Justin Brandt has been a staple of the Tufts men’s hockey team for the past four years, leading his teammates to success in three competitive seasons. Hailing from the hockey mecca of Ann Arbor, Mich., the senior forward entered his collegiate career looking to simply have the opportunity to keep playing.
The players on the Tufts women’s volleyball team excitedly rushed to celebrate with tears in their eyes, exchanging hugs all around and forming an eventual Jumbo pile of winners on the court. The Brown and Blue had just won their NCAA Regional Championship against the No. 1 nationally ranked team and defending national champions, the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays, in Maryland on Nov. 14.
Last year, the Daily covered the booming pickup basketball scene on the Tufts campus. Particularly when Tufts’ COVID-19 policies were the most restrictive, the consistently packed courts served as a rare beacon of normalcy. Every warm and sunny day, countless full and half-court games were played while skateboarders added to the engaging atmosphere.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford in 2013, Manchester United has endured its worst-ever decade in the club’s modern era. From a side that once boasted the likes of Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona, Paul Scholes and David Beckham, United is a shadow of their former selves. With a squad that includes World Cup winners Raphael Varane and Paul Pogba alongside club legends David de Gea and Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s not so much the names but rather the revered identity that has faded since the Ferguson days. After sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjær in November 2021, Interim Manager Ralf Rangnick has overseen the club and will now be permanently replaced by Dutch manager Erik Ten Hag.
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which annually hosts Wimbledon, one of the world’s most prestigious tennis tournaments, made a historic announcement earlier last month. The organization announced that it would ban all Russian and Belarusian players from the competition due to the two nations’ roles in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War.
After spending the first part of the season in Florida, Tufts softball came back to Medford with the end goal of winning back-to-back NESCAC Championships. Their ace from last season, Kristina Haghdan, is now working as a coach for the Jumbos.
I’ve written about sports for four years now. I joined the Daily’s sports section as a freshman, first taking on game recaps as most early writers do. Eventually I edited, wrote features and started this column. I spent a year as a podcaster. Every year at Tufts, through thick and thin, I have always returned to my desk to write about sports. I’ve approached organized sports from every angle. I’ve broken down trades, given fantasy advice, previewed playoffs and even tried my hand at power rankings.
On Saturday, women’s lacrosse stepped onto Bello Field to take on a dangerous conference opponent in No. 13 Hamilton College. The Jumbos flattened the Continentals in a 21–4 victory, and the seniors shined while their families cheered in the stands on Senior Day. Senior goalie Molly Laliberty spoke about what this win meant to the graduating class.
As the rubble settles from the all-out gauntlet that was the NBA regular season, all sights are set on the postseason. With razor thin margins separating each playoff team in the East, and multiple heavy hitters in the West, it’s time to review the biggest storylines to follow as this year’s NBA Playoffs continue.
The Tufts men’s golf team claimed first place at the Western New England Invitational this past Saturday. Tufts’ top four golfers scored a total of 297 strokes, beating out second place Nichols College, which totaled 310, by 13 strokes.
The Tufts University men’s baseball team swept its two-game series against nonconference opponent University of Massachusetts Dartmouth this past weekend. In a Patriots’ Day doubleheader, the Jumbos were able to soundly defeat the Corsairs in both games. After being swept by Bowdoin Polar Bears the previous weekend, the Jumbos wanted to get back on track with wins against a lower ranked opponent.
Sometimes when you’re watching basketball playoffs, you have to question if what you just saw was real. We, as humans, seek out compelling stories in every sporting event we watch, and the NBA is absolutely brimming with the types of moments that start, end and intensify those stories. No matter what outcome happens, a narrative always emerges or becomes validated as the playoffs march on. So today, I’m looking at and ranking the most compelling stories of the NBA’s remaining squads to see which potential finals winner could create the perfect cap to this wild season of basketball.
The Tufts men’s tennis team played its first home matches of the season last week — facing off against NESCAC rivals Bates College on Thursday and Bowdoin College on Saturday. The Jumbos didn’t drop an individual match in their 9–0 win against the Bates Bobcats and were dominant again on Saturday in an 8–1 win against the Bowdoin Polar Bears.
With just four games left to play, the Vegas Golden Knights’ season is teetering on edge. Yes, the same Golden Knights who had the third best odds to win the Stanley Cup at the year’s commencement, and yes, the same Golden Knights who acquired superstar center Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres in November.
After a close loss to Amherst College on Sunday April 10, the now No. 7 nationally ranked women’s lacrosse team won two straight conference games by large margins. With three uncharacteristic regular season losses already, the Jumbos cannot afford to lose focus with only three games left in the regular season. The Brown and Blue went into the home stretch with big wins over Bates and Wesleyan.
Following their loss against Queens Park Rangers on Monday, Derby County has been relegated to League One. While many relegated teams suffer their fate through poor performances, Derby County’s demise occurred for a special reason.
From sending college coaches emails between homework assignments after school to parents recording hours of game footage on weekends, the college recruiting process takes a lot. As a young adult balancing the dynamics and academics of high school, student-athletes essentially start a campaign, selling their skills and themselves as early as their first year of high school.
The Tufts men’s baseball team continued its run of good form, sweeping its weekend doubleheader against Bates College. Ranked 15th in the nation among Division III teams, the Jumbos have cruised past their competition thus far. With Saturday’s game being postponed due to weather, only two out of three scheduled games were played, but Tufts prevailed both times.
He’s done it again. Trevor Zegras has dropped the jaws of the hockey world. In just his rookie year, Zegras, a 6-foot-0, 185-pound, 21-year-old from Bedford, N.Y. has earned a reputation as one of the most skilled and most creative players in the NHL playing for the Anaheim Ducks. He goes for the deke, the dangle, the spin-o-rama, the lacrosse pass, the no-look shot, all effortlessly. One would think that for a league accused of being outdated at times, this kind of ingenuity would be welcomed, but this hasn’t exactly been the case.
With a 7–2 win at Wesleyan University on Saturday, the Tufts men’s tennis team is now undefeated in their last eight matches. This win also snapped a five-match losing streak against the Cardinals, dating back to the 2015–16 season.
