AMHERST — Madeline Eck grew up surrounded by athletes, specifically quarterbacks.
Her father Michael played QB at Virginia. Her older brothers, Jordan and Conner, played the position at Hamilton and Union, respectively.
Eck’s mother Tracy played tennis.
Naturally, Madeline Eck tried most sports growing up in Rye, New York. She played baseball, soccer and tennis but one particular sport grabbed her attention – basketball.
“Off the court when I was younger I was always really shy, but on the court I was able to completely forget about that and be assertive and completely dialed in,” Eck said. “I feel like basketball has really helped me grow as a person on the court and off the court.”
That growth led to Amherst College, where the junior guard and the two-time defending national champion Mammoths are set to open the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The sixth-ranked Mammoths (23-3) will play Husson (19-8) in the first round at 7 p.m. at LeFrak Gymnasium. Vassar (21-6) and Geneseo (23-4) play at 5 p.m. The winners play Saturday at 6 p.m.
Eck averages 16.0 points per game, which is second behind Hannah Fox (16.2 ppg) for the Mammoths.
When Eck was deciding on where to play basketball in college, she looked at some Ivy League schools, but focused on the NESCAC, narrowing down the list to Tufts and Amherst.
“I was pretty torn between the two of them,” she said. “Then I came to basketball camp at Amherst going into my senior year and I just really liked the campus, the girls on the team, and I felt like the school resonated with me and fit with my interests.”
The Mammoths’ NESCAC Tournament run was stopped by the Jumbos in the semifinal round.
If the teams are going to meet in the NCAA tournament, it will come in the finals, which is fine with Eck, who wants to keep Amherst national title streak going.
“I mean, since we already have two national championships, I’d love to keep it going and get four,” she said.