In the first major invitational of the spring semester, the men's track and field team overcame unfavorable weather to earn a third-place finish at the Fourth Annual Yellow Jacket Invitation in Springfield, Mass. Div. I Vermont and UMass Amherst were the only teams to surpass Tufts.
In the first major invitational of the spring semester, the men's track and field team overcame unfavorable weather to earn a third-place finish at the Fourth Annual Yellow Jacket Invitation in Springfield, Mass. Div. I Vermont and UMass Amherst were the only teams to surpass Tufts.
Before Wednesday's game, No. 18 Tufts was 2-2 in the NESCAC and desperately needed a win to remain in the running for the conference title. However, the Jumbos were unable to upset the No. 12 Williams Ephs, who came away with a 10-5 victory.
Before Wednesdays game, No. 18 Tufts was 2-2 in the NESCAC and desperately needed a win to remain in the running for the conference title. However, the Jumbos were unable to upset the No. 12 Williams Ephs, who came away with a 10-5 victory.
The mens tennis team shook off a 9-0 loss to No. 4 Amherst to cruise past Wesleyan with an 8-1 win over the weekend, playing both matches at home. After losing to Trinity over spring break and to Amherst on Saturday, Tufts came into its Sunday match against NESCAC-rival Wesleyan in desperate need of a win, as the team hoped to avoid an underwhelming 0-3 start in conference play. Despite the loss to Amherst, the team drew positive lessons from playing a difficult opponent, and brought those lessons into Sundays match against NESCAC rival, Wesleyan. We had chances on every court and the way we fought set us up perfectly for our match against Wesleyan, Zach Ladwig, a senior, said. We took confidence from competing well against Amherst and never let Wesleyan get any momentum against us. The Jumbos also saw their match against the Cardinals as a chance to exact revenge for the Cardinals 5-4 victory last season. We always say that we need to try and treat every match with equal importance, but because we lost to [Wesleyan] last year we had that in the back of our minds and wanted to make sure we played our best, junior co-captain Brian Tan said. Playing inside due to inclement weather, the Jumbos used their extra motivation to take a quick 2-1 lead in doubles. Tan and sophomore Nikola Telkedzhiev won at No. 1 doubles, 8-4, and senior co-captain Austin Blau and sophomore Nick Cary won at No. 3 doubles, 8-3. Sophomore Rob Jacobson and freshman Brad Wong were unable to complete the sweep, as they lost at No. 2 doubles, 8-6. However, it was in singles play where Tufts asserted its dominance, winning all six of its matches, with four of the victories coming in just two sets. The two close three-setters belonged to Telkedzhiev, who won at No. 1 singles 6-3, 6-7(3-7), 11-9, and Ladwig, who won at No. 6 singles 5-7, 6-4, 10-6. Tan also played a close match, but was able to pull out a 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles. Jacobson (7-5, 6-1), Blau (6-4, 6-0) and Wong (6-1, 6-2) all won their matches in convincing fashion. Clinching the match against Wesleyan this year was an extremely special moment after the 5-4 loss last season, Jacobson said. Sticking to the process is going to yield the team big results. On Saturday, Tufts was on the other side of the blowout in its 9-0 loss to Amherst. Saturday saw the doubles portion of the match against Amherst played inside due to inclement weather, but the singles portion began and finished outside on the Voute Courts. The Lord Jeffs took an early lead by going up 3-0 in doubles play. Telkedzhiev and Tan gave Amherst its toughest test in double play, as the duo lost by a score of 8-6. Although the Jumbos were not able to pull out any wins in the singles portion, the matches were a lot closer than the score indicated. Freshman Kevin Kelly was the one Jumbo to push his Lord Jeff opponent to three sets, as Kelly won the second set before eventually falling, 6-3, 3-6, (4-10). Coming off Amherst was tough, but we knew that we played well and had competitive matches that werent necessarily displayed by the score, Blau said. Ladwig noted that the match against Amherst, while a loss, was a great display of the level of competitiveness that the team hopes to bring this year to the courts. Our match was definitely challenging since they are one of the top teams in the nation, he said. However, Ive been on the team for four years and have never seen a Tufts team compete as strongly against Amherst as we did this year. At the end of the weekend, the Jumbos had moved to 4-3 on the season and 1-2 in the NESCAC, but look to be playing stronger tennis as a team as they move into the middle of their season. We created an environment where we were all just bouncing positive energy off of one another, which was a very cool thing to be apart of, Jacobson said. That made a huge difference for us.
