilton was close as well, an 85-80 loss in which Ty Nichols once again lead Keene State in points. We’re beginning to see a theme here, and its name is Ty Nichols. Nichols lead Keene State in points, assists and rebounds, posting up a 27/5/7 clip on average. The Senior from Springfield, Mass is the heart and soul of this team and was recently named D3 Player of the Week as well as Player of the Year in the Little East Conference. The kid is a force to be reckoned with and has the talent to take this mediocre Keene State team much further than they should go.

Moravian (19-8, 10-4, Landmark Champions)

Rounding out our competitors we have our third conference champ in Moravian. Moravian defeated Susquehanna in their conference semis and then took down Drew in the finals to earn themselves a spot in the NCAA playoffs. NESCAC fans got a chance to look at Moravian earlier this year when they took on formerly #2 Williams. Moravian attempted a second-half comeback in this contest but it was not quite enough as the Ephs won 81-72. The leading scorer for Moravian in this contest was CJ Barnes who came off the bench to put up 21PTS, including 4 triples. Lots of triples seems to be another theme for Moravian. While their opponents have attempted 404 3-pointers against Moravian, Moravian have more than doubled that by putting up 832 3-pointers over their 27 games, that’s nearly 31 3s a game. While CJ Barnes is Moravian’s best shooter, their best player is O’Neil Holder, who is leading the team in PPG with 18.4 and rebounds with 6.6. Moravian is a clear-cut 3 and D team and those can always be dangerous in a tournament setting. Catch them at the wrong time and you could be going home early.

Wild, Wild West(ern Mass): Williamstown Regional Preview

Williamstown Regional Preview

#19 Williams (20-6, 6-4, at-large bid)

The NESCAC is always one of the best basketball conferences in Division III and the Ephs are always one of the best teams in that conference. This year was no exception as Williams finished 20-6, earning themselves a no. 19 national ranking and at least two potential home games in the NCAA Tournament. Senior forward James Heskett won NESCAC Player of the Year last season and classmate Bobby Casey was likely the first runner up for this year’s award behind Hamilton’s Kena Gilmour. These guys have about as much talent as you’ll find at the D3 level and they’re not looking to go home empty-handed in their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

How They Got Here

Kyle Scadlock has been a huge part of the three-headed monster for Williams

It’s been an interesting year for the Williams College Ephs. They spent the first half of the season on fire and holding on to a no. 2 national ranking. The trio of Bobby Casey ’19, James Heskett ’19, and Kyle Scadlock ’19 looked absolutely unstoppable and talented big man Matt Karpowicz ’20 was the perfect complement. Unfortunately things got a little rocky in the middle of the season when the Ephs were faced with some depth issues. They finished 4-5 in their last 9 regular season games, earning them the 4^thseed in the NESCAC Tournament. They took care of Trinity in the first round but fell to Amherst in the semifinals – the third loss of the year to their arch nemesis. A number of quality wins coupled with a strong strength of schedule was enough for the committee to select Williams as a host for the first two rounds where they (as always) look like the favorites to advance to the Sweet 16.

How They Lose

The only problem I see for the Ephs – and it’s a big one – is depth. Williams boasts one of the strongest starting fives in the nation and they have ridden those five guys all the way to the NCAA Tournament. In their six losses this year combined, the bench has accounted for 67 total points – about 11 points per game coming from non-starters. However, 28 of those points came in the Hamilton game, so in the other five losses the bench accounted for just 39 points. This simply won’t cut it on the national stage where they’ll be playing teams who go 8 or 9 guys deep. The Ephs need more out of Mickey Babek ’20, Marcos Soto ’19, and Michael Kempton ’19, who are really the only three guys they use off the bench. If these guys step up, they’ll go a very long way. If they don’t, it’ll be an earlier trip home than Williams is hoping for.

The Competition

Husson (17-10, 11-3, NAC Champions)

The Eagles come out of the North Atlantic Conference where they dominated all year. Having ten losses certainly doesn’t look great out of a tournament team, but Husson played a surprisingly tough non-conference schedule to make up for their cupcake conference opponents. They’ve actually matched up with NESCAC teams four times already this season – a win versus Bates and losses against Trinity, Colby, and Bowdoin. These results bode well for the Ephs who are 4-1 this season against those very same teams. The Eagles have been led this year by Justin Martin, who averages over 15 points and 9 rebounds per game. The 6’6” senior is on his way to earning a third consecutive all-conference appearance and does an excellent job bringing size and shooting ability to help spread the court. There’s no doubt that Williams is the favorite in this game, but don’t count out the Eagles who will scrap and claw right to the finish.

Plattsburgh State (20-6, 14-4, at-large bid)

Aside from the Ephs there’s no question that the Cardinals are the most likely team to come out of this region. They already have a win against Middlebury under their belt and they played Wesleyan very closely, so they’re no strangers to NESCAC opponents. Plattsburgh actually fell to Brockport in the SUNYAC semifinals, but was able to secure an at-large berth to make their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Jonathan Patron recently received his second straight SUNYAC Player of the Year award, leading the league with 23.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. He has already posted a number of jaw dropping box scores, including a 32-point, 20-rebound effort early in the year. In fact, Patron has recorded a double-double in 15 of the team’s 26 games this season. It’s easy to see that this guy is a total stud and he’s capable of taking any team deep into the postseason. Patron is a force to be reckoned with and he’s here to make sure that everyone has heard of Plattsburgh State.

