Sports

Football | Jumbos put in different kind of offseason work

Andrew Rayner is listed as 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds. On Saturday, as part of a touchdown celebration competition, the junior offensive lineman did the worm. And then he did the reverse worm. "It was very impressive for a big guy," football coach Jay Civetti said. "He may have won the competition." The event wrapped up the Jumbos' duties as hosts of a clinic for sixth-graders in conjunction with the Level the Field initiative. Junior field hockey player Rachel Gerhardt, Rayner, Civetti and junior Samantha Tye helped coordinate the event, at which 25 football players turned out to the Carzo Cage to run the kids through stretching and drills before taking them into the weight room and hosting the celebration competition. "Our guys potentially had more fun than the kids did," Civetti said. "We've got great kids in this program, and the more we can get them involved, the more they can continue to be mentors and leaders in the community, the better." As for whether Civetti saw any potential Jumbos among the sixth-graders? "I didn't want to break any NCAA recruiting rules, so I kept my distance," he joked. In the middle of a busy offseason, Tufts also spent two hours on March 3 working at the Open Center, a preschool in partnership with the Jumpstart program, an early childhood education organization. Ten players, Civetti and his wife helped clean out a room and paint one of the preschoolers' activity rooms. A few of the eight freshmen and two sophomores tried to sit in the miniature chairs, a "good stretching exercise," according to Civetti. The Jumbos were contacted two weeks ago by freshman Kelsey Howe, who asked them to help on a Saturday morning. "It falls in line with being a champion in the community," Civetti said. "They should be grateful for the opportunities they have here and at the same time be willing to help out, whatever the cause may be. It's an eye-opening experience, and certainly it's great to be able to lend a hand to others."

Lacrosse | Men's and women's squads stay unbeaten

Both the men's and women's lacrosse teams improved to 2-0 on the season and in the NESCAC yesterday afternoon with victories over Conn. College. The No. 2 men's squad won its home opener, 16-9, outshooting the Camels 53-38. Tufts was led by senior co-captain Kevin McCormick, who had five goals, and sophomore Beau Wood, who added two goals and three assists. The women won 12-7 on the road; game statistics and box scores were not available at press time. In a physical matchup, the men's team converted on three of five extra-man opportunities. Sophomore keeper Patton Watkins played tall between the pipes, making 21 stops, including several saves down the stretch on high, close-range shots. For Conn. College, junior attackman Andrew Freedman and junior midfielder John Lyons led the way with two goals and an assist apiece, but their efforts were not enough to keep the Camels in the game against a strong Tufts defensive unit. Senior keeper Rob Moccia made 15 saves, but he struggled to handle Tufts' new-look offensive set. Even while senior co-captain attackman Sean Kirwan sat out again with a sprained ankle, the Jumbos jumped to a 5-1 lead behind strong efforts from Wood, McCormick, freshman Cole Bailey and juniors Ryan Jorgensen and Geoff Sheasby. By late in the third quarter, the Jumbos led 11-4, but the Camels answered with their own 5-2 run that extended into the fourth quarter and reduced margin to four. That was as close as they would come, as Tufts tacked on three goals to seal the win. The men will next see action when they take on No. 4 Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday in the first game of their spring break tour. The women will play their first of four spring break contests at Babson on Friday. See tomorrow's Daily for full coverage of yesterday's games.

