Entering the second half of its season with a starting lineup bolstered by the return of students from abroad, the men's squash team took two of three matches over the weekend, including a narrow 5-4 decision over Denison, improving its record to 4-6 and acquiring some momentum for the NESCAC this coming weekend.
In the world of men's track and field, the actual results are often secondary to the improvement that they represent, as all roads generally lead to the end-of-season NCAA Championships. Normally, this improvement is seen individually in daily workouts and weekly events, slowly building throughout the season, but the 22 Jumbos who traveled to Boston University this weekend got an opportunity to see the team improve throughout the meet. After starting out slowly at Saturday's Terrier Invitational, Tufts built momentum throughout the day of competition, culminating in junior co-captain Nick Welch's Nationals-qualifying performance in the 5,000-meter run. "I thought Nick ran an excellent race," junior Jesse Faller said. "We're all very surprised in a good way and excited to see what he's going to be able to run in the future. He ran notably well." It was an up-and-down morning for the Jumbos as sophomore Sam Read, returning from a bout with mono, did not place in his attempt at the pole vault, while junior Ikenna Acholonu continued to get back into the swing of the track season, finishing 10th and 15th in the triple jump and 55-meter hurdles, respectively. From there, however, the Jumbos would see a number of positive results in ensuing racing events. With junior Andrew Longley, who holds the school record in the indoor 200-meter sprint, out for the season with a broken hip, senior Phil Rotella has stepped up to fill the void. On the surface, Rotella's 25th-place finish in the event seems average, but his time of 22.55 seconds is the second-fastest in school history and currently the second-fastest among Div. III competition in New England. Following the sprints, the Jumbos went on to perform their best in the middle- and long-distance races. Faller, a two-time All-American in cross country, won his heat and finished 24th overall with a personal record time of 4:15.29 in the mile run. The feat was more impressive in light of the fact that it came just one day after Faller ran the mile in a distance medley relay. "To come back the day after running the mile of the DMR and run a tactically smart race to win his heat in the mile was really solid," Welch said. "Last week at our invite here, it wasn't the greatest result for him in the 3k, so I know to get a solid performance like yesterday is a big confidence boost and a really good result." "It was exciting to run a [personal record]," Faller said. "My coach said it was one of the best races I had ever run in a tactical sense. I got out well, made the moves that I had to make and then kicked hard. It was encouraging to run well and kind of rebound off of last weekend's race." Later on in the 800-meter run, the Jumbos showcased their depth, as juniors Billy Hale, Scott Brinkman and Jason Hanrahan and senior Marcelo Norsworthy finished 20th, 22nd, 26th and 28th, respectively. All four finished within one second of each other. "For me, personally, it was a decent race," Hale said. "I think I can do better, but in terms of how the race developed, I was happy with the end result. I have a lot more that I can improve upon, but it's a solid foundation going forward. "With all of us finishing so closely, that was awesome," Hale continued. "Last year we didn't have nearly the depth and experience at middle distance that we do now. That speaks worlds for how we've improved in just a year. With people coming back from injuries and a new middle-distance coach, our program has just grown immensely in the past year, so it was great to see everyone finish how they did." Following this impressive display, sophomores Corey Melnick and Jeff Ragazzini both registered personal records in their events. Melnick finished the 1,000-meter race in 2:36.88, taking 34th place and qualifying in the event for the New England Championships. Ragazzini then finished the 3k with a time of 8:49.66, good for 63rd in the field of over 100. The highlight of the day, however, came from Welch in the 5,000-meter run. His time of 14:39.64 earned him 15th among 62 competitors and met the provisional qualification threshold for Nationals. Sophomores Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot and Chris Brunnquell also performed well in the event, finishing 39th and 53rd, respectively. "It was probably a good ten seconds [faster] than I even thought was possible going into the race," Welch said. "In some ways it couldn't have played out much better. I got into a good pace, settled into a rhythm and managed to hang onto that pace better than all those previous 5ks I've done. Overall I'm happy with the result; that was a good cap to the meet." Tufts will host a pentathlon on Friday before taking part in the Bowdoin Invitational on Saturday, a meet more akin to the type of competition the Jumbos can expect to face down the stretch. "We'll have more of our team competing — definitely the bulk of our team will be traveling up there — so it's a good chance to square off against Bowdoin, MIT, Bates, teams that we're going to end up seeing at New Englands in a couple weeks," Welch said. "It's mostly a good chance to get people qualified for New Englands that haven't done so already. That'll be what we're looking to accomplish."
