Eric Weikert, Baseball
When the baseball team needed a doubleheader sweep on Saturday to lock down the top seed in the NESCAC East for the upcoming conference tournament, sophomore Eric Weikert delivered.
The designated hitter in both games against visiting Bowdoin at Huskins Field, Weikert smashed his second and third home runs of the season in consecutive games. In the opening game, Weikert bailed out Tufts junior starter Dave Ryan, who was chased in the fourth after giving up five runs on seven hits, with a two-run shot off Bowdoin sophomore ace Oliver Van Zant, the reigning NESCAC Rookie and Pitcher of the Year. The home run, which scored junior co-captain third baseman Sam Sager, gave the Jumbos a 6-5 lead they would not relinquish.
In the nightcap, Weikert provided the offensive surge to aid a stellar pitching performance by senior Derek Miller, homering in the third inning off freshman starter John Lefeber, scoring Sager, who reached on a fielder's choice. Hitting in the cleanup spot for the first time this season, Weikert also sparked an eighth-inning rally with a leadoff single that put Tufts' lead out of reach.
Kelly Allen, Women's track and field
In only her second season at Tufts, thrower Kelly Allen is already smashing her way through the record books. Last weekend, Allen proved that she could hang with Div. I and Div. II athletes at a meet at Princeton, and this weekend the sophomore followed that up with her most impressive throw yet, a 152-4 in the discus at the NESCAC Championships at Wesleyan to win her second straight NESCAC title in the event. The throw was both a Tufts record — the previous record was 148-2, also by Allen — as well as a NESCAC record, besting a throw by Williams' Anna Williams of 148-2 in 2007.
How dominant was Allen in the discus? The next best performer on Saturday, Williams' Amina Avril, threw nearly 14 feet behind the star sophomore, with a throw of 138-8. Allen currently ranks third nationally in the event, and has automatically qualified to compete at the NCAA Championships in late May.
—Compiled by the Daily Sports Department
