This year’s edition of the Amherst women’s basketball team will look to start yet another successful campaign on the heels of their 29-4 record last season. With D3hoops’ reigning Northeast Region Coach of the Year G.P. Gromacki at the helm in his third season, the Jeffs have high expectations as the second-ranked team in D3hoops.com’s preseason poll.
Last year was undoubtedly the program’s finest, as the team plowed its way through several nationally ranked programs en route to the school’s first-ever appearance in the semifinal round of the NCAA Championship. The team also earned a second-seeded berth in the NESCAC Championships, which they went on to win, after finishing the regular season 8-1 in conference play. Last year’s team also made their marks on the Amherst record books after starting their season 18-0, which became the school record for the longest win streak and best start to a season. They also managed to set the school record for points scored in a season with 2318.
The Jeffs hope to reach even higher this year, but they will have to do it without some familiar faces. Four members have graduated, leaving behind places for new team leaders, and many of the three returning juniors and three returning sophomores have already shown promise. Junior forward/center Sarah Leyman was named to the All-NESCAC Second Team last season, and junior guard/forward Jaci Daigneault became the first player in program history to be named to D3hoops.com’s All-Northeast Region First Team and their All-America Second Team, as well as being named to the All-NESCAC First Team. Other returning players include junior guard Kristyn Dunleavy, and sophomores guard Kim Fiorentino, center Lem Atanga-McCormick and guard Shannon Finucane.
The team’s season kicks off Nov. 21 with the Amherst Tip-Off Tournament against Farleigh Dickinson College.
Men
The Amherst men’s basketball team is looking to further their success from last season, when they finished 21-7. The team is guided by head coach David Hixon ’75, who has become the winningest coach in program history in his 32-year tenure, and for the ninth-consecutive year led the team to at least 20 wins. The team comes into this season ranked 25th in D3hoops.com’s preseason poll.
In their 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament last year, the Jeffs were upended for the first time ever in the first round, losing to Gwynedd-Mercy College 68-62 after making it to the Final Four each of the previous three years. The team, however, managed to turn its second seed in the NESCAC Tournament into a championship game, defeating Williams in the semifinal round.
The loss to Gwynedd-Mercy College also marked the end of the road for five seniors, who left the school as the third-winningest class ever with 106 wins. Amongst those departing seniors was guard/forward Brian Baskauskas, who finished his career with 1,204 point, good for 15th on Amherst’s all-time scoring list. He was also named to the NABC All-Region First Team and the D3hoops.com All-America Fourth Team.
The team should receive an infusion of new faces this season, as only four players are returning from last season. Senior guard/forward Steven Wheeler, sophomore guard Conor Meehan, sophomore guard Taylor Barrise and sophomore forward Jeff Holmes will all be expected to help usher in a new band of players. “We’re going to have a pretty big line-up this year. On all positions, we’re going to be bigger than our opponents,” said Timothy Prowitt ’12.
The team’s season kicks off Nov. 20 with the Amherst Tip-Off Tournament against Maine-Farmington College.