After qualifying provisionally for Nationals in the triple jump in her first-ever collegiate meet, freshman Nakeisha Jones had a hard act to follow heading into Saturday's Terrier Invitational at BU. But Jones was more than up for the challenge, outdoing her Jan. 11 performance at Dartmouth Relays with one that hit the NCAA automatic qualifier in the event. "It was very exciting," Jones said. "I'm just happy that I did qualify so early, so that I don't have to worry about it and I can just focus on improving my mark. "We did extend my runway, so I had two extra steps," Jones continued. "The last feet, I was coming over too high, so I just focused on staying flat and running as fast as I could and getting the most out of each phase." Jones' mark of 39'3" not only earned her first place at the meet among Div. III participants and bettered her own personal mark, but it also set the bar as the top Div. III performance in the nation by over five and a half inches, passing regional rivals from Wheaton, Brandeis and Springfield on the way. "We are so lucky to have gotten her," sophomore Stephanie McNamara said. "She has incredible talent, and I think she's going to end up going a long way this season. She could potentially win Nationals with a jump like that. I'm psyched that we have her on our team — it looks great for Div. IIIs to have that kind of strength in the jumps. We're really happy for her." On the running side, sophomore Stephanie McNamara narrowly missed a provisional qualifier in the mile run, finishing in 5:05.47, less than three seconds ahead of classmate Amy Wilfert. Despite facing strong Div. I competitors, McNamara's heat — slotted as one of the faster groups — got off to somewhat of a slow start, which in turn took a toll on her time as she tried to compensate. "At that distance, she's not used to taking the lead," coach Kristen Morwick said. "I think she was expecting someone else to do it … She was trying to make it all up in one or two laps, and that strategy didn't work because then she was out running by herself and slowed down again. It was just a very erratic race, and it was not ideal for her." Nonetheless, McNamara's time still currently ranks as the second-fastest in Div. III and will serve as a good springboard for her remaining mile races this season. "I think it's hard for her — she goes out and runs a PR every week, so when she doesn't, it's disappointing," Morwick said. "But she's going to run it a bunch more — it's not like we don't have other chances." While McNamara may not have surpassed her own personal record, several of her teammates accomplished such a feat. Tufts saw at least one member of the squad record a personal record in almost every running event, and while that may not have been the team's intent, such favorable results were certainly welcomed. "We weren't chasing PRs in other events," Morwick said. "That wasn't the goal for this weekend. It was just to improve on times and get qualified for New Englands and other things, and if the PR comes, that's great. To be chasing your PR now doesn't make a lot of sense. You don't want to be running your fastest times in January — you want to do that in March. We've just had a really great start." One especially notable performance came from senior sprinter Halsey Stebbins, who posted a 26.59 in the 200-meter dash in what has been the best season of her career thus far. "Halsey, coming back from abroad [last season], really struggled trying to put it all together," Morwick said. "For her to come back with a vengeance and completely turn it around and have the best season of her career — you hope for those things, but it's not a given that your senior year is going to be your best year. I think that's what's happening for a lot of people on our team." Tufts also saw impressive finishes in the 800-meter run, including those of senior tri-captain Jackie Ferry, freshman Amanda Parker and sophomore Jen Yih, who finished 35th, 43rd and 51st, respectively. The Jumbos will now look to the Tufts Invitational II, the second meet this season to be held at the Gantcher Center, happening this Saturday.
Playing without its leading scorer this weekend, the women's basketball team's high-octane offense came to a screeching halt. So, too, did its nine-game winning streak. Nationally ranked No. 11 Tufts fell to Colby 58-55 in Waterville, Maine on Friday for the team's first NESCAC loss of the season and its first setback overall in nearly two months. The Jumbos rebounded the next afternoon, however, scoring an impressive 67-56 win at Bowdoin to improve to 3-1 in conference play and 13-2 overall. "Any loss is hard, but I was really proud of us and the way that we bounced back against a really good team," senior co-captain Kim Moynihan said. "I think we finally had some glimpses of what our team can accomplish and the type of basketball that we can play, which is refreshing." Junior forward Julia Baily, who has contributed a team-leading 14.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season, missed both games due to personal reasons, and Tufts' offense suffered accordingly. The Jumbos recorded season lows with just 55 points and 31.8 percent shooting in the loss to Colby, and against Bowdoin, the team was held to its fourth-worst shooting performance of the year. "It's definitely different," coach Carla Berube said. "You're missing 15 points and eight rebounds, so it's not something that we didn't feel or that we didn't notice. We probably felt it a little bit more on Friday than on Saturday, when we all got together and pulled out a big win; I think we did a good job of trying to stay focused." Leading Colby 40-29 five minutes into the second half, the Jumbos appeared to be well on their way to their 10th-straight victory. But over the final 15 minutes of the game, Tufts managed only 15 points on 6-of-28 shooting, leaving the door open for Colby to make a comeback. The young Mules, who start two freshmen and feature no seniors on their roster, chipped away methodically, finally drawing even on freshman forward Rachael Mack's conventional three-point play with 4:33 remaining. "We were definitely out of our offensive game on Friday," Moynihan said. "Shots weren't falling, and we just couldn't get into the flow. Missing Julia was probably a big piece of that. She's a huge component of our offense, and we definitely felt that. But as a whole, we just couldn't find that groove." Colby pulled ahead for good in the final minute thanks to flawless free-throw shooting. With 47 seconds left and the score knotted at 52, sophomore forward Julianne Kowalski sank a pair of go-ahead free throws, and after Tufts misfired on its next trip down the floor, Mack made two more to put the game out of reach. "Give Colby credit: They're inexperienced and young, but they play with a lot of confidence, and they took it to us," Berube said. "We just didn't make plays when we needed to, and it was hopefully a little kick in the butt for things to turn around." On their final possession, the Jumbos took two cracks at tying the game, but three-point attempts in the waning seconds by junior guards Casey Sullivan and Vanessa Miller both missed their marks. Tufts managed to end the weekend on a positive note, however, knocking off a red-hot Bowdoin team that entered Saturday's contest having outscored each of its last four opponents by an average of almost 30 points per game. The victory was the Jumbos' first in Brunswick since 1991. The see-saw affair was locked in its seventh tie with 6:22 to play in the second half when Tufts took over. The Polar Bears scored just seven points the rest of the way — five on free throws — while the Jumbos hit their offensive stride, getting a pair of game-busting three-pointers by Moynihan and sophomore point guard Colleen Hart during a decisive 16-2 run. Five players reached double figures for Tufts, including Miller, who took Baily's place in the starting lineup. Freshman forward Rachel Figaro came off the bench to record 10 points and five rebounds. "It was definitely a grind-it-out kind of win," Berube said. "It was just an overall great, great team effort. Some people played minutes that they're not accustomed to, and they stepped right in, and we never missed a beat. It was a tight ballgame all through the second half, and to make plays when we needed to, both on the offensive end and the defensive end, it was great to watch." Though the weekend split knocked the Jumbos from the ranks of the NESCAC's unbeaten, the squad still could return to the top — they would, however, have to win each of their five remaining NESCAC games, including one at undefeated national No. 4 Amherst. "I think we're really looking to come out and take each NESCAC opponent one team at a time," Moynihan said. "Clearly, we need to show up for every game."
