The men's and women's squash teams put up parallel results this past weekend, each suffering three decisive losses against strong opponents and grabbing a victory against a weaker squad.
For the No. 27 men's squad, the most eventful moment of the weekend's Amherst Round Robin tournament came at the end of the team's first Sunday match against No. 26 Hobart College, ultimately sealing the Jumbos' sole victory of the tournament. After Hobart jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, freshman Alex Nalle won his matchup in three straight games to tie the score. The Jumbos and Statesmen battled back and forth throughout the afternoon, but wins from Tufts senior captain Henry Miller, freshman Elliot Kardon and sophomore Jeremy Ho forced a final contest between the No. 1 players with the score tied 4-4.
Tufts freshman Zach Schweitzer went down 2-1 early in the tiebreaker and faced four match points in the fourth game before fighting back into contention. Suddenly, Schweitzer's opponent, Hobart senior Corey Kabot, vomited on the court, resulting in an automatic default to give Tufts the narrow victory.
"In all my years of squash, I have never seen anything like that happen," Miller said.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Jumbos dropped two tough decisions to NESCAC rivals No. 20 Colby and No. 21 Conn. College with scores of 9-0 and 8-1, respectively. The team's five freshmen were a bright spot, and Nalle was the only Jumbo to win a game against the Camels.
In the Jumbos' first match of the weekend, against No. 8 Franklin & Marshall, they failed to win a game, though according to Miller, this was not a huge surprise against one of the country's premier programs.
All four of the men's opponents were ranked higher than Tufts, and despite the three losses, the Jumbos were positive about their performance.
"We played better than we have all season. We are just now getting into our groove," Miller said. "College squash is a step up and it is great to see the [freshmen] rise to the occasion. We had solid performances all around. I would have liked to have won a few more matches against Conn., but hopefully we will see them later in the season."
Meanwhile, the No. 21 women's squad participated in the Pioneer Valley Invitational and notched a 9-0 shutout against No. 32 Haverford. Despite falling victim to three quality squads — No. 15 Amherst, No. 17 Franklin & Marshall and No. 23 Connecticut College — Tufts avoided a winless road trip.
After consecutive 9-0 defeats at the hands of the Lord Jeffs and the Diplomats on Saturday, the Jumbos found their rhythm the next day. Their 6-3 loss to Conn. College was incredibly hard-fought: senior co-captain No. 2 Mercedes Barba, freshman No. 4 Ann Bellinger and senior No. 5 AlyseVinoski each claimed a victory. Meanwhile, junior UshashiBasu took her opponent to five games, and three other Jumbos fell in four.
The Jumbos earned their third sweep this season against Haverford. Barba, Bellinger and freshman No. 3 Paige Dahlman turned in particularly strong performances; none surrendered more than five points in any set en route to their victories. Tufts also came out on top in several competitive matches, winning four come-from-behind contests in five games.
"Unfortunately, the first few matches were not our best," Dahlman said. "Toward the end of the weekend, we pulled ourselves up."
Things won't get any easier for the women this weekend when they take on Bowdoin and Bates, two top-20 programs; a win against either one could be a significant confidence booster for the squad.
"We will review particular strategies and arrive with clear, focused minds," Dahlman said.
