Women's tennis
The women's tennis team had an impressive spring campaign. After losing a match to Div. I opponent California State Fullerton during their Spring Break trip, the Jeffs steamrolled all other competitors, including the previously undefeated Wellesley College. Amherst also won its first ever outright NESCAC Championship after sharing the team title with Williams College last season. In addition to bringing home the team trophy, six Jeffs earned First-Team All-NESCAC honors for their outstanding performances at the conference tournament.
Quad-captain Rachel Holt '05 was named Intercollegiate Tennis Association New England Div. III Senior Player of the Year. Additionally, Holt was crowned NESCAC Player of the Year, and she landed on the all-conference squad for the fifth time in her career. Despite being upset in the NESCAC quarterfinals of the "A" flight singles bracket, Holt combined with Tristan Hedrick '05, also a quad-captain, to claim the "A" flight doubles conference title. Hedrick then went on to win the "B" flight singles title.
Kristen Raverta '06 joined the All-NESCAC First Team for the third season in a row. Even though she fell in the "A" flight singles title match, she earned a spot in the NCAA Singles Championship match at Kalamazoo College on May 21. Raverta had a NESCAC victory, though, when she teamed up with Monica Snyder '08 and they became "B" flight doubles champions. Snyder also won the "C" flight singles match. Senior quad-captain Erin Murphy and first-year Laura Stein joined together to complete an Amherst sweep at doubles by claiming the "C" flight doubles title. Stein won every set in the non-scoring "D" flight singles contest, while Murphy dropped her semifinal match in the "C" flight singles bracket which earned her a place on the Second Team All-NESCAC squad.
In the NCAA Northeast Regional Tournament, the Jeffs defeated Tufts University to advance to their eighth-straight NCAA Quarterfinals, where they beat Trinity University. They faced top-seeded Emory University in the semifinal round on Thursday in a rematch of last season's NCAA Championship match.
Baseball
The baseball team defended its NESCAC title and dominated its opponents for much of the season. Some highlights from the 2005 campaign were a 10-game winning streak, a triple play against NESCAC rival Middlebury College and an offensive outburst against non-conference foe Brandeis University which included 23 hits and seven home runs. In addition, the Jeffs were formidable at home, jumping out to a 10-0 start and compiling a 15-2-1 overall home record.
After winning the NESCAC West Division, Amherst earned a berth in the NESCAC Tournament and advanced to the final game. The Jeffs became conference champions when Jared Banner '07 hit a triple and then raced home on an overthrown ball to win the game.
Many Jeffs earned NESCAC plaudits. Joe Vladeck '06 was crowned NESCAC Baseball Pitcher of the Year and was placed on the First-Team All-NESCAC squad and Second-Team All-Region squad. He led the conference in wins with his 7-1 record.
Zach Schonberger '06 also garnered First-Team All-NESCAC and Second-Team All-Region honors. The shortstop led the conference in home runs and held the number two spot in RBIs and total bases. Four Jeffs appeared on the Second-Team All-NESCAC squad: co-captains Josh Santry '05 and Dave Powers '05, Dave Levison '06 and Brian Donohue '07.
Amherst played Wheaton College in the first round of the double elimination NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Track and field
Several Jeffs starred for Amherst in the outdoor season. Perhaps the most impressive meet to date was the prestigious Penn Relays. Amherst sent its top two women harriers, and they didn't disappoint. Bub's Player of the Year, Carter Hamill '05, beat all collegiate competitors from every division in the 10,000-meter race and shattered her own school record by nearly 37 seconds. Racing against members of the Olympic development squad, Hamill placed second overall. Sophomore standout Shauneen Garrahan competed in the 5000-meter run, despite the fact that it is not her primary event. Nevertheless, Garrahan set a new school record with her second-place finish among the collegiate athletes. Integrating Garrahan's time of 16:31.43 with the Olympic development heat, the Jeff took fourth overall.
A day and a half later, Hamill and Garrahan were back on the track with the rest of the Jeffs for the NESCAC Championship meet. There was no sign of fatigue, however, as Hamill and Garrahan each set meet records in the 5000 and the 3000-meter steeple chase, respectively, to earn All-NESCAC honors. Also earning all-conference recognition was co-captain Lee-Jay Henry '05, who won the long jump and placed third in the triple jump. Henry then teamed up with Julia Rucker '06, Krissy Morin '06 and Keyonte Sutherland '07 to take third in the 4x400-meter relay. Margaret Davis '06 joined the All-NESCAC squad by placing third in the 10,000.
Hamill continued her winning ways in the Div. III New England and Open New England meets, capturing the 5000 title twice. Morin won the heptathlon at Div. III meet, and Davis provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship in the 10,000 at the open meet.
On the men's side, Michael Page '05 proved to be outstanding for the Jeffs. He won the steeple chase at the NESCAC Championship meet and anchored the winning distance medley relay (DMR) team. Joining him in the DMR were John Babbott '07, Sam Hayman '07 and Jack Morgan '05. Morgan also defended his NESCAC title in the 800-meter run, and Tomas Morrissey '08 took third in the 10,000.