Gwynedd Mercy (19-8, 9-3, Atlantic East Champions)

The Griffins are definitely the biggest mystery in this region. The Atlantic East isn’t known for being a basketball powerhouse, but Gwynedd Mercy seemed to have some pretty competitive games. At their holiday tournament in December they lost to Tufts and beat Bates in two tightly contested affairs so they, too, have some experience with the NESCAC. The trio of Rich Dunham, Courtney Cubbage, and Clayton Wolfe do the heavy lifting, accounting for the vast majority of the team’s scoring and rebounding. None of those three guys are over 6’1” and the Griffins don’t really use anyone over 6’5” in their regular rotation, so size could be an issue for them. I don’t see Gwynedd Mercy making a lot of noise in this region, but once March rolls around we might as well throw every stat out the window.

Midd Madness: First Round NCAA Preview

Middlebury (18-7, 7-3), Lost in Quarterfinals to Tufts)

The Panthers looked like a definite NCAA tournament team after catching fire at the end of the regular season and clinching the NESCAC regular season title. However, after an early exit in the conference tournament to Tufts, they found themselves on the bubble of the at-large teams, sneaking their way in (which was no surprise) despite falling out of the top-25.

They surprised many teams this season with the play of their sophomore guards, who are the diamond in the rough and big surprise of the Middlebury 2019 season. While the play of Jack Farrell, Max Bosco, and Griffin Kornaker bode well for the Panthers’ future, they have an immediate chance to make an impact on this year’s run to a national championship. Despite a few ugly losses this season (Tufts twice and Plattsburgh) they still built up enough of a resume with wins against Williams and Hamilton to punch their ticket for the tenth time in the last 12 years to the dance.

How They Got Here:

Jack Farrell’s shooting is a key to a Panther victory.

After losing All-American guard Jack Daly ’18, All-American Matt St. Amour ’17, and All-NESCAC Jake Brown ’17 to graduation the last two years, it seemed that some of Midd’s magic from the past few years was gone. While those studs haven’t been replaced, the sophomore guards have ushered in a new era of Panther basketball and now have a strong foundation for years to come. Along with Bosco (25 G, 8 GS, 15.2 PPG, 35% 3-PT, 3.0 A/G), Farrell (25 G, 25 GS, 16.2 PPG, 35.9% 3-PT, 4.7 REB/G, 3.8 A/G), and Kornaker (25 G, 17 GS, 7.4 PPG, 3.7 A/G), the Panthers also boast one of the more athletic players in the conference in Matt Folger. Like Farrell, Folger started every contest in 2019 and average 15 PPG and 8.9 boards per contest. He has the most potential on the team and has been dominant each of the past two seasons. His season scoring high is 28 points and his defensive best is 16 boards. He can undoubtedly take control of any game but also had a few duds in some key losses (four points in a 80-77 L to Wesleyan and nine points in a 85-76 loss to Tufts). Their SF, Hilal Dahleh, had a quiet senior campaign, staying healthy and starting all but one game and put up 6.8 PPG in just 23 minutes. Eric McCord is the big man and a steady force down low, averaging 9.5 PPG and 9.9 REB/G, and a physical presence that should keep in check the other teams in their regional.

Folger is the most dangerous team on the floor this weekend.

How They Lose:

Midd turned in to a high-scoring team part way through the year and needs to have some shooting efficiency to knock out their competition. They play with a small lineup (three guards and a forward that often plays on the outside) and could get beat if they fail to make their way inside on offense given an opponent with elite perimeter defense. Inconsistency was the Panthers’ biggest foe this season, beating great teams and losing to poor ones. I chalk a lot of that trend up to inexperience which shouldn’t affect them as much in the tournament as they will likely play against teams with less postseason experience than them. Having said that, if they shoot 17% from deep like they did in the playoffs against Tufts, they will lose.

The Competition

#14 Nichols College Bison (25-2, 15-1, Commonwealth Coast Conference Champs)

Nichols obviously had an incredible season up to this point, losing only to Gordon and Salisbury. Gordon received votes in the last D3hoops poll and Salisbury was ranked at the time of their game against Nichols. Against NESCAC opponents, Nichols was 3-0 this year, knocking off Trinity, Tufts, and Wesleyan all by at least six points, showing that while they didn’t face many ranked opponents, they can play with teams that gave Midd a tough time. They have three double-digit scorers, with Marcos Echevarria leading the charge with 20.4 PPG and average nearly 90 PPG as a team. This will likely be a high scoring first round matchup that is by no means a cake walk for the Panthers.

Nichols is the on-paper favorite in this regional.

Emerson College Lions (16-11, 12-4, NEWMAC Champions)

It was a pretty confusing season for to analyze from the Lions as they had some brutal losses and impressive wins. They lost to both Amherst (85-62) and Tufts (87-70) by wide margins and got crushed towards the end of the regular season by #12 MIT. However, they also destroyed MIT midway through the season 84-65. After a high number of losses, the only way for Emerson to get into the NCAA tournament was to win their conference tournament which they accomplished without beating MIT, giving them an easy road to a ring. Upperclassmen guards Jack O’Connor and Geoffrey Gray both average 20.3 PPG and have the power to take this team to the promise land in any game and could be a dangerous opponent in the second round and an especially tough matchup for Midd’s young ball-handlers.

Rowan University Prof (21-6, 13-5, NJAC Champs)

Rowan does not have a particularly strong strength of schedule but did knock off Keene State that beat Midd in a midweek contest. They have a pretty balanced lineup with four players averaging over ten PPG but nobody averaging over 15.1 or any players averaging 6.4 REB/G. How exactly did this Rowan team end up hosting over Nichols? Well, my guess is that Nichols didn’t have the facilities to host so as the quasi-two seed in this pod of the bracket, Rowan gets the cake. I believe that home field will undoubtedly give Rowan an advantage in their game(s) this weekend as they’ll likely get a reasonable crowd. They had a margin of victory under nine points this season on average, a high number of assists (15.9 per game), and a low number of rebounds per contest (39.4 per game). They could easily lose to Emerson if the Lions bring their A-game, however, they definitely will reap the benefits of some home court advantage.

