In its final regular season tune-up before the College Squash Association team Nationals at Yale this weekend, the Tufts men's squash team fell in Tuesday's rescheduled match against No. 9 Bates, 8-1. It was the third loss in a row for the Jumbos, but dropped the team to 10-12 on the season.
Tuesday's contest was just as one-sided as the other two showdowns between Bates and Tufts earlier this season. The Bobcats triumphed over the Jumbos 6-3 at the Dartmouth Fall Classic on Nov. 18, and followed up that performance with an 8-1 thrashing on Feb. 3.
In November, Tufts played without its No. 1, junior co-captain Jake Gross, who was abroad first semester. But the addition of Gross was not enough to tip the scales in the Jumbos' favor in either February match-up.
The trifecta of losses to Bates this season has left many on the team scratching their heads.
"We just have not improved as much as they have this year," sophomore Chris Delaney said.
Contributing to the strong Bobcats effort were the team's tri-captains, all international players who compete in the team's top four. Junior All-American Ricky Weisskopf, a native of El Salvador, improved to a 23-2 record with a three-game win over Gross out of the No. 1 position. Junior No. 2 Sean Wilkinson of London, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the CSA individual nationals last year, nearly blew a two-game lead to Delaney before prevailing in five.
"It has been a tough stretch, because I have been injured on and off, but I worked hard, never gave up and came just short of a win," Delaney said.
Additionally, senior Gary Kan, from Hong Kong, swept junior Kris Leetavorn 9-4, 9-1, 9-2 at No. 4.
Besides Delaney's effort, sophomore No. 9 Josh Levinson turned in a strong performance, scoring the team's only win with a 9-5, 9-4, 9-2 victory over Bobcats' senior Andrew Jacobs.
Still, Tuesday night was memorable for the team, as it was given the opportunity to honor senior co-captain Dan Karlin, and David Linz - who graduated a semester early, in December - with a ceremony to commemorate their years of participation on the squad. Karlin has compiled a 23-15 record in his career.
"Dan has offered a lot of quiet, subtle leadership this year," freshman Scott Leighton said. "He treats all of us on an equal level, and he feels more like a friend to me than anything, despite our age difference."
Losing five of their last six matches, the Jumbos dropped from 14th to 17th in the national rankings and out of the running for a spot in the B Division of team nationals. Instead, the team, which has lost nine of 14 since jumping out to a 5-3 start, will compete in the C Division at Yale. Still, the team still feels it can finish on a positive note.
"Everyone is pretty confident going in and I think we have a good chance of taking [our division]," Delaney said.
"We are the No. 1 seed and should really win out," Leighton added. "We would be very disappointed if we didn't."
As the regular season comes to a close, other NESCAC teams look to make a splash in Divisions A and B. Perennial powerhouse Trinity finished the year ranked No. 1 by the CSA, with an impeccable 18-0 record on the season, dominating 15 of those matches with perfect 9-0 victories. Rounding out the A division, Williams is ranked No. 7.
In the B Division, the Bobcats will look to take home a title, sitting in the second position heading into the tournament. Amherst and Bowdoin will also fill spots in the B Division, finishing the season ranked No. 10 and No 15, respectively. Overall, this credits the NESCAC conference with five teams out of the top 16 in college squash.
