With 5 billion viewers tuning in for the 2022 tournament, the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup is poised to break every possible record. Held every four years with limited qualification spots, the World Cup represents the pinnacle of soccer. Stars represent their countries in pursuit of the most important trophy of their careers.
With a goal in the second quarter of a March 23 game against Christopher Newport, graduating senior attacker Margie Carden became the all-time leading points scorer in Tufts women’s lacrosse history, breaking a record that had stood for almost 30 years.
When someone’s career profile reads off with top 20 spots in program history in 3-pointers made and points scored, two All-NESCAC seasons and two third team D3hoops.com All-Region 1 acknowledgements, one expects to hear about a journey that was as smooth as the drive down Route 66. Yet, for graduating senior Sofia Gonzalez, this road was windy and unpredictable, but it still left her with everything she could have wanted from her collegiate experience.
A lone white shirt wrestled through a sea of defenders, deftly maneuvering the ball while shrugging off a host of aggressive tackles. Despite his shirt being pulled, the young 5-foot-6-inch winger was unfazed, keeping balance and gliding past his markers before threading a pass to graduating senior forward Anthony Bhangdia, whose shot was deflected back into play and into the path of the tenacious winger who pounced on the loose ball and buried it in the bottom right corner.
For Tufts men’s tennis seniors Vuk Vuksanovic, Derin Acaroglu and Lachie Macintosh[a], the past four years have been about more than sets, stats and standings. Together, they’ve helped build one of the most competitive tennis programs in the country, and along the way, they’ve grown into leaders, teammates and friends whose legacy will be felt long after their last matches are played.
Baltimore Orioles’ Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson once said, “Whether you want to or not, you do serve as a role model. People will always put more faith in baseball players than anyone else.” For young baseball players who matriculate to Tufts and try out for the club baseball team, it is the squad’s seniors, not the professional players in the lofty heights of Major League Baseball, who serve as their role models. In recognition of those seniors’ immense contributions to the program over their four years at Tufts, some of the team’s underclassmen wanted to pay tribute.
The top-ranked Tufts men’s lacrosse team earned a decisive 20–11 victory over Williams in the NESCAC quarterfinals on Bello Field on Saturday. This win not only marks the 14th consecutive victory over Williams but also propels Tufts into the NESCAC semifinals in pursuit of their sixth conference championship in the last seven years.
The Jumbos dropped a tough doubleheader against the Mules on Friday afternoon for their final NESCAC series of the season. A third game was intended to take place on Saturday but was postponed to Sunday due to inclement weather. In a final push to improve their standing in the NESCAC, the Jumbos lost a tough match.
During my junior year, I started writing a column in the sports section about gymnastics. Twenty-five editions later, this column has become one of my favorite things I have written for our paper. Now, I’m graduating, I’m retiring from college sports and I’m closing this chapter of writing for the Daily too.
While April is the month of spring showers, we are truly blossoming into the greatest month of the professional sports calendar year: the NBA playoffs. Big names like Jayson Tatum, Nikola Jokić and, of course, Lebron James generate box office numbers for weeks on end. However, I encourage you to turn to a league which has arguably leapfrogged the NBA in two major categories.
Since this is my last edition of Extra Innings, I want to reflect on one of my favorite baseball memories, which turns 10 years old this year.
This past weekend at DiBenedetto Stadium in Hartford, Conn., was a tough but telling stretch for Tufts baseball — a clear moment of reckoning against NESCAC rival Trinity College. Having three games to make a statement, the Jumbos stumbled early but finished with a dramatic flourish, cinching a victory in the third game after dropping the first two.
Tufts women’s tennis was greeted at home by beautiful weather and a resounding victory. The team barely broke a sweat as they cruised to two 7–0 wins against Connecticut College and Endicott College in one day. The Jumbos first faced off against the Camels, a team that has not beaten Tufts since 2011.
Tufts softball took on Trinity in a doubleheader on Friday and went up against Colby at home on Saturday. On Friday morning, the Jumbos headed down to Hartford, Conn., to take on the Bantams. The first two innings saw both teams stand their ground defensively, with graduate student pitcher Sophia DiCocco ...
It was a day that the Class of 2025 had long been waiting for. Their coronation as one of the winningest classes in Tufts program history was on full display, along with their other accomplishments: a NESCAC title, three NCAA Elite Eight appearances and six All-American nods. On a picture-perfect April afternoon, it looked almost too easy for the Jumbos.
What a week for football! In the UEFA Champions League, we had intense matches and an almost remontada — not by Madrid. Arguably the most exciting game was Aston Villa versus Paris Saint-Germain . PSG had a comfortable aggregate score of 5–1 by the 27th minute, but in the span of just 10 minutes, Villa had closed the gap to 5–4. The French team managed to hold back the British side from the 57th minute in a cardiac game that left PSG fans frightened — but nonetheless victorious. Barça wasn’t particularly on form against B. Dortmund, losing 3–1 (but still beat the Germans 5–3 on aggregate).
While not yet over, the men’s tennis team has produced nothing short of a historic season, defined by intensity and domination. With a 17–1 overall record after taking down Connecticut College and Brandeis University on Saturday, Tufts remains undefeated 8–0 in the NESCAC and will face Colby and Amherst this coming weekend to battle for the top seed in the tournament.
Tufts softball took on Middlebury College and Williams College in two NESCAC double-headers last weekend. Prior to the games, the Jumbos held a 10–10 overall record and a 6–0 conference record.
Echoes of Thierry Henry’s iconic 2006 performance rung throughout the Santiago Bernabéu as Bukayo Saka deftly lifted the ball over an outstretched Thibaut Courtois. Sending the tiny pocket of Arsenal fans tucked away in the steep balconies into delirium, the English starlet had killed any hopes of a classic ‘remontada.’ Real Madrid — the competition’s most decorated club, having won six of the last 11 editions, including last year’s title — had been outclassed.
On April 7, the Los Angeles Dodgers visited the White House to celebrate their 2024 World Series title with President Donald Trump. Just over a week later, they took the field wearing No. 42 for Jackie Robinson Day, honoring the former Dodger who famously broke baseball’s color barrier. In the span of eight days, the same team posed with a president who has championed policies that undermine diversity, equity and inclusion and then celebrated the life’s work of a man who embodied them.
