Four NESCAC schools were included in the field of 64 released by the NCAA Div. III Women's Basketball Committee for the 2011 Championship on Monday, making it the most−represented conference in the tournament for a second consecutive year.
Forty−three conferences (including the NESCAC) send their post−season tournament winners to the NCAA Championship automatically, while the selection committee picks the other 21 teams based on a set of criteria including strength of schedule, results versus regionally ranked teams, and overall win−loss percentage.
Bowdoin (22−5), Colby (21−5) and Williams (21−5) all received at−large bids, joining 2011 NESCAC Champion Amherst (26−1), which qualified via the league's automatic bid. The Lord Jeffs, who earned the No. 1 seed in their region this year, took third in the 2010 tournament, losing to the eventual national champion, Washington University in St. Louis, in the semifinals.
Tufts barely missed out on a fourth straight NCAA berth after finishing the season 18−6. A fifth−place finish and first−round exit in the NESCAC tournament left the Jumbos just shy of achieving what would have been a fourth at−large bid for the conference.
The dominance of the NESCAC nationally is nothing new. At least three teams from the conference have received bids every year since 2008, with a record five competing last year: Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby, Tufts and Williams. Even more impressive, a NESCAC team has reached the Elite Eight in seven of the past eight seasons.
Despite this success, a NESCAC team has never won a national championship in women's basketball. Since the inaugural tournament in 1982, the closest a member has come to winning the competition was in 2004, when Bowdoin lost out to University of North Carolina, Wilmington in the finals.
This year, of the NESCAC teams, Amherst looks to have the best shot at the title. After impressive Final Four runs in 2009 and 2010, the Lord Jeffs have reloaded for another run at the championship. The team — which has not lost since early January — is currently riding a 13−game win streak after crushing Bowdoin 72−37 in Sunday's NESCAC Championship.
"The attitude of this team is we don't worry about things," Amherst coach G.P. Gromacki said. "The girls don't worry about who we're playing or where we're going. They just keep doing what they need to do, and I think that's one of our biggest strengths."
Amherst, ranked No. 2 nationally, went undefeated in NESCAC play for the second straight year. Since 2007, Gromacki's squad has compiled a record of 114−9, losing just three games in league play and winning the NESCAC Championship three out of the past four seasons.
"These girls just go out and play basketball. They enjoy playing the game and have a lot of fun with it," Gromacki said. "I think they're prepared for what lies ahead and aren't worried about the intangibles outside of their control."
With only a week before the first−round games begin, Gromacki — the 2010 Div. III National Coach of the Year — believes his team's relaxed outlook will pay dividends in the single−elimination tournament.
"We remember some things from last year, and we can take away a lot from the experience, but you have to look at who's playing on our team right now," Gromacki said. "This is a different team as far as attitude goes, as far as skill level goes and as far as who we play in the games."
Bowdoin and national No. 25 Williams are also looking to build upon recent successes in the tournament. The Ephs, who lost to Amherst in the New England sectional semifinals in 2010, received an at−large bid for the second year in a row, while Bowdoin will be attending the Big Dance for the 11th consecutive season, the longest current streak in Div. III.
Then there's upstart Colby, which finished in second place in the conference ahead of both Bowdoin and Williams. The Mules have only lost three times in their past 16 games and — due to a favorable draw — will not have to face a NESCAC opponent until the national semifinals.
The NESCAC has long been one of the deepest and most talented conferences in Div. III basketball, yet a national title has remained elusive. This year, when the nets are cut down at Illinois Wesleyan's Shirk Center on March 19th, one of these four teams might be the one that ends the streak and makes history.