Everybody spit out your beverages in unison. The Arizona Cardinals are playing in the Super Bowl. Wait, what? Say that again? The Cardinals, the eternal bottom-feeders of the NFL, will be playing for the championship this Sunday? The same Cardinals who would have lost to the St. Louis baseball franchise of the same name in a football game two years ago? The same Cardinals whose 61-year championship drought is the second-longest in professional sports, runner-up to only the hapless Chicago Cubs? Those Cardinals? No way. Believe it, even if I can hardly begin to do so myself. Six weeks ago, Arizona hit rock bottom with a 47-7 loss to the New England Patriots, bringing its East Coast record to 0-5 on the season. Stumbling into the playoffs after clinching the miserable NFC West title a few weeks back, the Cardinals' play was less enjoyable to watch than a "Gossip Girl" marathon. So how did they manage to turn it around, defeating the Rookie of the Year, a team undefeated at home and a team favored on the road in consecutive weeks in the playoffs? Three words: Larry Freakin' Fitzgerald. This man is absolutely ridiculous. He has pogo sticks for legs and glue-covered Velcro pads for hands. He's everything you want in a receiver but can't find anywhere else. In this age of celebratory, flamboyant and name-changing wideouts, Fitzgerald is one of a kind. Oh yeah — he will also be the most electric player on the field this Sunday in Tampa Bay. In a nine-reception, 152-yard effort against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, Fitzgerald surpassed Jerry Rice for the single postseason record with 419 yards receiving. Oh, and he still has one more game left. Fitzgerald also became the first man in NFL history to record three straight 100-yard receiving games in the same postseason as he single-handedly leapt, snagged, sprinted and darted his team into Super Bowl XLIII: The Larry Fitzgerald Show, featuring the Arizona Cardinals. Against the Eagles, Fitzgerald's three scores in the first half brought his season total to 12. After each touchdown, though, he chose to calmly flip the ball into the arms of the referees and trot off past herds of flabbergasted teammates with tongues down to the turf. He's an eternal human highlight reel, the aggregate power of Zeus and Hercules, and yet is silent as a cricket in daylight. Despite his successes, Fitzgerald is one of the most humble receivers in the NFL, harkening back to the soft-spoken Marvin Harrison of a few years prior. Rather than cranking out shirtless sit-ups in his driveway or making cell phone calls next to the goal post, Fitzgerald is out helping AIDS victims, a tribute to his mother who passed away as a result of the syndrome. He's a modern-day da Vinci, something all pro football players should strive to be. Fitzgerald travels around the world and cooks, all the while ignoring the spotlight that continues to shine on some of his more raucous brethren. He was once fined $10,000 by the NFL for leaving the clubhouse before a postgame news session simply because of how uncomfortable the public's eye makes him. It's not that no one has heard about him, it's just that the extent to which he lets his play do the talking is admirable. Whether he wins or loses next week, Fitzgerald has forever catapulted himself into the debate over the NFL's best receiver, but winning on Sunday in stellar fashion would cement him that status. Going up against renowned safety Troy Polamalu next Sunday will be no easy task for Fitzgerald and Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner, but that is exactly what they have been doing all season. Scoring touchdowns without a peep is Fitzgerald's game, and it's about time he wins a championship for playing football the right way. As Bruce Springsteen fires up his amps and Tampa Bay readies for the Terrible Towels, the Steelers are clearly the obvious choice for the title. As Pittsburgh boasts the best defense in the league, Arizona is seemingly just another tackling dummy for the hard-hitting Steelers. Yet the Cardinals made it this far on their own will, outplaying the NFC's best, so I leave you with this question: What's going to stop Fitzgerald this time?
Things just keep getting worse for the men's basketball team. A week after dropping its first two NESCAC games at Williams and Middlebury, Tufts came home to Medford to take on a pair of lesser conference foes in Colby and Bowdoin. While the scores were closer than they were a week before, the results remained the same, as the Jumbos fell to both the Mules on Friday and the Polar Bears on Saturday. The losses bring Tufts' losing streak to five games and drop its record to 7-10 overall (0-4 NESCAC). The Jumbos join Conn. College as the only two teams in the league that have yet to tally a conference victory. "It's very disappointing — I would say even more disappointing than the weekend before because we were in these games," junior Dave Beyel said. "The first game, I guess we started off in a pretty deep hole, but we started playing better as a team and knew what we had to do. It was pretty rough being able to play like we know we can for a while, then having things not work out as they did." Tufts' better chance for a victory came in its 89-81 loss against Bowdoin. After jumping out to a 26-18 lead, the Jumbos loosened their grip on the early lead, and the teams went into halftime with the score knotted at 44. Tufts went up 54-50 with 16:07 on the clock, but three consecutive three-pointers from Bowdoin freshman Ryan O'Connell gave the Bears a lead they would not relinquish. Tufts would come as close as 82-79 with 1:48 left to play, but Bowdoin went 7-for-8 on critical free throws down the stretch to secure the win. Five Polar Bears scored in double digits, led by 17 from senior Kyle Jackson, while only two Jumbos broke that threshold. Junior co-captain Jon Pierce scored a game-high 36 points — his highest total since Dec. 4, when he netted 37 in a victory over Plymouth State — on 13-of-25 shooting, while classmate Dave Beyel contributed 12 of his own by making four three-pointers. Freshman Amauris Quezada also had a solid day, posting eight assists against only one turnover. Overall, the team numbers for Tufts and Bowdoin were very similar, as the two teams shot 46.2 and 48.1 percent from the floor while turning it over 13 and 14 times, respectively. However, the Bears' dominance on the boards provided the difference, as they out-rebounded the Jumbos 42-32, including snatching 14 on the offensive end. "When you get beat on the boards by 10, that's pretty significant, so that hurt us," Pierce said. "We weren't getting a lot of second shots. The defense was a problem as well. There was a stretch when they hit three straight threes with [about 13 minutes] left. That's a momentum-swinger. You're going to lose the basketball game if you can't stay focused for an entire 40 minutes. We didn't have that focus down the stretch yesterday." "We came out and played pretty well, but we didn't play defense like we needed to," Beyel said. "The rebounds hurt us a little bit, but we didn't communicate well on defense. We let guards beat us on the dribble; we weren't playing as smart as we should've been." Friday's matchup with Colby was not quite as close. Although the Jumbos only lost by a score of 85-75, the game was never in doubt, as the Mules raced out to a 23-9 lead and took a commanding 50-31 advantage at halftime. Down 67-47 with 11:03 to go, the Jumbos started to chip away at the deficit, going on a 9-3 run to bring it within 14, but that was as close as they would come until the final minute. Colby junior tri-captain Adam Choice topped the game with 25 points, while