The Daily’s Matt Berger sat down with coach Bob Sheldon to talk about the resurgence of the men’s basketball program. Here’s the back end of the one-and-one:
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Tomorrow afternoon, the women’s basketball team will take on No. 1 Amherst in what is undoubtedly their biggest game of the season to date. A win would all but lockup the NESCAC regular season title and home field advantage throughout the conference championship. But a loss could drop the Jumbos to as low as third, leaving them squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble and facing a far tougher first-round conference opponent, the likes of Connecticut College, Wesleyan, or even Colby.
Unfortunately for Tufts, a win won’t be easy to come by against arguably the nation’s best team. Riding a 39-game winning streak, the Lord Jeffs lead the nation with a scoring margin of 31.8 points per game. They do it with the country’s 10th-best scoring offense, 2nd-best scoring defense and 5th-best rebounding margin. They also block the 3rd-most shots per game and have a dangerous combination of inside and outside talent.
The Jumbos are no slouches themselves, and have risen to the top of the NESCAC on the back of Div. 3’s third best defense. They are a scrappy group of quick defenders, and their ability to force turnovers while allowing fewer than any team in the country has them in the Top 15 in turnover margin.
But in the Jumbos’ ugly 62-41 loss to Rhode Island College on Monday, just their second since Nov. 20, we saw a less attractive side of the team. Tufts shot 23.2 percent from the field, including 1-of-18 from beyond the arc. They missed everything from jumpers to uncontested layups, and trailed by as much as 25. Their offense has been a concern all season, and it finally caught up to them this week.
So what can the Jumbos do to turn the tide and pull the upset in front of a rocking Cousens Gymnasium? Read more after the jump. More =>>
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The Daily’s Matt Berger recently sat down with men’s basketball head coach Bob Sheldon to discuss the resurgence of the program and the team’s upcoming showdown with Amherst. Here’s part one of their two-part interview.
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–by Jake Indursky//Contributing Writer
The women’s squash team went 1-3 at the Maine Round Robin this past weekend, suffering losses to strong Bates, George Washington and Bowdoin teams, and beating up on a weaker Drexel team.
Friday was a tough day for the Jumbos, as they played two top-15 squads in Bates and George Washington. Both opponents handed the Tufts’ team 9-0 losses. However, the Jumbos played tough in both losses, with freshman Charlotte Griffiths racking up 19 points in her loss to Bates, and freshman Paige Dahlman taking her match against George Washington opponent Elizabeth Tapley to 5 sets.
“We want to do well, move up in the ranking and keep a positive attitude, no matter how hard the teams are that we’re playing,” Griffiths said.
Saturday proved to be better for the Jumbos, when they went up against No. 19 Bowdoin and No. 35 Drexel. The team split those two games, losing 9-0 to Bowdoin, and winning 8-1 against Drexel.
Dahlman again lead the charge, going four sets (12-10. 9-11, 12-10, 13-11) against a tough Bowdoin opponent, and then cruising to an easy victory against Drexel’s Nur Atiqah Shahrin (11-2, 11-1, 11-2).
Senior Mercedes Barba played well in both her matches as well, scoring 20 points in her loss to Bowdoin’s Rachel Barnes, and then letting up only seven points in her victory against Drexel.
The rest of the Jumbos had good days against Drexel, with juniors Caitlin Doherty, Ushashi Basu and Hafsa Chaudhry all letting up fewer than 10 points in each of their matches.
“With these top teams, it is crucial that we go into each match with the intent of winning as many points as possible,” Dahlman said. “With that strategy, the match score will take care of itself.”
The 23rd-ranked Jumbos, who are now standing at 7-9, on the season, have the NESCAC championships to look forward to this upcoming weekend. After getting bounced in the first round last year, Tufts hopes to fair better this year.
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–by Andy K. Wong // Contributing Writer
This past Saturday, at the Northeast Fencing Conference meet hosted by Boston College, the women’s fencing team finished with two wins and four losses.
The conference, which included matches against Brown, MIT, Vassar, Smith, Dartmouth, and Brandeis, was the first of two conference meetings for the season. The two wins came against Smith and Dartmouth; however, matches against Vassar and Brandeis were both close, with a margin of only three wins for each (12 wins – 15 wins).
“Everyone was fencing really well, including our non-starters. We’re all really proud of them, and the they way they stepped it up yesterday. We’re right on the edge, where we just need that one little push to be winning bouts against entire schools,” said senior sabre squad captain Sarah Danly, who earned 10 victories of her own on Saturday.
