Four years ago, Courtney Evans and April Gerry entered the Tufts volleyball program as coach Cora Thompson's first recruits. When they graduate this spring, they will leave as co-captains of the best volleyball team in Tufts history.
"They both mean a lot to this program," Thompson said. "They have been fantastic players who led with not only their play but their hearts. Being the first class I coached, it is great to think about how they have helped me build our own program. They have made their marks on this program and they will be missed, but certainly not forgotten."
In their fourth season, the duo led a young roster that included six freshmen to 29 wins, the most in school history. The Jumbos peaked at No. 2 in the New England polls and won their first two NCAA Tournament games to earn a trip to the Regional Final, their deepest-ever tournament run.
The Jumbos' 29-7 season ended at the hands of a senior-laden Colby team that had also won the pair's regular-season and NESCAC Championship matchups.
Before going down at the hands of the Mules, however, the Jumbos notched a number of accomplishments that highlight a ground-breaking season.
The regular season got off to a good start when the Jumbos won the Williams Invitational by beating the host Ephs, a powerhouse team that has had a history with the Tufts; in 2004, Williams beat the Jumbos three times en route to a NESCAC Championship. But Williams graduated some key seniors in 2005, and the Jumbos reversed their fortunes, beating the Ephs all three times in 2006.
After a 9-1 conference run in the regular season, the Jumbos headed to the NESCAC Tournament as the second seed. A coin flip broke a series of ties among lower seeds to set up a match between Tufts and Amherst, and the Jumbos mowed through the rival Lord Jeffs, 3-0.
Despite the loss to Colby in the finals, the Jumbos were awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a second seed behind the top-seeded Mules. In the tournament, the Jumbos swept matches against Emmanuel and Colby-Sawyer, taking both matches 3-0 to advance to the Regional Semifinals.
"Being in the NCAA Tournament was great," Gerry said. "It was a proud moment for all of us because we knew we deserved to be there and we proved it."
Thompson embarked on a quest this season to raise the program's national profile by matching her team up with some of the nation's best.
Less than a month after winning the Williams Invitational, the Jumbos brought several top-25 teams to the second annual Tufts Invitational. While Thompson looked at the tournament as an opportunity to see some of the better teams in the country, the Jumbos almost won the tournament, losing in five games to then-No. 23 Eastern University in the tournament championship.
Before succumbing to Eastern, however, the team knocked off then-No. 22 Cortland State and MIT, then the top-ranked team in New England.
The competition only got stiffer when the Jumbos traveled to Atlanta for the Emory National Invitational. The teams lost to Millikin University and Emory University, the No. 3 team in the country.
"I will remember this season for the challenges we took on," Thompson said. "Traveling to Emory was extremely important for seeing what could lie ahead of us in terms of opposing talent. Winning matches over out-of-region powers such as SUNY Cortland and Heidelberg at Emory was great exposure. Even the tough matches that we lost, we learned something. It was a season that educated every one of our players."
While Thompson recognizes that next year's team could have a different dynamic than this year's version, she hopes that the momentum of two consecutive successful seasons will carry over into the future.
"Our program is really getting a lot of attention for being a top team in New England, and that does attract more student-athletes," Thompson said. "It is exciting. Our numbers have increased significantly and the talent that is coming across our desk gets better and better every year."
And when those recruits get on the court, Thompson will get the chance to infuse some new talent into a core of returning starters that stood out on the 2005 team. Freshmen libero Natalie Goldstein and outside hitter Caitlin Dealy played big roles for the Jumbos in their first season, and freshman setter Kaitlin O'Reilly earned an honorable mention spot on the American Volleyball Coaches' Association Div. III All-American team. Junior Kelli Harrison battled injuries this season, but she will bring her team-leading 257 kills and incredible hitting power back to the court next year.
According to Thompson, the success of next year's team will be determined by its chemistry, a strength of this year's team. Inevitably, however, after a season like this one, expectations are high.
"It raises the bar," Gerry said. "Now there's a new goal to reach, a new standard to break. It will be more difficult. Every year that you get better and better, it gets harder and harder to reach that spot."
