Sports

Sports

NCAA Championship Qualifiers

March 9

On Monday, the NCAA officially released the names of the athletes who qualified to compete in its National Championship events. Nine members of the men's swimming and diving team and one from the women's team will be representing Tufts, while five from the men's indoor track and field squad and two from the women's will contest their own events. Here are the athletes who will be representing the Jumbos in the upcoming championships: Men's Swimming and Diving Andrew Altman (400- and 800-yard freestyle relays) Zed Debbaut (200-yard medley, 400-yard medley relay, 100-yard breaststroke) Michael Del Moro (200-yard medley, 400-yard medley relay, 100-yard backstroke) Gordy Jenkins (200-yard freestyle relay) Patrick Kinsella (200-yard medley, 200-, 400- and 800-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard medley relay, 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard freestyle) Rob Matera (1- and 3-meter dive) David Meyer (400- and 800-yard freestyle relay) Owen Rood (50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard medley, 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard medley relay) E.J. Testa (200- and 800-yard freestyle relay) Women's Swimming and Diving Lindsay Gardel (1- and 3-meter dive) Men's Track and Field Ben Crastnopol (Distance medley relay) Jared Engelking (Pentathlon) Jesse Faller (DMR, 5,000 meters) Billy Hale (DMR) Matt Tirrell (DMR) Women's Track and Field Nakeisha Jones (Triple jump) Amy Wilfert (1 mile run)

---

Sports

Men's Lacrosse Feature | Remarkable duo leading Jumbos, each other into history books

March 9

When one has a conversation with juniors D.J. Hessler and Ryan Molloy, the only thing that stands out is what typical Tufts students they are. Hessler, standing at 6−foot−1 and a generous 175 pounds, is a chemical engineer who graduated high school near the top of his class. Molloy, 5−foot−9 and tipping the scales at 180, is a quick−witted economics major who isn't afraid to make himself the punch line.

---

Sports

NESCAC Men's Lacrosse | Champion Cardinals, powerhouse Panthers lead conference

March 9

As the men's lacrosse team gears up for its season−opener this Saturday, and preseason Div.−III rankings place four NESCAC teams within the top 20 in the nation — Middlebury, Tufts, Wesleyan and Bowdoin — what is in store for the Jumbos this time around? The Daily has compiled a round−up of where each NESCAC team stands in one of the most competitive conferences in the nation:

---

Sports

Squash | Koo, Gross represent Tufts at Individual Championships

March 8

In this past weekend's College Squash Association's Individual Championships, juniors Valerie Koo and Alex Gross made the trip to Trinity College, coming home with mixed results.

---

Sports

Inside the NBA | Will Parker's injury knock out Spurs?

March 8

If it seems odd to be considering the potential demise of a team that was on a four−game winning streak heading into last night's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and is closer to creeping up on the team with the second−best record in the West, the Dallas Mavericks, than giving up a playoff spot, that's because it is.

---

Sports

Daily Digits

March 8

9 - Members of the men's swimming and diving team who qualified for the NCAA National meet when the qualifiers were announced on midnight this Monday. Sophomore Owen Rood leads the pack of Tufts swimmers with a No. 2 seed in the 50-yard freestyle and also was seeded seventh in the 100-yard free. The Jumbos also earned the sixth seed in two separate relays — the 200-yard medley and freestyle — while senior Rob Matera qualified on the diving board and hopes to earn repeat All-American honors.

---

---

Sports

Women's Track and Field | Jones shines at weekend ECAC championships

March 7

It wasn't her best performance of the season, but sophomore Nakeisha Jones did enough to come in first in the triple jump, leading the women's track and field team to its best finish in the ECAC Championships since the 2006−07 season.

---

Sports

Women's Basketball | Tufts gives Kean a scare before falling in NCAA Tourney

March 7

There were at least a few moments on Saturday evening in Union, N.J. when it appeared that the women's basketball team might be able to give powerhouse Kean a serious case of March Madness.

