After posting a perfect 12-0 record in conference play last year, the water polo team picked up right where it left off this weekend.
Entering the season's first tournament with the North Atlantic Division title to defend, the Jumbos scored victories over Amherst, Trinity, Bowdoin and host Bates in Lewiston, Maine.
But while Tufts sealed up the wins to once again take its place atop the division, they didn't all come easily.
"The teams were a lot better this year than they seemed to be in the past," senior goalkeeper James Longhurst said. "Some of the games were closer than we liked. They all knew we were a great team and undefeated last year, so they knew at our game they had to come out strong and bring their A-game to beat us. I think that kind of contributed to the fact that we weren't playing as well as we should have — we kind of underestimated all the teams."
The Jumbos capped off the weekend with a thriller against Bowdoin. Tufts got the scoring going early, taking advantage of a new face in the cage for its opponent.
"[Bowdoin] kind of goes either way," senior tri-captain Pete Georgakakos said. "Last year, one game was close and one game we just demolished them, so we didn't know what to expect. But we knew their goalie from last year had graduated and that the new guy wasn't too good. We relied less on the two hole sets in front of the goal and relied more on outside shooting; we kind of tore the goalie apart."
But Bowdoin wasn't finished, and before the Jumbos knew it, the game was deadlocked at 10-10 with 25 seconds to play. Once again, Georgakakos, the team's most potent offensive weapon, came through for Tufts, firing the game-winning 11th goal with 10 ticks remaining. In the game's final seconds, the Jumbos staved off Bowdoin to lock up the weekend sweep.
Sunday's success came on the heels of a busy Saturday that culminated with another slim margin of victory for the Tufts team, which defeated Bates by a score of 12-11. Longhurst, who made the switch from coach to goalie this season, was critical for the team down the stretch, turning in eight saves during the game and 28 for the weekend.
"He wanted to play this year instead of coach, and I pretty much told him he had to play goalie whether he liked it or not," senior tri-captain Ben Mitchell said. "He did much better than anyone could have anticipated. There were plenty of times it was one-on-one — we let people swim right by us. It's like soccer: If you get a breakaway and it's you versus the goalie, it's pretty easy to score, but he was blocking shots that most goalies would have had trouble blocking. He looked like he'd been playing his entire life."
"The guys on the team have been really helpful and really supportive," Longhurst added. "Some of them had played goalie in high school, so they were giving me pointers."
Earlier in the day, the Jumbos battled Trinity, a team that took them by surprise. Tufts struggled to get it together in the game's early stages, and Trinity capitalized on the Jumbos' mistakes.
"Trinity wasn't much of a challenge last year, so we went in kind of lightly, but they ... came out firing on all cylinders," Georgakakos said. Tufts was helped by freshman Benji Koltai, whose five goals were the difference makers in the 16-11 victory.
"Benji was great," Longhurst said. "We lost a whole set last year, so Benji has been great being able to fill in. He can also play the perimeter or play hole set and free up [Mitchell] to play around the perimeter, too … He can help out off the bench right away."
Tufts' first win came against Amherst, a strong-swimming team that has given the Jumbos trouble in the past.
"They're not necessarily the most talented team, but they win their games by out-swimming their opponents," Georgakakos said.
In the game's first half, the Jumbos struggled to quell the Amherst offense, but as the game wore on, they settled in and pulled away with a decisive 12-8 win.
Next up for the team will be a tournament at Colby Oct. 4-5, the last for the Jumbos before the North Atlantic Division Championship. At Colby, the Jumbos will have to face the challenge of playing in a shallow pool, a feature that significantly alters play on both the offensive and defensive ends.
"In most pools, you can't touch on either side, so there's not even the temptation," Georgakakos said. "With half the pool shallow, the game is a lot different. One team can rest on defense — they can be standing, at least a little. We'll be training for that. It's a lot harder to play offense in a shallow pool; the refs are a lot more skeptical of if you're touching the bottom or not."
And the matchups won't be easy, either. Tufts will have to contend with Coast Guard, the division's only other undefeated team after this weekend.
"It's always a really close and physical game," Georgakakos said "We're going to be looking back on games we've played against them to figure out what we can do as a team this year to make sure we come out with the win."
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