After three losses in the NESCAC Championships this past weekend, the No. 25 Tufts men's squash team will almost assuredly lose its place in the College Squash Association (CSA) C−division, forcing the squad to compete in the less−prestigious D−division at the CSA National Singles Championships on Feb. 25 at Harvard. The losses bring Tufts to 4−15 overall and just 1−10 against NESCAC opponents this season.
In a consolation match against No. 24 Hamilton on Saturday, the Jumbos looked to avenge a 6−3 loss to the Continentals earlier this season. But Hamilton overpowered Tufts from the very beginning and swept four out of the nine individual matches on its way to a 8−1 victory.
Juniors Henry Miller and Luke Metcalf, freshman Michael Abboud and senior Andrew Kim, playing at the No. 2, No. 9, No. 4 and No. 3 spots respectively in the Tufts lineup, each managed only a single game in their matches. It was an especially tough result for Miller, who defeated Hamilton junior Cooper Veysey in the Jumbos' earlier meeting with Hamilton.
Playing at the No. 1 spot, senior captain Alex Gross bested Continentals freshman Martin Bawden for the second time this season, 11−6, 11−7, 8−11, 11−5, to record Tufts' only victory of the afternoon.
"I am happy with the way guys have competed so far," Gross said. "Because the team is so young and inexperienced, we have been improving during every match, and I think we will only continue to play better at the end of the season."
Earlier in the day, the Jumbos faced No. 27 Conn. College, which Tufts defeated 5−4 in a regular season match on Nov. 20. Although the Jumbos were the higher−ranked team coming into the contest, this match belonged to the Camels, who came away with a 7−2 victory. With the loss, Tufts finished in last place at the tournament for the first time in more than 15 years.
"Despite the losses, I think we're still hanging in there," coach Doug Eng said. "Playing so many freshmen has been tough all season, but I do see these guys at the bottom of the lineup getting better."
In the Jumbos' first match of the weekend, Tufts faced No. 21 Wesleyan, ranked seventh in the conference heading into the NESCAC Championships. The Cardinals, who swept Tufts 9−0 in a Dec. 3 match at home, equaled that performance on Friday with another dominating performance. Tufts' loss to Wesleyan was its ninth of the season in which it failed to win an individual match.
Tufts put up its biggest fight against Wesleyan at the top of the lineup. Gross and Miller, playing No. 1 and No. 3 respectively, both lost in four highly contested games. Gross won his third game by a 14−12 score before dropping game four, 11−9, to Wesleyan freshman John Steele. Meanwhile, Miller won the first game in his match, 11−8, before losing the next three to Cardinals' senior co−captain Dale Kobrin.
Senior Ben Rind, playing at No. 2 on Tufts' ladder, also won a game in his match against Wesleyan senior co−captain Matthew Candal. But Rind had to default midway through the match, automatically giving the win to Wesleyan. The Cardinals lost all three of their remaining NESCAC Championship matches to Williams, Bowdoin, and Colby, finishing eighth in the conference.
The Jumbos wrap up their season with three non−conference matches before team and individual championships. Tufts will face No. 30 Northeastern on Thursday, a team that they may see again in the D−division at the CSA National Singles Championships. Tufts will then take on No. 43 Vassar and No. 57 Bard on Sunday. All three matches should be good opportunities to gauge the team's progress against lower−ranked opponents.
"We haven't had great success against the teams in the third division, so we need to take care of our matches against teams below us for now," Gross said. "Right now we are in the fourth division, and I think that we need to try and win."
