Tufts loses close matches, finishes 0-3 on the weekend

The early-season woes of the men’s squash team continued as the team dropped three straight matchups against NESCAC rivals Connecticut College, Hamilton and Middlebury last week. The Jumbos kicked off the season with a 9-0 defeat at the hands of another NESCAC team, Wesleyan, but got right back on track when they beat MIT 6-3 only three days later.

Against Middlebury, Tufts lost every match in straight sets. Tufts senior tri-captain and No. 2 player Zach Schweitzer was unable to play because of an injured ankle. The team suffered a less devastating loss against Hamilton, falling by a score of 6-3. Junior tri-captain Aditya Advani, Schweitzer and first-year Braden Chiulli, playing in the No. 1 through No. 3 positions, recorded the only wins of the day.

Schweitzer’s win was once again a close one, but after winning the first two games and dropping the third and fourth, he was able to pick up his level of play at the very end. Schweitzer closed out a 12-10, 11-3, 5-11, 6-11, 11-8 victory, while Chiulli won his third consecutive match in the No. 3 position.

"Hamilton was also difficult, as I viciously rolled my ankle mid-match attempting to save my opponent from falling into the wall," Schweitzer said. "After the injury I thought the match could've been over, but with the support from my parents and teammates, I was able to rally and take the win."

The day before, riding momentum from their victory over the Engineers, the Jumbos went into their match against the Camels, confident in their recent return to form. But after close individual matches, five of which exceeded the minimum three sets, the team would come up short with a 5-4 loss to the Camels. The four wins came from the No. 1 through No. 4 positions. The loss came despite a large fan presence, as Tufts sponsored a bus that transported fans to the match.

Advani, who played in the first position, won handily by a score of 11-4, 11-6, 11-6. Schweitzer’s match was much closer. After splitting the first two games, Schweitzer dropped the third before stealing the fourth and closing it out in the fifth, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-7. Chiulli and first-year Sandeep Rishi won in the No. 3 and No. 4 positions.

Chiulli’s was the only four-set match on the day. Up 2-0, it looked as though Chiulli would go on to secure the clean sweep, but his opponent, senior tri-captain Michael Coscarelli of Conn. College, rallied to take the third set. Unfazed despite his inexperience, Chiulli roared back in the fourth to take the match 11-4, 11-7, 11-13, 11-7.

Rishi’s match was a see-saw affair, as he was unable to gather enough momentum to win two games in a row until the very end. The rookie was completely blown out in the first game with a score of 1-11, but was able to rebound nicely in the second before losing the third by the same score. In the fourth and fifth he finally found his range, winning the very last match Tufts would win that day, 1-11, 11-3, 1-11, 11-8, 11-3.

“It was an exhausting weekend for everyone, but the team managed to keep up their level of performance,” Advani said.

Next up for the Jumbos will be a clash against Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on Friday. The last time the team played Vassar was in late January, when Tufts won decisively in a 9-0 rout.

"We have historically defeated Vassar during my tenure as Tufts squash's [tri-]captain and stalwart freshman," Schweitzer said. "I beat the Colby No. 2 last year and the year before."

The following day Tufts will play Colby, a team that it last lost to 6-3.

“We have an upcoming match against Colby which is very important. We are going to train hard this coming week and pull off a big 'W' on Saturday,” Advani said. “Everyone is going to come back well rested, and I think with all the hard work that the team has been putting in we are definitely in a position to cause an upset.”