Baseball season is here, and that means the phone calls from my mom have begun. After nine calls and a few texts on Opening Day, I was forced to tell her that she's no longer allowed to call during games. I promised her that after the game, I'd give her a few of my thoughts from around the league, but only if she'd leave me alone afterward. Here's what I told her:
A single Classics season can turn a cyclist's wildest childhood dreams into a reality or cruelly dash them against the cold, hard cobblestones.
In contrast with the common colloquial phrase, the sailing team may actually have had too much wind in its sails at this past weekend's Southern New England Team Race (SNETR).
The golf team opened up its spring season last weekend, finishing in 12th place out of 14 teams in the Babson College Spring Opener at the Atlantic Country Club in Plymouth. But the Jumbos, who ended the tournament with a two-day total of 670, just one stroke over last year's overall score of 669 -- were facing more changes to start the spring than just the weather.
A little home cooking always seems to ease one's troubles, and the men's lacrosse team decided that a feast was in order when it returned to Bello Field Tuesday night.
I love baseball. I love Opening Day. Anybody familiar with this column probably isn't surprised by this. But something I don't love is the media -- particularly the New York media. It bothers me how just about anything can be blown up so much by the press, and subsequently, the rabid New York fan base.
After sweeping local rival Wellesley out of the water to kick off the spring portion of its season, the women's crew experienced mixed results in a busy weekend full of rowing on the Malden River.
Although last weekend's race against UMass was organized at the last minute, there would be no question heading into this weekend's races on the Malden River that the men's crew would be ready for action.
After the men's lacrosse team's heartbreaking loss to Trinity on Saturday, the then-nationally ranked No. 5 Jumbos hoped that it could be spun as a positive — serving as a reality check to keep the squad grounded and working hard. Based on last night's 15-4 routing of the No. 9 Western New England College (WNEC) Golden Bears, one could say — at the very least — that the Jumbos' fire has been reignited. Senior goalie Matt Harrigan had the best game of his season thus far, making 15 saves and taking charge of a stifling Jumbo defense that gave up its second-lowest goal total this season. Harrigan stepped strong to the ball all night and made several key quick-reaction and body saves that helped smother any hope the Golden Bears had of mounting a comeback. Not to be outdone was WNEC freshman goalie Brewster Knowlton, who had 15 saves himself and did a particularly good job of swallowing bounce shots and keeping his balance for quick clears. Unfortunately for Knowlton, the No. 10 Jumbos hit their stride late in the second quarter as they turned a 4-3 lead into a 9-3 lead in the span of 1:41 heading into the half. Tufts picked up on Knowlton's affinity for the bounce shot and started firing high, well above his 5'6" body, which led to success throughout the night. Sophomore D.J. Hessler, the NESCAC's leading points scorer, added on eight more points to his season total with five goals and three assists. Hessler was both the dealer and recipient of several beautiful lacrosse sequences, including a slow-break goal off a cross-crease pass from junior Zach Groen. Hessler also dished out three assists to classmate and co-attackman Ryan Molloy, including the only two goals scored in the third quarter. See tomorrow's Daily for further coverage.
The women's tennis team gave nationally ranked No. 6 Amherst a serious run for its money yesterday evening at the Gantcher Center. But after opening up a 4-3 lead, the No. 11 Jumbos dropped matches at fifth and sixth singles en route to a narrow 5-4 setback, the team's first NESCAC loss of the season.
The baseball team's non-conference record was helped yesterday afternoon, as the Jumbos beat Brandeis 4-1 in Waltham, improving their overall mark to 6-13 on the year. The Jumbos rode the strong early pitching of starting hurler Chris DeGoti. The freshman pitched four innings, giving up only three hits and no earned runs with two strikeouts. After he exited with a 3-0 lead, sophomore Derek Miller took the mound, throwing 3.2 innings of scoreless ball with two strikeouts while giving up only one hit and two walks. On the offensive side of the plate, the Jumbos led off the second, third and fourth innings with hits and used those early-inning sparks to put single runs on the board in each of those innings. Sophomore Chase Rose showed up big for the Jumbos, knocking a double to lead off in the second and a triple to lead off the fourth and eventually scoring in both innings. Junior designated hitter Nate Bankoff led the Jumbos offensively, racking up two RBIs on a three-for-four effort at the plate. With Rose on third base in the fourth frame after his leadoff triple, Bankoff played the situation right by hitting the ball deep to left field for a sacrifice fly. Senior co-captain Kevin Casey and junior co-captain Alex Perry also chipped in RBIs to the offensive effort, while senior Dave Katzman was perfect at the plate, getting hits in all three appearances. See tomorrow's Daily for further coverage.
