Five-Time Defending Champion Middlebury Claims Top Spot, First Round Bye

HADLEY, Mass. - Middlebury College, the five-time defending NESCAC Women’s Lacrosse Champions, capped off another perfect NESCAC regular season on Saturday, earning the Panthers the number-one seed and a first round by in the 2006 NESCAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship. First round action for the seven-team tournament kicks off on Sunday, April 30 at 12:00 p.m. The semifinals will take place on Saturday, May 6, followed on Sunday, May 7, with the championship in Middlebury, Vt.

Middlebury (12-1, 9-0 NESCAC) battled it out with Amherst on the final day of the regular season for the top spot in the conference and a first round bye. Riding a nine-game winning streak entering today’s match, the Panthers were able to secure their sixth-consecutive number-one seed on Saturday with an 11-3 victory over the Jeffs. Middlebury finished the season with an unblemished conference record, the sixth-straight year that the Panthers have finished their NESCAC slate with a perfect conference mark. Since the inception of tournament play in 2001, the Panthers have hosted the tournament each year, winning the five previous NESCAC crowns.

While second-seeded Amherst (11-2, 7-2 NESCAC) came up short in its bid to earn the number-one seed, the Jeffs knew they were guaranteed a finish no lower than second entering the weekend. Amherst finished tied in the NESCAC standings with Colby, however Amherst’s 12-11 overtime victory at Colby on April 22 gave the Jeffs the head-to-head advantage over the Mules. Amherst will host seventh-seeded and NESCAC rival Wesleyan (9-7, 3-6 NESCAC) on Sunday. The Jeffs, who have not lost a contest to the Cardinals since tournament play was adopted, won the lone meeting between the two teams on April 8 in Middletown, Conn., 6-3. Wesleyan is making its fourth consecutive appearance in the NESCAC tournament, while Amherst has advanced to the championship game every year that the tournament has been held. The two teams have only met once in tournament action, with a then second-seeded Amherst earning a 15-7 victory over seventh-seeded Wesleyan on April 27, 2003.

The third-seed for Colby (13-2, 7-2 NESCAC) is the highest seed the Mules have ever had in the NESCAC tournament. The Mules, who are hosting a first round game for the second-straight year, will face a familiar nemesis in the form of sixth-seed Williams (8-5, 4-5 NESCAC) on Sunday afternoon. In the only meeting between the two teams in tournament play a year ago, it was Williams that knocked off Colby in the first round of the NESCAC championship, as the Ephs upended the Mules 8-6 on May 1, 2005 in Waterville. Colby extracted a bit of revenge for that loss to Williams in the early days of this season, edging the Ephs 11-9 on March 18 at Colby. Both programs will have a bit of momentum heading into Sunday’s tilt, after Williams earned a decisive 19-11 victory over Tufts on Saturday, while Colby went on the road to defeat Trinity 15-9. The Ephs have advanced to the semifinals in each of the past five seasons, while the Mules are looking for their first trip to the round of four since 2003.

Fourth-seeded Bowdoin (12-3, 6-3 NESCAC) entered the weekend knowing that it would be facing fifth-seeded Tufts (10-4, 5-4 NESCAC) on Sunday, however the only question that remained was where the game would take place. Both teams began play on Saturday with an identical conference mark of 5-3. The Polar Bears gained the advantage over the Jumbos for the fourth-seed with the combination of a Bowdoin win at Wesleyan (13-8) and a Tufts loss at Williams (19-11). The Polar Bears will be looking for revenge on Sunday over the Jumbos, after Tufts escaped Brunswick on April 4 with a 9-8 win over Bowdoin. The Jumbos can advance to the semifinals for the first time ever if they are able to defeat the Polar Bears for a second time this season. Sunday’s meeting between Tufts and Bowdoin is the first between the two clubs in tournament history.

2006 NESCAC WOMEN’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round - Sunday, April 30 at Higher Seeds
No. 7 Wesleyan at No. 2 Amherst - 12:00 p.m.
No. 6 Williams at No. 3 Colby - 12:00 p.m.
No. 5 Tufts at No. 4 Bowdoin - 12:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, May 6 at Middlebury
No. 1 Middlebury vs. lowest remaining seed
Remaining first round winners

Championship - Sunday, May 7 at Middlebury
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.