The co-ed sailing team continued its spring campaign over the weekend at the 33rd Annual Marchiando Team Race at MIT. The team came in second place out of sixteen, marking a great start to a promising season. The No. 11 Jumbos, with a record of 16-6, finished behind the No. 2 Stanford Cardinals, who won the regatta with a record of 18-4. The No. 1 team in the country, Yale, came in third place with a record of 15-7. The opening round of the regatta featured all 16 teams that attended the competition, with the top eight moving on to the finals. Of the 16 teams competing in the first round, seven of them ranked amongst the top 10 in the nation. The high-caliber opposition gave Tufts a chance to see how it stacked up against the country's most elite teams. "We did very well at the Marchiando Team Race," senior Paula Grasberger said. "[We] came in second only behind Stanford, which was a pretty impressive showing." Tufts posted a record of 10-5 in the opening round, which tied for third place with No. 6 Boston College, No. 10 Brown, No. 8 Roger Williams and Yale. Only Stanford and No. 9 Dartmouth ended the opening round with better records, each earning a 12-3 mark. Tufts' finish guaranteed it a spot in the final round. Tufts suffered losses to Boston College, Dartmouth, St. Mary's and Stanford in the opening round. The team was close to picking up wins against St. Mary's and Harvard, but lost to both opponents, 2-3-6. In the finals, Tufts won six of its seven matches, beating Dartmouth, Yale, Brown, Boston College and Vermont. The lone loss came to the eventual winner, Stanford, which also recorded 6-1 in the finals. The records of both rounds were added up to determine the winner. Dartmouth finished fourth with a record of 15-7 and Brown rounded out the top five with a record of 13-9. "It was a really shifty day, and on one of the races we just weren't able to execute play, and so [Stanford] took advantage of that and [was] able to win," Grasberger said. Only six Jumbo sailors competed in this race, which meant the team was comprised of three skippers and three crews. The skippers were senior tri-captains Will Haeger and David Liebenberg along with junior Alec Ruiz-Ramon. The crews were Grasberger, senior tri-captain Kathleen Kwasniak and junior Sam Madden. Although all of the sailors at the Marchiando Team Race were juniors and seniors, the Jumbos hope to pass the baton to younger sailors as the season progresses. The veteran presence and leadership on the team, which features 19 seniors, will undoubtedly help the underclassmen sailors to develop and become the team leaders as the season progresses. "A lot of [the learning] comes in practice, so we try to help them as much as we can," Ruiz-Ramon said. "We really encourage [the underclassmen] to ask us what we're doing." "Having the experience, you can give a lot of advice to younger sailors and really help them learn what to expect from upper level regattas," Grasberger added. The second-place finish came a week after the Jumbos came in fourth out of nine teams at the Jan T. Friis Intersectional Regatta at Harvard. The team's improvement is a good sign going into the New England Team Racing Championships next week in Connecticut. "This weekend was our best weekend of the spring season so far," Ruiz-Ramon said. "We beat all the other New England teams ... which is a really good sign going into the New England [Team Racing] Championships next weekend, which is the qualifier for Nationals." The second-place finish this past weekend is the highest-place finish that Tufts has earned in the spring season, and the team appears to peaking at the right time heading into its most important stretch of the semester.
The men's tennis team shook off a 9-0 loss to No. 4 Amherst to cruise past Wesleyan with an 8-1 win over the weekend, playing both matches at home. After losing to Trinity over spring break and to Amherst on Saturday, Tufts came into its Sunday match against NESCAC-rival Wesleyan in desperate need of a win, as the team hoped to avoid an underwhelming 0-3 start in conference play. Despite the loss to Amherst, the team drew positive lessons from playing a difficult opponent, and brought those lessons into Sunday's match against NESCAC rival, Wesleyan. "We had chances on every court and the way we fought set us up perfectly for our match against Wesleyan," Zach Ladwig, a senior, said. "We took confidence from competing well against Amherst and never let Wesleyan get any momentum against us." The Jumbos also saw their match against the Cardinals as a chance to exact revenge for the Cardinals 5-4 victory last season. "We always say that we need to try and treat every match with equal importance, but because we lost to [Wesleyan] last year we had that in the back of our minds and wanted to make sure we played our best," junior co-captain Brian Tan said. Playing inside due to inclement weather, the Jumbos used their extra motivation to take a quick 2-1 lead in doubles. Tan and sophomore Nikola Telkedzhiev won at No. 1 doubles, 8-4, and senior co-captain Austin Blau and sophomore Nick Cary won at No. 3 doubles, 8-3. Sophomore Rob Jacobson and freshman Brad Wong were unable to complete the sweep, as they lost at No. 2 doubles, 8-6. However, it was in singles play where Tufts asserted its dominance, winning all six of its matches, with four of the victories coming in just two sets. The two close three-setters belonged to Telkedzhiev, who won at No. 1 singles 6-3, 6-7(3-7), 11-9, and Ladwig, who won at No. 6 singles 5-7, 6-4, 10-6. Tan also played a close match, but was able to pull out a 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles. Jacobson (7-5, 6-1), Blau (6-4, 6-0) and Wong (6-1, 6-2) all won their matches in convincing fashion. "Clinching the match against Wesleyan this year was an extremely special moment after the 5-4 loss last season," Jacobson said. "Sticking to the process is going to yield the team big results." On Saturday, Tufts was on the other side of the blowout in its 9-0 loss to Amherst. Saturday saw the doubles portion of the match against Amherst played inside due to inclement weather, but the singles portion began and finished outside on the Voute Courts. The Lord Jeffs took an early lead by going up 3-0 in doubles play. Telkedzhiev and Tan gave Amherst its toughest test in double play, as the duo lost by a score of 8-6. Although the Jumbos were not able to pull out any wins in the singles portion, the matches were a lot closer than the score indicated. Freshman Kevin Kelly was the one Jumbo to push his Lord Jeff opponent to three sets, as Kelly won the second set before eventually falling, 6-3, 3-6, (4-10). "Coming off Amherst was tough, but we knew that we played well and had competitive matches that weren't necessarily displayed by the score," Blau said. Ladwig noted that the match against Amherst, while a loss, was a great display of the level of competitiveness that the team hopes to bring this year to the courts. "Our match was definitely challenging since they are one of the top teams in the nation," he said. "However, I've been on the team for four years and have never seen a Tufts team compete as strongly against Amherst as we did this year." At the end of the weekend, the Jumbos had moved to 4-3 on the season and 1-2 in the NESCAC, but look to be playing stronger tennis as a team as they move into the middle of their season. "We created an environment where we were all just bouncing positive energy off of one another, which was a very cool thing to be apart of," Jacobson said. "That made a huge difference for us."
