The NESCAC was well-represented at several Div. III championship events held March 16-18, as the conference sent at least one team to the national semifinals in men's basketball, men's hockey and women's hockey.
Headlining the NESCAC's showing was Amherst's men's basketball team, which captured its first-ever national title with an 80-67 win over defending-champion Virginia-Wesleyan College on March 17. Making their third Final Four appearance in four years, the Jeffs were led once again by junior point guard Andrew Olson, who earned tournament MVP honors after averaging 14.8 points and 8.6 assists during Amherst's NCAA run.
The victory came a day after Amherst nearly squandered a 14-point halftime lead in its national semifinal clash against the College of Wooster, which posted a 21-4 run in the first eight minutes of the second half to take a three-point lead. The Jeffs fought back, however, pulling away at the end of a back-and-forth stretch over a final 12 minutes that saw four ties.
In women's hockey, Middlebury stumbled in its bid to earn a fourth-straight national championship, falling 2-1 to top-ranked Plattsburgh State in the title game on March 17. The Cardinals, who dealt the Panthers their only two regular-season losses this year, earned vindication for a 3-1 loss to Middlebury in last season's NCAA championship game, completing the first undefeated season by any women's college hockey team at any level in the NCAA era.
The loss ended the stellar careers of six Panther seniors who graduate as the winningest class in program history, leading Middlebury to a 113-13-3 mark over four -years.
The day before, Plattsburgh State toppled another NESCAC team in the semifinal, ending Amherst's Cinderella run with a 3-2 victory over the Jeffs. The loss marked the end of Amherst's best season in program history, a year which included its first NESCAC Championship and first Frozen Four appearance.
The Middlebury men's hockey team also came up short in its bid to win its fourth-straight national title, falling in the championship game to Oswego in a 4-3 overtime thriller. Sophomore forward Garren Reisweber notched the game-winner in the extra session as the Lakers captured the school's first-ever national championship in a team sport. The loss was the first for Middlebury in its nine all-time trips to the NCAA Championship game.
-by Sapna Bansil