Synopsis:

Midd got screwed here by the NCAA selection committee. Not only do they have to go to New Jersey when it the regional should’ve just been in Mass., but they play the best team out of the three opponents in the first round. In reality, it doesn’t matter that they have a tough first round matchup since they’d have to face Nichols in the second round anyways, so the way I see it, if they win their first round matchup, they would be heavily favored to make it to the Sweet-16. However, at this point I’d say its 50-50 that they make it past Nichols. If they have a normal shooting day from their guards and Folger on Friday I think they make it out of this pod.

One Trophy Left: Stock Report 2/27

Stock Report 2/27

Congratulations to Amherst who won their 8^th NESCAC Championship with a 62-56 victory over Hamilton on Sunday. The Mammoths earned the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, while Hamilton, Williams, and Middlebury snagged at-large bids as well. Getting four teams into the tournament is basically common practice for the NESCAC, so it’ll be exciting to see if anyone can do some real damage this year. Each of the remaining teams have looked terrific this season and they are all capable of competing with anyone. We’ll just have to wait and see who is left standing in a few weeks.

Stock up

Chance for a run by a NESCAC team

The selection committee was relatively nice to the NESCAC this year, putting the four teams that earned bids in regions that are very winnable. According to the D3 Massey Ratings (the only available computer-generated rankings for Division III basketball), the highest ranked team in the Williamstown regional is Plattsburgh State at 58 and the highest ranked team in the Clinton regional is Keene State at 49. For these two teams in particular there really isn’t a reason that they shouldn’t find themselves in the Sweet 16. Things are a little bit tougher for Amherst and Middlebury who each have one very strong team in their region, but I still think that things bode well for the conference as a whole. By the time the Sweet 16 rolls around we could have some serious chaos – a possible matchup between Amherst and Middlebury looms as well as the chance for Williams to be matched up with Pomona-Pitzer or another school from out west. The good thing is that March is all about chaos so we’re in for quite an exciting month of hoops.

Duo of Grant Robinson and Fru Che

Fru Che is about as lethal a scorer as they come

Nobody is hotter right now than the Amherst Mammoths, winners of 9 out of their last 10 including their last 3 in a row to win the NESCAC Championship. They’ve got one of the deepest lineups in the league, but they certainly wouldn’t be here without their star power. Grant Robinson ’21 and Fru Che ’21 have been the team’s leading scorers all season, but they really upped their play when it mattered. In the conference tournament these two accounted for 60% of the team’s offense (116 of 194 total points), guiding the team to three victories. They’re only sophomores, but they’ve played well beyond their years as the season has progressed. It’ll be interesting to see how well they handle the spotlight playing in their first NCAA Tournament game against Rosemont on Friday.

Stock down

Whoever picks the regional sites

I’m not one to throw myself into the fire for Amherst, but how in the world are they not hosting a regional? When I saw that they weren’t hosting I was surprised, but I assumed that it meant the NESCAC didn’t have a team hosting a regional this year. Once I found out that Hamilton and Williams were hosting, I was truly shocked. Hamilton had a great year I understand having them host a regional, but how did Williams get to host over Amherst? The Mammoths won the conference championship and are currently ranked 7^th in the nation going into the tournament. I personally think that the NESCAC champion should automatically host a regional, but this case seems overwhelming. They say that sometimes more things are taken into account such as region, but Amherst and Williams are only about 90 minutes apart so I don’t see how that could be enough of a factor. In the end none of this really matters that much because each team has to win the same number of games, but I do think it was a very strange move by the committee.

Note: Had I done a pretty basic amount of research before writing this, I would have found that because the Amherst women’s basketball team is hosting a regional, the men cannot also host. In odd numbered years the women have priority for the first rounds, but the Amherst men’s team is in line to host the following two rounds this year should they get there.

POY clarity

Bobby Casey looks to become the second straight Eph to win the award

Now that the NESCAC season has come to a close the league will hand out awards to the top performers during the season. As of right now it seems that picking a Player of the Year is going to be a very difficult job for the committee because there are seemingly three guys that are all equally as deserving. I have laid out the stat lines (only for conference play) for each player to prove just how tight the race is between the top three contenders:

Kena Gilmour – 19.8PPG, 5.6REB/G, 2.7AST/G, 48% FG, 39% 3PT, 91% FT)

Bobby Casey – 19.6PPG, 5.4REB/G, 4.6AST/G, 45% FG, 36% 3PT, 80% FT)

Grant Robinson – 17.8PPG, 5.5REB/G, 3.5AST/G, 51.3% FG, 41.4% 3PT, 87% FT)

There are a few different ways the committee can go to pick a winner. Last year by picking James Heskett over Jack Daly they showed that they valued winning the conference championship over (slightly) better overall statistics. This would lead me to believe that Robinson would take home the hardware, but I also don’t necessarily believe that will be the case. It’ll be interesting to see what the league puts an emphasis on this year through who they give the award to.

Stock Report: Championship Weekend

Stock Up:

Can Gilmour bring it home on his own court for the Conts this weekend?