Sam Gold | The OT

Lindsay Vonn and Bode Miller are likely the only two names that might ring a bell. For all intents and purposes - and because professional skiing languishes near the bottom of the American sports popularity list - I'm assuming they don't, so let me introduce them briefly: Vonn, who just clinched her U.S.-record fourth alpine season world title, and Miller, one of five people to win at least five World Cup events across all five ski disciplines, are generally regarded as the best American skiers of all time. Now let me introduce you to a young man you certainly do not know. His name is NikZoricic, a once-promising 29-year-old who skied his last race on Saturday. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Sarajevo-born upstart had a breakthrough season in 2010-2011, logging six top-10 World Cup finishes and mounting his first podium - a silver medal in St. Johann, Austria. Connoisseurs of professional skiing believe that the young man still hadn't plateaued, that he had more in the tank. And based on the trajectory of his career, which saw him switch from alpine to skicross, Zoricic indeed seemed destined for loftier heights. "Ski authorities called it a 'freak accident,' much the same way they labeled the fatal accident of Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke, who crashed during halfpipe training two months to the day before Zoricic's accident," the Associated Press reported. And that's not an exaggeration. TheInternational Ski Federation, known by its name in French, F?©d?©rationInternationale de Ski (FIS), has an impeccable track record regarding safety. Meticulous course preparation is done prior to all races, and particularly competent medical staff are arguably the most vigilant of those of any sport. Additionally, FIS issues an annual exhaustive report on safety, injury treatment and prevention in order to assess whether precautions have been implemented optimally. Ski mountains are littered with signs that essentially read, "Ski at your own risk," to forewarn the amateur skier about Mother Nature's indiscriminate wrath. So, imagine vrooming down the unkindest of these slopes with reckless abandon while jockeying for position with three other guys who are equally as nuts, utterly disregarding fear and rationality for just over a minute. Sound crazy? It is. The above description, I believe, aptly characterizes skicross, the discipline in which Zoricic competed. Dubbed "NASCAR on skis," skicross made its debut at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver as a way to liven things up. Its proponents have recognized the tremendous risk inherent in the sport, but, in a sport already awash with rules and regulations, they can do little to increase safety. Unlike the debate about safety in football, the debate about safety in skiing deals with man vs. nature as opposed to man vs. man. Safety hawks (a bit oxymoronic, I admit) can bicker all they want about implementing tougher regulations, but the efficacy of regulations wanes at a point and eventually reaches zero. Canadian junior hockey can ban fighting, and the NFL can enact stricter rules about hitting, but rules that govern Mother Nature - well, they don't exist. Far be it from me to suggest that innovations in technology and other forms of protection should not be introduced. But the brutal reality of a sport like skicross is one with which people need to reconcile their feelings about severe injury and death: These things do happen. In ruminating the perils of skicross, I have discovered no clear-cut solution. Perhaps skicross should not be sanctioned at the Olympics or maybe not even by the FIS. Truthfully, I don't know how I feel about it. But as long as it's around, we need to brace ourselves for more ill-fated stories like Zoricic's.

