By Jim Stout
MaxPreps.com
The Tabor Academy girls basketball team of Marion, Mass., has put together one of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council's most successful programs over the last five seasons - in any sport.
Why should this winter be any different?
The Seawolves of coach Will Becker have reached the finals of the NEPSAC Class A playoffs for five consecutive years, and were seeded No. 1 for the 2007 tournament when the playoff selections and schedules were announced earlier this week.
Tabor will face No. 8 Choate in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday, and will be positioned in the upper bracket with No. 4 Worcester Academy and No. 5 Kent, which meet in another quarterfinal game.
Second-seeded New Hampton, one of the few teams to have beaten Tabor this season, will play No. 7 Taft in Class A, while No. 3 Nobles will play No. 6 Loomis-Chaffee.
All four NEPSAC girls' championship games will be held at Loomis-Chaffee, in Windsor, Conn., on Sunday. The Class A final will be the fourth of the four title contests, at 5 p.m.
The top seed for the NEPSAC boys Class A tournament will be Bridgton Academy, which will play one of four quarterfinal games at Endicott College on Wednesday against No. 8 Phillips-Exeter. No. 2 Brewster Academy vs. No. 7 St. Thomas More; No. 4 Winchendon vs. No. 5 New Hampton and No. 3 South Kent vs. No. 6 Northfield Mount Herman will be the other Class A quarterfinal match-ups at Endicott.
The championship game in Class A will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at Worcester (Mass.) Academy.
Quarterfinal games for the NESPAC girls Class B playoffs are as follows:
No. 1 Governor's vs. No. 8 Winsor (cq); No. 4. Cushing Academy vs. No. 5 Groton; No. 3. St Mark's vs. No. 6 St. George's and No. 2 Suffield vs. No. 7 Rivers. The championship game will be at 3 p.m. Sunday at Loomis.
In the Class B boys tournament, No. 1 Cushing will host No. 8 Loomis; No. 4 St. Andrew's will play No. 5 Salisbury at Worcester Academy; No. 2 Marianapolis will play host to No. 7 Tilton and No. 3 Kimball Union will face No. 6 Taft at Deerfield. The championship game will be at Worcester Academy at 2 p.m. Sunday.
In the girls Class C tournament, No. 1 Kimball Union plays No. 8 Brewster Academy; No. 4 Chase Collegiate plays No. 5 Lexington Christian; No. 3 St. Luke's plays No. 6 Gann and No. 2 Hamden Hall plays No. 7 Hyde. The final is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at Loomis.
In the boys Class C draw, No. 1 Lawrence Academy plays host to No. 8 St. Sebastian's; No. 4 Noble & Greenough faces No. 5 Brunswick at the Pomfret School; No. 2 Buckingham, Browne & Nichols plays No. 7 Hopkins at St. George's and No. 6 Holderness is at No. 3 St. Mark's. The final will be at noon Sunday at Worcester.
In the Class D girls tournament, the first-round games are No. 1. Falmouth Academy vs. No. 8 Stoneleigh-Burnham; No. 4 Tilton vs. No. 5 Chapel Hill; No. 3 Learning Center vs. MacDuffie and No. 2 Wooster vs. No. 7 Oakwood. The final will be at Loomis on Sunday at 11 a.m.
In the boys Class D-1 tournament, No. 1 St. Luke's plays host to No. 8 Christian Heritage; No. 5 Moses Brown is at No. 4 Pingree; No. 7. Hyde is at No. 2 Brimmer & May and No. 3 Beaver Country Day greets No. 6 Hamden Hall. The final is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at Cheshire (Conn.) Academy.
For the boys Class D-2 tournament, No. 1 Concord Academy is at home against No. 8 Wheeler; No. 5 Chase Collegiate is at Bancroft; No. 7 Cambridge-Weston is at Watkinson and No. 6 New York Military travels to No. 3 Darrow. The final is set for 1 p.m. Sunday at Cheshire.
Jim Stout is the MaxPreps.com Master Photographer for the Massachusetts/Rhode Island area and a Northeast Region columnist. He may be reached at 203-563-2297 or at j.stout@jmstout.org.