0 - The number of games the softball team has lost so far this season. With their win over Trinity on Sunday, the nationally ranked No. 8 Jumbos surpassed the program's longest winning streak of 20 wins set in the 1995-96 season. The 21-0 squad leads the NESCAC East division and represents the conference's only team in the national rankings. Moreover, the Jumbos are the only undefeated team left in Division III play.
The women's lacrosse team did not give Gordon a fighting chance on Tuesday afternoon, silencing the Fighting Scots by a 19-10 margin in non-conference action to record its fourth-straight win and keep pace with NESCAC co-leader Colby.
In a game that matched two teams on a mission, North Carolina found itself fulfilling the wishes of four players who returned after a disappointing Final Four last year to cut down the nets at Ford Field.
The red-hot Jumbos improved to 6-1 on the season and 4-0 in NESCAC play with a pair of wins over conference foes Hamilton and Trinity this weekend. Tufts, currently ranked No. 14 in the country, has now won four straight, its only loss coming to Div. I University of Rhode Island in March. On Sunday, Tufts hosted the now 1-8 Continentals, and despite confusion caused by a move to indoor courts after warmups, the Jumbos played their game and dominated. "We warmed up outside and then ended up going inside," junior captain Meghan McCooey said. "We had to put up the nets, and there were a lot of distractions, but the team was really great at refocusing. We knew they would be scrappy, and we were really focused, which was important to get the win." In doubles, Tufts set the tone with the first and third doubles, winning 8-2 and 8-1, respectively. Sophomore Edwina Stewart and senior Mari Homma fought in a close match that fell in favor of the Continentals 8-6, sending Tufts into singles play up 2-1. The Jumbos excelled in singles on the familiar surface of Gantcher, winning five of six matches in straight sets. The most dramatic spectacle of the day was the No. 3 singles match, in which Hamilton junior Laura Brantley won the first set in a tiebreak, lost the second and then took the match in a super-tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 11-9. Two days prior, the Jumbos played another match on a very different indoor surface against the now 7-4 Trinity Bantams. Thanks to the wise coaching and practicing the week before, Tufts had little trouble adjusting. "The courts were really slow, so we tried to practice outdoors as much as possible this week to get ready, and as a team we adjusted really well," McCooey said. "By the singles matches I think everyone was comfortable with the surface." Playing tennis in the New England spring, the ability to adjust to all court speeds and characteristics is crucial, and this match served as a learning experience for the Jumbos. "The slow courts were good for us because it got us back in the mentality of expecting every single ball back," coach Kate Bayard said. "We were working on pushing Trinity players back and using the short court. The slice really just stopped wherever it landed. It worked to some degree, but Trinity players used that a little more effectively than we did." The Jumbos started out strong, taking two of three doubles matches to begin play. McCooey and sophomore Julia Browne won handily by a score of 8-1 and continued their reign of dominance. The duo won the ITA National Small College Championship in October and since then has run over their opponents, going 5-0 thus far this year. Stewart and Homma once again paired up and won 8-3, while Tufts' No. 2 doubles team was defeated 8-5. "Playing together in the fall and winning the National Championship gave us a lot of confidence, but we expect more from each other every match," McCooey said. "We are trying to be aggressive, poach more and set each other up. We want to go on offense and take control of points." "Their intensity every practice is so high," Bayard said of McCooey and Browne. "I think for the rest of the team to see two players who won a National Championship and to be right there practicing with them every day, it rubs off and sets high standards." After heading into singles up 2-1, Tufts went on to get two quick wins from Browne and McCooey at No. 1 and No. 2, and the match appeared to be in the bag. But after going up 4-1, Tufts fell in close matches at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots to suddenly put the Jumbos just two points from their second defeat of the year. "We got four [points] really early, but they started coming back in singles and it turned into a really close match," McCooey said. "The last two matches that were pretty intense were [Mari's] and [freshman Jennifer LaCara's]. Jen was really mentally tough, and Mari was so focused and intense out there. Mari got the clincher, and then Jen stayed tough and got the win. It was good for the team's confidence to win a close match like that." Tufts took the last two singles matches to bring to a close the five-hour indoor marathon of tennis and remain undefeated in NESCAC play this year. "On any given day some members of the team might be more on than others," Bayard said. "That's the sign of a mentally tough team — when some aren't playing their absolute best, others can pick it up. That match tested us, and I felt like we worked through it as a team." After the two solid wins this weekend, Tufts will face a top-notch opponent this afternoon as it takes on Amherst at 4 p.m. The Lord Jeffs are ranked No. 6 in the nation and boast a 9-1 record this season, their only loss coming to Williams. For the first time this season, Tufts will go into a match as the slight underdog, but the Jumbos are not planning to play that way. "This weekend was definitely a good way to gain some confidence going into these matches," McCooey said. "The wins gave us some confidence, but we recognize that these teams are only going to get stronger and they badly want to beat us, so we will have to work really hard to keep winning."
