Following its dramatic overtime win over Trinity Saturday afternoon, the 13-0 field hockey team jumped to No. 4 in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) national poll, released yesterday. Tufts picked up as many first-place votes (eight) as NESCAC rival and defending national champion Bowdoin, which reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the poll after spending one week at No. 2.
The Polar Bears will host the Jumbos in a Halloween-night showdown on Friday, the winner of which will claim the conference regular season title and earn the right to host the NESCAC Tournament beginning Sunday.
The fourth spot represents the season's high watermark for a Tufts team that, however steadily, has made a meteoric rise through the polls. The Jumbos drew the No. 16 ranking in the preseason polls, and by Sept. 23 -- after they had won their first six games by a combined score of 29-3 -- they had cracked top 10.
Following its upset of then-No. 3 Middlebury on Oct. 11, Tufts climbed to No. 5, where it remained for the next two weeks despite boasting the nation's only undefeated record. But a hard-fought victory against then-No. 9 Trinity over the weekend, the team's third against a ranked opponent this season, was enough to finally boost the Jumbos to fourth.
Despite the loss, the Bantams moved up from nine to eight in the polls. With Middlebury two slots ahead, the NESCAC holds four of the top 10 spots for the second consecutive week.
Three days after upsetting then-No. 1 The College of New Jersey, Messiah climbed to No. 2, while the Lions dropped down to fifth. Rounding out the top five is third-ranked Ursinus, which, despite having lost twice this season, remains ahead of the Jumbos.
