Congratulations to the Amherst College women’s basketball team which ended its first ever undefeated season (33-0) with its second national championship by defeating New England Small College Athletic Conference rival Tufts 52-29 on March 18.
The Purple & White has reached the NCAA Division III tournament in each of the 10 years that G.P. Gromacki has been the head coach. Amherst won its other national title in 2011.
Incredibly, Gromacki has compiled a 295-24 record during his decade at Amherst, and his teams have not lost more than four games in any season. In six of those seasons, the Purple & White won 30 or more games.
A native of South Deerfield, Gromacki returned to the Valley in 2007 after one season at Hamilton College, and six years as coach of Saint Lawrence University, in Canton, New York, including a trip to the Division III championship game.
Gromacki’s career record is 458-62, and his winning percentage of .880 is second among all active coaches in Divisions I, II and III, behind only Geno Auriemma who has guided the University of Connecticut to 11 national titles. Gromacki this month earned his second national coach of the year award from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, and has established himself as the leader of Amherst’s own basketball dynasty.