The co-ed sailing team continued its spring campaign over the weekend at the 33rd Annual Marchiando Team Race at MIT. The team came in second place out of sixteen, marking a great start to a promising season. The No. 11 Jumbos, with a record of 16-6, finished behind the No. 2 Stanford Cardinals, who won the regatta with a record of 18-4. The No. 1 team in the country, Yale, came in third place with a record of 15-7. The opening round of the regatta featured all 16 teams that attended the competition, with the top eight moving on to the finals. Of the 16 teams competing in the first round, seven of them ranked amongst the top 10 in the nation. The high-caliber opposition gave Tufts a chance to see how it stacked up against the countrys most elite teams. We did very well at the Marchiando Team Race, senior Paula Grasberger said. [We] came in second only behind Stanford, which was a pretty impressive showing. Tufts posted a record of 10-5 in the opening round, which tied for third place with No. 6 Boston College, No. 10 Brown, No. 8 Roger Williams and Yale. Only Stanford and No. 9 Dartmouth ended the opening round with better records, each earning a 12-3 mark. Tufts finish guaranteed it a spot in the final round. Tufts suffered losses to Boston College, Dartmouth, St. Marys and Stanford in the opening round. The team was close to picking up wins against St. Marys and Harvard, but lost to both opponents, 2-3-6. In the finals, Tufts won six of its seven matches, beating Dartmouth, Yale, Brown, Boston College and Vermont. The lone loss came to the eventual winner, Stanford, which also recorded 6-1 in the finals. The records of both rounds were added up to determine the winner. Dartmouth finished fourth with a record of 15-7 and Brown rounded out the top five with a record of 13-9. It was a really shifty day, and on one of the races we just werent able to execute play, and so [Stanford] took advantage of that and [was] able to win, Grasberger said. Only six Jumbo sailors competed in this race, which meant the team was comprised of three skippers and three crews. The skippers were senior tri-captains Will Haeger and David Liebenberg along with junior Alec Ruiz-Ramon. The crews were Grasberger, senior tri-captain Kathleen Kwasniak and junior Sam Madden. Although all of the sailors at the Marchiando Team Race were juniors and seniors, the Jumbos hope to pass the baton to younger sailors as the season progresses. The veteran presence and leadership on the team, which features 19 seniors, will undoubtedly help the underclassmen sailors to develop and become the team leaders as the season progresses. A lot of [the learning] comes in practice, so we try to help them as much as we can, Ruiz-Ramon said. We really encourage [the underclassmen] to ask us what were doing. Having the experience, you can give a lot of advice to younger sailors and really help them learn what to expect from upper level regattas, Grasberger added. The second-place finish came a week after the Jumbos came in fourth out of nine teams at the Jan T. Friis Intersectional Regatta at Harvard. The teams improvement is a good sign going into the New England Team Racing Championships next week in Connecticut. This weekend was our best weekend of the spring season so far, Ruiz-Ramon said. We beat all the other New England teams ... which is a really good sign going into the New England [Team Racing] Championships next weekend, which is the qualifier for Nationals. The second-place finish this past weekend is the highest-place finish that Tufts has earned in the spring season, and the team appears to peaking at the right time heading into its most important stretch of the semester.
After a strong showing at the New England Div. III Indoor Track and Field Championships, the womens track and field team started the outdoor season in similar style, winning the annual Snowflake Classic hosted at Tufts, beating out 23 other teams in the process.
At its lone home meet of the spring season, the mens track and field team braved inclement weather to earn a second-place finish at Dussault Track, 29 points behind conference-rival Bates.
At its lone home meet of the spring season, the men's track and field team braved inclement weather to earn a second-place finish at Dussault Track, 29 points behind conference-rival Bates.
After a strong showing at the New England Div. III Indoor Track and Field Championships, the women's track and field team started the outdoor season in similar style, winning the annual Snowflake Classic hosted at Tufts, beating out 23 other teams in the process.
With the Sweet 16 currently in action, and the Elite Eight coming up on Saturday and Sunday, March Madness is officially in full swing. The NCAA tournament, which began on March 18, has been a whirlwind of overtime thrillers, upset specials and for some teams, devastating losses. True to its aforementioned nickname, the tournament has been true madness. With only 12 teams left standing from the original 64, the Daily is here to help break down what has happened in the first week of the tournament.
The goal of the womens basketball team at the beginning of the season was to win the NESCAC Championship. By the end of the season, the team had not only met that goal they had blown all expectations out of the water. Despite being ranked No. 1 in the conference, the Jumbos saw their NESCAC championship campaign end early last year, suffering a first-round loss to all-time conference champion leaders Bowdoin, 60-54. 13 seasons after the start of the conference championships, the trophy continued to elude all but two teams: the Bowdoin Polar Bears and the Amherst Lord Jeffs, who had won the last four NESCAC titles. But this year, Tufts insisted on breaking Amhersts stranglehold on the championship. The NESCAC Championship our team ha[d] never won that, junior center Hayley Kanner said. We came into the season with that being the primary goal. After the opening weekend that saw Tufts just edge past its first two opponents Baldin Wallace and Rochester by one and four points, respectively, Tufts dominated its next 10 opponents, winning by 14 or more points in each game, including an impressive 70-44 dismissal of Middlebury on Jan. 12 in its first NESCAC matchup of the season. The victory over Middlebury gave Tufts confidence for what was arguably its first true test of the season a matchup against Amherst on Jan. 17. Both teams came into the game undefeated. Despite competing against one of the best teams in the NESCAC, Tufts was undeterred, and fought its way to a 25-25 tie at halftime. With three lead changes in the first 14 minutes of the second half, the Lord Jeffs pulled ahead by one, 50-49, with 5:46 left in the game, before the Jumbos went on a 14-6 run to secure the win. Just like that, the seven-year drought against Amherst was over. Avoiding the post-victory hangover, Tufts handed Trinity its first conference loss of the season the next day, never letting the Bantams get closer than eight points in the second half. With this pair of wins, Tufts moved to the top of the NESCAC standings as the only remaining undefeated team in the conference. The Jumbos went on to win their next seven contests, including four against conference opponents, bringing their winning streak to 21 games. Finally, on Feb. 11, Tufts suffered its first setback of the season. Despite being up 32-13 at the half, the all-too-familiar Tufts early lead resulted in an unfamiliar ending, as non-conference rival Babson defeated Tufts 58-52 for its first loss of the season. The loss, which hurt neither the Jumbos conference standings nor tournament chances, was still a painful one to swallow for the team. The Babson