Baseball | Notebook: Crouching catchers, hidden freshmen

When John Casey's sons were growing up, Tufts' baseball coach told them about Red Sox infielder Lou Merloni. A perennial journeyman whose frequent trips between Triple-A and the majors became known as the "Merloni Shuffle," he would have had a great career if he never had to play four days in a row, Casey explained to his sons. But the Red Sox needed guys who could make plays day after day. So do the Jumbos. One of those sons is Brian Casey (LA '07), a captain in 2007 who played for four years under his father and is now in his fifth season as an assistant coach, specifically dealing with the infielders. Together with former catcher Bob Kenny (LA '05), they make up an energetic duo, serving as living proof that Casey's system works. With 10 freshmen on a young roster that graduated five regular starters, assistants like Brian Casey and Kenny are a commodity, especially with the season-opener rapidly approaching. "We're the connection to those guys, it's positions that we're familiar with because we played it while we were here, so certainly we have an idea of what it takes to get ready for those positions," Brian Casey said. "That makes it easier to talk to those guys, prepare them the way we want them to prepare." In his seventh year as a coach, Kenny, one of the best defensive catchers in Tufts history, will have his work cut out for him with the current crop of backstops. Senior Matt Collins will likely not see time behind the plate this season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and sophomore Nick Cutsumpas is not listed on the Jumbos' roster after tearing his ACL. The duo started 36 of 39 games last season at catcher. Freshmen Nick Barker, Carter Bidwick and Bryan Egan are the three catchers who will travel with the team down to Virginia and North Carolina for spring break, each of them with a shot to take over the starting job on a team that hasn't been this young since 2008, according to Kenny and Brian Casey. Kenny, for his part, caught a couple of batting practices during his freshman year spring trip in 2002, then wound up starting the Tufts' third game against St. Andrews. He never lost the spot. "Once we're outside and it gets going for real, that's when you see their true colors," Kenny said. "We're hoping that the freshman experience sort of wears off quickly on the trip. Two, three games to get the weight off the belt, then we need them to jump to almost sophomore status to get where we want them to play." Lineup madness With the season opener days away, how unsure is John Casey about his opening day lineup? "About as sure as whether I can walk on the moon," he said. "Do we have a lineup down? I have about 10 sheets of paper with about 50 lineups." The only two guarantees are senior co-captain infielder Sam Sager and junior outfielder Eric Weikert, who will be positioned, in some order, in the heart of the lineup. Sager, a four-year starter in the infield and two-time All-NESCAC selection, hit third for 34 out of 37 games last season, logging a .333 average and a team-high 33 RBIs, 27 walks and 15 multi-hit games. Weikert, on the other hand, came on strong during his sophomore campaign, finishing with 20 RBIs and a .280 average while spending the bulk of the season in the No. 6 spot, though he also saw nine starts in the cleanup spot, three at No. 3 and two at No. 5. Other than that? John Casey expects to shuffle the order throughout the Jumbos' spring trip, saying that they will probably play three different lineups in the first three games. "There's just not a lot of games under guys' belts outside of those two guys, so guys are going to have to go out and earn it," he said. "We're just trying to figure out how guys fit, then we'll worry about in what order they're hitting." Besides Sager and Weikert, only junior outfielder Nate Izzo - a transfer from Boston College last season - and classmate Tom Howard saw action in at least 22 games for Tufts in 2011. They hit .258 and .273, respectively. A Crowded Rotation Things are clearer in the rotation as far as names go, but, as with the lineup, Casey still hasn't named his opening-day starter. Tufts leaves for its annual 10-day, 11-game spring break trip without a No. 1 for Friday's season opener at Lynchburg. Seniors Dave Ryan and Kevin Gilchrist and sophomore Christian Sbily are all in the mix. Expect them to, in some order, start Tufts' first three games, including a March 18 afternoon game at Washington & Lee and a March 19 date with Guilford. "We've been having great competition between three guys, so we'll have to see how someone throws tomorrow, then we'll make our decision," Casey said. Gilchrist started last season's opener against the Hornets, giving up two earned runs in seven strong innings, striking out one and walking three. With an 8-1 record last spring, Ryan led the Jumbos in wins and innings pitched, while Sbily was strong in 14 appearances out of the bullpen. Scouting Lynchburg Lynchburg currently sits at 11-4, including a perfect 5-0 at home, buoyed by the hot bats of juniors Dan Savage (.471 average, 13 RBIs), Brock Shiflett (.386 average, 15 RBIs) and Michael Del Buono (.373 average, 16 RBIs, two homers). The Jumbos will likely see one of the Hornets' top three starters on Friday, though Lynchburg should be resting its best for Saturday's Old Dominion Athletic Conference doubleheader at Eastern Mennonite.

Women's Fencing | Fencing squad puts finishing touches on season at Northeast Regionals

This past weekend, Tufts sent seven fencers to the NCAA Northeast Fencing Regionals at Boston College, including all four of the team's sabre starters and all three of its epee starters. The individual tournament was the Jumbos' last of the season and provided an opportunity to receive a national ranking. To qualify for the individual regionals, fencers needed to have fenced a certain number of bouts and to have won a certain percentage of those matches. Tufts' qualified fencers from the sabre squad were senior and overall team captain Sarah Danly, sophomore squad captain Julia Hisey, freshman Sarah Innes-Gold and senior Brianna Smith. From the epee squad, sophomore squad captain Laurel Hutchison, junior Abigail Hepworth and freshman Katharine Lynch met the requirements. Although only those seven were allowed to participate, most team members made the trip to support their fellow Jumbos. Unlike previous conference events, the regional tournament was formatted as a succession of pool play. The first round consisted of pools of five fencers competing in inter-pool round-robin play, seeded according to the U.S. Fencing Association ratings and ending whenever a combatant scored five touches. Those with an existing national ranking were exempt from participating in the first round. The lowest two-fifths of each pool, as determined by their touches and indicator scores, were dropped from the first round. After being re-seeded, the remaining fencers then progressed to a second round of seven-person pools, again with the lower strata of fencers being dropped from the tournament. All participants, regardless of when they dropped out of the standings, received a ranking for the regional tournament. SabristsDanly, Hisey and Innes-Gold, as well as all three epee starters, advanced past the first round. Only Danly progressed further, entering the third round of pool play before being eliminated. "I think, at least in the final round she was in, [Sarah] fenced the best she has all season," Hisey said of Danly's performance. "It's been a progression; every time she fences better. It was awesome for her." "Sarah blossomed this year. She's been fencing stronger and stronger every meet," Hutchison added. "Sarah was a great captain - this was her last meet - and she's been very valuable for the team. She was always there, on top of everything, made sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing." Out of a total of 45 competing sabres, Danly, Hisey, Innes-Gold and Smith placed 21st, 23rd, 30th and 41st, respectively. From the epee squad, Lynch, Hepworth and Hutchison placed 25th, 28th and 33rd, respctively, among 48 competitors. "I was pretty pleased with epee as a squad," said Hutchison, who noted that she is likely fencing her last full season at Tufts due to plans to study abroad and then graduate early. "We worked hard to get the three of us to regionals, and we did pretty well. I'm hoping that the team will be able to drill a lot more in the future. "There's always room for improvement, and I think we've been improving year by year," she continued. "We're building up a stronger team, a better-organized team, and we're building fencers." Moving forward, the team is looking to add a large recruiting class. A number of incoming freshman have already contacted coach ArianaKlinkov, and in addition to the continued development of a young core, there is hope that the future of the team is in good hands wrapping up this season and heading into the next. "I think we're trying to get more intense every year," Hisey said. "We want to be recognized as a real sport and really be a part of Tufts athletics."