four Jumbos — led by Beyel with 17 — scored in double figures, with Pierce and junior Tom Selby each registering double-doubles. Again, the shooting numbers were similar — 45.3 percent for Tufts and 49.3 percent for Colby — but Tufts turned the ball over 19 times, including 11 on steals, against only 10 turnovers for the Mules. "We came out even for the first five minutes, and then it looked like we were lost out there," Pierce said. "They went on a big run, and just like that we're down 20 going into halftime. Any time you turn the ball over, it just compounds the issue. We feel like we have a good offensive team, but clearly, when you take the ball away from us, you create a serious problem with the way our defense has played the past couple games." The Jumbos will now take on 9-8 Clark University on Wednesday in non-conference action before getting a shot at redemption on the road against conference cellar-dwellers Wesleyan (1-3 NESCAC) and Conn. College this upcoming weekend. "We have to prove to ourselves that we're a mentally competent team, and I know for certain we haven't played like that to this point," Pierce said. "I don't want to start talking about next year, but we're going have essentially the same basketball team. The six juniors playing now, it'll be our team. We have to start building on something positive. We're fighting for a playoff spot; to miss the playoffs two years in a row would be extremely disappointing to me as a captain, a leader and a member of this team. "All the guys went through last year's 1-8 NESCAC year, and I don't think anyone wants to go through that again," Pierce continued. "We have to come out and make a statement that we're not going to lay down — it's really a turning point in our season."
The women's basketball team was a 58-55 upset victim to NESCAC rival Colby Friday night, ending its nine-game winning streak and dealing the squad its first conference loss of the year. The Mules were aided in part by nearly flawless free-throw shooting; Colby was 18-21 from the charity stripe while Tufts attempted just 11 free throws the entire game. Following this weekend, opponents have attempted more free throws than the Jumbos in 11 out of 15 games this season. A look inside Tufts' charity-stripe woes:
Just when it was beginning to look like the ice hockey team was down for the count, it stood back up — twice. In what may prove to be a key turning point in this winter's campaign for a NESCAC postseason tournament bid, the Jumbos fought back on consecutive nights against stiff conference competition to go 1-0-1 on the weekend homestand. In a Saturday afternoon affair at the Malden Forum, the Jumbos put together an impressive 5-3 victory over Bowdoin after trailing late in the third period. The resilient effort came on the heels of another gritty performance against Colby on Friday night, which saw the Jumbos overcome an early 2-0 deficit to secure an important 3-3 tie against another NESCAC rival. The team's chance of a comeback against the Polar Bears on Saturday looked bleak after Bowdoin sophomore Brendan Reich beat Tufts freshman goaltender Scott Barchard high late in the second period to put the visitors up 3-2. The goal came just seconds after Bowdoin was able to kill off a bench minor penalty and provided the penalty-laden period's only offensive action. Despite goals from sophomore defenseman Andy Davis and junior defenseman Doug Wilson, through the first two periods, the Jumbos were outshot by a healthy 32-17 margin, and while Barchard was playing as well as he ever has in his young Jumbo career, coach Brian Murphy knew that he needed to make a few adjustments to shift the game's momentum. "[Barchard] did a great job for us on Saturday," Murphy said. "We just came a little bit unglued in the second period, and we struggled a bit on the power play, but we addressed that in between periods. Going forward, we know that to be successful we need to support one another and just work as a unit." After the period break, the Jumbos and sophomore forward Tom Derosa went to work. At the 10:00 mark of the final frame, Derosa converted the team's first power play tally of the weekend, burying his third power play goal of the season on assists from freshman forwards Nick Resor and Matt Amico. Less than four minutes later, Derosa beat Bowdoin senior goaltender Nick Smith again, registering his team-leading 10th goal and 18th point of the season. This time around, however, the Jumbos were on the penalty kill rather than the man advantage as Derosa recorded the team's second shorthanded goal of the season with helpers from Resor and sophomore forward Dylan Cooper. The Jumbo effort was completed when Cooper took a feed from Resor, his third assist on the game, and buried an empty-net goal at 18:51 to seal the 5-3 victory. The game's final frame featured more balanced play than the previous two, as Bowdoin only narrowly led the shot margin, 16-13. But it was the injury-riddled Jumbo defense that sparked the Derosa-led comeback. "Scott has been incredible the past few games, but we also didn't give up a lot of quality shots either, which is very important," junior defenseman and co-captain Dave Antonelli said. "By keeping our opponents on the perimeter and limiting the number of rebounds that they were able get close in front of Scott, we were able to limit their good scoring opportunities, even if that meant we might lose the shot differential." "I think we're simply bending but not breaking on defense," Murphy added. "We've got some guys back there who haven't really played all that much on defense [due to injuries], so we're learning a bit on the fly here. The number of penalties we took certainly affected the number of shots [against] on net, but we're not giving up any power play goals, and that's the key. The special teams battle always is a good indicator of the game's outcome, and this weekend we did well in those areas." Friday night's contest against Colby saw the Mules jump to an early 1-0 lead just over four minutes into the game on sophomore forward Billy Crinnion's score. Colby struck again as the second period was just getting underway, with junior defenseman and co-captain Matt Strickland beating Barchard to increase Colby's lead to 2-0. In the following minutes, the Jumbos kick-started what would become a weekend of comebacks, notching their first goal on a Resor tally assisted by senior Drew Delorey and Cooper at 5:07. With less than eight minutes to go in the second frame, the Jumbos converted their first of two shorthanded goals on the weekend, riding freshman forward Evan Story's penalty kill score that created a 2-2 tie going into the final period. Tufts' young guns on offense continued their impressive play when Cooper beat Mules senior goaltender Dean Feole on assists from Derosa and Resor seven minutes into the third. Unlike Saturday's exciting comeback effort, however, this contest ended less favorably. After successfully killing off two penalties midway through the period, the stingy Jumbo defense was unable to keep Colby junior Eric Simmons away from the cage, and he buried one in the back of the net to tie the game at 3-3. The deadlocked score would go final even in spite of a scrappy overtime period that featured a myriad of 10-minute misconduct penalties. Still, the Jumbos came away from this weekend's conference games with a much more confident outlook for the long run — especially with the rash of injuries the team has had to deal with over the past handful of games. "Guys like Delorey and [freshman] Igor Fedorov are two players who started out the year at forward but have moved down to defense with the injuries we've faced," Antonelli