The cards may not have fallen in Tufts' favor on the national stage when it came to NCAA Tournament bids, but there was no shortage of recognition at the regional level.
The NESCAC released its All-Conference teams last week, and 10 Jumbos headed the lists, with the volleyball, field hockey and soccer teams all raking in at least two individual honors.
For the volleyball team, senior outside hitter Kelli Harrison and junior middle blocker Katie Wysham received the nod from NESCAC coaches and other coaches across the region, being voted to the All-Conference team and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-New England Team. Harrison was one of 12 players selected for the regional team, with Wysham following closely behind as an Honorable Mention.
"Knowing that our team and our players are regarded so highly by other NESCAC coaches is really something to value," sophomore Kaitlin O'Reilly said.
Harrison was also selected as an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention, capping off a dominating career in brown and blue. After becoming a member of the All-Conference team her freshman and sophomore years, Harrison missed the cut in her injury-plagued junior season but emerged even stronger this year. Averaging 4.36 kills per game, Harrison was second in the conference in that category.
"In general, Kelli's an amazing player and athlete," O'Reilly said. "She's a great leader. If the team is down, she's the player to take the initiative to play tough and make kills so everyone will follow her."
Meanwhile Wysham was a formidable force at the net, recording 1.34 blocks per game for a total of 147, good for second in the league. She also ranked sixth in the conference with a .281 hitting percentage.
"Katie has improved tremendously this year," O'Reilly said. "She really stepped up. Last year, she didn't play mid-blocker, and she did a great job adjusting to her changing role."
Following one of its most successful seasons in the program's history, the field hockey team grabbed three NESCAC awards. Freshman forward Michelle Kelly earned the Rookie of the Year honor for her breakout season. Senior co-captain Stacey Watkins and junior Ileana Casellas-Katz also received recognition, being voted to the league's First and Second Teams, respectively.
"[The awards] show the respect that other NESCAC coaches have for us," Watkins said. "Getting three awards definitely shows our abilities as a team, but none of us would have gotten any awards without the other 18 players pushing us. It was clearly a team effort."
It did not take long for Kelly to adjust to the college game this fall. Coming from a high school with a turf field, Kelly was already accustomed to playing on fields like Bello, allowing her to compile impressive offensive numbers - among them 11 goals, the most by a Tufts freshman since 1999, and five game-winners.
Casellas-Katz led the offensive line with nine assists - second in the NESCAC - and a total of 17 points, behind Kelly for the team lead. Although she dished off the ball to her teammates, she also took the ball to the goal herself, attempting a team-high 42 shots on the season.
"[Casellas-Katz] always comes to play, no matter what's going on in her personal and school life," Watkins said. "She's 100 percent field hockey when she walks out on that field, which is really hard to do in a Div. III school. She leaves everything in the locker room and just walks outside and plays."
Watkins' own honor was the cherry on top of a successful four-year career in which she saw the program progress from a sub-par squad to a serious contender. Watkins was the team's defensive backbone at center back, and moved up on the penalty corner unit, assisting on six goals and notching four of her own.
NESCAC coaches also recognized juniors Martha Furtek and Annie Benedict for their help in turning around a soccer team that struggled to open the 2006 campaign. Furtek was voted to the All-NESCAC First Team, while Benedict was voted to the Second Team.
Such recognition is not new for Furtek, who was named to the Second Team as a freshman and the First Team last year, as well as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-New England team last year. The junior midfielder notched 12 points this year with three goals and six assists.
"[Furtek] is extremely athletic," sophomore Ali Mehlsak said. "She fights through everything and has incredible foot skills. She can get the ball and hold it and she distributes well. She's really the core of the midfield."
Benedict held together a strong defensive line that allowed just 18 goals this season, for a 1.18 goals-against average. Contributing to six shutouts on the season, four against NESCAC squads, Benedict garnered attention from coaches around the league.
The men's soccer team also contributed three players to the league's second team. Thanks to senior Mattia Chason, junior tri-captain Greg O'Connell, and junior Dan Jozwiak, the team boasts its largest number of individual honorees since 2002, when it had four.
Chason led the team in scoring for the second straight year with eight goals and two assists for a total of 18 points. Despite suffering multiple injuries this season, O'Connell persevered and still received recognition from coaches around the league for his presence on the field. Jozwiak contributed seven goals and one assist for a total of 15 points.