game was a good kick in the butt that we needed, head coach Carla Berube said. It was never a goal of mine to start the season undefeated, but it was too bad [the loss] was on our own court. That [is something] we want to defend at all costs. Against Babson, Tufts allowed 45 points in the second half alone, and for a team with a conference-best defense, such a showing was not ideal preparation for the upcoming NESCAC tournament. However, a win against Colby in Tufts penultimate regular season game secured the team the top seed in the conference tournament. Amhersts loss to Tufts earlier in the season relegated them to second place, even though it remained undefeated against its remaining opponents. Thus, the Lord Jeffs would have to surrender home-court advantage if both they and the Jumbos reached the NESCAC finals. And both teams did. En route to the NESCAC Championship game, Tufts dispatched eighth-seeded Wesleyan 74-46, and fourth-seeded Trinity, 57-47, while Amherst took care of seventh-seeded Hamilton, 78-33, and third-seeded Bowdoin, 45-42. Unlike previous face-offs, Tufts was the favorite against Amherst. And for the second time this season, the Jumbos didnt disappoint. Behind Kanners 21 points, the Jumbos defeated the Lord Jeffs, 62-46, for their first-ever NESCAC title, earning them an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship field. When the tournament began, Tufts first swept aside St. Josephs (Maine), 66-43, before beating University of New England, 57-54, behind senior tri-captain Liz Moynihans buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime, and reached the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. And the Jumbos kept winning. After blowing past Castleton by 20 and edging out Ithaca by just two, Tufts found itself within the top four Div. III teams in the country a position it had never reached before. Against Farleigh Dickinson University-Florham (FDU-Florham) in the Final Four, Tufts faced a strong offensive team one that averaged 81 points per game and kept it in check, holding FDU-Florham to just 42. However, down 42-39, Tufts top-scoring guard Foleys last-second shot to tie the game at the buzzer fell off the mark, and the teams whirlwind season came to an end. Tufts followed up the loss with the third-place consolation game, losing 72-54 to Wisconsin-Whitewater. I would not have traded this [chance in the final weekend of the NCAA tournament] for anything, Moynihan said. If we really step back and see what we really accomplished as a team our first NESCAC title and an undefeated NESCAC season, hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAAs all these things are such an amazing accomplishment, and Im so proud of my team. Tufts will be graduating three seniors tri-captains Moynihan, Ali Rocchi and Caitlin McClure cornerstones of the team whose contributions really made the difference this season.12
Finishing its spring break trip to California against No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, the No. 18 womens tennis team failed to end its first week of the spring season on a high note. Tufts started the team match slowly, losing three doubles matches by large deficits, 8-1, 8-1 and 8-0. The singles matches were also disappointing for the Jumbos, with five of the six resulting in set victories for the Athenas. The one high point for Tufts was freshman Jacqueline Baum, who earned the only win for her side with a hard-fought, comeback victory over her sophomore counterpart Yvonne Likomanova in No. 6 singles, 3-6, 6-2, 10-7. With the other simultaneously started matches ending in straight sets, Baum had her teammates watching and cheering on for the decisive third set tiebreak. Having the whole team behind me in the third set gave me a lot of confidence, Baum said. I made a lot of changes after the first set, and tried to make [Likomanova] work more. It was a really good way to finish spring break. The loss was the teams second in a row, as the previous day the Jumbos had headed to Claremont to face the Cougars of Azusa Pacific, eventually falling 7-2. After digging a hole by losing the opening doubles matches 8-5, 8-5 and 8-4, Tufts mustered two wins in singles: sophomore Catherine Worley in the No. 6 position 6-2, 6-3, and freshman Conner Calabro in the No. 3 position 6-1, 4-6, 10-7. But spring break was not wholly disappointing for the team, as Tufts put forth its best performance of the week against Denison, 7-2. The highlight matches came in No. 1 and No. 2 singles, with two thrilling three set matches. Senior captain Samantha Gann lost her first set and won the second against Denison senior Kelsey Geppner. In the final set, Gann completed her comeback, winning the set 6-4 and the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Freshman Alexa Meltzer had a similarly back and forth affair at No. 2 singles against sophomore Taylor Hawkins. Meltzer won the first set in a tiebreak 7-6, lost the second 5-7 and came back to win the third set tiebreak 10-7. Calabro also starred for the Jumbos, winning her No. 3 singles match in straight sets 7-5, 6-4, and winning her doubles match against freshman Chelsea Hayashi 8-2. The other victories for Tufts came in No. 3 doubles for Baum and Gann 8-2, No. 5 singles for senior Rebecca Kimmel 6-3, 7-6 and No. 6 singles for Worley 6-0, 6-1. We had a great match against Denison, especially starting off 2-1 in doubles, Baum said. Doubles is one place weve been focusing on, and it was big to get those first vital wins. In Tufts first spring break competition, on March 18 against No. 15 La Verne, the Jumbos lost 6-3. Despite falling to its foes from La Verne, Tufts had several quality individual performances. Had a couple points gone Tufts way, the matchup may have ended differently. Kimmel won her match at No. 6 singles 6-1, 6-2, easily dispatching of La Verne freshman Lauren Torres. Calabro also cruised to a straight set victory, taking down senior Allison Moncrief 6-1, 6-0 in No. 4 singles. La Verne was a really tough team; all the matches were close Kimmel said. I was able to take a couple more points, but most of the matches could have gone either way, including mine. Baum and Gann teamed up to win their match at No. 3 doubles 8-1 over Moncrief and Torres, but both fell in tight singles matches that could have altered the final result for Tufts. In No. 5 singles, Baum fought early against Bridget Etchegary taking the first set to a tiebreak. However, in the extra game, Baum fell 7-3, which was then followed by a tough second-set loss, 6-1. Gann started slowly in her match against sophomore Andrea Madrigal in No. 1 singles, losing the first set 6-1. She battled back to win the second set 6-4, before losing in the decisive third set by the same score. Despite the individual losses, the budding doubles pairing of the freshman and senior captain was one of the highlights of the spring break matches. The duo won two of its four doubles matches. Only Calabro and Hayashi were also able to pair up for a doubles win over this first week of the season. Its really great for me to have a partner who is a senior and is so experienced and energetic on the court, Baum said. Were both really good playing from the baseline, and shes really good coming forward to the net. Ive learned a lot playing with her. Back at Tufts after the four matches in California, the team will begin its NESCAC season this Saturday at home against seventh-ranked Bowdoin, who Tufts fell to 6-3 last season. Doubles will again be really important for us against Bowdoin, Kimmel said. Hopefully we can get off to a fast start, and then just stay in the matches for as long as it takes, and work to compete really hard.
