BRUNSWICK — It’s that time of the year, as Bowdoin College athletic squads get set for New England Small College Athletic Conference tournaments as another season winds down.

The Polar Bears are well-represented, with men’s lacrosse heading to the NESCAC semifinals along with the softball squad, while both the men’s and women’s tennis teams are off to Williams College today for opening round action.

And, just a note, baseball has a series at Middlebury this weekend to conclude the regular season before opening the NESCAC playoffs on May 11 at Trinity.

Men’s lacrosse

The end is near in Tom McCabe’s Bowdoin College coaching career. He begins the next phase of his exciting life alongside his wife, Pat, in the Peace Corps, once the season is concluded.

But first, he leads his third-seeded Polar Bears into the NESCAC semifinals against No. 2 Trinity at Tufts University on Saturday (game time 3 p.m.).

“We couldn’t ask for anything more, playing against a team we had a heck of a game against last time,” said McCabe, whose squad lost to Trinity, 7-4, in a low-scoring affair on April 17 when the Bantams scored three goals in the final three minutes. “We realize there are things we can do better, and I feel we are in a strong position, with the kids playing well.”

Trinity finished 11-5 overall, 7-3 in the NESCAC, while Bowdoin sits at 10-5, 6-4 in the conference. The Polar Bears defeated Wesleyan 6-4 in the quarterfinals last Saturday and have won five of their last six games.

Bowdoin has been here before, having advanced to the NESCAC semifinals the past four seasons. In 2008, an 11-9 victory over Wesleyan in the semifinals was followed by a 9-4 loss to Williams in the NESCAC championship, keeping the Polar Bears from claiming their first NESCAC title.

This year’s seniors have been through three semifinal losses in a row.

“This isn’t new for them being in this position, and hopefully we can win one,” said McCabe.

Junior Billy Bergner leads the way on the scoresheet for Bowdoin with 21 goals and 20 assists. Senior Mark Flibotte is the top goal scorer for the Polar Bears with 29 goals, while junior Patrick Lawlor (13 goals, 12 assists), and seniors Nathan Fritts (16- 8) and Keegan Mehlhorn (8-14) have also been regular scorers this season.

In goal, senior Chris Williamson has been sensational, with a solid 7.49 goals-against average and 62.8-percent save percentage.

Tufts (15-2, 9-1) is the top seed and will face No. 4 Connecticut College (10-5, 6-4) in Saturday’s semifinal opener at noon. The winners play Sunday at noon.

Softball

Ryan Sullivan’s Polar Bears return to the NESCAC Tournament for the second time in three years after posting a 28-12 mark, including an 8-4 record in the NESCAC’s East Division in finishing second behind Tufts (33-5, 12-0).

Two years ago, Bowdoin was second in the conference tourney and advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament as part of a 34-14 season.

Bowdoin was scheduled to play Amherst at Tufts University today at 2:30 p.m., while the hosts are slated to take on Middlebury at 5 p.m. in the double-elimination format.

“These seniors (Gen Barlow, Caroline Dewar, Amy Hackett, Hillary Smyth and Courtney Colantuno) have been in this position before,” said Sullivan. “It’s a strong group of teams this year. Middlebury (19-14) won the NESCAC last year, while Amherst (33- 2) and Tufts (33-5) are considered the favorites record-wise.

“We are excited to be here, and we’re not overwhelmed, realizing we have as good a chance as the other three teams.”

Sullivan’s confidence rests on two things. First, the right arm of Melissa DellaTorre, and secondly, the offense which produced a team .333 batting average this season.

“Melissa (14-6, three saves, 2.02 earned-run average, 132 innings, 125 strikeouts) has been our workhorse, and we probably asked too much from her this season, but she is ready to be called on again this weekend,” said Sullivan, who also has pitchers Tricia Thibodeau and Nancy Walker. “Offensively, we never really had a slump all year. The girls were able to move on individually after a poor performance, a credit to them.

