Tufts Captures Top Seed; Bates in Tournament for First Time Since 2002

HADLEY, Mass. – Tufts University edged defending NESCAC champion Colby College on the final day of the regular season to win the race for the number-one seed in the 2009 NESCAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship. The Jumbos, who earned the top spot for the first time in tournament history, will join the Mules along with Middlebury and Trinity in hosting a quarterfinal contest on Sunday, April 26. The championship format has changed for 2009 from a seven-team field with the top seed earning a first round bye to an eight-team tournament. The highest remaining seed after the quarterfinals will earn the right to host the semifinals and championship on Saturday-Sunday, May 2-3.

All Tufts (13-1, 8-1 NESCAC) needed to do to secure the top seed in this year’s tournament was win its regular season finale on Friday afternoon, as the Jumbos held the head-to-head tie-breaker over Colby thanks to a 13-9 win over the Mules on March 14 in Waterville, Maine. Tied at six with Bowdoin at halftime, Tufts outscored its opponent by a 7-1 margin in the second stanza en route to a 13-7 victory and the Jumbos’ 13th win of the year, a single-season program record. Since a 15-13 setback to Williams on March 21, the lone loss of the season, Tufts has put together nine straight wins heading into Sunday’s quarterfinal contest against eighth-seeded Amherst (6-7, 3-6 NESCAC). The Jeffs have had their struggles through the latter half of the season, falling in their last four games including an 11-7 loss at Trinity on Friday evening. These two teams met in the season opener for both squads all the way back on March 7 with Tufts garnering an 11-9 win in Amherst, Mass. While Amherst has won the two previous playoff meetings between the two, both in first round action, Tufts will look to re-write the tournament history books on Saturday. The Jeffs have reached the semifinals every year the championship has been held, advancing to the finals five times (2001-05), while the Jumbos have never made it out of the first round in their five postseason appearances.

Although Colby (13-1, 8-1 NESCAC) just missed out on capturing the top seed, the Mules still managed their best finish ever in conference play with a second place showing in the league standings. Colby currently has the longest winning streak in the conference at 12 games thanks to Friday evening’s 18-12 win at Bates to close out the regular season. The Mules will entertain seventh-seeded Wesleyan (6-8, 3-6 NESCAC) on Sunday in what will be the first tournament meeting between the two squads. The Cardinals picked up an important 13-12 victory on Friday at fellow Constitution State resident Connecticut College, putting Wesleyan in a four-way tie for sixth with Amherst, Bates and Bowdoin. Bates and Wesleyan both emerged from the group with 2-1 head-to-head records against all teams, and the Bobcats’ 14-13 victory was enough to relegate the Cardinals to the seventh seed. Colby put together a stellar run during the 2008 NESCAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship, winning the conference crown for the first time as the fifth seed. One more victory for the Mules will not only tie the program mark for wins in a season but will also place them into the semifinals for the third year in a row and sixth time overall. A win for Wesleyan on Sunday would be the Cardinals’ first in tournament history.

Middlebury (8-4, 7-2 NESCAC) entered the week with the knowledge that it would have the third seed in this year’s championship. The Panthers, winners of seven NESCAC titles from 2001 through 2007, finished the regular season slate on Friday at Williams with an 18-12 victory, extending their winning streak to three games in the process. Middlebury will host sixth-seeded Bates (8-7, 3-6 NESCAC), as the Bobcats will make their first postseason appearance since 2002 and third overall. Bates fell victim to Colby at home on Friday night by an 18-12 score, its third loss in the past four games. The Bobcats were part of the aforementioned four-team logjam in sixth place in the standings but managed to emerge with the sixth seed thanks to wins over Wesleyan (14-13) and Amherst (10-4) this season. Sunday’s quarterfinal showdown, the first for the two teams in tournament play, will be a rematch of the March 7 meeting in which Middlebury came away with a 14-6 win against Bates in Lewiston, Maine.

The final quarterfinal contest pits fourth-seeded Trinity (10-3, 6-3, NESCAC) against fifth-seeded Williams (10-5, 4-5 NESCAC). The Bantams head into Sunday having won three of their last four and five of their last seven, most recently downing Amherst Friday evening, 11-7. The Ephs, meanwhile, had a four-game winning streak come to a halt at home against Middlebury with an 18-12 loss. The lone encounter between the two this season was a tight affair with Trinity barely getting past Williams by a 14-13 score on March 28 in Williamstown, Mass. Although the Bantams and the Ephs have clashed only twice in the playoffs, with Williams winning both first round matches, their most recent meeting in 2007 was arguably one of the most of the most memorable in tournament lore. Second-seeded Trinity seemed to have its first tournament win in hand with an 11-5 advantage with less than 11 minutes left in regulation, but seventh-seeded Williams turned things around with six unanswered goals to force overtime. The Ephs would go on to win by a 14-13 score in the extra session, shocking the host Bantams while reaching the semifinals for the seventh consecutive year. Williams has made its way out of the first round in every conference championship it has participated in. Trinity advanced to the semifinals for the first time ever last April, getting to the final before falling to eventual champion Colby 14-12.

2009 NESCAC WOMEN’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Sunday, April 26 at Higher Seeds
No. 8 Amherst at No. 1 Tufts - 12:00 p.m.
No. 7 Wesleyan at No. 2 Colby - 12:00 p.m.
No. 6 Bates at No. 3 Middlebury - 12:00 p.m.
No. 5 Williams at No. 4 Trinity - 12:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, May 2 at Highest Remaining Seed
Highest remaining seed vs. Lowest remaining seed - 12:00 p.m.
Remaining first round winners - 2:30 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, May 3
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.