I have a confession to make, one that won't be popular on campus. On Monday night, I didn't watch the final presidential debate. Not one minute. It wasn't that I was in class or studying for a midterm, it was just that Game Seven of the National League Championship Series was on and it was better television.
This Saturday, in a day of both firsts and lasts, the men's tennis team came out strong against the Coast Guard Academy in its only dual match of the fall season, which also happened to be the last action the team will see until the spring. The Jumbos sealed a 9?0 victory, as both upperclassmen and freshmen shone in front of friends and family who came to celebrate Parents' Weekend.
All was quiet and serene on the banks of the Charles River at one of the three?mile course's few straight and bridge?free spots. That is, until the next wave of doubles rowed by, and a coach biked past on the road, trailing his boat and shouting encouragements.
On Sept. 29, 2011, one day after the Boston Red Sox completed one of the most epic collapses in baseball history, Adrian Gonzalez sat in front of his locker and reflected on what had gone wrong.
For the second time this season, the No. 8 field hockey team faced an early deficit. On Saturday, the visiting Hamilton Continentals, who at game time had not yet seen a NESCAC victory, gained an early advantage to put the host Jumbos down 1?0. Tufts, however, rebounded for a decisive 4?1 victory, ultimately notching its 12th straight win with one crucial contest remaining.
Heading into Saturday's matchup against Williams, the Jumbos knew that big plays would decide the game. The offense needed to create more of them when they had the football, and the defense needed to keep the Ephs from taking deep shots down the field.
In a game with major postseason implications, the women's soccer team stepped up in a big way Saturday afternoon at Kraft Field, drubbing conference rival Hamilton College, 4?0.
In sports, inexperience rarely breeds success. Typically it brings frustration and inconsistency instead. The men's soccer team, however, is far from typical. The Jumbos' recent recruiting classes have brought athleticism, control and most importantly, success to the team. And they've done it within a short time span: 11 underclassmen saw time in a 2?1 loss to MIT on Wednesday. These freshmen and sophomores have rejuvenated a faltering program. In the past two years to date, Tufts has gone a combined 15?7?5, and its success can be attributed to the dynamism of head coach Josh Shapiro's first two recruiting classes, which entered in the falls of 2011 and 2012.
After the first event drew droves of fans to football and volleyball games, the second Fan the Fire event will take place this Saturday, using its banner of "Spirit, Sports, Service," to benefit three charities: Soccer without Borders, Team Impact and Go 4 the Goal. Five Tufts sports teams will be in action, starting with men's tennis against the Coast Guard Academy at 11 a.m.
After battling through tight game after tight game, the No. 8 field hockey team got a breath of fresh air on Wednesday with a 5?0 victory over Bates. The Jumbos took out their offensive frustrations on the Bobcats, with junior forward Chelsea Yogerst scoring twice in the first six minutes to set the tone before finishing things up with a second?half goal for an impressive hat trick, as the Jumbos tallied their 11th straight victory.
Consistency. Playing four hard, steady quarters of football. The Jumbos have repeated the importance of this message all season long. And, with a reeling Williams team coming into town on Saturday, four quarters of steady play might be all that is separating 0?4 Tufts from its first win of the season.
It's a two?point Sacramento lead, we're down to seven seconds, Bryant is putting a move on Christie, rebound O'Neal, coming up short, tipped out to Horry from downtown for the win... Yes! Lakers Win!"
In crew, a spring season sprint lasts 2,000 meters. Fall headraces usually range between 4,000 and 5,000. But between back?to?back races and the row up to the starting line, members of the women's varsity crew team estimate that they rowed an exhausting 20,000 meters on Saturday.
Mike Aresco (LA '72, F '73) doesn't get much time to stop and reflect these days. In August, he was named commissioner of a Big East Conference in turmoil, and since then he's been in the media and all over the country, explaining his vision for the conference's future and attempting to work out a new TV deal.
The Tufts crew program came out in full force with five eights at this weekend's Quinsigamond Snake Regatta in Worcester, Mass. showing not only the depth of the team, but also the quality. The men's top varsity boat came in 10th out of 27 teams while the second varsity eight came in 23rd. Meanwhile, both the men's and women's novice squads were also in action, as the novice men also competed in the same event, and the novice women fielded two boats in the open women's eights race.
The New England Women's Intercollegiate Tournament last weekend saw the continued hard work and dedication of Tufts' women's tennis team. A well-played final fall tournament will serve as a confidence-booster for the squad as it enters the long winter break.
