But the men's basketball squad wasn't the only Amherst team to reach nationals. The women's indoor track and field team and both the men's and women's swimming and diving squads sent athletes to their respective NCAA Div. III Championships.
Men's basketball
The 2005-06 men's basketball team has cemented its place in Amherst history. The Jeffs ended their season with a 28-4 record, their winningest, reaching the NCAA Final Four for the second time in the last three seasons only to fall to national runner-up Wittenberg College in a closely fought semifinal, 64-60. Keeping up the good work of recent years, top-seeded Amherst also dominated the NESCAC Tournament, beating Tufts University in the finals-their second match of the season against the Jumbos-after giving Connecticut and Bates Colleges a good thrashing.
The third Jeffs-Jumbos contest, however, was the highlight of the season. Amherst hosted the NCAA Div. III Sectional, and faced Tufts in the third round of the national tournament. Down by three with seconds remaining in regulation, sophomore sensation Andrew Olson converted an off-balance three-point attempt to force overtime. Dubbed "The Shot," Olson's heroics gave the Jeffs more than enough momentum to win the sectional bracket and permanently etched Olson's name in the Amherst record books.
Individual accomplishments rivaled the team's overall achievements as well. Head Coach Dave Hixon '75 reached the 500th-career victory mark at the Occidental Holiday Classic where Amherst defeated Pomona-Pitzer Colleges 61-42. Senior co-captain guard John Bedford ended his career third on Amherst's all-time scoring list with 1517 career points. He also earned Third-Team NABC and D3Hoops.com All-America, First-Team NABC All-Northesast Region, First-Team Div. III New England ECAC All-Star, Second-Team D3Hoops.com All-Northeast Region and First-Team All-NESCAC. Senior guard Ray Corrigan, posted 342 assists, the second highest assist total in Amherst history. Olson was crowned MVP of the Div. III Sectional team, and forward Dan Wheeler '07 earned a spot on the All-Sectional squad as well. Both Wheeler and Olson garnered Second-Team All-NESCAC honors. Olson was also NCAA Sectional MVP and All-Sectional team, and with 79 assists made this year, broke the Amherst single-season record for assists.
With one more season to go, Wheeler is already number 44 on the Amherst all-time leading scorers list. Together with guard Tim McLaughlin '07, who ranked ninth in the NESCAC in steals, he was named to the Fifth-Annual Ken Wright '52 Invitational All-Tournament team.
Women's basketball
The women's basketball team ended its season with a 10-15 overall mark (4-5 NESCAC). At the lopsided home game against Connecticut College, where they beat the Camels 75-39, 12 different Jeffs posted scores for the home team. Earning the fifth seed in the NESCAC Tournament, the Jeffs fell to number-four Williams in the quarterfinals, despite leading the conference in defensive rebounds.
On the individual level, senior forward/center Julie Smith graduates as Amherst's third all-time leading shot blocker and was best in NESCAC for field goal percentage. Co-captain forward/center Katie Latham '06 is seventh in the NESCAC in defensive rebounds and ends her career as Amherst's fourth all-time leading rebounder. Fellow co-captain guard Krissy Morin '06 ranked eighth in the NESCAC in free throw percentage. She tied Sara Bozorg '03 for Amherst's single-game assist record, and captured eighth place on Amherst's career assist list.
Men's ice hockey
The men's ice hockey team closed its season with an even 12-12-1 overall record (9-9-1 ECAC East/NESCAC). The Jeffs were seeded sixth in the eight-team NESCAC Tournament, and fell to number-three Bowdoin College by a score of 5-1 in the quarterfinals.
The Jeffs started out on a tear, winning the Spurrier Tournament at Wesleyan University, taking games against Connecticut College and Wesleyan. They tied for first in the NESCAC in combined special teams- third in penalty kill percentage and fifth in power play percentage.
Forwards Sean Ellis '07 and Kyle Schoppel '08 tied for 20th in the NESCAC with 10 goals apiece. Schoppel, the MVP of the Spurrier Tournament, scored half of his tallies while on the power play, which was good for 15th in the NESCAC. Defensemen Brandon Zangel '07 and Michael MacIntosh '08 shared the 15th rank in the conference for defenseman scoring. First-year Rylan Burns was awarded NESCAC Player of the Week for the week of November 28 after he notched his first four collegiate points in one weekend, propelling the Jeffs to victory at the Spurrier Tournament.
