The men's squash team came tantalizingly close to pulling off an upset against Brown University before falling to the No. 15 Bears 5-4 in a hard-fought contest at Belmont Hill School on Wednesday night.
The Jumbos, ranked No. 17 in the nation, were fresh off a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to Amherst in the NESCAC Tournament on Sunday and came out determined to post a good showing against Brown.
"Brown defeated Amherst 7-2 earlier this season, so we knew it would be a tough match," freshman Alex Gross said. "We thought it would be tight, but it was still disappointing. Brown's really good - they're an Ivy - and we just didn't pull out the key matches."
Tufts got another win from senior tri-captain Jake Gross, who has lost only once so far this season, and also saw a victory from sophomore Zach Bradley, who has emerged as an important piece for the Jumbos, playing in the No. 8 and No. 9 spots.
However, Tufts could not manage to gain the upper hand in several close matches, including three that went to a full five games.
"We played really well overall, and a lot of guys stepped up," said Jake Gross, Alex's older brother and Tufts' career wins leader. "Alex has been put in a really tough position, playing No. 2 on the ladder in his first year. But he's proven that he can handle the competition outside of the top eight teams [in the national rankings]."
The loss forced the Jumbos to re-evaluate their goal of competing in the Hoehn Division at Nationals. The Hoehn Division is the second division at Nationals, comprised of the teams ranked 9th through 16th.
"Realistically, we're probably not going to end up in the second division," Jake Gross said. "We'll be the No. 1 seed in the third division. We're as good as the teams in the second division, we've just been on the opposite side of some 5-4 decisions."
"We've struggled to win tight matches," Alex Gross added. "But our team is getting better. Match-to-match we're improving nicely."
The Jumbos lost three key five-game matches to the Bears to doom their chances for a win. At the No. 2 slot, Alex Gross kept things close before bowing out, and at No. 9, junior Chris Martin played a very close match against Brown sophomore Alex Heitzmann in which each game was decided by less than five points.
"I had a good chance," Alex Gross said. "It would have been an upset, but I could have pulled it out."
Senior Nelson Schubart, playing at the No. 5 position, almost came up with a monumental win for Tufts. After losing the first game 10-8 and being swept in the second versus freshman Evan Besser, Schubart came back strong to win the next two games. Unfortunately for the Jumbos, he could not keep his momentum going and was swept in the final game.
Sophomore John Subranni picked up a victory for the Jumbos at the No. 3 spot, winning three straight games after losing the first 9-6. Freshman Ben Rind added the fourth match win of the day for Tufts at No. 6, also winning in four games.
Tufts has two matches remaining: a contest today at Bates and a home matchup with Bates tomorrow. Bates, ranked No. 8 in the country, is expected to provide a stiff challenge.
"Bates is our final test; they beat us last year," Alex Gross said. "Colby, I don't want to jinx us, but we should be pretty comfortable against them."
"[Today] we have a make or break match," Jake Gross added. "Bates has always had our number. I'm looking forward to playing [Bates' No. 1] Ricky [Weisskopf]. The pressure's all on them, and who knows, one of their players could get injured. We could surprise them."
Regardless of the results of the remaining matches, Jake Gross feels as though his collegiate career is ending on a positive note.
"It's my last year and I've been playing well," he said. "I got my first Ivy League win [Wednesday]."
