The 28th annual EPIIC Symposium kicked off on Thursday with organizers hoping that the focus on global health, a change from the usual topics involving international security, will be exciting to attendees.
Speaking of Oscars, the Daily provides a run down of all our picks for Sunday night’s big awards show. Don’t agree with our predictions? Comment on the article your guesses for Best Actor/Actress, Director, Picture and the like!
After an absurdly productive spring break trip in which the baseball team more than doubled its 2011 total over the same span, the Jumbos (8-3) returned to Massachusetts with a bang, whacking 22 hits against an overmatched Mass. Maritime squad that allowed four runs in the top of the first and never recovered.
Senior co-captain Sam Sager went 5-for-7 with three runs scored and three doubles, junior Eric Weikert went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored, and freshman catcher went 4-for-5 with four RBIs to lead Tufts. Sophomore Nate Izzo also scored five runs and went 4-for-5 in the rout. Junior Scott Staniewicz continued his on-base productivity atop the lineup; despite going 0-for4, he got hit by three pitches.
Eight pitchers combined to three-hit the Buccaneers in a staff day. Josh Manning got the win after working the fifth and sixth innings, the only Jumbo to throw more than one frame.
Tufts heads to Bates for a three-game series, both teams’ NESCAC opener, tomorrow and Saturday. Senior Dave Ryan, who did not pitch against Mass. Maritime, should start the Friday game.
Junior Scott Staniewicz went 2-for-5 and had 3 RBIs in just his second career start and freshman centerfielder Connor McDavitt went 2-for-3 with two runs scored as the baseball team scored six runs in the seventh and eighth innings to break away from host Lynchburg in the Jumbos’ season-opener Friday night, 9-5.
Coach John Casey had maintained throughout the week leading up to Tufts’ annual spring trip to North Carolina and Virginia that he hadn’t settled on an opening-day starter. He ultimately chose senior Dave Ryan, the Jumbos’ wins leader last season.
Not a bad choice.
Ryan went seven strong innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits and striking out eight to earn the win.
Senior co-captain Sam Sager, making the start at shortstop after graduation forced the Jumbos to return just two starting fielders, went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Junior Eric Weikert went 2-for-5 with one run and one RBI as well.
After making a full recovery from Tommy John surgery in the offseason, senior co-captain Matt Collins hit in the cleanup spot, going 1-for-5.
Tufts put three runs on Lynchburg starter Matt Outman, chasing him after six innings and five strikeouts. Casey’s fresh-faced lineup abused Conner Murphy as well, putting up four runs on three hits in over an innings of work.
The Jumbos will be back in action on Sunday afternoon at Washington & Lee, beginning a brutal stretch featuring 10 games in eight days. Senior Kevin Gilchrist will likely start for Tufts, though Casey said that sophomore Christian Sbily was also in the running for one of the rotation’s top three positions.
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.
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.
“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 =>>
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 =>>
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.”