Hamilton’s Chances at a Title

Last week the Continentals were able to take care of business on their home court against the 7-seeded Colby Mules. While this may not seem that surprising, as the Continentals were heavy favorites, it was only a few weeks ago when the Mules stormed into Hamilton territory and stole a game right out from under their noses. The Mules were able to keep it close, but lightning did not strike twice for them. Hamilton played a clean, team game in which all 5 starters were able to amass double digit scoring. Kena Gilmour lead the way for the Continentals, putting up 19 points which includes a perfect 5/5 from downtown. Overall this team played as a cohesive unit, which should allow them to make an even bigger playoff push. Another advantage that Hamilton now possesses is that they now have home court advantage for the remainder of the playoffs. While other teams have to take the long ride to upstate New York, Hamilton can sit back and relax and wait for the competition to come to them.

UMBC… I mean Tufts

After sneaking their way into the playoffs over Bowdoin, the Tufts Jumbos are here to stay. Obviously the story of the weekend was #1 Midd going down on their homecourt to a team they had no business losing to. The Panthers did not look like their usual selves all game, but this section isn’t about bashing Midd, it is about celebrating the underdog. Everyone loves an underdog, and Tufts usually doesn’t get to feel that love. See the reason is that Tufts is never the underdog is because they have more than twice as many students as the rest of the NESCACs. When you have that many enrollment spots, it can be much easier to compete. This year though, their basketball program is flipping that narrative on its head. It’s underdog Tufts taking on all the big bad schools like Hamilton, Amherst and Williams. With the #1 seed out of the way who says they can’t make a run?

Stock Down:

The State of Connecticut

After Wesleyan and Trinity exit the tourney in the first round with losses to Amherst and Williams, respectively, all 3 of the Connecticut NESCACs have been eliminated. The first Connecticut elimination was the earliest in all the NESCAC when Conn finished their season still searching for a conference win. It was a tough season all year long for the Camels but they have another year of rebuilding to look forwards to next year. Trinity proved themselves to be a playoff-quality team as the season progresses but they were still not able to finish the job against a very well organized Williams team. Joe Bell had a great performance for the Bantams off the bench, leading Trinity with 17 points, but the skill gap between the two teams was still too much to overcome. Connecticut’s best chance had to be Wesleyan. They had been ranked at multiple points throughout the season and really looked as if they could bang with the big dogs when push comes to shove. They dropped down to the 6-seed entering postseason play and were not able to top 3-seed Amherst. It was a disappointing year overall for the Connecticut NESCACs but now they can sit back, relax and join their buddies up in Maine as they watch Massachusetts and New York bang it out for a championship.

CACs in the NCAAs

The chances for five NCAA berths are gone, but will the NESCAC get four?

At one point or another this season it seemed as if it were possible to have up to 5 NESCACs make the tournament. As the playoff picture winds down, that number is getting smaller and smaller. First with the givens: from day 1 of the season it was pretty clear that Hamilton and Williams will be in the tournament no matter what. They were slated very high in the top-25 to start the season and while they are not as highly ranked as they have been at the moment, even without a championship I would be in disbelief if these two are not at-large selections. Amherst lies just behind Williams and Hamilton in stature. They were first able to break the top-25 mark in just week 2 of the season. Since that they have bounced in and out of the top-25 but find themselves all the way up at #11, right behind Hamilton, in the latest poll. It wasn’t as obvious throughout the season that this squad would be able to hang with the the Continentals and Ephs but they have more than proven themselves at this point as a lock for NCAAs. Next we come to Midd who is very much “on the bubble” of making the tournament. They had everything going for them. They jumped into the top-25 right at the end of the season after taking the CAC by storm, earning them a 1-seed in the NESCAC tourney. If Midd had made it even to the semis and lost to a ranked team, I believe that they would’ve had great chances to crack into the NCAA tourney. Unfortunately this is not what happened. Midd blew it to the 8-seed on their home court for what must have been quite the embarrassing upset. I do, however, still believe that the odds favor the Panthers to sneak in to the tournament as the twitter account “D3bubble,” researching D3 bracketology, named the Panthers as a “definite lock” entering the NESCAC tournament.

One and Done?: NESCAC Championship Quarterfinal Previews

NESCAC Championship Quarterfinal Previews

The best time of the year is here – playoff season, baby. Saturday is going to be an awesome day filled with awesome games that should be as exciting as ever. In fact, the lower seed beat the higher seed when the teams met in the regular season in three of the four first round matchups (with Williams vs. Trinity being the exception). Each of these teams will battle for the coveted automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament that is awarded to the winner of the NESCAC Championship, and it’s shaping up to be a very exciting tournament as always. The results of this tournament will have an impact on the NCAA Tournament field because the NESCAC could have anywhere from four to six teams in this year’s NCAA’s. If Colby and Wesleyan are able to steal a win or two (or even win the whole thing) then we could see some extra teams sneaking in. There’s still a lot left to play, so check out our previews for each of the quarterfinal matchups:

1. #25 Middlebury vs. 8. Tufts

*Tyler Aronson and the Jumbos will have to make a little tournament magic happen if they want to pull off the upset*

We start off with a very interesting matchup between Tufts and Middlebury. In their regular season matchup the Panthers traveled to Medford and were dropped on a game winning shot by Brennan Morris ’21, keeping the Jumbos in the playoff race. That game also took place a very long time ago – over a month, in fact. Middlebury is a very different team now than they were then, and the Jumbos are very, very young. The trio of Matt Folger ’20, Jack Farrell ’21, and Max Bosco ’21 are averaging a combined 46 points per game and they have been absolutely on fire for the Panthers when they’ve needed it. The Jumbos are very guard-heavy and have proved that they’re capable of getting hot, so this could be an intriguing matchup between two particularly young backcourts. It’ll also be very interesting to see what we get out of the battle down low because each of these teams boast outstanding big men. Tufts features a 6’8”, 230lb giant in Luke Rogers ’21 who hauls in rebounds at a high rate and scores better than just about any other big in the league. On the other side, Eric McCord ’19 isn’t a huge contributor scoring-wise, but he averages a league-best 9.9 rebounds per game and does an excellent job locking down opposing centers. Both of these guys had big games in their first meeting, so if one if them can do a better job defending the other this time around then their team will have a huge advantage. Middlebury has (a little) more experience and I truly do think they’re the better team in this one, so I’m going with them to move on to the semifinals next weekend.