The goal of the women's basketball team at the beginning of the season was to win the NESCAC Championship. By the end of the season, the team had not only met that goal - they had blown all expectations out of the water. Despite being ranked No. 1 in the conference, the Jumbos saw their NESCAC championship campaign end early last year, suffering a first-round loss to all-time conference champion leaders Bowdoin, 60-54. 13 seasons after the start of the conference championships, the trophy continued to elude all but two teams: the Bowdoin Polar Bears and the Amherst Lord Jeffs, who had won the last four NESCAC titles. But this year, Tufts insisted on breaking Amherst's stranglehold on the championship. "The NESCAC Championship - our team ha[d] never won that," junior center Hayley Kanner said. "We came into the season with that being the primary goal." After the opening weekend that saw Tufts just edge past its first two opponents - Baldin Wallace and Rochester - by one and four points, respectively, Tufts dominated its next 10 opponents, winning by 14 or more points in each game, including an impressive 70-44 dismissal of Middlebury on Jan. 12 in its first NESCAC matchup of the season. The victory over Middlebury gave Tufts confidence for what was arguably its first true test of the season - a matchup against Amherst on Jan. 17. Both teams came into the game undefeated. Despite competing against one of the best teams in the NESCAC, Tufts was undeterred, and fought its way to a 25-25 tie at halftime. With three lead changes in the first 14 minutes of the second half, the Lord Jeffs pulled ahead by one, 50-49, with 5:46 left in the game, before the Jumbos went on a 14-6 run to secure the win. Just like that, the seven-year drought against Amherst was over. Avoiding the post-victory hangover, Tufts handed Trinity its first conference loss of the season the next day, never letting the Bantams get closer than eight points in the second half. With this pair of wins, Tufts moved to the top of the NESCAC standings as the only remaining undefeated team in the conference. The Jumbos went on to win their next seven contests, including four against conference opponents, bringing their winning streak to 21 games. Finally, on Feb. 11, Tufts suffered its first setback of the season. Despite being up 32-13 at the half, the all-too-familiar Tufts' early lead resulted in an unfamiliar ending, as non-conference rival Babson defeated Tufts 58-52 for its first loss of the season. The loss, which hurt neither the Jumbos' conference standings nor tournament chances, was still a painful one to swallow for the team. "The Babson game was a good kick in the butt that we needed," head coach Carla Berube said. "It was never a goal of mine to start the season undefeated, but it was too bad [the loss] was on our own court. That [is something] we want to defend at all costs." Against Babson, Tufts allowed 45 points in the second half alone, and for a team with a conference-best defense, such a showing was not ideal preparation for the upcoming NESCAC tournament. However, a win against Colby in Tufts' penultimate regular season game secured the team the top seed in the conference tournament. Amherst's loss to Tufts earlier in the season relegated them to second place, even though it remained undefeated against its remaining opponents. Thus, the Lord Jeffs would have to surrender home-court advantage if both they and the Jumbos reached the NESCAC finals. And both teams did. En route to the NESCAC Championship game, Tufts dispatched eighth-seeded Wesleyan 74-46, and fourth-seeded Trinity, 57-47, while Amherst took care of seventh-seeded Hamilton, 78-33, and third-seeded Bowdoin, 45-42. Unlike previous face-offs, Tufts was the favorite against Amherst. And for the second time this season, the Jumbos didn't disappoint. Behind Kanner's 21 points, the Jumbos defeated the Lord Jeffs, 62-46, for their first-ever NESCAC title, earning them an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship field. When the tournament began, Tufts first swept aside St. Joseph's (Maine), 66-43, before beating University of New England, 57-54, behind senior tri-captain Liz Moynihan's buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime, and reached the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. And the Jumbos kept winning. After blowing past Castleton by 20 and edging out Ithaca by just two, Tufts found itself within the top four Div. III teams in the country - a position it had never reached before. Against Farleigh Dickinson University-Florham (FDU-Florham) in the Final Four, Tufts faced a strong offensive team - one that averaged 81 points per game - and kept it in check, holding FDU-Florham to just 42. However, down 42-39, Tufts' top-scoring guard Foley's last-second shot to tie the game at the buzzer fell off the mark, and the team's whirlwind season came to an end. Tufts followed up the loss with the third-place consolation game, losing 72-54 to Wisconsin-Whitewater. "I would not have traded this [chance in the final weekend of the NCAA tournament] for anything," Moynihan said. "If we really step back and see what we really accomplished as a team - our first NESCAC title and an undefeated NESCAC season, hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAAs - all these things are such an amazing accomplishment, and I'm so proud of my team." Tufts will be graduating three seniors - tri-captains Moynihan, Ali Rocchi and Caitlin McClure - cornerstones of the team whose contributions really made the difference this season.12