With another two NESCAC matches under its belt, the men's tennis team has taken the good with the bad. The Jumbos grabbed a 7-2 win on Sunday against Hamilton after falling 8-1 at the hands of Bowdoin on Saturday. On Sunday, the nationally ranked No. 30 Jumbos took to the Voute Courts to take on NESCAC foe Hamilton in their fourth home match of the season. Last year, Tufts swept the Continentals 9-0, beating the fledging squad handily. This year, while not managing a shutout, Tufts did come away with a decisive victory. The Tufts squad found its most formidable Continentals opponents in doubles action. After Tufts secured wins in the first and second doubles matches, the freshly minted Jumbo team of freshman Kai Victoria and sophomore Jared Glick faced off against Hamilton sophomores Peter Erwin and Mike Moreno. In a tight game of back-and-forth play, Erwin and Moreno had a late break of serve to secure a 9-7 win over the Jumbo tandem, sending the match into singles action with a close 2-1 Tufts lead. "We shifted our lineup in the Hamilton match, which may have had an impact in doubles," junior tri-captain Daniel Landers said. "We had a close match at No. 3 with Kai and Jared, who have never played together. Also, [freshman Morrie Bossen] and Jon played at No. 2 doubles, which they haven't done before. I thought [Hamilton] was a decent team in doubles and we had some close matches with them. In singles, though, we are a much stronger team and we found easier wins in those matches." The Jumbos were challenged by near-gale-force winds that weakened their typically powerful serves. "These matches were close because of the windy conditions, which neutralized our serves," Landers said. "In doubles, the serve is a key component, and losing it can really throw off a match." In singles play, the sole Hamilton victory came from Moreno once again, as he edged out freshman Sam Laber in the No. 4 position. The Jumbos dealt with the Continentals in straight sets in all five other singles matches, sending Hamilton packing with a 1-6 overall record. In Saturday's matchup against the defending NESCAC champion and national No. 11 Polar Bears, the Jumbos had an opportunity to shatter their NESCAC rival's ranking and elevate their own in turn, but they were quickly put on ice with the 8-1 decision. In doubles play, Tufts found little success in upsetting its opponents, but its losses could in part be attributed to the less-than-ideal surface of the indoor courts that skewed the Jumbos' ability to predict ball movement. Moreover, lineup changes — pairing Victoria and Glick for the first time and moving Trott and Bossen to the No. 3 position — may have been too much for a Tufts squad that had to adapt to Bowdoin's talented lineup. "I don't think Kai and Jared have played together before this match, and I think they played well under the conditions," said Landers, who lost 8-4 at No. 2 doubles with sophomore Paul Kohnstamm. "I thought that we were a bit unlucky because we had to play the doubles matches indoors, and they have incredibly slow courts, and the ball bounces awkwardly on the surface. Even though doubles weren't very close, it wasn't because our team was substantially less talented. "We didn't get much out of our serves on the indoor surface while Bowdoin was used to playing on its courts and served effectively on them," he continued. "This was best seen in singles because we played outdoors for those matches. Except for a couple matches, most of the games were pretty close and I think we matched up well with a team that has won NESCACs in the past and leads the conference." After heading into singles play with a 3-0 lead, the 8-3 Polar Bears secured their sixth consecutive win by nixing the Jumbos' top three singles players in straight sets. In the No. 2 position, junior tri-captain Jon Trott grappled with shoulder pains during his 6-1, 6-1 loss, and in the No. 1 position, sophomore Jake Fountain put up a fight but lost 6-3, 6-4 against Bowdoin sophomore Stephen Sullivan, who competed in the doubles championship game of the ITA Tournament last fall. At the bottom of the singles lineup, Tufts battled hard, with sophomore Tony Carucci and freshman Garrett Schuman sending their matches to super-tiebreakers in the No. 4 and 5 spots before falling to their opponents. In his first collegiate start, Laber forced a decisive third set in the No. 6 position against Bowdoin senior Alex White, who was the other half of the ITA doubles runner-up team. In the 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision, Laber secured the sole singles victory for the Tufts squad. "I think it was important for our team to show Bowdoin that we are capable of playing competitively with the higher-ranked teams," Landers said. "They are just outside the top 10 in the country, and they're a part of the group of teams in the NESCAC that are just amazing. To have close matches against them that could've gone either way shows us that under different circumstances, we could've been in a really close match." Finding themselves at 7-4 with just three conference matches remaining, the Jumbos look ahead to their non-conference matchup with the 8-6 Vassar Brewers on Friday