Prediction: Middlebury 86, Tufts 77

2. #10 Hamilton vs. 7. Colby

I feel like I find myself saying this a lot but I think this could be the year for Hamilton. They’ve had an outstanding season and have looking simply dominant much of the way. Their success has earned them a home game in the first round and a rematch with one of the only three teams that beat them this season. When they met in late January the Mules were able to travel to New York and take down the Continentals on the back of Sam Jefferson ’20 who scored 29 points on 9-14 shooting including 6-10 from three-point range. Colby is a team who, similar to Tufts, is very young and has a very promising future ahead of them. The problem is that I’m not sure if they’re quite ready to compete with the experience that a team like Hamilton brings to the table. Hamilton’s top six leaders in minutes played this season are all juniors and seniors, and they’ve been terrific. Led by NESCAC Player of the Year favorite Kena Gilmour ’20, the Continentals have shot their way to first in the league in points per game second in field goal percentage during their outstanding 2018-2019 season. The Mules aren’t far behind (3^rd in PPG, 5^th in FG%), and they’ve had some of the hottest shooting streaks we’ve seen in the NESCAC this year. I like that Colby is young and they play like they have nothing to lose because they don’t and I think they’re going to be great in the near future. This is going to be a close game, but I think that Hamilton’s depth and experience will end up being too much for the youthful Mules.

Prediction: Hamilton 90, Colby 87

3. #11 Amherst vs. 6. Wesleyan

*Austin Hutcherson hopes to lead a tournament run in just his second season*

I think that out of all the first round matchups, this is my favorite. The Little Three rivals split their regular season meetings, but the Cardinals won the official conference meeting. Wesleyan is not a particularly deep team but they’ve got a few stars that have taken them a very long way. I’d honestly be shocked if Austin Hutcherson ’21 didn’t take home a Player of the Year trophy in one of the next two years, because he has been absolutely outstanding. The league leader in points per game (20.4) has had some incredible performances this season, most recently coming in the form of a season-high 37 points on 81.3% shooting while adding 9 rebounds as well. This guy is a total stud who can light anyone up on any given night, but in the first two meetings between these two teams Hutcherson hasn’t looked quite as impressive. He totaled 25 points and 7 rebounds in those two games combined, well under his regular numbers. He’s going to play the biggest role on the Wesleyan side because if he comes to play then they’ll be very hard to stop. Amherst on the other hand plays a deeper rotation of guys and they share the scoring a bit more evenly. There’s no doubt that Grant Robinson ’21 is their go-to guy, but they have a number of players that can step up when they need to. They’re no. 11 in the country for a reason and there’s never a year when they should be taken lightly. However, star power goes a very long way in this league and Wesleyan wins the battle there. I’m going with the upset in this one.

Prediction: Wesleyan 66, Amherst 62

4. #18 Williams vs. 5. Trinity

It doesn’t bring me any joy to say this, but I’m not very excited for this one. Williams dominated Trinity in their regular season meeting and I don’t see this one being any different. The Ephs boast three of the most prolific scorers in the league in James Heskett ’19, Bobby Casey ’19, and Kyle Scadlock ’19, and these guys have now had so much experience playing in the NESCAC and NCAA Tournament over the past three seasons. The fact that Williams ended up the number four spot is very sneaky, because I still think they might be the favorites to win the whole thing. Bobby Casey ’19 is very much a candidate to win Player of the Year with his 18.5PPG (3^rd in the NESCAC), 4.6AST/G (1^stin the NESCAC), and 5.3REB/G. We’ve said it time and time again, but this team has a lethal combination of size and shooting ability that is nearly impossible to stop. I’m a bit surprised that Trinity ended up at 6-4 and in the fifth spot, but I certainly owe them one. They had a much better season than I predicted and Donald Jorden, Jr. ’21 has emerged as one of the top forwards in the league. Jorden is actually 4^th in the league in offensive rebounds per game, so the Ephs will have to be careful not to get lazy on the defensive glass. The Bantams have had an unpredictable season so there’s no question that they could come out and prove me wrong, but I just think that Williams is too good to lose this early. Their talent and experience is really unmatched and I see them making a very deep run. Somehow I think the 4-5 matchup is the worst out of all the first round games – I don’t think this game will be very close.

Prediction: Williams 83, Trinity 61

Appleton Bound? Amherst NCAA Baseball Regional Preview

Auburn Regional (New York Region) – Hosted by #9 Cortland

After earning the NESCAC automatic NCAA tournament bid, preventing Tufts from collecting their third straight conference title, the Amherst Mammoths will venture down to Falcon Park in Auburn, New York. Falcon Park is the home of #9 SUNY Cortland and the site for this year’s DIII baseball New York regional. Other notable teams include #10 Salisbury, out of Maryland, and #24 Southern Maine. NCAA regionals are a double-elimination tournament, much like the NESCAC playoffs. The winner of the regional will represent the New York Region at the 2018 DIII World Series in Appleton, Wisconsin.