The baseball team had its most successful spring break trip of the 21st century from March 14-23, going 11-1 over a jam-packed slate in Virginia and North Carolina. The Jumbos have not posted that high a winning percentage (.917) in their annual season-opening stint since at least 2000. Many of the wins came in dominant fashion, including seven victories by three runs or more. The Jumbos scored seven-plus runs in seven different games. And there were thrilling wins, too. On March 16 against Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Newport News, Va., freshman second baseman Tom Petry doubled home sophomore shortstop Matt Moser to give Tufts an 8-7 lead in the top of the 12th. With two runners on in the bottom half of the inning, junior southpaw Tom Ryan induced a fielder's choice to seal the win. From March 22-23, the Jumbos won three games by a total of four runs. In a doubleheader against the Apprentice School, Tufts got strong pitching from junior left-hander Kyle Slinger, and then from Ryan, coming from behind in both games to win 4-2 and 3-2. The next day against Virginia Wesleyan, Tufts plated three runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to win 12-11 in a game that featured 28 hits and six errors. When the Jumbos flew back to Boston on Monday evening, many things were clearer than when they first departed for Virginia on March 13. For one, the pitching staff will likely center around Slinger, senior co-captain right-hander Christian Sbily and sophomore righty Andrew David - the three of whom started the first three games of the season and each earned multiple wins on the trip. Slinger (3-0, 1.42 ERA) was particularly impressive, winning all three of his starts and allowing just three earned runs while lasting at least six innings in each outing. He was named NESCAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday. Sbily (2-0, 2.81 ERA) was stellar in his first two efforts before lasting just two innings in his third, a 12-11 win over Virginia Wesleyan. "I felt I pitched well overall, but definitely have some things to sharpen up and improve upon," Sbily told the Daily in an email. "My changeup was working well in each of my starts, and I felt I did a solid job of making in-game adjustments when I needed to." While his third outing was disappointing, Sbily hopes to learn from it going forward. "I just left my fastball up in the zone which made it easier for their guys to put the bat on the ball," he said. "It's very important to me to have continuous faith in the process and my preparation and use those mistakes as learning experiences." David (2-0, 5.54 ERA) bounced back from a sub-par outing against MIT to toss six shutout frames at Guilford. While Slinger, Sbily and David were all in the Jumbos' regular rotation last year, head coach John Casey certainly cannot ignore freshman Tim Superko (2-0, 1.50 ERA). The 6' 2" southpaw, who spent a year honing his skills at Phillips Andover after attending Wellesley High, surrendered just eight hits and fanned 16 batters in 12 innings while allowing two runs. Whether he finds himself in the regular rotation or not, Superko will be a valuable asset to the Jumbos once they begin NESCAC East division play at Bates on Friday. It was the Jumbos' offense, though, that stole the show. Junior co-captain Wade Hauser, an All-NESCAC second team selection last season, racked up 30 total bases in 12 games, posting a .491 on-base percentage and a .652 slugging percentage while driving in 11 runs. Hauser did it all for Tufts offensively, including five stolen bases. Defensively, though, he struggled, making eight errors at third base, three of which came in one game against Lynchburg. Several others posted eye-popping offensive statistics. Junior Nick Barker - who is listed as a catcher on the roster but started 10 games in left field and did not see time behind the plate - batted .458 with a .568 slugging percentage. Junior center fielder Connor McDavitt sparkled in the leadoff spot, posting a .453 on-base percentage while compiling 10 RBIs and 12 runs. Senior Max Freccia, a first baseman when he's in the field, spent most of the trip as the designated hitter and drove in 10 runs, including a two-run homer at Greensboro. "I have DH'ed for a large part of my college career and feel comfortable in the position," Freccia told the Daily in an email. "At this point I have my routine down pat and I'm ready to go each at bat." The Jumbos also appear to have settled on their 2014 shortstop in Moser, who committed just one error on the trip, and on their right fielder in freshman Oscar Kutch, who started eight games at the position. Overall, Tufts outscored opponents 94-43. At 3 p.m. today, the Jumbos will take on non-conference opponent Mass. Maritime, before playing at Bates Friday and Saturday in the first of four three-game series against NESCAC East opponents. The Bobcats took two of three last year at Huskins Field.12
The mens tennis team traveled to southern California for its spring break training, where it competed against five top-tier teams, beating three of them. The Jumbos began the season with a renewed confidence, mostly due to the teams hard work in the off-season between the fall and spring. This offseason the players got together and came up with a game plan to improve for the spring season, sophomore Rob Jacobson said. We spent lots of time in the weight room and worked extremely hard on our fitness. This team feels like we are the fittest team out there and looks forward to showing off our level of fitness by outlasting our opponents physically and mentally on the court. The Jumbos rigorous schedule over spring break provided the perfect litmus test for their work during the off-season. In four days the team played five team matches against five premier schools: Denison, Sewanee, Pomona-Pitzer, Occidental and Trinity. After playing its first four games against non-conference opponents, Tufts finally got its first taste of NESCAC play against Trinity on March 21 in its final match of the trip. But the Bantams bested the Jumbos 6-3 to hand them their second loss of the trip. The win was not an easy one for Trinity, as three matches went to three sets of which only Jacobsons ended favorably for Tufts. Freshman Brad Wong won a close first set before going up 3-0 in the second, at which point his opponent retired. The third win for the Jumbos was at the No. 1 doubles position, where sophomore Nik Telkedzhiev and junior Brian Tan won a routine 8-2 match. Jacobson considers his match a crucial learning point of spring break. The team goal of winning collectively was evident as the teams cheering spurred Jacobson onward to victory. The Trinity match was very challenging and had a lot of momentum swings, Jacobson said. My opponent had a lot of powerful shots, especially off of his forehand, so I had to stay diligently committed to the game plan I discussed with [head coach Jaimie] Kenney and [assistant coach Karl] Gregor. In the end, the support and energy from my teammates and coaches carried me over the finish line, securing the team another point to fight back against Trinity. The Jumbos were fortunate to have a day of rest before their match against the