and their NESCAC match against the national No. 5 Williams Ephs on Saturday as crucial to improving their ranking and giving a final push before closing the season. Last season, Tufts pulled off a close 5-4 win against the Brewers, which may have been closer than expected due to the loss of key starters from the lineup because of scheduling conflicts. The Ephs have a long history of success, at one point having won 11 consecutive NESCAC titles and three NCAA championships. But after recording close matches against other top-ranked opponents, the Jumbos are not ready to rule out the possibility of an upset. "Williams is one of the top teams we play this season," junior Andrew Rosen said. "They're obviously a really talented group, and we haven't had the best history playing them. However, two years ago we won two out of three doubles matches, and while we lost the match as a whole, it was important for our mindset going into singles. If we can come out and pick up some wins in doubles, that'll put us in the right state of mind in singles … Anything can happen."
While the Tufts softball team keeps racking up wins, it is also earning accolades along the way. Senior pitcher Lauren Gelmetti is the latest member of the undefeated Jumbos (21-0, 6-0 NESCAC) to garner a NESCAC award, winning the conference's Pitcher of the Week honor. The lefty was sensational over the past week, winning games versus Springfield, Bridgewater State and Trinity. Gelmetti saved the best for last this weekend, coming one out away from no-hitting the Bantams. She struck out three batters and did not allow a runner to reach scoring position until the last inning. She also shut out Bridgewater State in a five inning mercy rule game that the Jumbos won 14-0 on Thursday. Over the course of the week, Gelmetti let up just six hits in 16 innings, striking out 12 batters with an ERA of just 0.56. The stellar run brought her season numbers to a 1.39 ERA, fifth in the NESCAC, and helped bring her record to 9-0. She also improved her career winning percentage to .837, the best in Tufts history. Gelmetti and the Jumbos will try to stay perfect this weekend with a trio of games at home versus Colby.
They say that pitching wins baseball games, and that's what Trinity proved against Tufts this weekend. Well, with some help from a walk-off home run. The Bantams swept the Jumbos in Hartford, Conn. over the weekend on the strength of three complete-game pitching performances. The closest game came in the second half of a doubleheader on Sunday when the score was tied 1-1 before Trinity's senior co-captain catcher Sean Killeen led off the bottom of the ninth with a game-winning home run. The losses drop the Jumbos to 2-4 in the NESCAC competition and 5-13 overall, while the Bantams improve to 6-0 in the conference and 15-3 overall. "It was tough, especially to come so close [in the last game]," junior co-captain Alex Perry said. "[Senior pitcher Mike] Stefaniak pitched a heck of a game; to lose like that was tough. It just topped off the whole series. It was definitely a little down, but we have a game [today], so we have a quick turnaround and can get ready for that." Stefaniak pitched eight innings of six-hit ball while striking out four against a Trinity offense that leads the NESCAC in on-base percentage and is third with 8.56 runs per game. But he was matched inning-for-inning by Trinity sophomore Andrew Janiga, who went the full nine innings while also allowing six hits and tallying four punchouts. "I think the coaching staff did a great job with the scouting report, and Perry called a great game," Stefaniak said. "Every time I hit my spot, they didn't hit it. But they're a great team at hitting mistakes, and when I made one, they hit it." The Jumbos got on the board first in the top of the fourth when freshman second baseman Sam Sager hit a one-out double and junior first baseman Corey Pontes hit another two batters later to drive him in. Unfortunately for Tufts, the Bantams answered right back in the bottom of the frame, as senior second baseman Ryan Piacentini led off the inning with a solo home run to tie it up. From that point on, Tufts would not score again, but it was not for lack of opportunities. The team managed to get a runner on third with two outs in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings, but each time, he failed to score. With the score tied heading into the bottom of the ninth, Killeen, who was first team All-NESCAC and All-New England last year, hit his fourth homer of the year to tie him for the conference lead and win the game. "That was just a missed location," Stefaniak said. "It was supposed to be away, and it got too much of the plate. Believe me, I wish I could have that pitch back." Before dropping the second game of the twinbill, the Jumbos were not close to beating the Bantams. They lost the first game of the series on Saturday by a score of 7-1 and then dropped the next contest on Sunday 11-5. Trinity's starter on Saturday, junior Jeremiah Bayer, went nine innings, striking out nine and allowing six hits to improve to 5-0, while the Bantams' first starter on Sunday, freshman James Ramsey, allowed five runs on five hits and five