Women's Track and Field | All four Jumbos bring home hardware from nationals

The Jumbos capped off their indoor track season with a superb showing at the Div. III National Championships at Grinnell College in Iowa this past weekend.

Men's Track and Field | Six Jumbos return from NCAAs as All-Americans

Ten members of the men's and women's track and field teams achieved All-American status this past weekend at the NCAA Div. III National Championships, including six Tufts men who earned a total of seven All-Amercan awards, more than Tufts has seen in years. Senior tri-captain Connor Rose, juniors Jeff Marvel, Bobby McShane, Matt Rand and Gbola Ajayi and sophomore Graham Beutler were the six to receive the honors, which are given to the top eight finishers in each event. "We had a very successful weekend. We are happy with it all around," Marvel said. "Across the board - Connor, the DMR, Gbola and me - coming back with six All-Americans, when last year we didn't have any - it was a big step forward for the program, and we are very happy with how things went." The men finished 17th as a team, earning 11 points on Friday and Saturday at the event hosted by Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. The team's first All-American finish of the weekend came in the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) on Friday evening. McShane, Beutler, Rose and Rand combined for an eighth-place finish in a time of 10:18.59. McShane led off the foursome in the 1,200-meter leg, handing off to Beutler for the 400 leg in eighth, the Jumbos' finishing position. Rose, in his second race of the day, just a few hours after the mile preliminaries, then took the baton for the 800 leg, with Rand anchoring in the 1,600 leg. "Bobby ran a good leg. He was up there battling at the front half for most of it, he faded off a little bit at the end but he handed off in eighth in good position, right off the lead pack, and then Graham ran well - he moved up one spot to seventh," Rand said. "Connor had just run the mile so he was pretty tired and he had some trouble holding onto the front pack. "I got the baton by myself basically - well off the lead pack and well ahead of the ninth and tenth place guys," Rand continued. "I went out fast to try to demoralize the two guys behind me, basically make them think they didn't have a chance to catch me, and then I slowed down quite a bit and just tried to hang on." Tufts' eighth-place finish was just enough for All-American honors - the first for McShane, Beutler and Rose and the third career honor for Rand. "We were going for All-American, and we got that, so we were satisfied with that," Rand said. "The time was slow, but it really doesn't matter at nationals. It was a tough, narrow track, Connor was going off the mile, and then I ran the whole mile leg by myself, so I think we just threw the time out the window and we were all happy with the All-American finish." Marvel was the top finisher for the Jumbos, earning fifth in the 800-meter run to mark his first career All-American performance. After not reaching the finals last indoor season in the event, Marvel was determined to move on this year. On Friday evening, he did just that, crossing the line in 1:53.52 for second in his preliminary heat - the fourth-fastest of the day - to earn one of eight spots in Saturday's finals. "In the trials, we were in the second heat, so we were able to see that the first heat went out fairly quickly, so that put more pressure on us to either run a fast time or get a top-two finish to automatically qualify [for the finals]," Marvel said. "That changed my strategy a little bit. I stayed up towards the front and kicked to get that second automatic spot." Saturday's race was a much slower and more tactical one, and Marvel's 1:54.32 was enough for fifth place. "In the finals, it was a very strategic race. It went out very slowly and then about 400 meters in, everyone started kicking, and it was whoever was in the best position near the leaders, basically it finished in that order," Marvel said. "Obviously I am very happy with it. It was an All-American finish, which was the goal going into the meet." In addition to his DMR effort, Rose notched a second All-American finish on Saturday. Rose had Friday's fifth best mark in the mile preliminaries, crossing the line in 4:13.59 to advance to the 10-man final. The next day, Rose pulled off another strong performance in his third race of the weekend, with a big final kick to move up from 10th to sixth and earn a time of 4:15.85, good enough for sixth.   "Connor had an interesting race," Marvel said. "He found himself in the back early on and I don't think he felt that great, but I think it is a testament to his training that he was able to kick in the last 600 and catch a few people and get that sixth spot." On Saturday, Ajayi added yet another impressive effort to the team's weekend. Ajayi notched a personal best of 48-4 in the triple jump, nearly a foot better than his qualifying jump of 47-5 3/4. The leap earned Ajayi sixth place - a six-spot improvement from his initial seed - and All-American honors in his first trip to nationals. "Gbola had a huge PR [by 30 centimeters] in the first jump in the final, and that was enough to lock up the All-American place," Marvel said. "He was really happy with it. He outperformed his seed by a lot and that's always fun to do." Junior Curtis Yancy competed for Tufts in the weight throw on Friday, but came up short this weekend, fouling on each of his attempts to place 13th. "Curtis had a tough day. He had some good throws that probably would have made finals, but he was just outside of the triangle," Rand said. "It was a good experience for him and he will certainly be back at nationals and get another chance at it." After a successful conclusion to the indoor season, the Jumbos now look ahead to the outdoor competitions in the spring.

