Sports

Sports

Men’s basketball overcomes initial setbacks with commanding win

By Luke Fredericks | December 4

The Tufts men’s basketball team continues to demonstrate why they’re one of the top NCAA Division III programs. After a Sweet 16 run last year and a blazing 5–0 start this season, Tufts faced their first setback against No. 20 Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Saturday in a hard-fought 74–61 loss at home. But the mark of a good team is its ability to bounce back and that’s just what Tufts did. In emphatic fashion, they dismantled Emmanuel College 86–51 on the road on Monday.

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Sports

Keep the momentum rolling on women's professional sports

By Sophia Khan | December 4

We are at a watershed moment for professional women’s sports in the United States, with more successes this past year than ever before. However, women’s sports leagues in the U.S. have had a rocky history of unsustainable teams, lack of interest and financial woes. We can either fall back into this pattern or push the momentum to set U.S. women’s sports leagues into stone.

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Sports

Moments ‘til Madness: A Feast Week frenzy

By Owen Short | December 4

Just about a month into the season, it feels like we’ve seen every top ranked team drop a game, especially during Feast Week[a]. We didn’t have as many ranked matchups as past years, but that is mostly a product of all the upsets in these Thanksgiving tournaments. As a result, the AP rankings for this upcoming week have seen quite a bit of volatility. Here are the teams that feasted and the ones that were left hungry.

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Sports

Obscure Sports: Wheelchair basketball

By Max Sharf | December 3

Of all sports, wheelchair basketball is perhaps the most truly inclusive. If a high school edge rusher racks up 20 sacks in 10 games but is a prisoner to a 5 feet, 10 inches, 160 pound frame, then there is no chance that they will be recruited for the highest level of college football. In wheelchair basketball, however, there is a place for everyone on the court.

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Sports

In the Crease: The latest from around the league

By Zachary Gerson | December 3

The National Hockey League had an exciting slate of games over the Thanksgiving weekend, with a lot of thrilling matchups and highlight plays. Now, teams shift their focus to the month of December. Let’s take a look at the latest news from around the league.

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Sports

Men’s squash beats Rochester, looking toward successful season

By Josh Solomon | November 26

As winter sports roll into season, the men’s squash team has kicked into high gear, having already completed five matches since Nov. 15. The team, ranked 10th out of 34 teams in the College Squash Association pre-season rankings, bested No. 15 University of Rochester 6–3 in an away match on Saturday. The team earned their wins primarily in the middle of the ladder, taking down the Yellowjackets, who have been “one of the best teams in college squash for the past 20 years,” as head coach Joe Raho wrote in an email to the Daily.

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Gymnastics

The Round-off Roundup: GIS and Gymnastics

By Sarah Firth | November 26

Last semester, I did my final project for my Geographic Information Systems class on what I called the “Geographic Origin of Human Capital in American Women’s Gymnastics” — in other words, where do the top gymnasts, coaches and clubs come from? It was a very fun project.

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Sports

In the Crease: Coaching changes and the importance of coaching in the NHL

By Zachary Gerson | November 25

We are now about a quarter of the way into this NHL regular season, and it has been a very busy week around the league. Particularly, we have our first coaching changes of the season.

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Sports

Field hockey moves onto Final Four after NESCAC championship rematch against Bates

By Leanna DeSousa | November 22

Last week, after winning the NESCAC field hockey tournament, Tufts hosted the first three rounds of the Division III field hockey tournament.“We had made it a goal to host the sweet sixteen and elite 8 so the players were really excited to play on our home field,” Head Coach Tina Mattera wrote in an email to the Daily.

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Sports

Men’s basketball races to a perfect 3–0 start

By Luke Fredericks | November 22

The Tufts men’s basketball team has entered the 2024–25 season with one goal: to go further. Last year’s Sweet 16 finish was a significant achievement, but the team hopes it was only the beginning. With three starters returning and a roster bursting with young talent, the Jumbos are poised to make an even bigger statement this season.

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Sports

Men’s swim and dive starts season with a win against Bowdoin

By Jack Chapleski | November 22

The Tufts men’s swim and dive teams took on Bowdoin this past weekend, coming out on top 197–90 on the score sheet.

