Sports

Sports

Men’s soccer falls to Middlebury, ending unbeaten run

By Max Druckman | October 26

The Beatles. The 1990s Chicago Bulls dynasty. One Direction. All good things, all came to an end, repeatedly reinforcing the age-old cliché. The Tufts men’s soccer team experienced this harsh reality this past weekend. Their nine-game unbeaten run concluded on Oct. 21, as the Jumbos were defeated 3–0 at the hands of the Middlebury Panthers. The matchup was billed as a clash of the NESCAC’s elite. The Panthers entered the game ranked as the third-best Division III program in the nation, per the United Soccer Coaches poll, and the NESCAC’s top dog, having not lost a game all season. The Jumbos came in as the NESCAC’s No. 2 ranked team, tied with the Amherst Mammoths, who handed them their only previous loss. Thus, in terms of postseason implications, the contest was critical to both sides’ futures.

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Columns

Extra Innings: 2023 World Series preview

By Henry Blickenstaff | October 26

My preseason World Series prediction — Atlanta Braves over Houston Astros — sounded great way back in March, and with both teams having first round byes in the playoffs, it looked pretty good in October, too. But baseball isn’t that easy. The 2023 World Series will instead feature the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s the first time since 1991 that two teams with losing records the year prior have met in the World Series. Here’s the tale of the tape between these two clubs, and my almost certainly inaccurate prediction for the series.

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Football

Tufts football rolls to an on-the-road win against Amherst

By Nick Dohr | October 25

The Tufts Jumbos are getting good at playing football in the rain. The Saturday game against Amherst featured stormy weather, just like every Saturday football game this season. Junior wide receiver Cade Moore commented on the weather they’ve had to manage.

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Columns

Moments ‘til Madness: The best in the sport

By Owen Short | October 24

As the countdown continues to opening day for college hoops, the speculation over the season awards only grows. Anything can happen this year, but for now, these are my 2023-24 preseason individual awards.

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Sports

Michael Berluti: A day in the life on game day

By Nick Dohr | October 23

Junior quarterback Michael Berluti has been a big part of Tufts football for almost the last three seasons. In 2021, he threw for 1,835 yards and 13 touchdowns, and ran for 326 yards and two touchdowns. In his 2022 season, starting all nine games for the Jumbos, he threw for 2,749 yards and 26 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 69.12%, which was first in the NESCAC.

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Sports

Extra Innings: The 2023 postseason makes no sense

By Henry Blickenstaff | October 20

I’m starting to feel like a broken record when I say that baseball is unpredictable, but this postseason has surpassed anything I’ve ever seen. Any and all trends that were established in the regular season have been firmly shattered this October. Here are just a few crazy things that have happened in the 2023 playoffs.

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Columns

The Hard Count: Ugly New York showdown raises questions as Bills top Giants 14–9

By Reece Christian | October 20

The Buffalo Bills faced some unwelcome déjà vu while facing off against the New York Giants in week six. Towards the end of the second quarter, Bills running back Damien Harris suffered a dangerous hit that left him lying on the field for several minutes and required an ambulance to take him to a local hospital.

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Columns

In the Crease: More NHL standings predictions

By Zachary Gerson | October 20

The Montreal Canadiens are clearly continuing their rebuild, which began at the start of last season following their appearance in the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals. Apart from their two young star forwards Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, Montreal does not have any notable pieces, emphasizing the fact that they are eyeing future success, keenly focused on developing their young prospects. The Canadiens finished last season with 68 points. Since the front office did not make any key improvements during the offseason and is focused on their rebuild, the club will finish in about the same spot they did last season.

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Sports

Cross country program shows depth, strength at four-race Conn. College Invitational

By Madeline Mueller | October 19

The Tufts cross country program had a successful weekend at the Connecticut College Invitational. The team provided strong performances in all four races at the invitational, with the men’s team finishing second overall and the women’s team finishing ninth in the more competitively seeded Blue races. The program showed its depth by handily winning the White races across both gender divisions.

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Columns

Sports and Society: Somebody find me a quarterback

By Oliver Fox | October 19

I simply do not believe NFL quarterbacking is this hard.Using my highly-sophisticated data collection system known as recency bias, Week 6 of the 2023 NFL season was the worst single week of quarterback play ever. I have never seen more game-killing interceptions, more ill-advised throws and more boneheaded decisions than I did this past week, and I’m staging an intervention.

