Men's winter break preview

While many Jumbos will spend winter break lounging around the house in their favorite pajamas, exploring Netflix and relaxing before the start of spring semester, men's sports teams will be hard at work in the gym, on the court and in the pool. Some will have already resumed playing games before classes re-start on Jan. 14, and if they haven't they'll at least have some additional practice time under their belts. Here's what the major men's teams will be up to over the next five weeks while you're sipping hot cocoa and shoveling snow.

Men's Basketball

Men's basketball will look to get back on track in its final game of the semester tomorrow night at Plymouth State, after losing both games this weekend in the New England Big Four Challenge. The team has three games during break -- all at home -- versus Newbury College on Jan. 6, Rhode Island College on Jan. 8 and Middlebury on Jan. 11.

Men's Ice Hockey

The men's ice hockey team will also be busy over break, with three road games scheduled before the start of classes.Tufts travels to Oswego State University in New York for the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Classic, which will take place on Jan. 2 and 3. Tufts won't have to travel nearly as far for its last winter break game, a Jan. 10 bout at Suffolk University. 4-4-1 at the break, the Jumbos will look to extend their current three-game winning streak.

Men's Swimming & Diving

The men's swimming and diving team does not have any meets scheduled over break, but will return to the pool on Jan. 17 against MIT. Though MIT—one of the top teams in Division III—figures to pose a serious challenge, junior tri-captain Michael Winget believes Tufts will hit the ground running.

“I think we are in a great position to do great things,” Winget said. “The team is working really hard and we will continue to work hard next semester. We have put ourselves in a position to succeed.”

The Jumbos' final meet this semester was the MIT Invitational this past weekend, at which Tufts ranked third out of six teams after Day 2. The Jumbos are 1-1 after splitting their first tri-meet of the season at Middlebury.

Coach Adam Hoyt was pleased with the way his team ended the semester and believes their success will carry over into the next phase of their season.

“Our hope is that some great performances this past weekend can be used as motivation to train smart, stay healthy and stay focused as we move into winter break, which is a critical part of our season,” Hoyt said.

Men's Squash

The men's squash team will practice in Florida for a week over break, and will also squeeze in a conference road game on Jan. 13 at Bates, where the team will look to get back on track following a 2-5 start.

"The squash team will take a break, and the players will be training at their home facilities in December," coach Joe McManus said. "During the second week of January we will spend a week training at the David Palmer Squash Academy in Orlando, Fla. We made the same trip two years ago, and the players requested to return again this year."

Senior tri-captain Elliot Kardon says the team is excited for the upcoming trip, and he hopes to see improved results from the additional conditioning. Until then, the players will be expected to train and stay in shape on their own.

"We get to train with David Palmer, an ex-world champion squash player," Kardon said. "We went two years ago and did a ton of fitness, so we're looking forward to it. We look forward to getting better on the court and bonding as a team off the court. Additionally, coach [McManus] is sending out a winter break training program for the teams. Players on the team will be expected to keep up with fitness, as well as squash, over winter break."