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Sports

The Intangibles: The Celtics are perfectly insufferable

By Jonah Cowan | November 22

I have an admission to make. Last March, on my WMFO show “AirBall,” I made it quite clear that I did not believe in the Boston Celtics.I argued they were chokers and that their style of basketball wasn’t conducive to crunch-time decision-making. I spat on Jayson Tatum as a leader and clowned Joe Mazzulla’s coaching. I confidently said Kristaps Porziņģis’ injury proneness would leave them with a gaping hole in the center of their roster come playoff time. Every time I watch this godforsaken team, I cannot help but hear these rotten takes ricochet around in my head.

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Columns

Full Court Press: Trump is ruining combat sports

By Noah Goldstein | November 22

Last weekend delivered two of the most talked-about fight events of 2024. The much-hyped, but unsurprisingly ultimately lackluster, showdown between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul took center stage on Friday night. Then, on Saturday, UFC legend Jon Jones made his long-awaited return to the octagon after 623 days, facing off against Stipe Miocic — widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight in MMA history.

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Sports

A game of chance sinks Tufts men’s soccer’s season

By Riley Daniel | November 21

Head coach Kyle Dezotell called it the best season he ever had. The record will say 12–0–6, an undefeated season. But after 110 minutes of enthralling play on the frigid terrain of Bello Field Sunday night, the number in the heads of the 2024 men’s soccer team will be 4–3. That was the score by which they lost the penalty shootout to the Buffalo State University Bengals, ending their NCAA campaign two weeks after their NESCAC title hopes were ended the same way by the Bowdoin College Polar Bears.

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Sports

Ice hockey starts season with a split

By Tara Wirtschoreck | November 21

The Tufts ice hockey team started their season with split results, showcasing both their strengths, especially their returning offense, and some of the areas for improvement that the team is hoping to clean up this season.

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Sports

Women’s basketball defeats Brandeis to begin season in style

By Bharat Singh | November 20

After a hard-fought loss to Bowdoin, the eventual NESCAC winner in last season’s conference quarterfinals, Tufts began this year’s preseason with an away win against Brandeis. A dominant second-quarter display proved key in securing victory in an otherwise tightly contested matchup.

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Sports

Women’s soccer eliminated in second round of NCAA tournament by William Smith College

By Eliza Warren | November 20

Tufts women’s soccer traveled to William Smith College in Geneva, N.Y. last weekend to compete in the NCAA Division III women’s soccer tournament. In last year’s tournament, Tufts made it to the quarterfinals. On Saturday, they played Rowan University, who had a 13–2–2 record going into the game, in the first round of the tournament. Tufts’ record stood at 13–3–1 prior to the game.

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Sports

Obscure Sports: Bull riding

By Max Sharf | November 19

The bull always wins the ride. It’s quite difficult to stay atop the bucking mammal, so in the sport of bull riding, all the judges ask is for participants to remain on the animal for at least eight seconds. Even eight seconds, however, is often too steep a task, and riders are typically thrown onto the dirt floor of the arena before the required time expires. Even after the rider has been jettisoned from the bull, the rodeo doesn’t end. The rider still has to scamper to a safe location, whether inside the arena or out of it, while the rodeo clowns try to divert the bull’s attention and attempt to calm the raging bull.

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Sports

Moments ‘til Madness: The news to know

By Owen Short | November 19

Two weeks into the season, we are starting to see some very interesting storylines develop. With most teams having about four games under their belts, the rankings have expectedly been shaken up. Although there weren’t as many high-level matchups as I would have liked, there has been no shortage of news in the sport. These are the headlines that most stood out to me.

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Sports

In the Crease: Where things stand in the NHL season

By Zachary Gerson | November 18

The general consensus around the hockey community is that by Thanksgiving, each team starts to get a sense of who they are. Some teams might see themselves as strong contenders, some might be feeling pressure to up their game and others might be ready to commit to a rebuild. Either way, Thanksgiving is the first chance for hockey fans to get a sense of the standings for the season and how teams are feeling. In this edition of “In the Crease,” we will take a look at the aspects of the standings that stand out the most thus far.

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