Sports

The Jeffs opened their season on Wednesday, March 12, against Bates College. The game was held on the turf of Springfield College to avoid the inevitable snow on the Amherst and Bates campuses. The early-season NESCAC contest posed a danger to the Jeffs, who hadn’t seen much action outdoors.

“That was just unbelievable,” said Head Coach Dave Hixon ’75. “You hope you shoot your free throws that well.” The loss marked an end to the playing careers of longtime Jeff stalwarts, tri-captains Steve Zieja ’03, Pat Fitzsimons ’03 and Ryan Faulkner ’03. Although the trio was unable to fulfill

When their first game finally began, the Jeffs dug themselves an early hole, falling behind 7-2 at halftime. However, the Jeffs prevailed, opening the 2003 season with a 12-11 victory over the fourth-ranked William Smith College Herons on March 15. The team’s offense was led by attackers Abby Ouimet

Facing a difficult schedule, the Jeffs returned to Amherst from Claremont, Ca., with a 2-2 record. In their first match the Jeffs received a harsh wake-up-call, as they were whitewashed by Emory University. Emory, the number-two team in the country, swept all nine singles and doubles matches in a day

The individual team members all have positive attitudes about the forthcoming season. “Everyone is really motivated and excited about outdoor track this year. We ended the season with many best times while training through[out],” said John Stanton-Geddes ’04. The team’s spring break trip boosted morale as well as

One problem for the team last year was the weather, which created difficulty for training and racing. “Hopefully this year we will have some better and warmer weather to be able to do some of the things necessary to do our best,” said Head Coach Erik Nedeau Leading the team