“And, they’ve done everything we’ve asked of them. From working hard in the training room, to taking care of injuries, they have each been committed to this team.”

Barlow leads the offense with a .425 batting average, with seven home runs, 47 RBIs and 46 runs scored. Casey Correa hit .400 and also belted seven home runs with 39 RBIs, while Dewar scored 32 runs and hit .375. Toni DaCampo (.368, five home runs, 30 RBIs, 31 runs), Hackett (.353, 36 runs, four home runs, 36 RBIs) and Smyth (.336, 39 runs) helped share the offensive load.

“We need everyone this weekend, and I feel the players are ready to perform at their best,” concluded Sullivan.

Men’s tennis

Last season’s tennis campaign ended when Stephen Sullivan and Oscar Pena teamed up to win the NCAA Division III doubles championship, the first tennis duo in Polar Bear history to win an NCAA title.

This season, Bowdoin’s doubles teams, under the tutelage of first-year coach Conor Smith, have continued to roll along. In fact, until last Saturday’s 6-3 loss to Williams, the Polar Bears had gone nine matches without a doubles defeat.

The Polar Bears are looking for more. Bowdoin was slated to play at Williams today as the NESCAC Men’s Tennis Championship got under way.

Bowdoin, the No. 3 seed after an 11-6 campaign (7-2 NESCAC), faced sixthseeded Trinity (9-7, 5-4) at 1 p.m. in the opening round, with the winner advancing to take on the No. 2 Ephs (15-1, 6-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m.

In the other first-round matchup, No. 5 Bates met fourth-seeded Middlebury, with the survivor moving on to face top-seeded Amherst on Saturday.

Bowdoin defeated Trinity, 6-1, on March 31. This is the third time in four years the teams will meet in the tournament. Bowdoin claimed a 5-3 victory in 2009 before falling to eventual champ Middlebury in the semifinals. In 2010, the Bantams earned a 5-2 win to eliminate the Polar Bears.

This season, Pena has teamed with Sam King at No. 1 doubles in compiling a 14-5 record. The No. 2 duo of Kyle Wolstencroft and Doug Caplan are 11-4, while Casey Grindon and Chris Lord began teaming on March 31 and are undefeated (6-0) since.

Pena (6-7), King (4-10), Lord (13-5), Grindon (14-2, won last 12 matches at No. 4 singles), Noah Bragg (9-5) and Wolstencroft (10-5) are slated to compete in singles.

Women’s tennis

The Polar Bear women are the fourth seed in this weekend’s tournament, and were slated to open against No. 5 Tufts earlier this morning at Williams College.

Bowdoin went 10-7 (5-3 NESCAC) this year, while the Jumbos are 8-9 (4- 4). The Polar Bears defeated Tufts at home, 8-1, on April 19. The winner takes on top-seeded Williams (18-1, 7-0) on Saturday at 9 a.m.

No. 6 Trinity (10-5, 4-4) met No. 3 Middlebury (13-2, 5-2) in Friday’s other first round contest.

This was the third time Bowdoin and Tufts met in the championship, with each team picking up a win. The Jumbos won the last meeting, taking a 5-0 decision in 2008 as well as downing the Polar Bears in the D-III tourney, 5- 4.

Bowdoin has lost the past three seasons in the NESCAC first round, including last year’s 5-1 setback against Middlebury. However, the Polar Bears have picked up at least one victory in the D-III tournament.

This season, coach Hobie Holbach has shuffled his doubles lineup. Last weekend, Emma Lewis and Kellen Alberstone improved to 2-0 at No. 1 doubles, along with the No. 3 team of Kate Winingham and Emily Lombardi.

At singles, Alberstone (12-8), Winingham (14-10), Lombardi (13-10), Chantalle Lavertu (12-5), Lewis (12-4), Susanna Howard (10-3) and Hannah Hoerner (10-5) have seen action.