Men's basketball
The Jeffs made their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round.
In their first round game the Jeffs hosted St. John Fisher College and disposed of the Cardinals, 89-76.
Tri-captain Brian Daoust '01 led the Jeffs with 16 points in the game, surpassing the 1,000-point barrier for his career. Daoust finished the season second on the team in scoring with 16.1 points per game while running the show from the point guard position.
In their second NCAA game the Jeffs traveled to Clark University. In the regular season, Clark pulled out a triple-overtime thriller in LeFrak Gymnasium, and they beat the Jeffs in Cougar territory as well. Clark beat Amherst 89-76 to end their season, and the Jeffs were led by standout Steve Zieja '03. Zieja scored 23 points and added nine rebounds in the game, and on the season he led the Jeffs with 17.8 points per game.
Over the course of the season the Jeffs had three players win NESCAC Player of the Week honors-Daoust, Zieja and Pat Fitzsimons '03. Daoust and Zieja were also named All-NESCAC at the end of the season.
Daoust won a number of awards, including the 2001 Bob Cousy Award. Every year this award is given to the best college basketball player under six-feet tall in New England, no matter what division they play in. While this award usually goes to a Division I player, it was impossible to ignore Daoust's accomplishments this year.
Coach David Hixon '75 was also honored as the NESCAC Coach of the Year. Hixon is closing in on the 400-win mark for his career, and this season he led the Jeffs to within one win of the single-season win mark.
Women's basketball
If a team were to play a season with only two upperclassmen-one senior and one junior-it would usually be a recipe for disaster. This winter the Jeffs overcame those obstacles and recorded the best season in school history. The Jeffs used a balanced attack to make their mark on the NESCAC this year, falling just short in the conference tournament. Including postseason play, the Jeffs ran up a 23-5 record, easily the best in program history.
After the Jeffs won the Little III title during the regular season, they hosted the conference tournament. After dispatching Bates College in the semifinals, they fell 54-41 to Bowdoin College. The Jeffs struggled early in the game, hitting only one field goal in the first 14 minutes of play, but they fought back in the second half.
Following the tough loss in the NESCAC final, the Jeffs hosted the ECAC Tournament. In the first round they dominated Framingham State College with a lopsided 84-48 win, before falling in the semifinals to Colby College, 80-64.
On the team of underclassmen, Sara Bozorg '03, Shannon Russell '04 and Sarah Walker '03 led the Jeffs. All three were named to the second-team All-NESCAC team, with each one of them leading the NESCAC in their specialty. Bozorg, a point guard, led the league in assists and steals, Russell, a shooting guard, led the league in three-point field goals made and three-point field goal percentage, and Walker, a power forward, led the league in rebounding.
Coach Bill McBride was named the District One Russell Athletic/WBCA Coach of the Year for his efforts. McBride led the Jeffs to the program record in winning percentage, wins, fewest losses and games played. During the season McBride also racked up his 100th win as a head coach at Amherst.
Men's hockey
The men's hockey team fell just short of making the NCAA Tournament this year, losing out when the selection committee bypassed them for the final spot in the eight-team field.
In the NESCAC Tournament final the Jeffs battled Middlebury College-a five-time national champion-on Middlebury's home ice, losing 4-3 in overtime. During the regular season the Jeffs had fallen twice to the Panthers, and in the conference final they faced not only a tough team but a raucous home crowd. Despite not making the tournament, the Jeffs were ranked sixth in the season ending USCHO poll.
While the team was disappointed with the end result of the season, it was a great season nonetheless. In the final week of the season the Jeffs beat Williams College twice, once in the regular season and once in the NESCAC Tournament first round. This was the first time that the Jeff seniors had beaten the Ephs in their four-year careers.
Individually, the Jeffs fared well when postseason awards were announced. Jim Smith '01 led the way for the Jeffs, as he was named NESCAC Player of the Year, JOFA First-Team All-American and a member of the All-NESCAC first-team, for the second season in a row. Smith led the team in scoring with 13 goals and 25 assists.