walks over seven innings but struck out seven on his way to improving to 4-0. "It's just not playing as a team, not being able to do what needs to get done at the right time," Perry said. "Outside of the pitching, I thought we didn't really play team baseball. That's just kind of been how our season's been so far. We need to come together and play team ball and play how we're told and how we're coached, which we haven't done up to this point." Still, that's not to say that there were no positives to be taken out of the series. "Hopefully we can use it as some sort of momentum," Stefaniak said. "We at least gave them a good game. We have another game [today], so hopefully we can get back on the winning track. We gave them a good game, but it would've been nice to win." Tufts will travel to Brandeis today at 3 p.m. and will then face NESCAC West opponent Middlebury in four games over the weekend. The Panthers are last in their division with a conference record of 1-4 and an overall mark of 6-7. The Jumbos last played them in 2006, when they lost all four contests — three by only one run. "We're not going to hold anything back going into these games," Perry said. "We're not going to keep the losses in the back of our minds. We're going to come out and attack them and hopefully come out with wins this weekend."
In the late stages of the Western Conference battle for playoff position, one team that may have gone under the radar thus far this season, despite currently holding the second seed, are the surging Denver Nuggets. Although they are only separated from the sixth seed by four games, the Nuggets are hitting their stride at the perfect time. Since March 11, the Nuggets have won 12 of 13 games, including their last seven. During this 13-game span, the Nuggets are putting up 113.1 points per game and averaging close to 40 percent shooting from three-point range. Their only vulnerability is on the defensive end, where they are giving up 100.6 points per game to opponents on the year. But they have grasped the concept that their stellar offense is their defense, and it seems to be working. The early November trade that sent Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons for point guard Chauncey Billups has proven to be one of the best moves of the season for any team, and it has had the opposite effect for the Pistons. Billups, who earned the nickname "Mr. Big Shot" during his championship run with Detroit, has done nothing but produce positive results for the Nuggets all season. Averaging 18.0 points and 6.4 assists per game, Billups has brought his incredible court savvy and leadership to the Nuggets roster. He spreads the ball throughout the offense and is a deadly outside shooter when left open. Although Billups runs the offense from the point, the offensive flow goes through dynamic small forward Carmelo Anthony. Now in his sixth year with Denver, Anthony has become one of the NBA's elite scorers. The man who is responsible for almost singlehandedly leading Syracuse to a national championship his freshman year is averaging 22.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Carmelo is a truly unique talent; standing at 6'8", 230 pounds, he has the body to post up power forwards, the athleticism to drive the lane and the outside touch to step back and shoot the three. Shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range, 'Melo has come into his own and has blossomed since Billups' arrival in Denver. The biggest contributor of late is fifth-year man J.R. Smith, who has averaged 24.4 points per game since the beginning of March, almost 10 points per game higher than his season average. At 6'6", 220 pounds, the two-time dunk contest participant has a special combination of raw athleticism and shooting ability that gives the Nuggets a serious third option on the offensive end. Kenyon Martin and Nene, who are combining for over 26 points and almost 14 rebounds per game this season, head the Nuggets' frontcourt. Martin, the last No. 1 overall pick to stay all four years in college, has had his share of injury problems again this year but provides the Nuggets with an athletic 6'9" body who plays two or three inches taller than he is. Nene, the seven-year veteran out of Brazil, is the Nuggets' only center and has developed into a solid post option. If the playoffs were to start today, the Nuggets would host the Utah Jazz, another run-and-gun team that can put up over 100 points a night with ease. The Nuggets match up well with Jazz, who are led by one of the league's best young point guards in Deron Williams. Two-time All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer will present a formidable test for Martin, and athletic swingman Ronnie Brewer will match up well with Smith. The Nuggets should be able to prevail and advance to the second round, but they will absolutely need to improve their defense if they want to have a chance against the reigning Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers.
In five career seasons of track and field preceding Saturday's Skyhawk Invitational, hosted by Stonehill, junior Logan Crane had hit plenty of NCAA provisional qualifiers. Saturday's, however, was different.
