Both squash teams look to continue success

The men's and women's squash teams achieved considerable success last year, and despite losses of top players for both teams, both groups expect to reach the same heights they rose to in 2002-2003.

The men's team finished ranked 19th in the nation last year, but has large hurdles to overcome this season. The Jumbos lost three of their top four players from last year's roster - the team's top two players graduated, while the number four transferred.

"It is tough losing so many good players, but we have a lot of other strong players who will keep us competitive," coach Doug Eng said.

The men have a strong group of sophomores that will anchor the front of their lineup. Spencer Maxwell, Tom Keidel, Dan Karlin, and Pranav Tripathi are all second years who will play some of the top positions for Tufts.

Eng also has a few newcomers who will contribute this season. Dave Linz is the top freshman, and should play somewhere around the seventh or eighth position. Junior Fernando Kriete joined the team this season, and will likely play the sixth or seventh position.

"Our goal is to stay ranked in the top 20 teams in the nation," Eng said. "We don't play Stanford or Rochester, two tough teams from last year, so if we work real hard and beat who we should beat, we should do well and I think the guys will be happy."

Co-captain Jordan Kolasinski is confident in the team's chances this season.

"Our expectations are pretty high. This team has a lot of potential," Kolasinski said. "The schools above us are real solid, but I think we're going to do a good job defending our position."

Kolasinski, who was 11-5 last season, will move up in the lineup this year where he will face stronger competition.

Co-captain Jesse Goldberg also thinks the Jumbos will be strong this season. "We're looking to secure our position in the rankings and work towards eventually winning our division at nationals," Goldberg said.

The Jumbos have also integrated a new fitness program into their practice regimen. The team has been working with Tufts trainers to create a conditioning program that should help to give it an edge against opponents.

The Jumbos' first match of the season will take place Saturday when they play Brown, Connecticut College, and Williams at Harvard University. The men have modest expectations for the match.

"Brown and Williams are two of the top ten schools in the nation, so it's going to be almost impossible to beat them, but we're looking to beat Connecticut College convincingly," Maxwell said.

The women's team lost its top two players from last year as well, but feels it has more than enough depth to make up for that loss. The women's team was ranked 21st last year, and is looking to do even better this year.

"Last year, a lot of things went wrong. We had a lot of nagging injuries," Eng said. "In order to succeed this year, we're going to need to stay healthy. That's the key."

The arrival of some strong freshmen will help to give the Jumbos more depth than they had last year. Two of the team's top players will be freshmen Erica Adler and Julia Avrutin. Junior Nicole Arens and sophomore Joelle Polivy, agree that the team's depth is one of its strengths.

"In squash, your number one player and your number nine player are equally important. So we will need our depth to be successful," Arens said.

Arens is optimistic about the way she has been playing as well.

"I feel like I'm playing a little better this year," Arens said. "I'm using the corners well, and I'm hitting the ball deeper. I think the team has a good chance against some of the schools we struggled against last year."

The women will be led by tri-captains seniors Leigh Checchio and AJ Crane, and junior Eliza Drachman-Jones.

The Lady Jumbos are also looking forward to their match with Connecticut College.

"Last year we played Connecticut real close, so I think that will be a real good match," Polivy said.