After finishing 1-5 against some of the top teams in the nation at the season-opening Boston Round Robin two weekends ago, the 22nd-ranked men's squash team will look to get back on track tomorrow evening in an away match against Wesleyan.
The Cardinals, ranked No. 29 in the nation, enter the contest 2-1 after playing only three matches at the Round Robin.
Wesleyan handled No. 31 Northeastern by a score of 8-1 in its first match of the weekend before losing to No. 12 Bates, also by a score of 8-1, later that day. In its final match, Wesleyan lost no individual matches and only two individual games in a 9-0 sweep of unranked MIT.
Since their opening matches, the Jumbos have been working hard to improve various skills and different types of shots in preparation for the Cardinals.
"We need to attack with harder drives and volleys and make less errors," coach Doug Eng said. "In practice, we have been focusing on hitting better backhands and [improving our] consistency and power against Wesleyan. We want to keep errors minimal, play a disciplined game, and stick to high percentage plays."
The Jumbos trekked down to Middletown, Conn. last season and easily took down Wesleyan, winning 8-1. But despite that result, senior captain Alex Gross let his team know early on this week during practice that it would be no cakewalk for Tufts this year.
"Coach Eng and I have tried to express that Wesleyan is deeper and stronger than they were last year and that everyone's match will be decided by a few points," Gross said. "The team will go in knowing they will have to fight for every point and not take anything for granted."
Although Wesleyan, which finished 12-15 last season, graduated five seniors, including co-captains Nate Fowles, Lonnie Gibbs and its number one, Robert Broadfoot, the Cardinals have brought in one of the top freshmen classes in the country.
Freshman John Steele is the team's new number one, while classmates Zander Nassikas, Jeff Berman, Ethan Moritz, Alex Nunez, and Chase Hochman play four through eight in the lineup in the Cardinals' lineup, giving the squad some much-needed depth. The six have been impressive so far, going for a combined 12-6 in the Cardinals' first three matches.
"They lost quite a few players but replaced them," Eng said. "They are as good as last year and even slightly better at a couple spots."
Steele has been particularly impressive, going 3-0 so far this season in the number one slot in his first year of collegiate squash. He will provide a tough challenge for Gross in what could be a key matchup for the Jumbos.
"It will be the first time that I'll be playing John," Gross said. "I will just grind the first few games out until I get a feel for his weaknesses and strengths, and then I'll try to capitalize on what is working for me."
While Gross may have no experience playing against Steele, many other Jumbos have seen various Wesleyan players before. Both Tufts and Wesleyan are in the NESCAC and play each other at least once each season. Also, many players on both teams hail from the Northeast and have played in the same tournaments throughout high school and in college. Thus, communication between players will be crucial to give Tufts an edge in scouting its opposition before the match even begins.
"Because we play the NESCACs every year in the regular season and then possibly again at the conference tournament or at nationals, you see a lot of the same guys," Gross said. "Our more experienced players will need to pass on tips about where opponents' weaknesses are."
