Now that they have concluded regular?season play, the men's and women's squash teams will travel to the University of Pennsylvania this weekend for the CSA Individual Championships.
Freshman AdityaAdvani, who earned NESCACAll?Conferencesecond?team honors last week, is excited to showcase his skills against top opponents as the men's team's sole competitor.
"I am looking forward to the competitive atmosphere and the opportunity to play such good and experienced players," Advani said. "The level of squash is going to be extremely high."
Though he'll face stiff competition in his first trip to the tournament, Advani believes he is up to the challenge.
"I am going to see good players this weekend and will play them the best I can," Advani said. "I have trained hard and want that preparation to pay off. Representing Tufts is an honor, so I want to do well this weekend for the college and for the team."
The freshman was a model of consistency on a Tufts squad that endured its fair share of ups and downs this season. Though the Jumbos started strong, winning their first four matches of the season, they won just two of their final 14. Nevertheless, Advani is proud of his team's overall accomplishments.
"It's awesome how everyone here is so passionate about the sport," he said. "We worked really hard this season. [We] pushed ourselves to the maximum and played very well.
Meanwhile, coming off an impressive run to the E Division finals of the CSA National Team Championships held at Yale University, the women's squash team will look to continue its run at their individual championships, hosted by Trinity College. Tufts will send senior Jessica Rubine, who played in the No. 1 spot for the majority of the Jumbos' season, as its lone representative.
At the tournament, Rubine will compete in the Holleran Division, also known as the women's B division. She is slated to face off against Columbia's Reyna Pacheco, a freshman who went 0?1 in the No. 1 spot and 6?9 and the number two for the Lions in her first collegiate campaign.
Should Rubine advance, she would play University of Pennsylvania's Chloe Blacker, a junior who went an impressive 14?1 between the No. 5 and No. 10 spots throughout the season. Blacker earned a first?round bye for her near?undefeated season.
According to coach McManus, determining who gets to participate from each school is a difficult task, but typically, the lower?ranked teams send fewer players.
However, Rubine, currently the top player on the Jumbos' roster, always looked to be the easy choice.
Rubine went 6?12 in her final season for Tufts, a year marked by a series of highs and lows both for her and for the team as a whole. But, after going 2?1 in her last three matches, the senior hopes to end her career on a strong note.
"I am just looking to go into my last few matches as a Tufts squash player and play hard. It will be a good weekend of squash," Rubine said.
