For the men's squash team, last year's final record of 11-12 is something the Jumbos would prefer to forget. This time around, they began their season on the right foot - three games into the season, they were above .500, sitting at 2-1. Unfortunately for the Tufts squad, a loss later in the weekend dropped the team to 2-2.
This past weekend, the Jumbos played in the Dartmouth Fall Classic, where they faced off against Conn. College, Bates and Colby, dominating the Mules and Camels by 8-1 scores before falling to the Bobcats in a narrow 6-3 loss. Tufts then took on Williams in a dual match Sunday and suffered a 9-0 blowout at the hands of the Ephs.
The Williams match wasn't pretty for the Jumbos, who were shut out for the first time since Feb. 17, when they lost 9-0 to Cornell.
Prior to Williams' thrashing, the Jumbos faced off against Bates and found themselves in for another frustrating match. Tufts lost 6-3, as most of the Jumbos' top players struggled against the top Bobcats.
After being up 2-0 in match on the heels of victories from No. 9 player and sophomore Chris Martin (9-0, 9-0, 9-0) over senior John Kinnane, and freshman No. 3 John Subranni (9-2, 9-3, retired) over freshman Kush Mahan, the Jumbos lost six of their next seven matches. The remaining victory came courtesy senior co-captain David Linz, who defeated sophomore Marc Taggart, 7-9, 9-3, 9-6, 9-1 at No. 7.
On Saturday, the Jumbos battled the Conn. College Camels where they saw much more success, winning by a score of 8-1. Highlights of the match include senior co-captain Dan Karlin's comeback from an 0-2 game deficit to defeat his opponent, senior co-captain Jordan Savage, 0-9, 5-9, 1-8, 9-0, 9-2, and Subranni's 9-3, 9-2, 9-2 victory over junior John Evans.
The Jumbos first faced off against Colby on Friday and stampeded through the match for their first win. Last season's ace, sophomore Chris Delaney, overcame Mule junior Ryan Maher, 8-10, 9-4, 10-8, 9-3 in four games. Linz and fellow senior co-captain Dan Karlin swept their opponents, sophomores Gustaf Lonaeus and Justin Russell, respectively, by scores of 9-0, 9-3, 9-1 and 9-6, 9-6, 9-4. Junior Kris Leetavorn lost to Colby senior captain Andy Carr in straight games, 9-6, 9-0, 9-2.
Seven of the Jumbos' eight wins were three-game sweeps. Sophomore Brian Rassel, who played in only one match last year, put forth the best performance for the Jumbos, playing almost perfect against freshman Ken Cramer en route to a 9-0, 9-0, 9-1 win. However, since he was the 10th player, his game did not count towards the match.
"I feel like the fact that I did so well is a testament to how deep we are this year," Martin said. "We are very strong all the way down the ladder."
The Dartmouth Fall Classic marked the debut of three freshmen: Scott Leighton, Max Dalury and Subranni, all of whom picked up at least one victory. However, the team was without its number one starter, junior Jake Gross, who is currently abroad.
"The great thing is that even without our number one, we're playing well," Martin said. "We're going to be as strong as we can until we get him back. And when he does come back, we expect to move up a few places."
The Jumbos' next match will come on Dec. 1, as they prepare to face MIT in a round robin tournament at Northeastern.
