Tufts tops Connecticut College on the road

The men's squash team escaped Connecticut College with a 5-4 victory over the Camels last Sunday.

Earlier this season, the squash team hosted Connecticut College and dominated the match seven wins to two. While the match was much closer this time around, the team went 2-0 this season against the Camels and moved to 6-2 on the season.

"We knew they were playing well and that they do well at home," coach Doug Eng said. "We were in for a close match."

Sophomore Tom Keidel dropped a hard-fought five game match at the number one position (9-3, 4-9, 9-5, 1-9, 2-9), but classmate Spencer Maxwell did not even surrender a game in the number two slot (9-0, 9-7, 9-2).

Senior co-captain Jordan Kolasinski was victorious at the number three spot, winning a tight match (9-6, 10-8, 9-10, 9-2). It was Kolasinski's match that broke the 4-4 deadlock.

"My head was really in that match," Kolasinski said. "I had an idea it was coming down to my match just from noticing the buildup of the crowds. I told Doug I didn't want to know what the score of the overall match was, though, because I just focus better that way."

"The third game was real close and it could've gone either way," Kolasinski added. "After a tough third game, I knew I would dominate the fourth one."

Sophomore Pranav Tripathi came through with an easy victory at number four, (9-3, 9-1, 9-3). Sophomore Dan Karlin did not have the same success falling in three games at number five (3-9, 6-9, 0-9). Senior co-captain Jesse Goldberg lost by the same score at number six.

"[In] a couple of the matches we dropped we just didn't have the mental edge," Eng added. "We are going to have to work on our mental preparation because when we get to nationals, all the teams are similar in ability. It's the mental toughness that sets the good teams apart."

Senior Alex Busse and junior Fernando Kriete both notched Jumbo victories at the seven and nine spots, respectively, each taking their opponents in four games.

"The victories by Pranav and Alex were real keys to the victory for us," Eng said. "They both had more success in this match than they did last time against Connecticut."

Freshman Dave Linz lost in three games at number eight between the Busse and Kriete wins.

The Jumbos look to build from the Conn. College win in their match against rival MIT tonight.

"MIT is a huge match for us," Kolasinski said. "Last year they beat us right before nationals and it was probably our worst match of the season. They're ranked below us, but we know they're a good team. We need to win that one."

In addition to facing MIT, the Jumbos will also compete against Brown in the same match.

"Brown is ranked about twelfth, so we know they are going to be really strong," Kolasinski said. "We've never beaten them and I don't think we will this year but it's certainly good experience."

Looking into the future, the men will have to face national powerhouse Trinity on Feb. 18. Trinity is the best squash team in the nation, and has even been covered by Sports Illustrated and ESPN.

Due to the stiff competition, Tufts will need to be at the top of its game if it is to emerge victorious in the future matches.

"We're getting to the heart of the season right now," Kolasinski said. "Some of our guys haven't quite come into their own yet. If everyone gets it together and plays their best, I think we can be very successful in this final push."