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Football

Offense marches football to a big win over the Wesleyan Cardinals

By Nick Dohr | October 19

Parents weekend and the Play for Pink dayhad the Tufts football team fired up, and right out of the gate, the squad was dominant. Under the lights and in front of a big crowd, junior running back Chartellis Reece started off the game for Tufts with an eight-yard carry. Junior quarterback Michael Berluti ran the ball later in the drive, gaining 24 yards and the third first down of the possession. Berluti put a 17-yard pass into the hands of junior wide receiver Cade Moore to send the Jumbos up 7–0. Sophomore kicker Vaughn Seelicke made the extra point. He went seven for seven in PATs on Saturday. 

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Sports

Women’s volleyball beats Williams and Amherst for a successful weekend at home

By Tara Wirtschoreck | October 17

It was an incredibly successful weekend in the Cousens Gymnasium for the Tufts women’s volleyball team. Tufts won two games over the weekend, against Williams on Friday night and Amherst on Saturday afternoon. This pair of NESCAC wins has brought the Jumbos up to a three game winning streak.

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Columns

Moments ‘til Madness: The battle of conferences

By Owen Short | October 13

With the season just weeks away, I created my rankings of the Power-6 conferences for the 2023-24 college basketball season. 6. Pac-12As most would expect, the Pac-12 found itself at the bottom of my rankings. Although none of the conference realignments will affect this season, the conference was already struggling mightily, finishing with just two teams in the top 40 of the 2023 KenPom rankings.

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Sports

Tufts cross country finds success at both DIII Pre-Nationals, NEICAAA Champs

By Madeline Mueller | October 13

In a busy weekend for the Tufts cross country program, the mens’ and womens’ teams competed at two different meets on Oct. 7, sending team members to the NCAA DIII Pre-Nationals Invitational in Pennsylvania and the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Championship in Boston. In a field of nearly 40 teams at Pre-Nationals, the women’s team achieved 13th place and the men came in tenth overall. Back in Boston, the women’s team was 11th at the NEICAAA championship while the men’s team placed fifth.

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Columns

The Hard Count: Brock Purdy and the 49ers distinguish themselves from the top of NFC

By Reece Christian | October 13

In October 2022, the San Francisco 49ers traded four mid-round draft picks for dual-threat running back Christian McCaffrey. A year later, and that trade seems like more and more of a bargain. The Niners destroyed NFC rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, 42–10 on Sunday Night Football, as McCaffrey notched his 14th straight game with at least one touchdown (including four in one game a week ago).

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Columns

In the Crease: NHL standings predictions

By Zachary Gerson | October 13

The Boston Bruins are in a vastly different position to start off this season than they were last. The retirement of legendary centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci leaves Boston with a gaping hole at the center position, where they clearly lack NHL-caliber center depth. Pavel Zacha, the team’s new first-line center, is a solid player, but not an adequate replacement.

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Sports

Men’s soccer defeats Emerson in dramatic fashion on Senior Day

By Max Druckman | October 12

Although it may be cliché, it is often said that those with experience gain the virtues of wisdom, patience and perspective. All of these traits were on display on Saturday as the Tufts men’s soccer team honored its seniors. For 88 of the match’s 90 minutes, the Tufts Jumbos were in a 0–0 deadlock with the Emerson Lions. But thanks to a last-gasp penalty kick from sophomore midfielder Daniel Yanez, the Jumbos were able to celebrate Senior Day with a victory.

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Columns

Extra Innings: Baseball isn’t fair

By Henry Blickenstaff | October 12

The Miami Marlins made the playoffs this year. The San Diego Padres did not. The story could end there, and you’d probably walk away thinking the Marlins were a better team than the Padres. But you’d be mistaken.

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Sports

Women’s volleyball wins decisive 3-set victory against Bates

By Tara Wirtschoreck | October 12

On Saturday, the Tufts’ women’s volleyball team traveled to Lewiston, Maine where they executed a conclusive, three-set victory against Bates. The Jumbos had an incredibly strong showing both offensively and defensively, with 47 total points to the Bobcats’ 17. Tufts also had 34 kills as opposed to Bates’ 14.

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Sports

Stellar defense leads Tufts football to a win in a rainy game against Bowdoin

By Nick Dohr | October 11

The Tufts football team was met with some unwelcome rain during their Saturday game against Bowdoin. Sophomore kicker Vaughn Seelicke described the atmosphere.

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