When the Jumbos headed to the Yale Round Robin last weekend, momentum was not on their side.
After having barely lost to conference-rival Bowdoin 5-4 on Friday, Tufts traveled to the Yale Round Robin tournament where nationally-ranked opponents awaited its arrival.
Rather than turning their fortunes around, the Jumbos went home from Yale having dropped two of their three matches and now find themselves desperately trying to regroup before this weekend's NESCAC Tournament at Trinity.
The team's lone victory last weekend came in its last match on Sunday against Hamilton, when a convincing 7-2 win prevented it from being blanked at Yale. Five Jumbos recorded victories in three-game sweeps against the Continentals, ranked 18th in the nation by the College Squash Association.
Tufts was also propelled by a sweep of the first six positions, including wins from junior Jake Gross and senior co-captain Dan Karlin.
"It was our redeeming win," Gross said. "Everyone stepped up so we could end the weekend on a positive note."
Sophomore Chris Delaney also turned in a notable performance in the No. 2 position, capping off a 5-0 weekend.
"I had a breakthrough win at Bowdoin," Delaney said, speaking of his come-from-behind, five-game win against Polar Bear senior Matt Drescher. "I'm the type of athlete that thrives on pressure."
The triumph over the Continentals followed a disappointing showing for the Jumbos, who dropped matches to the unranked Franklin and Marshall Diplomats on Sunday and the No. 22 Rochester Yellowjackets on Saturday.
Tufts only managed three wins against traditional powerhouse Franklin and Marshall, with four of its six losses occurring in three-game sweeps. Gross, playing again in the No.1 spot, was the only Jumbo to take his opponent to five games, falling to freshman Sadiq Madraswala, 1-9, 7-9, 10-8, 9-1, 7-9.
Sophomore Chris Delaney was arguably the Jumbos' top performer of the match, beating his opponent, senior Satyajit Seshadri, in three straight games, and surrendering only nine total points.
On Saturday the No. 14 Jumbos were considered heavy favorites to the Yellowjackets. Still, Rochester pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the squash season, as Tufts squandered an early 3-1 advantage before falling 5-4.
Among the victims was Gross, who lost his first match of the season when freshman Jim Bistrow swept him in three straight games. Despite leading in all three games, Gross was unable to piece together a win.
"I knew I was going to have a tough match," Gross said. "[Bistrow] is a pretty well-accomplished player, but I feel like I played well. He had the talent to pull it out in the end."
Gross wasn't the only Jumbo to have a tough match. Freshman John Subranni, competing in the No. 4 spot, played the longest match of the night, coming from behind to defeat freshman Jamal Callender in five games.
"[Rochester] really took us by surprise," Subranni said. "We didn't expect them to be so strong."
The results from the Yale Round Robin have the Jumbos disappointed, but not panicked. There will be plenty of opportunity for redemption this weekend, when the team will head to Connecticut again, this time for the NESCAC Championship in Hartford.
But if Tufts thought the competition last weekend was challenging, NESCACs will not be any easier. The host Bantams are the nation's No. 1 team, while Williams, Amherst, and Bates join the Jumbos in the top 15. Still, the team is confident that it will be able to regroup for the weekend.
"Not much more could have gone wrong this weekend," Delaney said. "But I have confidence that the people who didn't perform that well over the weekend will perform fine in the matches to come."
