USA Gymnastics’ Winter Cup kicked off over the weekend in Louisville, Ky. This event was the first major domestic competition of the 2024 Olympic year. The Winter Cup traditionally serves as an option for athletes to test out new skills and begin the season at a competition with less pressure.
I am well aware that just last month, I went on a tirade claiming that baseball was broken because of the lack of spending limits. But, just because I don’t like the system doesn’t mean certain teams aren’t stupid for not taking advantage of it. Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs — I’m looking at you.
The Tufts women’s swim and dive team took second place out of 11 teams at the 2024 NESCAC Championship Meet held at Middlebury College, scoring 1,628.5 points over the course of four days, outsourcing all but winner Williams College. The team was led by two first-place finishes from senior Jillian Cudney in the 100-freestyle and sophomore Quinci Wheeler in the 50-breaststroke. Wheeler set a NESCAC record in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 28.47. Several Tufts’ team records were also set in competition.
Last weekend, Tufts men's hockey finished the regular season with a win against the Bowdoin Polar Bears and a tie against the Colby Mules, keeping them at No. 3 in the NESCAC with a 9–7–2 NESCAC record. Tufts started their weekend on the road with a strong 3–1 victory over Bowdoin. It was an important weekend for the Jumbos, who needed to maintain a seed of fourth or better in the NESCAC to host a playoff game this weekend.
Whether it’s on the field or in the newsroom, the Daily has been gifted with its share of writers who exhibit leadership qualities on multiple fronts. As sports journalists and varsity athletes, these writers are outstanding examples of passion-driven individuals dedicated to delivering quality work and lifting others around them. Ananda Kao (LA’22) and Keila McCabe, who served as executive sports editors in fall 2021 and 2022, respectively, shared their experiences with the Daily.
Throughout its history, the Daily has primarily focused on coverage of professional or Tufts basketball. In celebration of Daily Week, I aim to reflect on how the Daily gave me the opportunity to write about a passion of mine, college basketball, and in turn, how my column has contributed to the sports section of the Daily.
On Feb. 3, the Jumbos women’s basketball team welcomed the Bowdoin Polar Bears to Cousens Gymnasium on Senior Day. Though the Polar Bears emerged victorious with a final score of 77–63, the Jumbos showed that they could compete with the NESCAC’s top dog.
PECOTA stands for Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm. It’s a fancy way of describing a system used by the organization Baseball Prospectus to predict the MLB standings in a given season, which it does every year. Let’s just say I’m not too crazy about the algorithm — and not just because it doesn’t have the Chicago Cubs winning the National League Central. These are, in my opinion, the five most insane PECOTA projections from this year’s iteration.
The Tufts women’s and men’s track competed in the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Gordon Kelly Invitational last Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Jumbos proved themselves a force to be reckoned with, as they recorded strong finishes and held their own against D1 competition.
The women’s basketball team dropped two road games this weekend to conference opponents Wesleyan and Trinity. The two losses will put the team’s regular season record at 11–12. Prior to its last weekend of NESCAC play, the Jumbos came off a four-game losing streak, including a triple overtime loss to the Middlebury Panthers. With a tall task of shifting momentum and — on Saturday — clinching NESCAC Tournament entry with a win against Trinity, Tufts ultimately came up short.
Tufts men’s basketball looked to conclude their regular season on a high note in games against Wesleyan Cardinals and Trinity Bantams over the weekend. Walking into the Friday evening game, the Jumbos knew they needed a win against the Cardinals in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Cardinals sat at 12–10 for the season going into Friday, while the Jumbos had the record of 17–5.
This week’s focus is on the Norris Trophy, which is awarded to the best defenseman of the NHL season.
Here are my big questions for every conference in the college basketball Power 6.
It’s Aug. 18, 2023. My friend and I had bought last-minute tickets to see the Chicago Cubs play the Kansas City Royals at Wrigley Field. A Cubs win should have been a safe bet — they had been playing good baseball since mid-July, but more importantly, Kansas City was an abysmal 39–84. Unfortunately, Bobby Witt Jr. had other ideas.
The singular thing I’m most excited for as the elite domestic season begins in the lead-up to the Olympics is Gabby Douglas’ elite comeback. Douglas competed in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first Black woman to win the Olympic All-Around with her 2012 victory.
In April 2021, the NCAA decided that first-time transfer student-athletes would be able to immediately suit up for their new schools, eliminating the one-year sit-out policy. Just a couple of months later, the NCAA suspended its prior rules on name, image and likeness that restricted players from receiving any compensation. The combination of these two significant changes to college athletics made for a whole new landscape in college basketball, along with other highly competitive sports.
This weekend, the Tufts men’s ice hockey team played against Connecticut College twice. This proved to be the second chance the Jumbos needed. After losing 4–3 in overtime at home against the Camels on Friday night, the Jumbos came back with a 4–0 win on Saturday in New London, Conn. to show that Friday night was an anomaly.
“Messi mashed on Merseyside.” If Anfield had ever dreamt of hearing a sweeter line, that dream was unfolding tenfold. A corner of traveling Catalan fans were left speechless as a sea of red chanted on. Although Peter Drury is often lauded as the master of modern commentary, it was Darren Fletcher who uttered those words. And he hadn’t planned it.
Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams triumphed over Hamilton College on Friday. The women’s team won 175–113, and the men’s team won 166–109. The meet, the last home meet of the year, also served as an opportunity to celebrate Senior Night and honor the 19 swimmers and divers in the Class of 2024.
The men’s basketball team braved the cold for a pair of conference matchups against the Colby College Mules and Bowdoin College Polar Bears last weekend. They fell by a single bucket to the Mules, but the next day they then iced out the Polar Bears to end the trip with a win.
