- Nice Guys Finish First
- Winter Sports in Brief
Winter
Sports in Brief
The men’s basketball team headed
into postseason play with a stellar
20-3 record, earning the top seed in the NESCAC tournament. Season highlights
included a 67-61 win over Williams in front of a raucous home crowd so enormous
that it spilled out of the bleachers, and a midseason string of four straight
victories by 29 points or more. Senior
co-captain Steve Zieja surpassed Jamal Wilson ’97 as Amherst’s
all-time leading scorer, collecting his 1,551st point in a
90-60 win over Bates on February 1. Amherst survived a scare from Bowdoin to
advance to the second round of the NESCACs; the winner receives an automatic
bid to the NCAA tournament.
Their counterparts on the women’s
side finished the regular season at 12-12. Amherst opened the season with an
incredible 8-0 run, including domination
of the Pioneer Valley Classic on December 6 and 7, but had a rough time of
it during the month of January. Seniors Sarah Walker, Sarah Bozorg and Brooke
Diamond finished their Amherst careers with a total of 64 wins over four seasons;
other big contributors this year included junior Shannon Russell, who scored
her 1,000th career point in a 68-46 win over Springfield, junior Caitlin Farrell
and freshman phenom Katie Latham.
The men’s ice hockey team clinched
a spot in the NESCAC Tournament, ready to battle Colby in the first round
of play. The regular season ended with
a flourish that included a 4-3 defeat
of Williams on February 7 and a 4-3
overtime win over Tufts on February
15. Several players had strong seasons,
including first-year Sean Lynch, who played well in goal for the Lord Jeffs.
Women’s ice hockey is also headed into the postseason, after a strong
finish that included victories over Colby and Holy Cross.
Men’s squash headed into the NISRA Team Championships at Princeton with
a solid 7-7 regular record, in a season that began with shutouts of Tufts and
Colby; women’s squash entered the WISA Singles Championships at Trinity
with a record of 13-11. At the regular-season-ending Howe Cup Tournament, senior
Susanna Burke received the Wetzel Award, recognizing seniors who began playing
at a collegiate level and have exhibited both outstanding growth and a keen
understanding of the game.
The swimming and diving teams had a dominant winter season. The men were 2002-03
Little Three Champions, finishing at 9-0 and defeating Williams for the first
time since 1998 with an exciting 123.5-119.5 win. The women completed the regular
season at 8-2, finishing third at NESCACs.
At the New England Division III Championships, the women’s indoor track
team recorded an eighth-place finish, behind strong performances from senior
tri-
captains Kate Hamill and Laurel Kilgour, junior Alyson Venti, sophomore Carter
Hamill and first-year Lyndsey Scott. Their counterparts on the men’s
squad finished 15th; the team was paced all season long by, among others, senior
tri-captains Alex Lenkoski and Pat Hayes, junior John Stanton-Geddes, sophomore
Mike Page and first-year Ngai Otieno.
Amherst
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