Tufts' spring sports teams will be active over spring break, opening the season with a slew of games against challenging competition. A look at the seven squads in action:
Baseball heads South to prepare for conference schedule
The baseball team will travel south over spring break to play in 11 games over 10 days. The marathon begins today in Virginia with a contest against Lynchburg and continues Sunday at Averett. On Monday, the Jumbos will arrive in North Carolina and begin with a bang by playing a doubleheader against SUNY-Purchase and Guilford. The team will play one game every day for the rest of the week, followed by three on the weekend.
"We're playing some pretty good teams, a few from top 25 and honorable mention," senior co-captain Adam Telian said. "Pretty much, we're going down there to win some games and get ready for Bates in the conference games [beginning March 28]."
The team has a strong history on this trip, going 7-4 last season and 8-4 in 2006. Last year, the trip prepared Tufts for the grind of the season, as the Jumbos won six of their first seven games after spring break, four of which came against NESCAC foes. The team will look for similar success this year, playing three games after spring break against Bates before facing out-of-division foe Williams a week later.
-by David Heck
Men's laX to face nation's fourth- and fifth-ranked teams
The nationally ranked No. 6 men's lacrosse team (2-0) will play three games over spring break, with the goal of continuing the momentum gained from its early-season victories.
This Saturday, the Jumbos will host NESCAC rival Williams in their first conference game of the young season.
"Williams is very, very good," senior quad-captain Tucker Merrigan said. "They beat us last year and we're expecting a tough contest."
After taking on Williams, Tufts will travel down to Virginia to face a Roanoke College squad that is ranked No. 4 in the nation. Last season, the Jumbos won a hard-fought affair with Roanoke 13-12. While the team is solely focused on the game against Williams, Merrigan discussed the benefits of taking a road trip as a team.
"It's a long bus ride and it helps to bring the team together," he said. "It's fun and it builds camaraderie. But it's also a business trip and we're going down there to win."
A week from this Saturday, the Jumbos will face another key NESCAC competitor when Wesleyan comes to the Hill. The Cardinals are ranked No. 5 in the country and will be looking to avenge their 9-6 loss to Tufts last season.
-by Noah Schumer
Men's tennis expects to succeed against Florida competition
Before jetting off to Florida for a week of training that will include matches in Miami and Orlando, the men's tennis team must first contend with a pair of in-state rivals in the form of the Brandeis Judges and the MIT Engineers.
The Jumbos will look to improve their 2-1 record with an afternoon road trip to Brandeis today before a noon date tomorrow at home against the Engineers. From there, Tufts will pack up and journey to Florida as part of the squad's annual week-long training excursion at a warm location, which will provide an opportunity to get used to outdoor play after an offseason of indoor practice.
In the midst of daily training, Tufts will compete in a pair of matches, one against the Stevens Tech Ducks on Mar. 19 in Orlando followed by a Mar. 21 contest with NESCAC opponent Hamilton.
"Those two matches are going to be easy for us," senior captain Will Fleder said. "They're not challenging matches; those are matches where we have the opportunity to mix some things up, where we have the opportunity to work on some things. It's a training trip, not a match-intensive trip."
-by Thomas Eager
Women's tennis to open season against Div. I squad
The ninth-ranked women's tennis team heads to Florida for four matches in four cities. The competition will be challenging, as the Jumbos face Div. I's No. 8 team, Nova Southeastern, in their first match since the fall season. The 2-1 Jumbos finish the trip with a match against conference foe Hamilton in Boca Raton.
"We're going to take each match as it comes," coach Kate Bayard said. "We certainly are trying new doubles teams with new combinations. Anticipating every match is going to be tough, but there are definitely no cakewalks - we'll be facing tough opponents."
The Jumbos have lost two players since last fall and are now down to seven women to fill out six singles and three doubles positions. Tufts will also be playing outside for the first time since the fall. Bayard would like the team to focus on adjusting to the outdoor surface by showing patience and consistency.
"The team worked extremely hard in the offseason," she said. "Nothing will get them into match shape as much as actually playing full singles matches in the Florida heat."
-by Jeremy Greenhouse
Women's lacrosse looks to build off of season-opening win
The women's lacrosse team started the season strong and will look to continue its offensive onslaught with three games over break. The Jumbos will open with a trip to NESCAC rival Williams on Saturday.
Though they will not be traveling farther than Middletown, Conn., the three games will be key early contests for Tufts. Along with the trip to Williams, the Jumbos will also travel to Wesleyan, with a home game against Wheaton sandwiched in between.
Tufts opened its season by crushing an overmatched Wellesley team Wednesday, 17-3. The competition in the next few games should be much tougher, however, as the Ephs are No. 15 in the latest national poll despite not having played a game, while Wesleyan (1-1) is just ahead of them in 14th.
Last season, the Jumbos had the same schedule in their first four games and started out 2-2. The team will be looking to avenge a heartbreaking 13-12 double-overtime loss to Williams on Saturday. With two key NESCAC games in the next week, a good start will do wonders for a team that was 3-6 in conference play last season.
-by Ethan Landy
Softball will test itself in California right off the bat
The softball team won't waste any time testing the waters, opening the season with a challenging trip to the Sun West Tournament in Orange, Calif. over spring break.
The Jumbos, ranked No. 16 nationally, will play 12 games there in seven days, including matchups against two top-25 teams and three California teams, which have been reaping the benefits of outdoor practices for weeks.
No. 10 St. Thomas, a perennial World Series participant and national champion in 2004 and 2005, appears on the Jumbos' schedule twice, while Tufts' first game comes against preseason No. 22 Central College.
"The competition that we see in California is very high and some of the teams out there are teams that we hope to be competing against in May," senior tri-captain Megan Cusick said. "The weather is nice and we are able to get a bunch of games in to get ready for our New England season."
The Jumbos will also get a peek at two teams that will stand in the way of a repeat NESCAC title. Games against two league rivals, Williams on Tuesday and Wesleyan Thursday, will be a sneak preview of what might await them in the NESCAC Tournament.
The caliber of play at Sun West has contributed to nearly half of the Jumbos' total losses over the past four seasons, but players and coaches both value the chance to play up.
"When we play teams like Linfield or St. Thomas, it sets an example for us about where we need to be in May," sophomore pitcher Stefanie Tong said. "This way, when we get to Regionals or the World Series, we know what kind of teams are out there."
-by Liz Hoffman
Men's diving season wraps up with Matera's Nationals appearance
Sophomore diver Rob Matera will be the lone representative for the men's swimming and diving team at the NCAA Div. III Championships next week in Oxford, Ohio.
For Matera, the inclusion as one of 22 divers who will compete in both the 1- and 3-meter events is the culmination of a fantastic season in which he emerged as one of the best divers in the NESCAC.
"I'm ecstatic," coach Adam Hoyt said. "Rob is a very hardworking member of our team who has really improved immensely in his first two years at Tufts. I couldn't be prouder of having him represent the swimming and diving team at the national championships."
Matera was aided in his qualification efforts by a strong performance in the NESCAC championships two weeks ago. The sophomore was an All-NESCAC selection in the 3-meter dive, finishing in second with a score of 467.70 to put him well above the NCAA qualifying standard. He also finished fourth in the 1-meter event, besting the NCAA standard by just over five points. He will compete in the 1-meter dive on Thursday and the 3-meter Saturday.
"Rob is a very good competitor," Hoyt said. "In the two championship meets I have seen him compete at, NESCACs this year and last year, he has really stepped up to the level of competition he was surrounded by. So I think he will do very well."
-by Ethan Landy