said. "I really can't say enough about them. They've made a big impact for guys who haven't really had much chance to work on defense in the past, and they've stepped right in and helped us put together a good weekend." "I think we're going to only get better down the stretch," Murphy added. "We're only going to get healthier, and that's going to allow guys who've been playing out of position for us to move back to their old spots. In the meantime, those guys have simply been doing a great job for us." As the team prepares for another crucial weekend of conference games at the Malden Forum, this time against Amherst and Hamilton, the Jumbos have reasons aplenty to be excited with the team's progression this season. Barchard has proven his ability to carry the workload in net, posting 84 stops in this weekend's two games, and the team's young offensive leaders all seem to be maturing into potent goal-scorers. "The guys that are our scorers, who happen to be younger guys, are just doing their job really well right now and becoming more comfortable with their roles," Antonelli said. "I think you're seeing the younger guys take on a bit more responsibility, and hopefully, that's going to be a good omen for the future."
Junior diver Lindsay Gardel capped a weekend of strong performances by earning NESCAC Co-Performer of the Week honors on Monday. Gardel becomes the second member of the women's swimming and diving team to capture the conference's weekly honor, joining sophomore Megan Kono. At a tri-meet last weekend against Wesleyan and Williams, Gardel was the only Jumbo to post a victory, sweeping the 1- and 3-meter diving events. Gardel and her teammate, junior Kelsey Bell, went 1-2 in each event as Tufts earned a split with its two NESCAC rivals. Gardel and the Jumbos will hit the pool tomorrow when they travel down the Red Line for a matchup against MIT.
Despite a hiatus of nearly two months from the grueling grind of competitive NESCAC play, the reeling ice hockey team found no relief in finally getting another chance to face a conference foe. Coming into Tuesday night's contest against Conn. College, the Jumbos were hoping to rebound from a recent three-game skid that saw the goal-starved team outpaced by a 20-5 margin. But it was the Camels who earned the key 3-1 victory at Dayton Arena in New London, Conn., perhaps turning their season in a better direction and accumulating some crucial momentum heading into the heart of the team's conference schedule. Entering Tuesday night's tilt, the Camels boasted a solid 6-1-1 record when taking the ice at their friendly confines. The hosts wasted no time getting ahead, as freshman forward Julien Boutet snuck a shot by Jumbo rookie netminder Scott Barchard from the slot just 13 seconds into the game. At the other end of the period, Boutet almost put home the game's second tally, but the Barchard was able to glove Boutet's bid this time around, holding the Camel lead to 1-0. Midway through the second frame, Boutet struck again, this time on a man advantage, feeding junior forward Brett Moore in the slot for the team's first of two power play scores on the day. Moore had a hand in all three Camel goals on the evening, assisting on the team's other two scores as well. It remained a 2-0 Camel lead until nearly six minutes into the final period, when the Conn. College power play was able to convert for the second time on the night. Junior forward Ryan Howarth redirected a shot by junior forward Trevor Bradley, beating Barchard just inside the right post and pushing the Jumbo deficit to 3-0. "They weren't really doing anything specific [on the power play]," sophomore forward Tom Derosa said. "It was just a few bad bounces out in front of the goal that they were able to beat Scotty on. Normally he makes those saves, but it was just one of those nights where the bounces weren't going our way." Derosa, the Jumbos' points leader, led the response mustered by the Tufts man-advantage unit with eight minutes remaining in the contest. Derosa, who tallied his eighth goal of the season, took a lead pass from sophomore defenseman Andy Davis onto a breakaway and quashed any Camel hopes of a shutout for Conn. College junior goalie Greg Parker. But that would be the last score of the game. Parker turned out a near-perfect effort, notching 21 saves for the Camels. Barchard, who was equally solid for the Jumbos, backed 23 stops on the contest and was credited an assist on the team's scoring play as well, accurately hitting Davis, who then quickly moved the puck along to Derosa. "Scotty's been great all year," junior co-captain David Antonelli said. "He's kept us in lots of games, some especially that we shouldn't have even had a chance to win. He's the type of guy that keeps you in games no matter what, and we're going to need him down the stretch." On the whole, the Jumbos' lack of any sustained serious offensive threats — combined with a slew of injuries on the defensive side of the ice — led to a largely inconsistent effort in the close and tough areas. "Their first goal was just a bad break that caught us early on in the game that we couldn't do anything about, but mainly it was just momentary lapses that gave them success," Antonelli said. "We were a bit shorthanded on defense with injuries, but it was a team effort that led to [Tuesday night's] results, and we need to improve on playing more complete games this upcoming weekend." "Any time you have players out, it's certainly going to affect your team," Derosa added. "Especially when most of the guys who have been out for us are defensemen, it's been pretty tough. We've had to put some forwards back on defense to fill those roles, but hopefully this weekend we should get some of those injured guys back, and we'll look to use them to our advantage." While the Conn. College squad moves confidently toward their important NESCAC battles against Bowdoin and Colby this weekend, the Jumbos now face a similar immediate future, albeit with a slightly more desperate outlook. "We definitely need to get our power play going again, and we need to start producing more when we get those opportunities," Derosa said. "We're getting the chances, but we just need to finish those chances and execute a little bit better. The chances and shots are there for us, but we've got to be able to convert those more often to get back to playing the way we were earlier on in the season." After a pair of hard-fought losses to regional opponents St. Michael's and Skidmore, the team was trounced by Castleton State 11-2 last Saturday. Now, the team knows it must head in a new direction. "Getting back our identity that defined us at the beginning of the year is going to be the key for us moving forward," Antonelli said. "No matter who's out there, we need to out-work teams, and if we do that, we can compete with any team in the country on any given night. It's just the little stuff, the fundamental stuff, which we need to focus on and to get that hardworking identity back." The Jumbos make their return to the Malden Forum this weekend, taking on conference rivals Colby and Bowdoin. And if their record on home ice thus far indicates anything, chances are good that the squad will put together a couple of strong efforts in order to better position themselves for a potential postseason berth. "We're undefeated at home this year, and I think there's a reason for that," Antonelli said. "We've just put together better efforts in our home rink. Especially with these road trips, going for three nights at a time, being in a hotel, and being up late, we're excited to be home this weekend and hope that playing in front of our home crowd will change things for us."