Goaltender Nick Rieser '01 joined Smith on the All-NESCAC first team as he backboned the Jeffs defense. The Jeffs had the second stingiest defense in the country, allowing only 2.13 goals per game. During the season Rieser was named USCHO Defensive Player of the Week, an award that he also captured in the 1999-2000 campaign.
Bob Miele '02 was named to the All-NESCAC second-team after leading the Jeffs in goal-scoring with 14 and adding 18 assists along the way. Miele was named USCHO National Offensive Player of the Week after he recorded back-to-back hat tricks in midseason.
Women's hockey
The Jeffs had a disappointing season on the ice as they were hampered by injuries to key players throughout the season.
Co-captain Gretchen Bowe '01 (see profile, p. 39) was out for the first part of the Jeff season as she recovered from a knee injury suffered during her All-American field hockey season, but after she returned, she picked up right where she left off. Bowe only played in 18 games, but she scored eight goals and had 11 assists to rank third on the team in scoring. Bowe finished her career second on the all-time scoring list behind Genny Furst '00.
Danielle Williams '03 led the Jeffs throughout the season, scoring 23 goals and adding 15 assists. Bowe had four game-winning goals on the season, and she centered the Jeffs top line all season long.
Alison White '04 stepped right into the Jeff program and made a difference from her first day on the ice. Second on the team in scoring this year, with 10 goals and 17 assists, White proved to be an extraordinary freshman.
Heidi Alexander '03 started all of the Jeffs games in net this season, recording four shutouts in the process.
Bowe was the only senior on the team, so the Jeffs will return a strong squad next season.
Squash
This winter both of the squash teams showed mixed results.
The women finished the season with a 13-10 record and were ranked 11th nationally in the season-ending WISA poll. Co-captain K.C. Giese '01 led the Jeffs out of the number one slot, and she was followed by Roopali Agarwal '03, Vanessa Champion '01 and Susanna Burke '03.
On the men's side the Jeffs finished with a 6-9 mark and 14th place in the year-ending NISRA poll. Captain Addison West '01 played the top singles spot for the Jeffs all season, dominating most of his competition.
Swimming and diving
Both the men's and women's swimming and diving teams put together strong performances.
The men's team finished with an 8-1 record, a fourth place finish at the NESCAC Championships and 14th at the NCAA Championships. Leading the way for the Jeffs were Ben Hopkins '03, Mike Pohorylo '04 and Rob Winograd '02.
Myles Ranier '01 and David Wynne '01 captained the Jeffs this winter.
On the women's side of the pool the Jeffs finished 11th at NCAAs and third at the NESCACs. Morgan Bayer '03 was the national champion in the 200m butterfly for the second year in a row, and she added an 11th place finish in the 400m individual medley at Nationals as well.
Co-captains Amanda Muir '01 and Hilary Jones '01 led the Jeffs to a 9-1 finish this season.
Indoor track
Both of the indoor track teams built on their successes in the fall cross-country season to perform well in the winter.
Pat Hayes '03 was one of the top performers for the men, as he won many of the 55m hurdles races that he entered. Tri-captains Jared Moshe '01 and Robert Long '01 led the team while performing admirably in their respective sprint events. Tri-captain Brian Gilliss '01 enjoyed a solid winter season as well.
The women enjoyed more team success than the men, as they finished ninth in the year-ending ECAC Championships. During the course of the season, the women also took a pair of second-place finishes at meets held at Brandeis and Wesleyan Universities.
The Jeffs placed many runners on the All-ECAC team, led by Katie Scangos '02. Scangos continued to set numerous personal bests during the season. Emily Lobsenz '02 finished third in the ECACs in the 5k, one of the Jeffs' best finishes of the year. The women's team was captained by Courtney Jennings '01, Amie Shei '02 and Molly Burnett '02.