On Sunday, Aug. 29, high school football powerhouse IMG Academy defeated Bishop Sycamore High School 58–0. This was not an ordinary game. After their defeat, investigations into Bishop Sycamore began to bring its predatory practices to light.
Tufts field hockey traveled to nearby Babson College for its first away game of the season on Tuesday. This non-conference matchup featured two top-20 opponents: TheJumbos were ranked No. 3 and the Beavers No. 13 nationally. The Jumbos entered the match undefeated with a 4–0 record and the Beavers 6–1, with their only loss against Middlebury College. However, after 68 minutes of play, the Jumbos ultimately fell to the Beavers 1–0 in overtime.
Tufts women's soccer braved the rain on Tuesday night for an under-the-lights game against Wesleyan, which ultimately resulted in the Jumbos’ first NESCAC loss of the season. Both the Jumbos and the Cardinals had been undefeated in the league going into the game, generating a highly anticipated and hard-fought game for both teams. While Tufts was able to tie it up 1–1 in the 23rd minute, the team ceded to Wesleyan with a final score of 3–1. The Jumbos dropped to 4–2 on the season and 2–1 in NESCAC play.
There’s something I need to get off my chest. Players’ transfer fees should not be used to assess the quality of a soccer player in modern soccer. Here’s why.
Tufts football welcomed fans back to Ellis Oval for the first time on their new turf field on Saturday where they hosted the Williams College Ephs. The new synthetic turf field was recently installed as part of a $2.7 million renovation project. After a tightly fought battle, the Jumbos ultimately fell to the Ephs 32–29 in overtime, bringing their record to 0–2 on the season.
Tufts men’s golf placed fourth out of 16 teams after one round in the Bowdoin Invitational this past weekend. The Jumbos faced eight NESCAC opponents, giving them a good baseline for what to expect from conference competition in the spring. Trinity’s (294) top four scores placed them in first for the weekend, followed by Husson (297), Middlebury (299) and then Tufts (303) in the fourth spot. Due to bad weather, the second day of the tournament was canceled. So far for its fall season, the squad has golfed in three invitationals, placing seventh of 22, first of four and fifth of 18, respectively. Junior Kemp Bassett said the season has already shown great promise.
It's stretches like these that make me contemplate why I cheer for the Red Sox. In the most important part of the season, the Red Sox have failed to play disciplined baseball; there is no passion, no effort and no emotion on this baseball team. This weekend's series against the New York Yankees underscored the Red Sox's season: uninspiring. With their most recent loss to the last-place Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox perilously hold the second-place wild card spot in the American League, with the spunky Seattle Mariners and dangerous Toronto Blue Jays nipping at their heels.
Coming off of a five set match where Wesleyan handed Tufts volleyball its first defeat of the season, the Jumbos had a few days to sharpen their skills in preparation for three consecutive road games. Tufts fell to Springfield College 3–1 last Thursday before defeating Bowdoin 3–1 and Maine Maritime Academy 3–0 in Brunswick on Saturday. These three games brought the Jumbos to 8–2 on the season and 2–1 in NESCAC play.
Let me make one thing clear: Rookie quarterbacks are not treated fairly in the world of sports criticism.
Tufts men’s soccer faced its first double overtime of the season, ending the 110 minutes of play in a 1–1 draw at Colby on Saturday, moving the Jumbos’ record to 5–0–1 on the season. A strong defensive game from both teams, Tufts fought back from a Colby goal late in the first half to tie it with four minutes left in regulation. However, neither team was able to find the back of the net throughout both periods of overtime.
After a breakout 2019 season, where Tufts University women’s Soccer danced to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet Sixteen, the Jumbos began their 2021 season with NESCAC title hopes, and their performances so far have rarely disappointed.
Sports fans, by definition, are hopeless and idealistic reactionaries. We sit glued to our seats, trying to extrapolate the bigger picture of the individual decisions, games and players that we watch.
Returning to competition for the first time since 2019, Tufts field hockey kicked off its season against conference foe Williams at Ounjian Field on Sept. 11. The Jumbos entered the match ranked fourth in the nation, while the Williams Ephs ranked 10th in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's preseason poll. Now four games into the 2021 season, the Jumbos boast a perfect record of 4–0, outscoring their opponents with an impressive 18–1.
This week, the men’s soccer team stayed hot, defeating Brandeis University and Salem State University. Tufts showcased an offensive outburst on Saturday, netting four goals and blanking Brandeis. The Jumbos followed up this performance by putting in five more goals on Tuesday night en route to a 5–1 victory over the Salem State Vikings.
The Tufts men’s and women’s cross country teams looked robust at the Bates Super XC Shootout meet on Saturday, continuing their excellent start to the season. Both finished second overall, with a number of strong individual finishes among the men and women’s teams.
This past weekend, both Jumbo tennis teams left their home courts adjacent to Harleston Hall for competitions that spanned the entire weekend. While Tufts men's tennis trekked to Middlebury to face off against five other teams, Tufts women's tennis commuted to nearby Cambridge for a four team tournament at MIT.
Volleyball split games this weekend, winning 3–0 over Connecticut College on Friday night and losing 3–2 to Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon. The team now stands at 6–1 on the season after facing its first NESCAC competition of the season in the Connecticut College Camels and the Wesleyan Cardinals. Friday night’s match was quickly won in three by the Jumbos (25–16, 25–18, 25–10). Saturday’s match against the Cardinals was long and extremely competitive, with many back-and-forth scores throughout five sets (20–25, 25–11, 21–25, 34–32, 13–15).
While watching the U.S. Open finals on Sunday, Sept. 12, many Tufts students may have recognized a familiar face on the court. Junior Sam Brill was frequently caught by ESPN's cameras standing directly behind Novak Djokovic or Daniil Medvedev, serving as a ball boy for the historic match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Brill did not simply stumble upon this gig — working a match on the biggest stage in tennis was over six years in the making for him.
Tufts football played its first game in 679 days on Saturday afternoon at Trinity College to begin the 2021 NESCAC football season. The Trinity College Bantams are the NESCAC football record champions, with nine titles, whereas the Jumbos have yet to capture their first. The Bantams had not lost an opening-day game since 1995 until 2019, when the Jumbos stunned the then-reigning NESCAC champions in an epic defensive effort at Ellis Oval. This marked the Tufts football program’s first victory over the Bantams since 2007. On Saturday, however, the Jumbos were not just faced with arguably their greatest test of the season, but also their mission to turn the tides of history.
Tufts men’s soccer was victorious over both Williams on Saturday and Wesleyan on Tuesday of this past week. The wins push the Jumbos' record to 3–0 after an opening-night win over MIT last week.