Coming off back-to-back conference wins over the weekend, the women's basketball team continued its winning ways Tuesday night in Cousens Gym. Nationally ranked No. 11 Tufts survived an upset bid by NEWMAC rival Wheaton, winning 79-71 for its ninth consecutive victory. Despite losing two of their starters to injuries, the Jumbos held off a second-half push by the Lyons to win the rematch of last season's NCAA Tournament battle between the two squads and improve to 12-1 on the year. "It's their style of play; they take it to you," coach Carla Berube said. "They are aggressive, and they offensive rebound every time, so there is going to be a lot of contact. They came here wanting to get a great win against a top-20 team, so I would do the same thing and want my players to do the same thing in their position." The Jumbos lost sophomore starting point guard Colleen Hart when she took an elbow to the head after only nine minutes on the floor. Senior forward Katie Tausanovitch, who led the team with 23 points and 12 rebounds, then suffered an injury to her hand late in the second half. Following yesterday's practice, it was uncertain whether either would take court tonight at Colby. "It's a big shot to us when our point guard is not on the floor, our court leader," Berube said. "It affected us at some points, and then I think the people off the bench stepped up and did a great job when called on. [Sophomore] Lindsay Weiner, [junior] Vanessa Miller and [freshman] Tiffany Kornegay did a great job in her absence. But without someone who plays the minutes like Colleen on the court, it was difficult." Tufts took a 34-26 lead into halftime after going on an 11-2 run over the final 5:01 of the first half. They out-rebounded Wheaton 29-18 for the period and held the Lyons to just 26.7 percent shooting while posting 40.5 percent themselves. The Jumbos appeared to have the game firmly in their control with 15:09 remaining when a conventional three-point play by junior forward Julia Baily put Tufts up by 15. But Wheaton chipped away at the lead, going on an 8-0 run between the 7:44 and 6:12 marks of the period to climb within four. That was the closest Wheaton would come. Tufts bumped the lead back up to double digits just 2:33 later on a pair of free throws by Baily, and the Jumbos never looked back from there. Wheaton's 71 points, however, were the second-most allowed by Tufts all season, coming short of the 81 surrendered to Brandeis in the team's only loss on Nov. 30. "I don't think our defense was up to par in the second half," Berube said. "You can't go from giving up just 26 points in one half to 45 in the next. I think it's a little area of concern; it's been our roller-coaster ride thus far this season. Some games it looks great, it looks unbelievable, and then other games it's a tale of two different defensive teams, one in the first half and the other in the second. It's something we need to talk about and get more consistent with." The Lyons shot an impressive 87.1 percent from the charity stripe for the game, including 17-for-18 in the second half, good for 94.4 percent. But the Jumbos had the edge on the glass, out-rebounding Wheaton 50-35 and scoring 42 points in the paint compared with the Lyons' 26. Still, the physical nature of the game and the refereeing were points of contention. "We have to work on not getting caught up in that," Baily said. "It was frustrating, but when it comes down to it, we have to concentrate and make plays and take our time." Junior Jenny Champney led Wheaton with a game-high 26 points and added nine rebounds, while senior tri-captain Krystin Hickey contributed 12 points and eight boards. On the opposite end of the court, senior co-captain Kim Moynihan had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Jumbos. "We scored 79 points without Colleen, so offensively it was a good night, but we let Wheaton score 71 points," Baily said. "One of our season goals has been keeping teams under 50 points, and that definitely did not happen." Tufts will have the chance to make good on that goal when it returns to conference play tonight against NESCAC foe Colby, who is 8-6 overall and 0-1 in the conference. The Jumbos have won four out of the last five meetings against the Mules, and their nine-game winning streak will be put on the line when they travel to Maine. "Colby is young, but they have some great talent," Berube said. "Its going to be a great game; I think every NESCAC game is very competitive. It's not easy to go up there on a Friday night, traveling that far and taking on a very good Colby team. It's going to be a big test for us. They are getting better and better with every game with their experience, and we have to come to play with our best game." "It's a NESCAC game, so we're going to take it seriously because those are the games we've been working up to all year long," Baily added. "We're going to take Colby just like any other game — play hard and play smart."
When you trade the best player in the history of your franchise for what amounts to prospects, there's no doubt that your team is going to need to rebuild. It's never an easy task to sell an uncertain future to fans, and that is what Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor gambled on when he traded Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics last year. Historically, it seems to take a few years for a team to find its stride, but less than two years after the KG trade, Minnesota is already beginning to show signs of turning things around. The young Timberwolves have caught fire in 2009, more than doubling their win total from earlier in the season and giving fans in the Twin Cities some hope. Minnesota and the San Antonio Spurs are the two teams in the Western Conference that have played the best basketball record-wise in 2009 with only two losses each, and while the latter are making their annual second-half push, the Wolves are just beginning to show their share of promise. In early December, coach Randy Wittman was fired and Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale was installed behind the bench. McHale has been much maligned in his 13-year stint in the front office, with such notorious moves as engineering a secret agreement to sign veteran Joe Smith and drafting immortal busts William Avery and Ndudi Ebi. The team responded to their new coach with eight straight losses, but McHale has shown that he might be better-suited to leading from the bench than from the front office. In nine games in January, the Wolves have gone from six to 13 wins, and even with those coming against subpar competition, there has still been a noticeable improvement. The key to their streak has been finding consistent options on offense to complement Al Jefferson, the holdover centerpiece of the Garnett trade and an All-Star candidate. Big Al has scored in double figures in all but two games this year and is averaging a double-double with 22.2 points and 10.6 rebounds a game. He is flourishing as the go-to guy in Minnesota's offense, and he has shown he can be a player around which a team can build. Much of Jefferson's improvement can be tied to his work with McHale, a Hall of Fame player in his own days with the Celtics, who has taught his young big man an array of post moves. Jefferson's help as of late has mainly come from Randy Foye, the third-year guard who before this season was known more for being traded for Portland Trailblazers All-Star Brandon Roy than for his playing ability. Instead of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, McHale has played Foye off the ball and allowed him to come off screens and drive more to the hole. With an open offense, Foye has finally showed the form that made him a top-10 draft pick. He has averaged 20.4 points in January, and if he can find ways to score regularly, he will be the backcourt leader the team needs to pair with Jefferson. Minnesota is certainly a different team when Foye is playing well, and he has shown the confidence to take big shots down the stretch for his team as of late. Nonetheless, this is still a flawed team, and its biggest problem is lack of size. Jefferson has been playing out of position at center, and though his post moves are advanced enough on the offensive end, the team's defense suffers with him there. Kevin Love, the fifth pick in last June's draft, has played his best ball of the season in January. But even while averaging 11 points and more than 10 rebounds lately, he still gives Minnesota a small front line when paired with Jefferson. Ryan Gomes and Craig Smith, two undersized forwards who take up the rest of the minutes in the frontcourt, are serviceable role players but do not give the team any additional size on the floor. The new leaders in the front office, general manager Jim Stack and assistant GM Fred Hoiberg, will be responsible for finishing McHale's rebuilding project. The first move they could make is trying to turn veteran swingman Mike Miller, who has been the one player struggling as of late and is having the worst shooting season of his career. The Timberwolves could also have as many as four first-round picks in next year's draft thanks to past trades, giving them more chances to find one more impact player that could make them playoff contenders. Coupled with these assets, Minnesota will have over $20 million worth of contracts expiring after next season. While the likes of LeBron James or Chris Bosh might not be willing to come to Minnesota, that is a lot of money that could go to paying a couple of above-average players. Wolves fans probably are not getting too hyped up over wins against teams like the Memphis Grizzlies or Oklahoma City Thunder, but there is a lot to like about this team. The outlook for Minnesota is not clear. Immediate questions that the team will have to face are whether McHale will stay on to coach in a job he did not want and if Sebastian Telfair can be the answer at point guard. Regardless, this team is showing that even without the Big Ticket, there is still a reason to follow basketball in Minnesota.
As All-Star Weekend approaches, the NHL may want to take another look at its priorities. Currently, the league showcases three major events during All-Star Weekend: the skills competition, the YoungStars Game and the All-Star Game itself. Of all three events, the All-Star Game is the least compelling. The skills competition involves the best players showing off their talent, including 100-mph slapshots and outrageous shootout moves. In the YoungStars Game, the best rookies take on the best sophomore players, giving fans a great look at hockey's future stars. Since 1947, the All-Star Game has pitted the best players in the NHL against each other. Make that the best offensive players — the last 20 All-Star Games have seen an average of 15 total goals per game. Over that span, average total goals did not exceed eight goals per game in league contests. Clearly, nobody is trying to play defense, fore-check or do anything hockey-related aside from scoring. The All-Star game is one where they should probably leave the goaltenders and bruising defensemen at home and let the Ovechkins and Iginlas of the league shoot the lights out. And yet, the NHL is inviting two excellent defensemen to the party. Stephane Robidas of the Dallas Stars will be suiting up for the West. He is tied for second in defenseman hits with 125 and has 75 blocked shots to go with them, but hits in the All-Star Game are about as common as unicorns. Robidas might pick up a secondary assist just because it's hard to avoid when 15 goals are scored. A goal is less likely, as he has scored just two goals in 42 games. Robidas is a very good player, but he will never be an offensive weapon. Robidas was a league selection to replace injured Detroit Red Wings veteran Nicklas Lidstrom, but Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Komisarek was chosen instead by the fans. The league shares some blame, since Komisarek was a questionable choice for fan balloting in the first place. In this, the offensive game of offensive games, Komisarek clearly does not belong. He has 11 goals in 325 career games and is more known for his physicality, his shot-blocking and his punishing hits, regularly appearing in the top 10 in those categories. He may be an excellent defenseman, but Komisarek is the worst All-Star selection this side of Sean Avery. To add insult to injury, Komisarek will be starting, as the fan voting determines the starters for each team. This season's starters for the East are all from the Pittsburgh Penguins or the hometown Canadiens. Coincidence? Voting occurred online, so it was not long until enterprising fans devised automated voting programs to exploit the NHL's vote-early-vote-often policy. Then, as the Penguins-Habs off-ice battle heated up, each team encouraged its fans to vote via text message for all of that team's nominees simultaneously. For the Penguins, this originally included Sergei Gonchar, on the injured reserve since September. The Habs nominees included an underperforming Alexei Kovalev (on pace for just 21 goals) and an injured Saku Koivu, neither of whom deserves to be playing in the game. Of course, the hometown fans in Montreal wanted to see all three forwards, two defensemen and the goalie wearing the bleu, blanc et rouge, whether they were deserving or not. All fans want to see their favorite players take the ice, and with an arguably meaningless game on the line, how much does it really matter if teams stuff the ballot box? Currently, the All-Star game is just a fun goal-scoring exhibition. If the NHL wants real hockey, where players like Robidas and Komisarek would be worthwhile selections, it will have to change the game to encourage defense. This solution would be virtually impossible to implement, as teams do not want to risk unnecessary harm to their stars, and injuries would certainly result from a typical regular season-style game. The only real solution is for the league to wise up, pick better players on the fan ballots, and recognize that the game is going to be a gong show. Each side could then put in the players that will thrive under these conditions. The big men, although very valuable to their teams, are a bit out of place.
After a winless start to NESCAC play, the men's basketball team is looking to turn things around this weekend as it plays host to both Colby and Bowdoin. The 7-8 (0-2 NESCAC) Jumbos will take on the Mules (10-4, 1-0 NESCAC) at 7 p.m. on Friday night, followed by a Saturday afternoon game against the Polar Bears (10-4, 0-1 NESCAC) at 2 p.m. After two lackluster performances against Middlebury and Williams to open conference play, the Jumbos are well aware of the importance of these two contests. "Deep down, we know that we're not the team that stepped on the court against Middlebury and Williams," junior co-captain and forward Jon Pierce said. "We believe we have the talent to compete. For our own personal mindset, it's extremely important to come out as a team and play well and mentally focused." After giving up an average of 102 points per game in their first two NESCAC contests, the Jumbos must improve on almost every aspect of their defensive game. "We gave up a lot of easy baskets and weren't holding ourselves accountable for getting beat off the dribble or letting someone shoot a shot without getting a hand up," junior forward Dave Beyel said. "We've been working our butts off on getting what we need to do done right." The offense did not fare well either against the Panthers and Ephs, averaging just 62 points after scoring 78 points per game over its first 13 contests. Additionally, Pierce was held to a season-low six points against Williams, well below his average of 20.9. Nonetheless, Pierce still believes that the Tufts offense can be productive and find ways to score. "We're confident in the plays that we run when we execute correctly," Pierce said. The Mules bring a balanced offensive attack to Cousens Gymnasium, with four players averaging double digits in scoring. They are led by junior captain and forward Adam Choice, who averages 15 points per game, a mark helped by his astounding 58 percent three-point shooting. Colby also leads the NESCAC in team shooting percentage at 47 percent. Scoring 72 points per game, the Mules are not a team that will light up the scoreboard, but their efficiency and number of options could present problems for Tufts. Defensively, Colby ranks fourth in the NESCAC in points against, allowing opponents a meager 62 points per game. While no starter stands above 6-foot-6, the Mules also do a great job controlling the boards, out-rebounding their opponents by almost nine boards per game, tops in the NESCAC. While Colby has been a tough defense to figure out, Bowdoin has proven to be the conference's toughest, allowing just 57 points per game. The NESCAC's leader in points against also ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage against, limiting opponents to just 39 percent shooting. On the offensive end, the Polar Bears have occasionally struggled to score consistently, averaging just 67 points per game. At 6-foot-8, 250 pounds, junior center Mark Phillips leads the team with 12 points and six rebounds per game. His physical presence is the key on both sides of the ball for Bowdoin. "It's important with any good offensive player to throw lots of different looks at him and make him uncomfortable," Pierce said. "We have some defensive stoppers. With [junior center] Tom Selby, we feel we have a premier post defender in this league." The Jumbos are anxious to play at home again, where they've had only five out of 15 games so far this season. A loud, supportive crowd might be exactly what Tufts, who has lacked energy at times, desperately needs. "It's always nice when you play in front of a crowd that supports you and your friends and family can come and see you," Pierce said. "We're trying to get the taste out of our mouths of last weekend, so we're excited for a big weekend." "Season-wise, it's not the end of the season if we lose, but motivation-wise, I think it's huge," Beyel added. "We have to come out and play two real good games this weekend, and I think the home court will be big for us."
As we sports connoisseurs here at the Tufts Daily prepare to go, well, daily again next week, we've decided it fitting to honor our source of inspiration for this truly necessary change in our weekly Top 10. As the newly inaugurated President Barack Obama took the oath of office earlier this week, it got us thinking: Heck, perhaps we might need some of this magical thing they call change right here in the world of sports! This week's top 10 honors those people, events, institutions et cetera in sports that are seriously in need of a bit of some alteration. 10) The Detroit Lions. In what has been one of the most painful sights in recent NFL history, the hapless Lions have proved time and time again their sheer ineptitude at identifying talent, developing young players and simply winning football games. The Motor-City faithful's hopes ride on the coattails of newly hired head honcho Jim Schwartz (former Titans defensive coordinator) and a refocused front office mentality sans Matt Millen's utterly abysmal football decision skills. 9) ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" booth. Joe Morgan was a great player. A Hall of Famer, in fact, which is something he loves to remind audiences. But just because you can play the game doesn't mean that you are qualified to be an announcer (right, Bill Walton?) When you are so hated that there was once an entire Web site devoted to getting you canned (the late firejoemorgan.com — R.I.P.), maybe it is a sign. 8) The Pro Bowl. The Pro Bowl is by far the most worthless of all the all-star games in the sporting world. NFL players go through at least 20 games a season, and then after some have been relaxing for a month, they come back to play a game with no purpose. There is hope, however, as we hear that Sir Goodell has plans to move the contest to the dead week before Super Bowl XLIV next year.
On the heels of a historic inauguration, nobody needs to tell the men's basketball team that it's time for a change.
While Saturday may not have been the first time the men's swimming and diving team placed between Williams and Wesleyan at the teams' tri-meet, beating out Wesleyan but falling to the powerhouse Ephs, the stats were a little bit different this year.
As the highly anticipated conference season tipped off last weekend, the women's basketball team kept the ball rolling.
Having recently had a five-game win streak snapped with a 4-1 loss at the hands of St. Michael's on Jan. 10, the hockey team was looking to regain some momentum in the middle of its five-game road stretch.
