Here it is, hidden in our behemoth commencement issue - for your convenience, the short version. We've scoured our archives and our memories to come up with the 10 highlights of the 2005-2006 athletic year. Some are serious, some are funny, and some are serious but we made them funny anyway. So take a look, and relive the best of the year in Tufts athletics.
10) The opening of Tufts' new world-class boathouse on the Malden River lifted the spirits of both the men's and women's crews and is sure to invigorate both programs in the coming years. And with plenty of storage room, it could give ResLife some wiggle room when they find themselves in a housing bind again.
9) Tufts became the only NESCAC college to have a mascot logo designed by NFL Properties. The logo was unveiled this fall on uniforms, helmets, and those cover-things for the weight machines in the gym. Was Dumbo not intimidating enough?
8) Seventh-seeded Wesleyan's incredible run to win the NESCAC men's soccer championships over No. 4 seed Amherst. Hey, Tufts wasn't going to make it anyway.
7) Remember when Tufts football started the season 2-0? And then remember how they went 0-6 on the rest of the season? Yeah, that wasn't cool.
6) In an Oct. 1 volleyball match, junior Kelli Harrison spiked a ball off an MIT opponent's forehead, which then bounced back over the net in a "did-that-really-just-happen?" moment. Tufts lost the point but won the match 30-25 over the regional powerhouse Engineers.
5) On Apr. 6, sophomore Danielle Lopez became the proud owner of Bridgewater State's softball team with a 6-for-8 performance that included three long balls off senior Kaitlyn Gambino. It was the second time in her two-year career that the slugger homered thrice against the Bears, having done so last year when she smacked one off Gambino and two off some other hapless hurler.
4) Amherst basketball player Andrew "Bleepin'" Olson's off-balance dagger from beyond the arc that forced an overtime period against Tufts in the NCAA sweet 16. The Lord Jeffs ended Tufts basketball's historic 23-win season in the overtime period.
3) The Director's Cup: After several amazing fall finishes rocketed Tufts to fourth place after the first third of the sports year, clutch Nationals showings from men's basketball, men's swimming, and both track and field teams kept the University in top-10 contention after the winter season at No. 5.
2) Senior lacrosse player Mike O'Brien's miracle shot to lead Tufts into the first of three overtimes against Middlebury in Semifinal play. With only two seconds left, O'Brien's goal tied the game 11-11, but Tufts lost a heartbreaker, 12-11 in triple-OT.
1) The women's soccer team's second-half miracle comeback against Wheaton in the sectional round of the NCAA Tournament. Down 2-0 at halftime, the Jumbos erupted for five unanswered goals in the second half, led by two from senior tri-captain and All-American selection Ariel Samuelson, to down the Lyons and move into the Quarterfinal round.
