The men's squash team capped its season with mixed results this past weekend at Nine Man Nationals, held at neighboring Harvard University. The Jumbos scored a decisive victory over west coast rival Stanford, but fell to NESCAC rival Colby and then to another neighbor, MIT.
The zenith of frustration for the Jumbos was reached after a tough 6-3 loss to local rival MIT on Sunday to close out the weekend. Tufts, which earlier in the season was the victim of an 8-1 defeat to the Engineers, had been looking to avenge the loss. "That was very frustrating for me personally," senior co-captain and number three player Collin O'Higgins said. "I played my absolute hardest but lost each game narrowly."
Despite the unfavorable result, fellow senior and co-captain Shayan Haque was pleased with the team's effort. "I told them this is the last time you are going to play as a team for seven months, leave everything on the court." Haque said. "Everybody did that. They gave their life out there."
After coming off an impressive victory against Stanford the night before, the squad was simply outdone by a talented Colby team on Saturday, falling 8-1. "They were better," O'Higgins said. "It wasn't a matter of us playing poorly, they were rally a better team."
Throughout the season, Tufts had thrived on repetition: making adjustments to teams strengths and weaknesses when playing a team for a second time. Against Colby, however, the Jumbos didn't have that opportunity, as the matchup at Nationals was the teams' first meeting of the season. Also, the White Mules are loaded with experience, with several seniors in their lineup, making them a formidable foe.
"We were playing against a lot of unknown factors," coach Doug Eng said.
The squad played some of its most inspiring squash of the season during Friday's victory over Stanford. "We came out firing on all cylinders," Haque, the team's number seven player, said.
Eng was equally impressed. "We were just on top of our game," he said.
Perhaps the most impressive individual performance of the match was the play of number eight Phil Beatson, who managed to pick up a 3-2 victory. After dropping the fourth game, 9-5, Beatson came back to obliterate his opponent, 9-2, in the final game.
"He played an extremely patient game," Haque said. "He executed very well, very mature."
For the team's captains, O'Higgins and Haque, the conclusion of the season brought mixed emotions. "We have been pretty dedicated captains," O'Higgins said. "Being on the squash team was a huge part of our lives, socially and athletically."
Haque was optimistic about the team's future. "I think only good things can happen," Haque said, "I think the team will be even better next year."
According to O'Higgins, two juniors, number four Nathan Anderson and number two Chris Choi, should prove leaders for the team next season.
Haque said Beatson and sophomore Jordan Kosalinski, the team's sixth and eighth players, would be equally important. "The attitudes of Phil and Jordan will be very positive influences on the team," he said.
This weekend, O'Higgins will be Tufts' lone competitor at the Individual National Tournament at Princeton University.