Bantams, as on March 19, they played their first team double header of the year. Tufts lost to No. 16 Pomona-Pitzer 7-2, but followed the loss with a win over Occidental 8-1. The loss to Pomona-Pitzer was the teams first of the season. Two singles players came out on top for the Jumbos as Wong won a 6-3, 6-0 match in the No. 4 position, and classmate Kevin Kelly was able to dig out a close second set to win at No. 6 singles 6-4, 7-6. However, Tufts did not let the loss to Pomona-Pitzer affect its play later in the day when it dominated Occidental. The only loss came at No. 1 singles, where No. 25 ranked Telkedzhiev lost 6-2, 6-1. Every other match ended in a straightforward win with the exception of Tans in the second position, who went to a third set, and that of freshman Ryan Rosen, who also went to a third set. Once in the decisive third set, however, both players started off well and never looked back, each winning his deciding set 10-1. The previous matches against Sewanee on March 16 and Denison on March 15 provided much closer contests for Tufts, who won 5-4 and 6-3. Against Sewanee, the team showed its ability to win the close match, which will serve it well as it gets deeper into the season. Wong and senior Zach Ladwig won the only two singles matches of the day at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Wong completed a routine 6-1, 6-4 win, but Ladwig battled for much longer in his 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 seesaw of a match over Sewanee junior Rand Jackson. Tufts won all three doubles matches without much of a hitch as Telkedzhiev and Tan took the No. 1 doubles match 8-2, while Jacobson and Wong paired up to win the most one-sided match of the day, 8-1, at No. 2 doubles. The Jumbos were also able to hold their own against the tough competition despite being a man down all week long. Sophomore Jay Glickman, who typically plays among the top-three singles slots, sustained a wrist injury that sidelined him for the five spring-break matches. His classmate, Jacobson, looks forward to his return to competitive play. He has been physically preparing as much as possible without further injuring the wrist, and we anticipate his return to full strength as soon as it makes sense for both himself and the team, Jacobson said.By the end of the break, the Jumbos had a clearer assessment of both where they were as a team and where they have to go as the season progresses. The week was definitely filled with highs and lows, but more importantly, we took away so much from our trip, Glickman said. Some of the teams we played out there were top tier in Div. III, and even the matches that we lost came down to only a few crucial points and games. Spring break was a great barometer for how we matchup against our competition.12
The baseball team had its most successful spring break trip of the 21st century from March 14-23, going 11-1 over a jam-packed slate in Virginia and North Carolina. The Jumbos have not posted that high a winning percentage (.917) in their annual season-opening stint since at least 2000. Many of the wins came in dominant fashion, including seven victories by three runs or more. The Jumbos scored seven-plus runs in seven different games. And there were thrilling wins, too. On March 16 against Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Newport News, Va., freshman second baseman Tom Petry doubled home sophomore shortstop Matt Moser to give Tufts an 8-7 lead in the top of the 12th. With two runners on in the bottom half of the inning, junior southpaw Tom Ryan induced a fielders choice to seal the win. From March 22-23, the Jumbos won three games by a total of four runs. In a doubleheader against the Apprentice School, Tufts got strong pitching from junior left-hander Kyle Slinger, and then from Ryan, coming from behind in both games to win 4-2 and 3-2. The next day against Virginia Wesleyan, Tufts plated three runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to win 12-11 in a game that featured 28 hits and six errors. When the Jumbos flew back to Boston on Monday evening, many things were clearer than when they first departed for Virginia on March 13. For one, the pitching staff will likely center around Slinger, senior co-captain right-hander Christian Sbily and sophomore righty Andrew David the three of whom started the first three games of the season and each earned multiple wins on the trip. Slinger (3-0, 1.42 ERA) was particularly impressive, winning all three of his starts and allowing just three earned runs while lasting at least six innings in each outing. He was named NESCAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday. Sbily (2-0, 2.81 ERA) was stellar in his first two efforts before lasting just two innings in his third, a 12-11 win over Virginia Wesleyan. I felt I pitched well overall, but definitely have some things to sharpen up and improve upon, Sbily told the Daily in an email. My changeup was working well in each of my starts, and I felt I did a solid job of making in-game adjustments when I needed to. While his third outing was disappointing, Sbily hopes to learn from it going forward. I just left my fastball up in the zone which made it easier for their guys to put the bat on the ball, he said. Its very important to me to have continuous faith in the process and my preparation and use those mistakes as learning experiences. David (2-0, 5.54 ERA) bounced back from a sub-par outing against MIT to toss six shutout frames at Guilford. While Slinger, Sbily and David were all in the Jumbos regular rotation last year, head coach John Casey certainly cannot ignore freshman Tim Superko (2-0, 1.50 ERA). The 6 2 southpaw, who spent a year honing his skills at Phillips Andover after attending Wellesley High, surrendered just eight hits and fanned 16 batters in 12 innings while allowing two runs. Whether he finds himself in the regular rotation or not, Superko will be a valuable asset to the Jumbos once they begin NESCAC East division play at Bates on Friday. It was the Jumbos offense, though, that stole the show. Junior co-captain Wade Hauser, an All-NESCAC second team selection last season, racked up 30 total bases in 12 games, posting a .491 on-base percentage and a .652 slugging percentage while driving in 11 runs. Hauser did it all for Tufts offensively, including five stolen bases. Defensively, though, he struggled, making eight