Tufts’ other leading scorers at the meet included freshman Katharine Lynch (epee squad, 10 victories), sophomore Julia Hisey (sabre squad, 10 victories), and junior Abigail Hepworth (epee squad nine victories). Overall, the sabre and epee squads performed very well, tallying 29 and 26 victories total for each, respectively. It is not out of the question that a few roster changes may occur to aid the weaker squads in earning extra victories in closer matchups.
With the help of coach Ariana Klinkov, as well as new assistant coaches Louise Klann and David Blake, there is hope that with continued hard work and dedication to both the strategic and mental aspects of the game, that the women’s team can get over the top and close out teams.
“We’re trying to win against those swing schools,” Danly said as one of the team’s top goals this season.
The team’s upcoming schedule includes an invitational at Brandeis University this Saturday, followed by their annual home game against NYU on Sunday in Cousens Gym.
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–by G.J. Vitale // Contributing Writer
“1, 2, 3! Yes, yes, yes!” reverberated through the natatorium at Wheaton this Saturday as the men’s swimming and diving team defeated both Wheaton and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) with a bevy of 1-2-3 sweeps.
“That is what Tufts swimming is all about,” sophomore Craig Olynyk said, “always making more noise than everyone else, but having the talent to back it up.”
The Jumbos walked the walk, attaining about a 50-point spread over each of their opponents. In the total team effort, victory was both statistical and moral for Tufts.
“It served to get the team more excited for the upcoming championship season,” Olynyk said. More =>>
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–by Zach McGowan//Daily Staff Writer
Need proof of how well the women’s swimming and diving team did this weekend? After 13 of 18 events, the Jumbos were no longer to score team points.
They were already too far ahead.
After three straight losses since returning from winter break, Tufts cruised to a tri-meet sweep against host Wheaton and WPI, defeating the Lyons 191-158 and the Engineers 210-149.
Tufts placed first in every race but two: the 100-yard breaststroke and the 50-yard backstroke, and freshman Sam Sliwinski was only eight hundredths of a second away from claiming that race for the Jumbos as well.
“It was definitely a confidence booster for all of us,” sophomore Emma Van Lieshout said. “A lot of swimmers won races or placed who usually don’t, and some swimmers set personal bests.” More =>>
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After dropping a 3-1 decision to Trinity on Saturday night, the men’s hockey team earned a split of its home doubleheader with a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Wesleyan on Sunday, led by freshman Tyler Voigt, who had a hat-trick and scored the Jumbos’ game-winning goal in overtime.
With the split decision, the Jumbos moved to 5-5 in the NESCAC, and stand at a solid fifth place in conference standings. Their 7-7-1 overall record is also a marked improvement from last winter, when they stood at 4-10-1 at this point in the season.
In the first period, Voigt kicked off the Jumbos’ scoring efforts with a tally at the 11:23 mark, capitalizing on the first of Tufts’ four successful power plays on the afternoon. A minute later, Cardinals sophomore Nik Tasiopoulos notched a goal of his own to even the score, but with 16 seconds remaining in the period, Voigt struck again to regain the Jumbos’ one-goal margin entering the break.
Halfway through the second period, senior tri-captain Matt Amico scored his second goal of the weekend, also on a power play, to double the Jumbos’ advantage. Four minutes later, however, Wesleyan’s Keith Buehler knocked in a goal to pull the Cardinals within one at the 14:03 mark.
Entering the final period of regulation, Tufts led Wesleyan 3-2, but the Cardinals scored two quick goals to send the Jumbos reeling. At the 8:22 mark, Wesleyan junior John Guay tied the game, and riding the momentum of Guay’s score, senior Geoff Mucha polished off a goal just 13 seconds later to give the Cardinals their first lead of the contest.
With fewer than five minutes remaining, however, junior forward Dylan Plimmer helped the Jumbos back into contention with a score at the 16:39 mark, and the tie held as regulation expired.
With 39 seconds remaining in the overtime period, however, the Cardinals’ own costly mistake opened a door of opportunity for Tufts. Wesleyan was called for too many players on the ice, and Voigt capitalized on the Jumbos’ fourth and final power play to clinch the game-winning goal with 18 seconds remaining.
The previous evening, Tufts hosted Trinity in the season’s first “Fan the Fire” event. The NESCAC showdown, which was highly attended and featured a fan bus and special “Pink in the Rink” festivities for breast cancer research and awareness, however, was far from a party for the host Jumbos who fell 3-1 to the Bantams in a physical matchup that saw 15 combined penalties.
