Editor's Note: Evan Cooper is a sophomore, a sports editor for the Daily and an aspiring professional cyclist. He races for the Tufts cycling team and for the elite amateur squad Team Ora presented by Independent Fabrication. This series will chronicle his season as he tries to make racing into more than just a hobby.
The New York Yankees are gunning to defend their 2009 World Series title, but there will be a host of contenders looking to dethrone them in 2010. Here is the Daily's preview of the upcoming MLB season, beginning Sunday with the Red Sox-Yankees game in Boston.
Every time I get depressed about how terribly one of my favorite teams is doing I just think about how awful it would be to be a fan of, oh, let's say the Washington Wizards. (Note: This also works with the Oakland Raiders, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Pittsburgh Pirates and did I mention the Oakland Raiders?).
For the last two weeks, the nation has watched the best talent in college basketball showcase its skills in the NCAA Tournament. Beyond the upsets, the busted brackets and the buzzer beaters, the tournament provides the public with a final look at the players who will become the future of the NBA.
After five grueling matches in as many days, the women's tennis team returned from its Florida spring break trip with confidence as it prepares to open NESCAC play over the weekend.
For the men's tennis team, the majority of spring break was spent in Puerto Rico, practicing and enjoying the sun. After a 6−3 victory over Div. II opponent Puerto Rico−Mayguez, Tufts ended its spring break back in Medford, where sunny triumph gave way to a disappointing defeat at the hands of Vassar and then an unfinished match against Stevens Institute of Technology that was cut short due to rain.
An inverse ratio between my age and my ability to correctly predict the outcome of college basketball games during the NCAA Tournament has developed over recent years. When I was eight, I was to March Madness bracket pools what T.J. Detweiler was to pranks. For five years in a row, I cruised through my mother's office pool, winning more than enough money to buy Crazy Bones for the next few months.
The legacy of the men's baseball program can be found in coach John Casey's 18−year streak of .500 or better seasons, a mark that nearly came to an end last spring when the Jumbos snatched back−to−back games in the conference tournament to avoid posting a losing record for the first time since 1991.
For senior Jesse Faller, the beginning of the outdoor track and field season simply marked the continuation of his already impressive final season for the Jumbos.
Instead of spending its spring break lounging on the beach and sunbathing, the men's lacrosse team swept a three-game slate against three tough opponents. The intense schedule began on March 20 in a game against a Colby squad that had lost to the Jumbos twice last season and ended with a crucial 10-9 squeaker at home versus Williams.
Nine men's swimmers and one diver capped off a grueling season with an impressive result at the Div. III National Championships, held this year at Minnesota University's Aquatic Center from March 17-20.
The softball team began its season with a rocky trip to the West Coast over spring break. After winning their first four games, the Jumbos dropped five of their next eight, including two tough losses to national powerhouses Cal Baptist and St. Thomas.
With two NESCAC losses under its belt, the women's lacrosse team was eager for a win against Williams College on Saturday. Tufts' determination was clear from the start, as the Jumbos scored the first five goals of the game, leading to a 17-7 victory at Williams' Renzie Lamb Field.
Editor's Note: Evan Cooper is a sophomore, a sports editor for the Daily and an aspiring professional cyclist. He races for the Tufts cycling team and for the elite amateur squad Team Ora presented by Independent Fabrication. This series will chronicle his season as he tries to make racing into more than just a hobby.
Sophomore Scott Barchard was arguably the best goalie in Div. III hockey this season, and now he has the title to prove it. Barchard became the first ever All-American in the history of the Tufts program after he was named to the RBK Hockey/American Hockey Coaches Association All-America Second Team East squad. No one in New England Div. III history has had more saves — he had the most saves in the country this year with 986 — and Barchard also had the highest save percentage at .939. His strong play was a huge factor in Tufts having its best season since 2000-01.
There was a brief pause before the sailing team could kick off its spring season, but when it finally got out on the water at the Wood Trophy Regatta at Salve Regina in Newport, R.I., the Jumbos were able to deliver a solid seventh-place finish out of 14 competitors.
After one of the greatest seasons in school history, which included a NESCAC championship and a trip to the Div. III College World Series, the softball team graduated eight players, which accounted for nearly half of the squad.
Four and a half miles. Four stops on the T. An approximately 15-minute-long ride in the athletic van.
For a man who has earned over $1 billion in his career, you would think that Tiger Woods would have some better PR people and strategists on his payroll.
With two games under its belt this season, the men's lacrosse team has shown that, NESCAC or nonconference, the Jumbos will come out on top.