Zach Drucker | The Loser

This past weekend, the New York Jets made two decisive moves in one swift action. Jets management extended much maligned starting quarterback Mark Sanchez's contract, solidifying Sanchez's role at the helm of the organization. But this move had a reverberating upshot, since it effectively removed the Jets from the Peyton Manning sweepstakes.

Bittersweet: Jumbos' tournament run ends in heartbreaking fashion with nailbiting loss to Tommies

After trailing by as many as 14 in the second half, the women's basketball team was just one basket away from completing an incredible comeback and upsetting No. 12 St. Thomas in the final minute of Friday night's Sweet 16 game in Chicago. But several late-game miscommunications — both on the court and at the scorers' table — derailed their hopes of taking down the Tommies and ended their historic season. 

Men's Lacrosse | Second-half carries Jumbos past overmatched Continentals

It was a tale of two halves in Saturday's season opener, as the No. 2 men's lacrosse team battled back from a one-goal halftime deficit to outscore Hamilton 10-2 in the final 30 minutes. The Jumbos ultimately defeated the host Continentals 15-8, earning their first victory of the year and giving the hosts their first taste of NESCAC competition.

Women's Lacrosse | Egan's game-winner caps statement win

Nearly 10 minutes into the second half on Saturday, the No. 14 women's lacrosse team was in danger of suffering a bitterly disappointing start to its season. Trailing No. 7 Hamilton 6-3, the Jumbos were consistently getting beaten to loose balls by the NESCAC debutants, and they endured prolonged stretches on defense as the Continentals maintained possession and tried to put the game out of reach.

Women's Track and Field | The art of throwing far

Men's Lacrosse | Tufts looks to silence doubters in season opener at Hamilton

Women's Track & Field | Fantastic four fly to Iowa for NCAA Championships

Women's Lacrosse | Women's lacrosse returns eight seniors, ready to contend

Men's Track & Field | Seven Jumbos to vie for All-American honors at Nationals

Baseball | Veteran presence helps to support youthful revolution

Ultimate Frisbee | E-men number one in national rankings

Men's Tennis | Jumbos set sights on lofty spring season goals

Seasoned seniors and talented juniors in the top spots, and a new coach with an invigorating system, give the men's tennis team considerable promise for their upcoming spring season despite the loss of several starters and a daunting early schedule.

Sam Gold | The OT

The report implicated between 22 and 27 defensive players, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, general manager Mickey Loomis and beloved coach Sean Payton — the man often credited with reinvigorating what was, and in many ways still is, America's most broken major city.