Women's ice hockey
The women's ice hockey team finished with a 10-15 overall record (6-10 NESCAC). They were seeded fifth in the eight-team NESCAC Tournament, where they lost to fourth seed Colby College, 4-2, in the quarterfinals. Junior defender Rachel Simon tied for ninth place in the NESCAC for defenseman scoring. Sophomore goaltender Stacey Johnson was ranked sixth in the conference in winning percentage, sixth in goals against average and seventh in save percentage. She was also NESCAC Player of the Week for the week of January 30. Her 82 saves were crucial to Amherst's three victories over St. Anselm, Trinity and Hamilton Colleges.
First-year forward Lindsey Harrington was NESCAC Player of the Week for the week of Jaunary 9, while fellow rookie forward Tarasai Karega was crowned the 2006 NCAA Div. III Statistical Champion after leading the country with nine power play goals, which contributed to her 21 points.
Men's squash
The men's squash team began its season ranked 11th in the nation and ended it one spot higher. The leap in standings put the Jeffs ahead of Brown University, which topped Amherst 7-2 earlier in the season. In the Hoehn Division-for teams ranked 9-16-the Jeffs took second place.
At the first-ever NESCAC Championships, hosted by Trinity College, the Jeffs tied for third place with Bates College. To cap the 2005-06 season, Amherst hosted the CSA Individual Championships for the first time. Two Jeffs-junior tri-captain Auloke Mather and first-year sensation Drew Blacker-were eligible to compete in the Molloy Division, and Blacker reached the Round of 16 before falling to Matthew Greenberg of Cornell University.
Women's squash
The women's squash team launched its season well with a 9-0 victory over Northeastern University, but ran into some trouble as the season progressed and ended with a 9-13 record. However, the Jeffs posted key wins against Tufts University, Smith College, Colby College, Mount Holyoke College, Wesleyan University and Franklin & Marshall College, and came in second place at the Little Three Championships. After a narrow and heartbreaking loss to Middlebury College during the NESCAC Championships the Jeffs had to settle for seventh place. At the Howe Cup Nationals hosted by Harvard University, the Jeffs were the number-two seed in the Walker Cup division.
At the CSA Individual Championships, junior Caroline Shannon cruised to the semifinals of the Holleran Division before falling to eventual champion Arianna Kourides of Williams College.
Indoor track and field
The men's and women's indoor track and field teams took advantage of the mild winter and trained outside as much as possible. The Jeffs' hard work paid off as several runners posted national-qualifying times.
Heather Wilson '08 went to her first NCAA Div. III Track and Field Championship meet and competed in the 5,000-meter run; she finished in 12th place. Even though a stress fracture in her femur kept all-American Shauneen Garrahan '07 off the track for most of the season, she recovered in time to join Zandra Walton '09, Caitlin McDermott-Murphy '09 and Ginger Polich '06 on the distance medley relay (DMR) squad. The DMR team qualified for the national meet, taking ninth place.
The top team performance was at the Div. III New England Championships, where the team placed third.
On the men's side, junior co-captain Sam Hayman and sophomore Tomas Morrissey each posted a third-place finish in the Div. III New England Championships, getting top-three honors in the 1,000-meter run and the 3,000-meter run, respectively.
Women's swimming
The women's swimming and diving team posted a third place finish in the NESCAC Championships, and claimed fourth place at the NCAA Div. III Championship meet. Sophomore Brittany Sasser was outstanding, as she broke the national record in the 200-yard backstroke at NESCACs with a blistering 1:59.92. her record breaking wasn't done, though. She bested her own 200 record by posting a 1:59.87, and added another national record to her resume in the 100-yard backstroke. The 800-yard freestyle relay team of Julie Kim '08, Sasser, co-captain Margaret Ramsey '06 and Meaghan Stern '09 also claimed a national title.
Just six swimmers competed for the Jeffs in Nationals, yet their fourth-place finish was the highest in Amherst history. Head Coach Nick Nichols was honored as the NCAA Div. III Swimming Coach of the Year for leading the Jeffs to this remarkable feat.
Men's swimming
The men's swimming and diving team took third place in the NESCAC Championships, and had two swimmers qualify for the NCAA Div. III Championship meet.
At nationals, senior co-captain Rick Estacio captured third place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 50.49 seconds. His teammate Ethan Treat '07 excelled in the individual medley events, taking second in the 400-yard and third in the 200-yard races. Treat also swam to a third-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly.