Sports

Sports

Fall sports prepare to compete after cancelled 2020–21 seasons

By Sophia Antezana | September 8

In 2019, Tufts men’s soccer won its third NCAA National Championship in four years, Tufts volleyball finished with a remarkable 28–2 record and many more notable athletic accomplishments marked an amazing fall for Tufts Athletics. However, after an unprecedented spring without athletic competitions and a summer with the COVID-19 pandemic in full force, all competition was cancelled for the fall and winter of 2020–21. Now, almost two years later, Tufts fall athletes are eager to be able to compete again.

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Sports

Tufts welcomes two-time Olympian Gaurika Singh into the Class of 2025

By Nicole Setow | September 8

Among Tufts University’s talented incoming class, only one first-year has“2x Olympian” in her Instagram bio. That student is Gaurika Singh, an 18-year-old swimmer that proudly represented Nepal in the 2016 Rio Olympics and returned as the nation’s flag bearer this past summer in Tokyo.

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Sports

First-year Jumbo 'The True Ninja' competes on ‘American Ninja Warrior’

By Ananda Kao | September 8

Standing atop the infamous 30-foot “Spider Trap,” incoming first-year True Becker hit his first-ever buzzer on “American Ninja Warrior” (ANW) Season 13with Jumbo cheering him on from the sidelines. Becker, better known in the ANW community as “The True Ninja,” finished fourth during the second night of the semifinals with a time of 4:44.29. Additionally, he was one of three teenagers that made up the top four spots that night. This is the first season ANW has allowed younger athletes to compete. 

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Sports

Who's who in the NESCAC: Fall edition

By Isaac Karp | September 8

The colleges that make up the New England Small College Athletic Conference have more to offer than just large financial endowments, a liberal arts education and an Ivy League inferiority complex. In fact, this Division III conference contains some of the most interesting and historic athletic programs in the country. The COVID-19 pandemic may have forced the NESCAC to cancel its fall 2020 season, but its student-athletes are back and ready to compete. Below is a quick rundown of the identity and expectations for each NESCAC school.

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Sports

Tufts softball sweeps Williams in NESCAC Championship

By Isaac Karp | May 11

Fly the banner and start the parade because on Saturday, May 8, Tufts softball won its12th NESCAC Championship at Williams. The series was a best of three, but the Jumbos only needed the first two games to claim victory over their in-state rivals.The journey up to Williamstown, Mass. had an added element of uncertainty since Williams was undefeated, and up to that point, Tufts had only beaten one team with a winning record — Brandeis. Technically, the Jumbos were still the reigning champs since they won the NESCAC in 2019, but the year-long hiatus and the pandemic-driven uncertainty surrounding this season rendered all predictions hazardous. Yet in the end, the ‘Bos had the right formula to defeat the Ephs.

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Baseball

6 Class of 2025 recruits look toward their futures at Tufts

By Brigitte Wilson | May 11

While COVID-19 posed a significant threat to the Tufts Class of 2025 athletic recruits, six incoming student-athletes were able to make the most of the situation and land with the Jumbos. 

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Columns

Keeping up with the 617: Class of 2021's top 5 Boston sports moments

By Matt Goguen | May 11

To honor the Class of 2021, I decided to rank the top Boston sports moments from the last four years.

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Sports

Senior Profile: Backup quarterback Drew Gally makes his mark on Tufts football

By Isabel Castro | May 10

When high school athletes are recruited, college coaches talk about a scale with which they value recruits. Coaches say they're looking for kids that will be “impact players” for their program. While graduating senior Drew Gally didn't play much during his time as a quarterback for the Jumbo football team, he certainly made an impact on the Tufts program. 

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Sports

Follies and funnies from a year of practice

By Isabel Castro | May 10

The Tufts Daily Sports section typically uses the Commencement issue as an opportunity to reflect on Tufts’ top sports moments of the academic year. This year, most teams had their seasons canceled due to the pandemic but were still able to practice. And practice. And practice some more. So we’re recapping some of the funniest Tufts athletics practice moments of the 2020–21 academic year — the moments that provided teams and athletes some levity in a year defined by disappointment. As Allen Iverson infamously said, “We talkin' about practice.”  

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Sports

Softball’s journey to the NESCAC Championship

By Isaac Karp | May 7

From a canceled season in 2020 to a condensed schedule in 2021, to qualifying for the NESCAC Championship, Tufts softball has endured and finally become the zenith of NESCAC sports. On May 9, Tufts will play Williams College for the NESCAC title. Williams held an undefeated 12–0 record during the regular season, while Tufts ended at 15–3 with losses to Middlebury, Bowdoin and Brandeis. 

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Sports

Baseball advances to NESCAC Championship

By Jack Adgate | May 6

Despite a season shortened by a pandemic and games canceled due to weather, the Tufts baseball team has made the most of the opportunities it has been given. The team finished the regular season with a 10–3 overall record.  

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Sports

Senior Profile: Briggs leads through energy and competitive nature

By Ananda Kao | May 6

Graduating senior co-captain and guard/forward Emily Briggs made an immediate impact on the Tufts women’s basketball team her first year when she was named NESCAC Rookie of the Year at the end of the season. Briggs was the team’s first Rookie of the Year in 10 years, awarded after being part of the team that went 26–5 on the season.

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Sports

Women's lacrosse wins first NESCAC Championship in program history

By Alex Sharp | May 5

The Tufts University women’s lacrosse team won its first NESCAC Championship with a dominant 14–3 victory over Wesleyan this past weekend. With the win, the Jumbos earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III tournament. They will begin NCAA tournament play on Sunday, May 9, against Cabrini University at Colby. The scheduled start time is 2:30 p.m.

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Sports

Senior Profile: Niko Hereford looks back on moments and mentors

By Steven Landry | May 5

Students in the Class of 2021 may find it hard to believe it’s been four years since they arrived in Medford, anxious and exhilarated for what life would look like at Tufts. For graduating senior tennis player Niko Hereford, mentorship on and off the court helped him come into his own as a leader. 

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Columns

Wonder Women, Tufts edition: Catherine Lawliss

By Nicole Setow | May 5

Imagine a long stretch of sand basking under a bright sun, with picturesque lighthouses dotting the distance. Whether she’s reading a book on the beach or wading in the water, Tufts graduating senior lacrosse attacker Catherine Lawliss has her happy place in Nantucket, Mass. Perhaps this is where we’ll find Lawliss this summer after she and her senior teammates lead the women’s lacrosse team to what will hopefully be another deep NCAA tournament run.

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Softball

Softball clinches NESCAC Championship bid with wins over Wesleyan, Bates

By Isaac Karp | April 28

Tufts softball has clinched its trip to the NESCAC Championship with a four-game sweep over Bates and Wesleyan to improve to 12–2 on the season.

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Sports

Men's tennis beat Bates, fall to Brandeis

By Tim Chiang | April 28

The No. 18 Tufts Jumbos earned their third straight conference win with an 8–1 victory over Bates on Saturday. In a heated matchup between two nationally-ranked top 20 teams, Tufts took its first loss of the season against No. 8 Brandeis 6–3 on Sunday. 

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Sports

Division what? Tufts lacrosse teams clean up NH woods

By Alex Sharp | April 26

For the Jumbos, the unusual Div. I-vs.-Div. III matchup served as a silver lining in the midst of their bizarre shortened season. The team enjoyed Dartmouth’s facilities, the field and some high quality trash cans that have a special slot for pizza boxes. 

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Sports

Men's track first-years dominate in meet against NESCAC rivals

By Arnav Sacheti | April 23

After nearly two years, the men’s track and field team returned to Ellis Oval at Tufts on Sunday, competing against Wesleyan, Conn. College and Trinity. Tufts scored 239.5 points, which was more than 100 points better than Trinity, which placed second. A large portion of this high score came from multiple individual winning performances, including several from first-year students.

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Sports

Baseball takes 3 more from Colby in weekend series

By Jack Adgate | April 22

Tufts took the series victory in game four with a barrage of offense, winning 17–0. Not to be overlooked by the offensive performance, Junior right-hander Brendan McFall gave the Jumbos six strong innings on the mound. McFall scattered three hits and gave up no earned runs in his first start of the season. Sophomore Gavin Brown struck out three batters in the seventh to seal the deal on the mound for Tufts.

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