errors at third base, three of which came in one game against Lynchburg. Several others posted eye-popping offensive statistics. Junior Nick Barker who is listed as a catcher on the roster but started 10 games in left field and did not see time behind the plate batted .458 with a .568 slugging percentage. Junior center fielder Connor McDavitt sparkled in the leadoff spot, posting a .453 on-base percentage while compiling 10 RBIs and 12 runs. Senior Max Freccia, a first baseman when hes in the field, spent most of the trip as the designated hitter and drove in 10 runs, including a two-run homer at Greensboro. I have DHed for a large part of my college career and feel comfortable in the position, Freccia told the Daily in an email. At this point I have my routine down pat and Im ready to go each at bat. The Jumbos also appear to have settled on their 2014 shortstop in Moser, who committed just one error on the trip, and on their right fielder in freshman Oscar Kutch, who started eight games at the position. Overall, Tufts outscored opponents 94-43. At 3 p.m. today, the Jumbos will take on non-conference opponent Mass. Maritime, before playing at Bates Friday and Saturday in the first of four three-game series against NESCAC East opponents. The Bobcats took two of three last year at Huskins Field.12
The men's tennis team traveled to southern California for its spring break training, where it competed against five top-tier teams, beating three of them. The Jumbos began the season with a renewed confidence, mostly due to the team's hard work in the off-season between the fall and spring. "This offseason the players got together and came up with a game plan to improve for the spring season," sophomore Rob Jacobson said. "We spent lots of time in the weight room and worked extremely hard on our fitness. This team feels like we are the fittest team out there and looks forward to showing off our level of fitness by outlasting our opponents physically and mentally on the court." The Jumbos' rigorous schedule over spring break provided the perfect litmus test for their work during the off-season. In four days the team played five team matches against five premier schools: Denison, Sewanee, Pomona-Pitzer, Occidental and Trinity. After playing its first four games against non-conference opponents, Tufts finally got its first taste of NESCAC play against Trinity on March 21 in its final match of the trip. But the Bantams bested the Jumbos 6-3 to hand them their second loss of the trip. The win was not an easy one for Trinity, as three matches went to three sets - of which only Jacobson's ended favorably for Tufts. Freshman Brad Wong won a close first set before going up 3-0 in the second, at which point his opponent retired. The third win for the Jumbos was at the No. 1 doubles position, where sophomore Nik Telkedzhiev and junior Brian Tan won a routine 8-2 match. Jacobson considers his match a crucial learning point of spring break. The team goal of winning collectively was evident as the team's cheering spurred Jacobson onward to victory. "The Trinity match was very challenging and had a lot of momentum swings," Jacobson said. "My opponent had a lot of powerful shots, especially off of his forehand, so I had to stay diligently committed to the game plan I discussed with [head coach Jaimie] Kenney and [assistant coach Karl] Gregor. In the end, the support and energy from my teammates and coaches carried me over the finish line, securing the team another point to fight back against Trinity." The Jumbos were fortunate to have a day of rest before their match against the Bantams, as on March 19, they played their first team double header of the year. Tufts lost to No. 16 Pomona-Pitzer 7-2, but followed the loss with a win over Occidental 8-1. The loss to Pomona-Pitzer was the team's first of the season. Two singles players came out on top for the Jumbos as Wong won a 6-3, 6-0 match in the No. 4 position, and classmate Kevin Kelly was able to dig out a close second set to win at No. 6 singles 6-4, 7-6. However, Tufts did not let the loss to Pomona-Pitzer affect its play later in the day when it dominated Occidental. The only loss came at No. 1 singles, where No. 25 ranked Telkedzhiev lost 6-2, 6-1. Every other match ended in a straightforward win with the exception of Tan's in the second position, who went to a third set, and that of freshman Ryan Rosen, who also went to a third set. Once in the decisive third set, however, both players started off well and never looked back, each winning his deciding set 10-1. The previous matches against Sewanee on March 16 and Denison on March 15 provided much closer contests for Tufts, who won 5-4 and 6-3. Against Sewanee, the team showed its ability to win the close match, which will serve it well as it gets deeper into the season. Wong and senior Zach Ladwig won the only two singles matches of the day at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Wong completed a routine 6-1, 6-4 win, but Ladwig battled for much longer in his 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 seesaw of a match over Sewanee junior Rand Jackson. Tufts won all three doubles matches without much of a hitch as Telkedzhiev and Tan took the No. 1 doubles match 8-2, while Jacobson and Wong paired up to win the most one-sided match of the day, 8-1, at No. 2 doubles. The Jumbos were also able to hold their own against the tough competition despite being a man down all week long. Sophomore Jay Glickman, who typically plays among the top-three singles slots, sustained a wrist injury that sidelined him for the five spring-break matches. His classmate, Jacobson, looks forward to his return to competitive play. "He has been physically preparing as much as possible without further injuring the wrist, and we anticipate his return to full strength as soon as it makes sense for both himself and the team," Jacobson said.By the end of the break, the Jumbos had a clearer assessment of both where they were as a team and where they have to go as the season progresses. "The week was definitely filled with highs and lows, but more importantly, we took away so much from our trip," Glickman said. "Some of the teams we played out there were top tier in Div. III, and even the matches that we lost came down to only a few crucial points and games. Spring break was a great barometer for how we matchup against our competition."12