Page continued his steeple chase prowess, taking first and second at Div. III and Open New Englands, respectively.
The NCAA meet will take place May 26-28, and if past NCAA Championships are any indication of what this year will bring, Amherst can expect spectacular performances from its proven stars.
Women's lacrosse
Accustomed to excellence, this season turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for the women's lacrosse team. However, an Amherst women's lacrosse team member's definition of 'disappointment' is not found in an ordinary dictionary.
The Jeffs had just 12 regular season contests and won their first eight. During that streak, Amherst owned the NESCAC Player of the Week title as reigning NESCAC Player of the Year Ashley Harmeling '05 claimed it twice, and Alyssa Briody '07 earned the honor once.
As the third seed in the NESCAC Tournament, the Jeffs avenged a regular-season home loss to Bowdoin College (the first Amherst home loss in years) by defeating the Polar Bears in overtime to advance to the final round. Despite losing to Middlebury College in the NESCAC title game for the fifth year in a row, the Jeffs received an at-large bid to the National Tournament. Amherst entered the NCAA Tournament as the fourth seed, after being ranked third for the entire season. The Jeffs received a first-round bye but dropped their second round game against Washington and Lee University. This early exit prevented Amherst from making its fifth consecutive Final Four appearance.
Even though some might consider the 2005 season disappointing, the future looks promising for the Jeffs. They will be without First-Team All-NESCAC selection Harmeling, but Briody had a breakout season, and Laura Brown '06 anchored the Jeff defense. Both Briody and Brown earned Second-Team All-NESCAC plaudits, and Amherst returns nine starters and a talented bench. The Jeffs should live up to their high expectations next year.
Men's lacrosse
The men's lacrosse team put together a remarkable five-game win streak before ending its season in a NESCAC semifinal game for the fourth year in a row. The Jeffs finished 11-4 and were ranked as high as 10th in the nation.
Attacker Derek Cherney '07 was crowned co-NESCAC Player of the Year. He led the league in goals and points with 39 and 68, respectively. Long-stick midfielder Andrew Wilcox '06 and tri-captain defender Greg Donohue '05 joined Cherney on the First-Team All-NESCAC squad, while midfielder Andrew Syfu '05 earned Second-Team honors. In addition, the second- and third-leading scorers in the conference, attackers Alex Castertano '05 and Chris Hofmann '07, notched 35 and 34 tallies respectively.
The Jeffs lose 11 players with the graduation of the class of 2005, but the return of Wilcox, Hofmann and the junior Cherney is promising for the 2006 squad.
Softball
Even though the softball team missed a bid to the NESCAC Tournament, there were a few bright spots for the Jeffs this season.
Junior hurler Miya Warner was outstanding, yet again. Warner surrendered only 14 earned runs, 45 hits and 24 walks in 97 innings. Her 9.4 strikeouts per seven innings was best in the NESCAC, and Warner earned First-Team All-NESCAC and CoSida First-Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors.
All-NESCAC second-teamers Rachel Hoerger '06 and Elizabeth Neckes '08 contributed offensively as well as defensively with .968 and .994 fielding percentages, respectively. Caroline Polales '07 led the team with a .337 batting average and 28 hits, while rookie Ralina Shaw led the conference in doubles and paced the team with two triples, three home runs and 24 RBIs.
The 14-12-1 Jeffs are only losing two seniors, so these bright spots should be blinding when next season rolls around.
Men's tennis
The men's tennis team ended its season at 10-6 and ranked 20th in the nation. After an undefeated fall campaign, the Jeffs' spring slate got off to a rocky start. They were 0-2 on their spring break trip to California, and inclement weather caused a slew of postponements and rescheduled matches back home.
The Jeffs were able to string together a few wins, however, and placed fifth at the NESCAC Tournament. The Jeffs upset Bates College in the first round of the NCAA Northeast Regional Tournament before falling to the defending National Champion Panthers in the finals.
Junior Josh Rilla's season continues, however. Since he reached the "A" flight semifinals at the NESCAC Championships, Rilla will take his 8-5 record to the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championships May 21-23.
Men's golf
The men's golf team teed off its spring season by taking sixth place at the 32nd-annual Lou Flumere Invitational, paced by junior David Litt's second-place performance. The Jeffs also claimed second place in the Little Three Championship, as Andrew Bruns '07 led the way with the team's only undefeated mark, 3-0-1.
Senior captain Justin Sharaf earned Golf Coaches Association of America/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar honors for leading the Jeffs in five of eight tournaments. Sharaf's graduation leaves big spikes to fill next season, and the Jeffs will look to Litt and Keith Zalaski '06, next year's captains, to fill the void.
Women's golf
The women's golf team compiled an impressive season. Led by Sarah Harper '07, they placed second in the Mass. State Championships and fifth in the Northeast Championships. The Jeffs then swept archrival Williams College, 9-0, in a dual match before taking the number two spot at Williams' Spring Invitational. Co-captain Meg Sullivan '05 came out on top for the Jeffs, tying for medalist honors at the Spring Invitational after shooting an 80.
Despite losing three to graduation, if Harper leads the way next year the Jeffs should have no problem turning in another spectacular season.