Jumbos in the spotlight

While Tufts' athletic success is the result of a cumulative team effort, there are some Jumbos whose performances on the field transcend expectations and particularly help to elevate their respective teams. These athletes are some of the highest scorers, the staunchest defensive anchors and the team leaders on and off the field. All of them deserve our recognition and attention as they enter new seasons.

Men’s Soccer – Nathan Majumder

After tallying seven goals across his first two seasons at Tufts — including two crucial goals in the team's 2014 NCAA finals win over Wheaton — it was no surprise that senior Nathan Majumder rose to lead the men's soccer team with 11 goals last year in his junior campaign. The 2015 Jumbos could not match their Cinderella-story NCAA championship season from the year before, finishing 11-5-3 after falling to the Kenyon Lords in the third round of the NCAA tournament, but Majumder scored twice in that 3-2 defeat. His 11 goals rank him as the second leading scorer in the NESCAC and he earned a spot on the all-NESCAC first team and on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Northeast Region second team. 

Women’s Soccer — Emily Bowers

Though the women's soccer team struggled last year with a 6-8-2 record, sophomore goalkeeper Emily Bowers had a standout first season. She was a large part of why the Jumbos were viewed as a difficult team to break down defensively and helped to lower the team's average goals-allowed from 1.40 per game in 2014 to 1.08 last year. She let in 18 goals and made 84 saves to cap an impressive rookie season. Bowers was the only first-year starting regularly in the Jumbo defense last year — she started all 16 games — so the Jumbos can expect to build on their defensive improvements last year with her as a reliable rock at the back of a veteran defense. 

Football – Chance Brady

The Jumbos finished 6-2 last year and placed third in the NESCAC, marking their best season since 2001. Most of that success stemmed from Tufts' revamped high-powered offense, driven in large part by senior running back Chance Brady. Brady rushed for 975 yards in eight games to lead the NESCAC, and his 11 touchdowns ranked second in the conference. Building on his success as offensive MVP and Player of the Year at Haverhill High School in 2012, Brady steadily grew into his role as Tufts' primary tailback and a centerpiece of the offense. He earned USA Div. III All-American honors and was one of three running backs selected to the 2015 New England Football Writers (NEFW) All-New England Team — the first Jumbo to be named to the NEFW team since 2008. Brady and senior quarterback Alex Snyder will lead what could be the highest-scoring offense in the NESCAC this season.

Men’s Cross Country – Tim Nichols

Senior Tim Nichols led a surging men's cross country team last fall, earning the program's first All-American finish since 2011 and wrapping up an excellent junior year by finishing 19th individually at the 2015 Div. III Men’s Cross Country Championship. Nichols clocked a 24:46.20 time in the 8,000-meter race, breaking into the top 20 in Winnecone, Wis. last November and earning the fourth-fastest time among all New England runners. Tufts finished 17th out of 32 teams overall, the fourth-best finish among NESCAC teams. 

Volleyball – Elizabeth Ahrens

Senior Elizabeth Ahrens, who has anchored Tufts' volleyball's middle block since her rookie season at Tufts, was again one of the team's top contributors last year, when the team finished 17-8 overall and 7-3 in NESCAC play. She played in every match in her three years at Tufts, only missing eight of 307 possible sets during that span. She ended last season with 154 kills, which was the second most on the team. Ahren's .307 hitting percentage was the third best mark in the conference. She also contributed defensively with 85 total blocks, close to one per set, to lead the team in that category. She was one of four Jumbo volleyball players to make the All-NESCAC teams last year, receiving second team honors.

Field Hockey — Dominique Zarrella

Senior co-captain Dominique Zarrella is poised to lead the field hockey team's offense again this fall after pacing the Jumbos in scoring both her sophomore and junior seasons, with 9 and 10 goals respectively. Zarrella got hot with four multi-score games and racked up nearly a quarter of her team's total scores. Tufts finished 11-6 last year and 7-3 in NESCAC play, good for third behind Bowdoin and Middlebury, two of the top programs in the nation in recent years. The last members of the 2012 Tufts national championship team graduated in May, and once again, Tufts will have to compete in the toughest conference in Div. III field hockey. This year's squad is hungry to stay near the top of the NESCAC, with Zarrella returning at its helm for her second year as a captain.

Women’s Cross Country — Brittany Bowman

The women’s cross country team put together one of its best seasons in program history last year, finishing second in the NESCAC and seventh at the NCAA Div. III National Championships, marking its most successful season since 2006. Junior Brittany Bowman consistently scored in the top five for the Jumbos all season and delivered at nationals, where she recorded the team's second fastest time. At the NESCAC championships, she ran the 6,000-meter race in 22:43.30 to finish 18th at her first-ever conference race and then improved by half a minute at the NCAA Div. III Championship race, finishing 82nd overall with a time of 22:13.80. One of her best times was at the Regional Championships, where she finished third among Tufts runners to place 25th overall, with a 22:11 mark. With last year's top runner Audrey Gould (LA '16) having graduated, the Jumbos will look to Bowman to pace the team this season.

Golf — Owen Elliot

Senior Owen Elliot was one of the golf team's most consistent leaders last fall, shooting in the 70s in every event. He earned a spot on the All-NESCAC second team for the second time, partly based on his ninth-place individual finish at the NESCAC qualifier in October. At the New England Championship, he was the second-highest scorer for Tufts over the two-day tournament, shooting 155 in total, 11-over par, to finish 15th individually out of 110 golfers. One of his best events last year was the Newbury Invitational, where he shot an even-par 70 to place first alongside Tufts junior Aaron Corn, and led the team to first place overall.