---

Sports

Men's Track and Field | Distance medley relay hits NCAA auto qualifier

March 7

In its final weekend to qualify for nationals, the men's track and field team's distance medley relay (DMR) did more than that: It set a new school record by running an impressive 14 seconds faster than it did last weekend to hit the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships.

---

Sports

Inside Spring Training | Orioles pitching staff improving after dreadful decade

March 7

During spring training, hope springs eternal for all 30 MLB teams, regardless of their chances of contending in the coming season. Such is life at the Baltimore Orioles camp in Sarasota, Fla., even though the O's finished the 2009 campaign with the worst record in the American League (64−98).

---

Sports

Squash | Gross, Koo head to CSA Individuals

March 4

In this weekend's College Squash Association (CSA) Individual Championships, the country's best talent will travel to Trinity College to compete for an individual crown. Among the competitors, juniors Alex Gross and Valerie Koo are expected to make the trip to represent Tufts in bracket play, which is divided into divisions based on individual national rankings.

---

Sports

Ice Hockey | Tufts sees best season in NESCAC era

March 4

Despite a season−ending 6−2 loss to Middlebury College in the NESCAC Tournament quarterfinals, the Tufts ice hockey team finished with its best campaign in nine years and a conviction that next year will be even better.

---

Sports

All-NESCAC Basketball | Women rack up slew of top prizes, Pierce earns men's honor once more

March 3

The NESCAC announced its all−conference selections in men's and women's basketball on Wednesday, and the Jumbos were prominently represented. A look at Tufts' honorees:

---

Sports

Inside NCAA Basketball | Shakeup at the top moves Syracuse to No. 1

March 3

Kansas, Kentucky and Purdue, the former top three teams in the nation, were upset in a matter of 36 hours this past weekend. First, No. 2 Kentucky went down on Saturday afternoon, followed hours later by No. 1 Kansas. Then No. 3 Purdue scored only 44 points on Sunday afternoon and turned in one of its worst performances in recent memory. When all the rubble had settled, Syracuse had established itself as the No. 1 team in the nation. However, with the 2010 NCAA Tournament only weeks away, no team has truly emerged as a favorite.

---

Sports

Inside the NBA | Another tight MVP race garners much debate

March 3

Every year, no matter who is playing well or what teams seem to be dominating the NBA, there is always debate over who should win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the league.

---

Sports

Inside NESCAC Men's Basketball | Young Middlebury squad looking to make waves at NCAAs

March 3

Last year, the Middlebury men's basketball squad enjoyed one of the best years in the program's 92−year history. The team — which was led by NESCAC Player of the Year Ben Rudin — had cruised to its first conference title in school history and headed into the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 9 in the nation on the strength of a 24−3 record.

---

Sports

Ethan Landy | Call Me Junior

March 2

Outside of the awesome Phoenix Suns hat I lost when I was five, the first memories I have relating to sports all occurred in 1994. I was six then, and attended the first three sporting events that I can recall.

---

Sports

American Athletes | It's Miller time: Ryan, Bode lead Team USA to top of podium

March 2

For the red, white and blue, the Vancouver games were a magical run. Team USA had successful results across the board, from Nordic combined to ice hockey, ending up with 37 total medals, a Winter Olympics record. It was also the first time the United States has led the medal count in the winter games since 1932 in Lake Placid. The Daily takes a look at the top five American athletes at the center of the success.

---

Sports

Looking Ahead | Intriguing storylines already emerge for 2014

March 2

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics contained all the excitement, heartbreak and pride necessary to make it an instant classic. Now that one of the most successful and ground−breaking Winter Olympics of all−time has drawn to a close on Sunday, the Daily takes a look ahead at the 2014 Olympics, to be held in Sochi, Russia.

---

Sports

Surprises | Five performances that caught us off guard

March 2

In the Olympics, just like any other sporting event, there are favorites and underdogs. Some countries have established reputations of winning in figure skating and bobsled, while others are happy just to come away with a medal. During the 17 days of competition in Vancouver, streaks were snapped, and upsets were plentiful. Here are the five biggest surprises of the 2010 Winter Games.

---