Michelle Kelly, Field Hockey - Senior forward Michelle Kelly's four goals went a long way toward bringing the Tufts field hockey team back to the NCAA Final Four.
In Saturday's second-round matchup against the MIT Engineers on Bello Field, Kelly set the tone early for the Jumbos with an unassisted goal in the third minute of action. Seconds later, Kelly was back in the circle, netting Tufts' insurance goal to make it 2-0. With MIT still scoreless, Kelly struck again just before the half ended for her first hat trick of the year.
Kelly was again instrumental against the Skidmore Thoroughbreds yesterday. With the score knotted at one in the first half, Kelly inserted to junior Jess Perkins, leading to a goal that put Tufts back on top. Making her mark one last time, Kelly scored her 13th goal of the season to edge Skidmore 4-1.
The two wins move Tufts another step closer to its first-ever NCAA championship.
Dawson Joyce-Mendive, Volleyball - Junior Dawson Joyce-Mendive was named NCAA New England Regional MVP for her efforts over the weekend, and not without good reason.
In Thursday night's victory over Maine Maritime, the junior hitter had 10 kills, followed by a team-leading 13 kills in Friday's sweep of Wellesley. But Joyce-Mendive saved her best effort for last, leading the team with 14 kills in Tufts' 3-0 NCAA New England Regional Final victory over Williams. She was the key component of the Jumbos' success, as she had four kills and a number of crucial plays down the stretch of the match's closest set, which finished 25-23.
The Joyce-Mendive-led victory was an extra-sweet one for Tufts, which lost to Williams last weekend in the NESCAC championship. Joyce-Mendive leads the team with 431 kills, meaning the junior hitter's play will be crucial to Tufts' chances as the team heads to University Heights, Ohio for the NCAA Quarterfinals, which will begin on Thursday versus Hope College.
