The NESCAC Tournament came to a surprising end Sunday afternoon in Williamstown as the third-seeded Amherst Lord Jeffs upset the first-seeded Williams Ephs to earn a trip to the Div. III NCAA Tournament.
The Jeffs defeated both Trinity and Wesleyan in the tournament before facing Williams, which was undefeated in conference play this season. After losing the first game 30-20, Amherst rallied to win three consecutive games to clinch the NESCAC tournament title.
With the win, the Jeffs earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will be the sole NESCAC representative. Other teams, such as Williams (25-7) and Tufts (23-8), performed well over the course of the season but could only sit and wait for a possible at-large bid as an entry into the tournament.
A bid was never issued to the Ephs, Jumbos or any other NESCAC team - Amherst's automatic bid will be the league's only shot at a national championship. The Lord Jeffs started the season as the team to beat in the league, compiling a 14-match midseason win streak to stand at a formidable 19-1. For them, the ticket to NCAAs means not only an extension of their season, but also an opportunity for the team - and perhaps the league - to gain exposure nationwide.
"We're very proud to be able to represent the NESCAC in the NCAAs this year," Amherst coach Sue Everden said. "Hopefully we'll represent the conference well, and we'll be able to get the Amherst name out there a little further."
Amherst will open the tournament on Nov. 9 against Emmanuel College, a local school and part of the Colleges of the Fenway consortium. After rallying to beat the top team in the NESCAC, the Amherst squad currently has a great deal of confidence heading into their match-up with the Saints, according to Everden.
"They're sky-high right now," Everden said. "We've been playing some great volleyball lately."
MIT, a team that defeated Tufts three times in the regular season, was once again in the spoiler role last weekend. The Engineers were the No. 2 team in the New England region for much of the year and were almost assured an NCAA berth, whether through the NEWMAC automatic qualification or an at-large bid. With a loss to Springfield in the NEWMAC Semifinals, the Engineers ate up one of the regional at-large bids, leaving NESCAC schools on the bubble out in the cold.
The Ephs lost only one game against conference opponents the entire season, but unfortunately, it was the one that counted most. Williams is a victim of the automatic bid system, a great team denied its chance at a title because it couldn't deliver a conference championship.
The Ephs aren't the only team feeling snubbed. Amherst was part of a four-way tie for second place in the conference at 7-3 -- Tufts, Conn. College and Wesleyan also turned in seven-win NESCAC seasons.
"It's disappointing to know that we were not awarded a bid," said Conn. College coach Josh Edmed. "We had a very strong conference this year, and I'm sure we were highly considered."
For the Jumbos, the season's conclusion is equally disappointing. Last year, the Jumbos were the only NESCAC team to receive an at-large bid, and advanced all the way to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. With just one game to go in this final weekend of the regular season, the Jumbos needed one win against Williams on Oct. 28 to clinch the second seed in the NESCAC Tournament.
But Tufts lost that match, 3-0, and headed into the opening round of the tournament plagued by not only a bruised ego but by the injuries of senior co-captain and top scorer Kelli Harrison and junior setter Kaitlin O'Reilly. The Jumbos' vulnerability showed in their first and only game of the tournament, as they were upset by Conn. College, 3-2.
The Div. III tournament begins on Thursday and continues until the championship game on Nov. 18. The Final Four will be held the weekend after next at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va.