Despite a 35-save effort from Tufts senior keeper Scott Barchard, Trinity overpowered the Jumbos, who were much less successful on power plays than they were the following afternoon. Against the Bantams, the Jumbos went zero for six on power plays, and never got a handle on Trinity’s fiery offense.
In the first period, Barchard and Trinity keeper Ben Coulthard combined for 33 saves, and the Bantams’ Jackson Brewer was the only player on either side who was able to find the back of the net in the opening period, with a score at the 11:03 mark.
Just a minute into the second period, Trinity doubled its lead on a score from junior Jeff Menard, who had a goal and an assist in the contest. Fewer than two minutes later, however, Amico scored his first goal of the weekend to pull the Jumbos within one. Both sides killed four penalties in the second period, and Tufts entered the third period trailing Trinity 2-1.
Midway through the final period, however, junior Jordon So capped off Trinity’s efforts with a notch at the 13:49 mark, again extending the Bantams’ lead to two, and the Jumbos were unable to pull closer, even after pulling Barchard in the final minutes, and Trinity prevailed, winning the decision by a two-goal margin.
Next weekend, however, the Jumbos can improve their NESCAC standing with strong performances against conference opponents Williams and Middlebury in an away doubleheader. The Ephs and Panthers stand just above the Jumbos at third and fourth in the conference, respectively, and victories over both teams would send a strong statement to the rest of the league and put the Jumbos above .500 for the first time since Dec. 3, when Tufts dropped consecutive 4-1 and 3-2 decisions to Williams and Middlebury.
- by Kate Klots
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by Nathaniel Bailey | Contributing Writer
While much of Tufts’ student body has been kicking back for the past month and enjoying the time off, the swimming and diving teams have been hard at work in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., for two weeks of intense training.
“It was a great opportunity for us to focus on so many things because there are absolutely no distractions, no school, and you’re not at home,” senior co-captain Owen Rood said. “It allowed us to maintain a very high level of focus that’s basically impossible as a student athlete at any school, and I think it really paid off.”
And just two days after the teams flew back north, the Jumbos got the chance to show off their improvements on Saturday in a tri-meet against Williams and Wesleyan in Middletown, Conn. The men’s squad split the meet, falling to Williams 201-93 and easily defeating Wesleyan 212-69, bringing their record to 3-2 for the season.
Rood had several strong performances Saturday with three first-place finishes, including a time of 21.54 in the 50-yard freestyle and 47.38 in the 100-yard freestyle. Rood also combined with freshman John Devine and sophomores Kyle Savidge and Austin Wood for a victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay, finishing in 3:14.13. A second relay for the Jumbos took second in the race with a time of 3:17.47. Wood added another strong performance in the 200-yard freestyle, placing third with a time of 1:47.78.
The women’s squad fell to both opponents on Saturday. The Cardinals edged out a win over the Jumbos 132-126, and the Ephs topped the Jumbos 171-91, which brought Tufts’ record to 3-3 on the season.
Despite the losses, the Jumbos posted strong times throughout the meet. Sophomore Mia Greenwald won the 100- and 200-meter butterflies while also aiding two strong relay finishes, while her time of 2:09:97 in the 200-meter butterfly earned her first by a margin of 3.34 seconds. In the 100-meter butterfly, she swam a 58.19, touching just two-tenths of a second ahead of Williams senior Carolyn Geller.
“It was a hard meet for us because people respond differently to training that intense but we went out there and executed our races really well and touched the wall first a couple of times, and that’s what you like to see,” Rood said.
Tufts has hosted only one swim meet thus far this season, at which the women defeated Keene State 172-124 and the men defeated them 163-133 on Nov. 20. Saturday marks the final home competition and the team’s senior recognition meet against MIT.
“We’re all really excited, especially to do it at our pool. It’s definitely not the best or fastest in the NESCAC, but it’s a really great environment. It’s a smaller venue, so you’ve got all the fans right next to the pool; it’s practically like they’re in the race. There’s nothing else like it,” Rood said. “It’ll be a really nice day to just be proud and think about what you did for the team and what the team did for you.”
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by Lauren Flament | Daily Editorial Board
The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams each earned their first victory of the season at the Tufts Invitational I at the Gantcher Center on Saturday. The men’s team earned 187.5 points–well ahead of runner-up UMass Lowell’s 139 and their other eight opponents–while the women tallied 173.33 points in an 11-team field, besting runner-up Worcester State’s tally by 27 points.
Both squads returned to campus with impressive performances, using the meet to gauge their winter training and shake off the rust of their running, jumping and throwing. The men’s squad was led by four victories and 16 top-three performances, while the women’s squad earned two victories and 12 top-three marks. More =>>
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