Men's Lacrosse Championship Seeding Announced

Defending Champ Tufts Earns Top Seed

HADLEY, Mass. – For the first time since 2007, defending NESCAC and NCAA champion Tufts University has earned the top seed in the NESCAC Men's Lacrosse Championship. The Jumbos are guaranteed home field advantage for as long as they participate in the 2011 edition of the tournament and will host a quarterfinal contest on Sunday, May 1. Also hosting a first round match will be Amherst, Middlebury, and Trinity, and all four games will start at 1:00 p.m. The highest remaining seed following Sunday's action will host the final rounds the following weekend.

A year after amassing the best season in program history with a 20-1 overall record and the national title, Tufts (13-2, 8-1 NESCAC) returned to the field this spring and raced to eight consecutive conference wins to claim the number-one seed. The defending champs have suffered only two setbacks this year, a non-conference loss at Endicott on April 12, 9-8, and a 15-9 loss at Bowdoin in the season finale on Friday. During the 2010 NESCAC championship, Tufts advanced to the final for the third time and won its first conference crown, denying Middlebury an eighth title in a thrilling 13-12 win. The Jumbos will begin their title defense against an upset-minded Connecticut College (6-9, 2-7 NESCAC), the eighth seed. Last spring, the Camels entered the NESCAC tournament undefeated and as the top seed for the first time ever, only to be sent packing by eighth-seeded Wesleyan in a 6-5 loss. It was the first time the top-seeded team had been ousted in the quarterfinals, and guaranteed that for the fourth year in a row the number-one seed would not win the NESCAC crown. Last season, Connecticut College handed Tufts its only loss of the season. This year, the Jumbos claimed a 6-5 victory over the Camels on April 16 in Medford. Sunday's quarterfinal meeting will be the second in tournament history, as Tufts won the 2004 first round matchup, 9-7.

While Amherst (13-1, 8-1 NESCAC) knew it could not earn the championship's top seed after Tufts locked it up last weekend with a win at Middlebury, the Lord Jeffs still had an opportunity to finish as high as second in the NESCAC standings with a win over Trinity. In a battle of top teams in the conference on Friday, the Jeffs held off the Bantams in an 8-6 final and earned their best finish ever in the conference standings. The 2011 campaign has been stellar for Amherst. After dropping the season opener to Tufts all the way back on March 12, 13-9, the Jeffs have recorded 13 consecutive victories, including the first win over Middlebury since 1989 and against Wesleyan since 1999. Amherst will look to continue its winning ways on Sunday against seventh-seeded Bowdoin (7-6, 4-5 NESCAC). The Polar Bears had a rough start to the conference slate, going 1-5 over its first six matches but finished strong with wins in its last three, including the decision over the defending champ Jumbos. Amherst won the lone meeting between the two squads during the regular season back on March 26 in Brunswick, 13-10. Sunday's showdown will be the third in playoff history for the two, with both teams each earning a first round win. It will be interesting to see which team advances to the semifinals. The Jeffs made four consecutive semifinal appearances from 2002 through 2005 but haven't been back since. The Polar Bears, meanwhile, have advanced in four of the last five years.

Although Middlebury (10-3, 6-3 NESCAC) finished tied in the conference standings with Trinity, the Panthers held the head-to-head tie-breaker for the third seed thanks to a 12-8 decision over the Bantams on April 16. Middlebury closed out the regular season with a win at home on Friday over Williams, 12-9, the Panthers' fifth win in their last six games. No team has won more NESCAC titles than Middlebury, as the Panthers went undefeated in the conference tournament over the first seven years. Their last title, however, came in 2007, and since then the Panthers have been knocked out in the semifinals twice - in overtime no less. Middlebury will begin its quest for an eight NESCAC championship on Sunday against sixth-seeded Colby (9-6, 4-5 NESCAC). Although this will only be the fourth tournament appearance for the Mules, it is their third in a row. Colby claimed the sixth seed over Bowdoin with an 11-10 overtime victory over the Polar Bears on April 6. After succumbing to Middlebury in the regular season meeting on April 2, 11-6 in Vermont, Colby went on to win six of its last eight games, including its last four after downing Maine rival Bates on Friday, 10-8. This will be the second time these two teams have met in the playoffs. The Panthers posted a 14-8 win over the Mules in the 2002 title game, the only time Colby ever advanced past the first round.

Two rivals will meet in the remaining quarterfinal contest on Sunday - fourth-seeded Trinity (11-3, 6-3 NESCAC) and fifth-seeded Wesleyan (10-4, 5-4 NESCAC). The Bantams lost at Amherst on Friday by the aforementioned 8-6 score, their only loss in the last four games. The Cardinals, meanwhile, closed out the regular season with a win in a hard-fought, 11-10 decision over Connecticut College at home. Wesleyan opened the season with six straight victories before suffering its first loss as part of a three-game skid. One of the three setbacks came against Trinity on April 6, 7-6, however following the setback the Cardinals rebounded and finished the season 4-1 over their last five. All three of the Bantams' losses came against the teams above them in the NESCAC standings this season. History may be on the side of the Cardinals come Sunday. Wesleyan, which is 2-0 against Trinity in the conference tournament all-time, has advanced to the semifinals nine out of 10 times. The Bantams, who are hosting a quarterfinal contest for only the second time ever, are 0-5 in the NESCAC postseason.

2011 NESCAC MEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Sunday, May 1 at Higher Seeds
No. 8 Connecticut College at No. 1 Tufts - 1:00 p.m.
No. 7 Bowdoin at No. 2 Amherst - 1:00 p.m.
No. 6 Colby at No. 3 Middlebury - 1:00 p.m.
No. 5 Wesleyan at No. 4 Trinity - 1:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, May 7 at Highest Remaining Seed
Highest remaining seed vs. Lowest remaining seed - 12:00 p.m.
Remaining first round winners - 3:00 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, May 8
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.