Wrapping up its season with a win in its last match of the CSA tournament on Sunday, the men's squash team finished off its rollercoaster year on a high note. With the win, Tufts grabbed the No. 19 national ranking from Hamilton.
After cruising past Northeastern 9-0 in the opening match of the tournament on Friday, and losing an extremely close match to St. Lawrence 5-4 on Saturday, the Jumbos took on the Continentals for the 19th spot in the rankings on Sunday, winning 7-2.
The match-up between the Jumbos and the Continentals was the third this season - the Jumbos had taken the previous two, 5-4 and 7-2, and Sunday was no exception to the trend. Although the Continentals pulled off several in-match games, no Jumbo allowed his Continental counterpart to win more than one game in a match.
Saturday was not quite as rewarding for the Jumbos, as they faced-off against No. 21 St. Lawrence for the first time this season. The team was unable to handle its counterparts, and despite taking every game to at least six points, junior Jake Gross was unable to record a win, losing 9-6, 10-8, 9-7 to St. Lawrence junior Dan McElvaine.
"They came out really strong," junior Kris Leetavorn, who lost his match from the No. 4 spot, said. "It seemed like they wanted it too much."
Though the Jumbos did not record a win in any of the top four positions, they did receive victories from players in the fifth through eighth positions. Senior co-captain Dan Karlin, playing in the No. 6 spot, recorded a convincing victory over sophomore Alex Winkley. Karlin lost only nine points in his strong 9-3, 9-1, 9-5 victory. Karlin's win, along with wins from the No. 5, 7 and 8 spots, was not enough for a Jumbo victory, however.
"We thought we were going to beat them," Leetavorn said. "We didn't play poorly - we just didn't play as well as we should have."
The squad started its competition in the National Tournament on Friday against the Northeastern Huskies. With the Huskies standing at No. 24 in the College Squash Association rankings, the Jumbos, ranked No. 19, showed their superiority. In their first 9-0 sweep of the season, the Jumbos defeated the Huskies quickly and easily. All but two of the recorded wins were in three game sweeps, another first for the Jumbos on the season.
-by Eddie Mishan
