Honorable Mentions:Austin Riley, 3B, Braves; Francisco Lindor, SS, Mets; Julio Rodríguez, CF, Mariners10. Matt Olson, 1B, Atlanta BravesOlson has been one of the game’s best sluggers for the past several seasons. Since 2021, he has 127 homers and 353 RBIs with a .902 OPS, and he’s missed only six games in that span.
The Tufts women’s lacrosse team continued their undefeated season with a 20–6 victory over Trinity — who was No. 13 at the time — at home last Saturday. The win helped push Tufts up to a No. 3 ranking and a 5–0 record. With a strong showing across the field, the Jumbos proved that they’re a team to watch in the NESCAC and the NCAA this year.
This week’s focus is on the Hart Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the league’s most valuable player. The MVP is the player who is determined to be the most important to their team’s success through outstanding on-ice performance.
Tufts baseball took on Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday in a doubleheader. The first game started at noon, and the weather, while not rainy, was certainly cold. Junior Connor Podeszwa was given the start on the mound for the Jumbos, while Matthew Wootton took the ball for the Warriors.
Eight Tufts track athletes — seven men and one woman — competed at the NCAA Division III Championships on March 8 and 9 after qualifying for the meet earlier in the season. The Jumbos held their own against a selective group of talent.
With a No. 4 national ranking, an impressive playoff run into the NCAA quarterfinals last year and goals to make it to the NCAA Championship this year, hopes were high for the start of the Tufts women’s lacrosse season, and they did not disappoint. Over the weekend, the Jumbos won games against Connecticut College and No. 9 Washington and Lee University and proceeded to beat No. 21 Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday.
Six Tufts divers competed in the NCAA Diving Regional competition held at Colby College this past weekend. Tufts boasted strong individual performances from divers, while first-year Jay Wilkinson, junior Cameron Yuen and sophomore Malia Leung qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships.
This week’s focus is on the Jim Gregory Award, which is awarded to the best general manager of the season. Each year, one general manager is honored as the best in assembling their team for that season.
A definitive 19–9 win against the Connecticut College Camels in the season opener sees No. 2 Tufts men’s lacrosse continue its amazing form from last season. Any fear that the departure of last season’s star offensive threats would hurt the Jumbos offensively was squashed just three minutes into the game when junior attacker Max Ettinghausen opened the scoring. Although Conn. College’s senior midfielder Bobby Chang tied the game minutes later, Tufts took control from there.
Men’s basketball traveled to New York University for the opening rounds of the NCAA Division III Tournament and notched two big wins in the Big Apple. The postseason environment did not disappoint. Lead changes, lockdown defense, clutch 3-pointers and nail-biter victories secured the Jumbos a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.
It’s officially conference tournament time. On Monday, the Athletic Sun Conference already had their first-round matchups. For the next two weeks, we’ll have a plethora of great games to watch to get us ready for the Big Dance. The ASC can be almost as unpredictable as March Madness, but here are my best attempts at who will be getting an automatic bid from the Power 6 conferences.
On Nov. 26, 2023, as the Tufts community savored the final hours of their Thanksgiving break, the Tufts men’s hockey team fell 3–2 to the then No. 10 ranked Salve Regina University Seahawks.The loss brought their record to 0–4–1, as the 2023–24 campaign looked to be over just five games after it started. Fast forward to March 2, and that losing streak is a distant memory.
These are my thoughts on who will win the MVP and Cy Young awards in each league, as well as some dark horses to watch out for. National League MVP My pick: Mookie Betts, Dodgers
Last weekend, the men’s and women’s track and field teams took on the New England Division III Championships at The Track at New Balance. The three day championships were the culmination of an impressive indoor season for the Jumbos. Both teams sported top ten finishes, with the men’s team placing second out of 26 teams with 106.5 points and the women’s team placing tenth out of 27 teams with 30 points.
Men’s gymnastics is in dire straits in the United States. At the collegiate level, many programs have been given the axe, along with other non-revenue men’s sports like wrestling, or swimming and diving, to comply with Title IX policies. In 1969, 210 institutions sponsored men’s gymnastics; today, only 12 Division I programs remain.
Men’s basketball came up short in a back-and-forth battle against the Trinity College Bantams in the semifinal game of the NESCAC tournament, but the team’s strong offensive performance is building momentum as NCAA tournament play approaches. Tufts entered the contest as the No. 4 seed in the conference, primed to face off against the No. 2 seed Trinity in a rematch of Tufts’ competitive Senior Day game that ended in a close loss. Although the Tufts defense managed to limit Trinity’s leading scorer — forward/center Ben Callahan-Gold — to only 4 points, a late 12–2 run by the Bantams sent them to the conference championship.
This week’s focus is on the Jack Adams Award, which is awarded to “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.” Each year, one coach is honored as the season’s best coach.
Tufts hockey will advance to the NESCAC semifinals for the first time since 2016 after a 5–3 victory over Connecticut College. Despite their two goal victory, the Jumbos took a while to start scoring. Tufts struggled to keep up with Conn.’s offense at first, with the Camels scoring twice in the first period.
Monday afternoon graced us with a new No. 1 team, the University of Houston Cougars. This is the first time Houston has been at the top of the rankings all season, with the University of Kansas being the only other Big 12 Conference team to do so this year. Following them are No. 2 Purdue University and No. 3 University of Connecticut.
USA Gymnastics’ Winter Cup kicked off over the weekend in Louisville, Ky. This event was the first major domestic competition of the 2024 Olympic year. The Winter Cup traditionally serves as an option for athletes to test out new skills and begin the season at a competition with less pressure.
