The men's squash team upped its record to 11-8 on the season after picking up two wins and a loss at the NESCAC Invitational at Trinity over the weekend.
The No. 16 Jumbos rolled over the No. 26 Wesleyan Cardinals, 9-0, in the opening round of the tournament on Friday.
Tufts freshman Chris Delaney, playing at No. 2, exacted some revenge over senior Andrew Rozas, who had beaten Delaney in four sets in November's Boston Shootout. This time, Delaney outdid Rozas' earlier win by a set, needing only three to come out on top (9-5, 9-6, 9-1).
No. 6 sophomore Nelson Schubart was the only Jumbo to drop a set to Wesleyan, but still won handily over sophomore Jonathan Golden, 9-2, 9-2, 9-10, 9-3.
Senior co-captain Spencer Maxwell was not surprised by the squad's domination. "Losing to Wesleyan would have been practically impossible due to the strength of our lineup versus theirs," he said. "The quality of play varied with the position, but in general, we controlled the matches like we should have."
Moving to the quarterfinals the next day, the Jumbos ran into a wall when the No. 11 Amherst Lord Jeffs overwhelmed Tufts by an 8-1 margin. Playing again at the top slot, Gross managed to pick up the team's only win, defeating freshman Drew Blacker 9-5, 9-1, 9-6.
The squad earned some redemption with its second match of the day, winning the consolation round when it crushed No. 19 Colby, 7-2.
Tufts had routed the White Mules 8-1 in Waterville just one week before the NESCAC Invitational, and the result was the same in Hartford.
"We knew that when we beat them a week earlier, they were missing their No. 3 player, who had returned for this [match]," Maxwell said. "By playing this match, we had nothing to gain and everything to lose. Losing the match would have meant dropping back down to the third division and a certain drop in rank. The victory was a great relief for us."
The two victories helped to cement Tufts' No. 16 national ranking and guaranteed the Jumbos a spot in the second division for the College Squash Association (CSA) Team Tournament this weekend at Princeton.
At the CSA Team Tournament, the Jumbos will have the lowest ranking within the second division. Eight teams compete within each division to determine final rankings for the season.
"We're looking forward to having some fun and playing higher ranked teams this weekend," Maxwell said.
