Men's squash team off to slow start, but still fighting

Battling inexperience, academic problems, an injury, and poor officiating, the men's squash team has fought hard throughout the season. Despite its efforts, the team entered this weekend with a 1-3 record through two weeks of competition.

After a decisive 7-2 victory over Colgate in their season opener, the squash team has suffered three consecutive losses since. In their most recent match, the team fell 0-9 to the Amherst Jeffs last Tuesday.

Tufts entered its fourth match of the year, against Amherst, at a significant disadvantage; Tom Keidel was unavailable due to an injury, while academics sidelined Pranav Tripathi and Jordan Kolasinki. The shorthanded Jumbos were dealt a 9-0 defeat by the Lord Jeffs.

"We were like a JV team," Coach Doug Eng said of the lineup.

"They are most likely a better team than us but we should have had a better result than 0-9," Anderson said.

The loss to Amherst left the Jumbos with a 1-3 record, entering this weekend's trip to Connecticut for the Wesleyan Invitational.

The Jumbos season began Nov. 23 and 24, when Tufts traveled north to Hanover, NH, for three matches at the Dartmouth Invitational. The Jumbos, who amassed a 1-2 record at the event, easily handled their first opponent, Colgate, 7-2.

Though the teams' top players were evenly matched (Tufts' No. 1 and No. 3 players, senior Chris Choi and freshman Spencer Maxwell, were the only two to lose against Colgate), the Jumbos proved to be far deeper than the Red Raiders. The No. 4 through No. 9 matches were all shutouts won by Tufts.

The thrill of the victory over Colgate was short-lived, though, as Tufts dropped its next match at the Invitational to Bowdoin by a count of 9-0. Only Choi and senior Nathan Anderson, the team's top two players, managed to win games; Anderson was able to push his opponent, Lawrence Delasuta, to a fifth game before falling.

"I played some of my best squash at the Invitational and had a chance to beat [Delasuta] but lost in a close match," Anderson said.

Tufts' next opponent in Hanover was Stanford, a match that would leave the Jumbos defeated but thirsty for revenge. Trailing the Cardinal 4-3 with two matches left to be decided, Tufts' fate was sealed when a questionable interference call went against one of the Jumbos' five contributing freshman, No. 4 player Derek Lee. Stanford went on to win the match 5-4.

Eng was furious about the call, as he says that complaints from Stanford rooters in attendance may have swayed the decisive ruling.

"It was blatant and unethical," Eng said. "I told their coach that we're not shaking their players' hands. I'm thinking of not playing Stanford for a couple of years."

Eng may have no control of that, though. Since the teams play in the same division, it is possible they will meet again at Nine-Man Nationals in February.

"I think that the team can definitely beat Stanford and hope that we have the opportunity to prove it in the future," Anderson said.

While Eng was not pleased with Tufts' 1-3 record, he believes that as his first-year players gain experience, their record should improve.

"We have a couple veterans, but mostly freshman," Eng said. "Four of the five lost against Stanford, mostly due to inexperience. But the second time around, they'll be better. They learned something."

Eng noted the success the University of Michigan basketball team had with five freshmen in 1992, when they lost in the national title game. Several left school afterwards for the pros.

"If the Fab Five had come back for their sophomore year, they wouldn't have made the same mistakes," Eng said.

Eng's freshmen will have the chance to improve, and the direction of his team will depend on their progress. The rookies will have until early February, when Nine-Man Nationals are held. It is there that Tufts could get a chance for redemption against Stanford, something Eng and his players hope will happen.

And if it does?

"We won't lose to Stanford again," Eng said.