10. Dahlman takes home a trophy
Rising senior and womens squash player Paige Dahlman won the B Draw Championship of the Div. III Individual Championships held at Bowdoin College on Feb. 9. Dahlman played in the No. 2 position in team play, but shined individually. She won the championship the first year the tournament was held; this was the second year the tournament has been scheduled, but it was canceled last year due to inclement weather.
In the round of 16, Dahlman beat rising senior Samantha Rosado of Mount Holyoke. In the quarterfinals, she topped Conn. College rising senior Leah Puklin, and then cruised past Colby rising senior Elizabeth Brehman in the semifinals. In the finals, she finished off her championship with a win over rising sophomore Chloe Polikoff of Bowdoin. There were 16 total participants in the B draw, and 14 schools sent individuals to the tournament, but Dahlman rose above the competition to score a victory for Tufts.
9. Softball team adds to its awards mantle The softball team has done a lot of winning in the past calendar year. In 2014, it added some serious honors to its trophy collection.
The Jumbos nearly swept the NESCAC awards this year, taking home conference Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Coach of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Awards en route to winning the NESCAC title.
Player of the Year went to graduating senior co-captain catcher Jo Clair. Clair, who sits atop almost every softball record list, turned in arguably the finest performance of her prolific career to earn her first Player of the Year Award, batting .455 while swatting 19 homeruns and driving in 58 runs as of Tufts game against Endicott on May 11.
Rising junior Allyson Fournier took home the Pitcher of the Year award thanks to yet another stellar season on the mound. Fournier was once again unhittable, striking out 251 batters to go alongside a miniscule 0.44 earned run average.
Rising junior shortstop Christina Raso, unlike Fournier and Clair, is new to the awards process, but was just as worthy of her Defensive Player of the Year award. Raso was the focal point of a Jumbos defense that led the league with a .967 fielding percentage.
Finally, at the helm of the ship was head coach Cheryl Milligan, who earned her seventh Coach of the Year honor. If the softball team continues the run its been on for the past several years, there is no reason to expect her tally to stop there.
8. Koh scores medalist honors
Rising junior Brendan Koh treated his teammates to a sight they had never seen before: a Tufts golfer claiming individual medalist honors. Koh's first-place finish at the Rhode Island College Spring Invitational was easily the highlight of an up-and-down season for the golf team. With a two-day score of 154 (79, 75), Koh beat out 82 other golfers to claim the title honors.
Graduating senior Bill Hutchins of Husson University was in the individual lead after shooting a 75 on the first day, while Koh's seven-over par 79 was tied with Tufts rising sophomore Owen Elliott for fifth individually.
On the second day, Koh found himself two-under par after the first six holes, but faced his biggest challenge by four putting on the seventh, exhibiting a short game that had been unreliable all tournament. Despite the minor setback, Koh shot a 40 on the back nine to build off his 35-stroke front to take the title.
7. Seniors leave Bello Field on a high note
The Tufts womens lacrosse team played Bates in a key NESCAC game that also happened to be the final home game for the teams graduating seniors: attacker Gabby Horner, midfielder Eliza Halmo, midfielder Kate Applegate and defender Kelley Cohen.
With seven minutes left, Tufts was down by one goal. Halmo had already made her mark with three second-half scores to keep the Jumbos close. Horner then took over, netting her second goal of the game to send the teams into overtime.
Rain poured down on the field, and up to 40 miles per hour wind gusts affected each teams ball movement.
The Jumbos offense controlled the tempo throughout overtime, and Horner received the ball in front of the net, but was fouled before she was able to score. Bates rising sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Jeffrey had an excellent first half, but the weather and general fatigue seemed to catch up to her. The whistle blew; Horner took a step and fired her free position shot towards the bottom of the net, just past Jeffreys stick.
Tufts had a 10-9 lead, but Bates still had an opportunity to tie the game. The Jumbos defense was too strong though, and the home team was able to maintain possession for nearly the entire overtime period.
With 37 seconds left, Horner sprinted past the Bobcats defense and scored her fourth goal of the game, her final at home, to cement an important NESCAC victory and send her fellow classmates home with a win to remember.123
