The recent men's basketball National Championship capped off a prolific stretch for Amherst athletics. Thus far in the 2006-07 school year, six teams have finished the season in the Elite Eight or better. The ceremony celebrated these teams' accomplishments and also thanked the College community for all of its support along the way.
The ceremony was emceed by Athletic Director Suzanne Coffey and included remarks from President Tony Marx, men's basketball Head Coach Dave Hixon '75 and two quad-captains of the men's basketball team: Dan Wheeler '07 and Mike Salerno '07.
"Amherst prides itself on having the most amazing students," Marx said. Coupling the sports teams' "astonishing accomplishments" with the record number of fellowships and scholarships that Amherst students have won this year, Marx deemed these successes signs of the College's continued tradition of excellence.
A common theme throughout the half-hour ceremony was the acknowledgment of the fans and the support they had given the teams. Hixon noted a conversation with an opposing coach.
"'It's really hard to play and win in LeFrak [Gymnasium]," Hixon recalled the coach telling him. When Hixon asked why, the coach replied, "Because your kids are nuts."
Hixon noted some of the ploys used by the student cheering section in LeFrak, such as sarcastically cheering for the other team or confusing the teams with premature countdowns. "You've made LeFrak a definite home-court advantage," Hixon said.
"Lord Jeff Nation is really building," Salerno added, referring to the College's fan base. He called on non-seniors to "build on this and keep it going."
The majority of the ceremony consisted of Coffey running through the accomplishments of the six celebrated teams: women's cross country, women's ice hockey, women's soccer, women's indoor track and field, women's swimming and diving and men's basketball.
The women's cross country team finished in second place at Nationals, just one point behind Middlebury College. The cross country team finished first in the Little Three Championship, NESCAC Championship and ECAC Championship. To cap it off, Head Coach Erik Nedeau was named Women's NESCAC Cross Country Coach of the Year.
The women's soccer team finished the season seventh in the nation, falling to the College of New Jersey in the Elite Eight of the Div. III NCAA Tournament. Both forward Amy Armstrong '07 and goalie Piper Crowell '07 were named All Americans in leading the team to a 15-2-2 record.
Like the women's soccer team, the women's indoor track and field team finished seventh in the nation. All six runners competing in the National meet took home All-American honors in at least one event; an honor bestowed upon the top eight finishers of each event. Shauneen Garrahan '07 earned All-American honors in three events: the mile run, the 5,000-meter run and as the anchor leg of the distance medley relay.
The women's ice hockey team had, as Coffey said, "a storybook season," ultimately finishing fourth in the nation. The team's season was defined by firsts. This year's squad was the first women's ice hockey team in the College's history to win a NESCAC playoff game and a NES-CAC Championship, doing so in a dramatic, triple-overtime victory over Middlebury. The women's ive hockey team reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for the first time. The team set a school record with 20 victories and is the most accomplished women's ice hockey team the College has ever had. "Amherst women's hockey has indeed arrived as a national contender," Coffey declared.
The women's swimming and diving team finished second at the Div. III National Championships, with Brittany Sasser '08 named Swimmer of the Meet and Head Coach Nick Nichols named Coach of the Meet. The team finished the season with an 8-0 dual meet record and a second-place finish at the NESCAC Championships.
Finally, the men's basketball team capped off the College's recent athletic success with a National Championship, the program's first. The team had reached the Final Four two of the past three years, but came up empty each time, not winning a single game. This year, things were different, and Amherst cut down the nets after beating Virginia Wesleyan College in the finals. The team finished the season at 30-2: the best record in school history. Along the way, the team set another school record by winning 23 consecutive games. Point guard Andrew Olson '08 was named National Co-Player of the Year and Hixon was named National Coach of the Year.
Thanks in large part to these six teams' efforts, the College currently sits in fourth place in the Director's Cup standings, a ranking of the top Div. III athletic programs in the country.
"We set the bar high," Coffey remarked, and so far in the year, Amherst athletics has gone above and beyond expectations.