First Opponent – #24 Southern Maine

Southern Maine finished 3rd in the Little East Conference this season, behind Eastern Connecticut and #3 UMass – Boston. Southern Maine finished 4-1 against NESCAC opponents this season, beating Bates and Colby in mid-week games and splitting games against Bowdoin. The USM Huskies are lead offensively by Devin Warren ‘19, who is hitting .401 with 31 RBI, and Dylan Hapworth ‘20, who has a .338 AVG and 8 home runs. Jake Dexter ‘19, whose father Tom is a baseball and football coach at Colby College, has been doing absolutely everything for the Huskies this season. At the plate he is hitting .387 with 28 RBI and on the mound he is USM’s #1 arm out of the ‘pen, maintaining a 1.67 ERA and 11.13 K/9. Amherst will most likely face Gage Feeney ‘20 who is 6-1 on the season with a 3.18 ERA. Southern Maine is no stranger to good competition as they have the 21st best strength of schedule in the nation, compared to Amherst’s 164th, per herosports.com.

Amherst will likely send out Sam Schneider ‘18 to face the Huskies as he has been their ace all year long. Schneider has started to stand out down the stretch in this playoff run, throwing 7 ⅔ strong innings against Bates in game 1 of the NESCAC playoffs and will have had 6 days of rest between that appearance and their contest versus USM. Amherst’s and USM’s staffs match up very evenly on paper. Amherst has a team ERA of 3.58 while USM’s team ERA is 3.82. They both have solid starters that should keep them in the game for 6+ innings and bullpens who have consistently kept the leads that their starters have given them this season. Offensively, Southern Maine has the clear advantage over Amherst. While both clubs have team averages in the low .300s, USM has been getting it done in style. The Huskies have belted 29 home runs as a team this season, compared to Amherst’s 11. The Mammoths will need to keep USM inside the ballpark in order for them to move past game 1 of the regional unscathed.

Game 2

If Amherst manages to take down USM, they will face the winner of #10 Salisbury vs. St. Joseph’s (L.I.). If Amherst loses to USM, they will face the loser of #10 Salisbury vs. St. Joseph’s (L.I.).

Salisbury enters the tournament after receiving an automatic bid as champions of the Capital Athletic Conference. The Salisbury Seagulls are on a 8-game winning streak, which is tied for the 5th longest active winning streak in D3 baseball and are the clear favorite to win their opening round game. They enter the tournament white-hot after sweeping through their conference tournament, scoring 49 runs and giving up just 7 in 5 games. Jack Barry ‘19 has been an offensive juggernaut for the Seagulls, boasting a .423 AVG and dropping a team-leading 8 bombs thus far. Salisbury’s offense is good, but their pitching is what makes them great. The Capital Athletic Conference is a hitter’s conference, nearly every team has averages above .300 and ERAs above 5.00. Salisbury has a conference-best 3.38 ERA, which is really what separates them from the competition. Their staff is spearheaded by Connor Reeves ‘18, who has the most wins in the nation at 13. Reeves also is 9th nationally in ERA at 1.22, 6th in strikeouts with 103 and 1st in innings pitched with 110 ⅔ (the NESCAC leader in IP has 64.1 for reference). If having one clear All-American wasn’t enough for Salisbury, how about two? Austin Heenan ‘18, a DI transfer from Virginia Military Institute, is 10-3 on the season, tied for 2nd most wins in the nation, with a 2.33 ERA. Heenan has racked up 110 strikeouts this season, which is also 2nd best in the nation. If Amherst were to face Salisbury in game 2, which would likely only occur given the Mammoths take game 1, they would have to face Heenan. While Amherst has seen their fair share of quality arms this year, All-American caliber players such as Reeves and Heenan are hard to come by, and even harder to beat.

Most likely, if Amherst loses game 1 they will face St. Joseph’s (L.I.). The Golden Eagles earned their NCAA tournament berth through capturing the Skyline Conference playoff title. Prior to their conference final against Merchant Marine, St. Joseph’s was riding an impressive 11-game win streak. The St. Joe’s lineup is headlined by Paul Britt ‘19, who transferred from host SUNY Cortland after his freshman year. Britt is hitting .406 and leads the team in homeruns (7) and RBI (35). The Golden Eagles have an extremely productive core in their lineup, but are not great top-to-bottom as many teams who fare well nationally are. On the mound, St. Joe’s has had 9 different guys start games for them and are usually quick to pull the trigger and head to the bullpen. Nick Clemente ‘18 has logged the most innings on the staff this year with 54 ⅔, a miniscule number compared to Salisbury’s #1 and #2. The Golden Eagles would be a very even matchup for Amherst, should they square off. Both teams have guys who are excellent individually, but the team as a whole doesn’t stick out in the very talented group in this regional.

Beyond Game 2

If the Mammoths are lucky enough to make it past 2 games, as Tufts was unable to do last year, they could face any combination of the remaining teams in the regional. #9 SUNY Cortland won their first national championship back in 2015 and has competed in 26 straight NCAA tournaments. Baldwin Wallace won the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament and has now made the NCAA tournament in 3 of their last 5 seasons. Swarthmore upset a very talented Johns Hopkins team to win their conference and currently hold a school-best 33 wins on the year. Finally, Westfield State captured the Massachusetts Small College Athletic Conference title to make their first NCAA tournament since 2009.

Overall, the majority of the teams at this regional simply outclass Amherst. The Mammoths could certainly compete against teams like Westfield State, Swarthmore, St Joseph’s and maybe even Baldwin Wallace. When it comes to teams such as Southern Maine, Salisbury and Cortland; Amherst would need to pull off a small miracle to walk away with a victory.

But since they are our only NESCAC team left, we believe in the Mammoths. Did anybody see Davidson College’s remarkable playoff run last year? Crazier things have happened, so keep reading to see how these academic weapons can keep the dream alive:

Amherst’s Strengths, Weaknesses and X-Factor

Strengths:

The boys are hot: Amherst is on a 5-game winning streak that includes 2 crucial wins against Midd to take them to the NESCAC playoffs and then 2 more impressive wins over two-time reigning champs Tufts.
Senior Leadership: The core of the Amherst lineup is Max Steinhorn ‘18, Ariel Kenney ‘18 and Harry Roberson ‘18. These boys have been grinding together for 4 years to reach this point and will not go out without a bang. They set the bar high for their teammates and challenge them to perform to their full potential. Senior leadership is an invaluable asset for any team and Amherst is full of it.
Sam Schneider is ready to go this weekend after back-to-back gems.
Their Bullpen: Similarly, Stephen Burke ‘21 has started his career off hot. In his 13 appearances he is 3-0 with a 2.79 ERA. Zach Brown has also been a major player for Amherst, putting up a 1.76 ERA and 11.74 K/9 in his 9 appearances, despite lots of unearned runs and a lack of control. He can dominate if he locates his curveball, because his heat probably won’t phase these hitters as much as it did earlier this year. Mike Dow has also had a phenomenal statistical season with 7 saves, but has had some wild pitches and hit batters in his last few outings. If he keeps it together emotionally, Amherst will be good to go as his stuff is effective and he generally locates well. When it is time to hand the ball over to the ‘pen, Amherst has some great resources at their disposal which could help them further themselves in the NCAA tournament.

Weaknesses:

Quality of Competition: While it is a great feat in-and-of itself to capture the NESCAC title, the competition Amherst has faced has not prepared them for the level of talent they are about to go up against. No team that Amherst has faced this year is in the top-25, let alone any team that they have beaten. In a regional that has 3 top-25 teams, including 2 in the top-10, Amherst is facing competition unlike any they have seen this year.
Power: Amherst’s 11 home runs ranks last among all the teams at the regional. Alex Marcum ‘18 (Baldwin Wallace), Dudley Taw ‘20 (Baldwin Wallace) and Anthony Crowley ‘19 (Westfield St.) all have more home runs individually than Amherst does as a team. In high-stakes playoff environments such as the NCAA Regionals home runs can be a huge momentum shifter and Amherst simply doesn’t have to pop to produce many of them. Especially against high-quality arms, which they will be facing plenty of, it will be tough to string together hits, so the long ball becomes a much needed tool that Amherst doesn’t have access to.
Experience: Only the Seniors on this Amherst team have had the taste of NCAA playoffs. Amherst made the NCAA Regionals with an at-large bid back in 2015 after losing the NESCAC Championship to Wesleyan. That regional was also hosted by Cortland and the Mammoths went 1-2 in regional play, including a loss to eventual national champion Cortland. Many of the other teams in this regional consistently make the tournament or play in higher quality conferences, no offense NESCAC, that regularly get more than one team into NCAA Regionals. The lack of postseason experience could serve to hurt Amherst as they will be going in a huge underdog compared to many of the programs they will be facing.

X-Factor

Ariel Kenney ‘18:
Ariel Kenney ’18

Kenney started off the season hot and is my pick for West Player of the Year, but as of late he has cooled down significantly. In his last 8 games he is 5 for 29 (.172 AVG) and has had no extra base hits. Kenney has been a key part of the Mammoth lineup all season and if they wanted to outperform their expectations for this regional he’s going to have to break out of this slump and play like he was at the beginning of the season. Now is as tough a time as ever to break out of a slump, as he will be facing the best pitching he has seen all year and possibly in his career, but if he can’t go back to his POY ways, it is more than likely that Amherst will not make it too far in the regional.

Prediction

I believe that Amherst will drop their first game against Southern Maine and the rally to beat St. Joseph’s (L.I.) in their second game. Southern Maine’s pitching is not dominant, so the Mammoths certainly have a chance, however. Amherst’s staff is not deep enough to carry them for more than 2 or 3 games in such a short time-span so it is more than likely that whoever the Mammoths face in game 3, if they are lucky enough to make it that far, will get the better of them. That being said, as representatives of the NESCAC I will be rooting for Amherst to exceed my expectations and help to put NESCAC baseball back on the map. Good luck Mammoths.

Note: For the full regional schedule, please go online and check out Amherst Baseball’s page.

Do You Believe in Miracles? 2017-2018 NESCAC Top Sporting Moments

Do You Believe in Miracles? NESCAC’s Top 5 Moments so far of the 2017-18 season

I know that sometimes we get pretty focussed on the three main sports in the NESCAC, but there are so many other successful teams in our conference worth mentioning. Obviously, here at NbN, we love football, basketball, and baseball, but after seeing a tweet by @Middathletics after their Women’s Tennis team knocked off Division I playoff bound Quinnipiac University, I thought that we could give some other shout outs. I pride myself on being an unbiased writer, and there’s definitely a lot of Middlebury here, so if I forgot a player, team, coach, or great moment, DM us so I can do another article later!

1. Colby Men’s Hockey: Jack Kelley, a United States Hockey Hall of Famer, former member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Redwings front offices, and collegiate and professional coach, called the Mules “a team of destiny.” He was the head coach at Boston University for 10 years and won two national championships with them and still referred in such a way about the team from Waterville after they advanced to the Frozen Four on a last second goal.

Your 2018 NESCAC Champions, the Colby College Mules

After a hard fought regular season, no hockey fanatic could’ve expected what was on the way for the Mules. Entering the NESCAC tournament as the #6 seed, they made an incredible underdog run to take the conference title for the first time in school history, capturing an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They came back from a 4-2 deficit in their opening round game against University of New England, won on a last second goal 2-1 against SUNY Geneseo in their second round game, and then found themselves as the only unranked team in the Frozen Four. Although they ended losing to the eventual national champion, St. Norbert 4-3 in the national semifinal, they clearly had an incredible run, rivaling that of the Miracle on Ice, and even got to play at the historic rink at Lake Placid, NY.

2. Amherst Women’s Basketball: Completing a second straight undefeated season is pretty awesome. A 66 game win streak and two national championships later, and the Amherst Mammoths are still standing.

Amherst women’s basketball just wrapped up another historic season.

Who can beat them? Probably nobody. Coach Gromacki and his team are a national force to be reckoned with and are now comparable to the UConn women, maybe even surpassing them after two straight Final Four losses for the Huskies. For more information on this incredible run and awesome streak, check out Cam’s recent article.

3. Middlebury Field Hockey: I’m not even going to pretend I know a single thing about field hockey. Before I went from California to the East Coast for college, I though this sport was just cross-training for ice hockey. While that was pretty ignorant, I can still recognize the greatness of this Panthers program. They went 20-2 this season, winning their second national championship in three years. Coach DeLorenzo really knows how to coach and got her women two rings in the same season. Unlike the 2015 national championship Panthers, this team won both the NESCAC and the NCAA tournaments, basically completing their perfect season. After two straight NESCAC finals losses to Bowdoin and Tufts, their seniors are really able to ride off high. Also, it is safe to say that the NESCAC is by far the best field hockey conference in the nation (just like women’s and men’s basketball, women’s and men’s lacrosse, women’s and men’s tennis while hockey and soccer are up there too).

4. Willaims Women’s Soccer: The Ephs collected their second national championship in three years by beating UNC Greensboro 1-0 on December 2nd, 2017. They were led all season by Dani Sim, both the NESCAC POY and the United Soccer Coaches DIII Player of the Year. Sim was the first defender ever to win the NESCAC POY, showing how dominant their team was all season. They had the NESCAC’s leading goal scorer in Sophomore Alison Lu and also the best back line—basically making scoring easy and scoring on them impossible. GK Olivia Barnhill was even named to Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” section for her performance in the 1-0 shutout of Chicago to take the National Crown.

The celebration after ending the season with a win.

As a result, their season record was 21-1-1 which is just ridiculous. What’s more is that just four of their starters were seniors and they have plenty of depth to back it up, so look for them to continue this kind of purple reign.

5. Shams Mohajerani:

Shams Mohajerani ’20

Earlier this year, Middlebury soccer’s own Shams Mohajerani was #3 on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 for the night of September 6th, 2017. As you can see, this is a super D3 highlight tape as it was shot on a janky camera at a soccer game played on a football field. But, hey, it made the SC Top 10 and deservedly so. Shams gets around the defender and has a look from 30 yards out and fires a top corner hooking shot. David Beckham couldn’t have done it better himself. Not even in this video.

Purple Reign; Women’s Basketball Season Wrap Up

Women’s Basketball Wrap-Up: Purple Reign

Although this is coming a bit late, it’s time to wrap up the women’s basketball season. It was a huge year for the NESCAC, as three of the teams in the Elite Eight were Tufts, Bowdoin, and Amherst. We like to talk often about how NESCAC men’s basketball is so dominant compared to other conferences, but this type of dominance is remarkable. To add onto this, none of those three teams lost to a non-NESCAC school in the NCAA tournament – Tufts lost to Bowdoin in the Elite Eight and Amherst beat Bowdoin in the national championship. This type of success is noteworthy, but this article will focus solely on the team at the top: the Amherst College Mammoths.

The Mammoths have been doing a lot of net cutting these past two seasons during their 66 game winning streak.

Much to the chagrin of all 10 other NESCAC schools, the Amherst women’s basketball team won their second consecutive national championship this year. Actually let me correct myself: the Amherst women’s basketball team just completed their second straight undefeated season, culminating in a second straight national championship. The Mammoths have won 66 consecutive games dating back to November of 2016; so long ago that they weren’t even called the Mammoths yet. They haven’t lost since the Final Four in 2016 when gas only cost $2 per gallon, Obama was president, and Kobe Bryant was playing his last season with the Lakers. I guess you could say a lot has changed.

11 years into his tenure, Coach Gromacki has turned this program into a dynasty. As we all know, Amherst is good at most (if not all) sports, so this success isn’t too surprising – until you take a closer look. The Mammoths have reached at least the Sweet Sixteen every season under Gromacki, amassing a 33-11 postseason record including 3 national championships. The last two seasons, however, have been even more jaw dropping. Just 11 of their 66 straight wins have been by fewer than 10 points, with only 2 of those coming in NCAA tournament games. This means that not only are they demolishing their regular season opponents, but they’re also elevating their play when it really counts. Take this season for example: Amherst defeated Bowdoin by just 4 points at home in January, then proceeded to crush the Polar Bears by 20 in the national championship. This is a team that flat out knows how to win.

Coach Gromacki can put himself in the same conversation as UConn Women’s Coach Auriemma.

You’d think that a two-year span of success like this came from a large amount of talented upperclassmen, but the Mammoths’ 3 best players are sophomores Hannah Fox ’20 and Madeline Eck ’20, and junior Emma McCarthy ’19. They only had 3 seniors on their roster and only two of them played meaningful minutes. This is scary for opponents who want an end to the reign of the purple because it looks like Amherst is here to stay. Success like this doesn’t come without a bull’s eye on their back, and teams like Bowdoin and Tufts are right there ready to pounce when they slip up. Fortunately for Amherst fans, having Coach Gromacki at the helm makes them the nation’s premier team year in and year out.

It looks like this dynastic run might not even be close to ending…

(All photos courtesy of Amherst Athletics)