Lacrosse teams headline this weekend's NESCAC tournament pushes

Lacrosse

The Tufts women’s lacrosse team (14–1, 9–1 NESCAC) opens its NESCAC tournament play against the Trinity Bantams (8–7, 3–7 NESCAC) on Bello Field on Saturday at 12 p.m. as one of the many Tufts sports teams that begin its postseason play this weekend.

The team's No. 2 seed is coach Courtney Shute's squad’s best NESCAC ranking since its No. 1 NESCAC seed in 2009. The Jumbos have never won a conference championship, and with a win against the Bantams, they will qualify for the semifinals for just the fourth time ever.

Ironically, the No. 7 seed Trinity has the second most postseason tournament appearances after Middlebury. Earlier in the season, Tufts soundly beat Trinity 12–6. Look out for senior attacker Dakota Ademac, who’s scored 38 goals this season with an astonishing 46.9% shooting percentage to boot.

In a mirror-like image of the women’s matchup, the men’s lacrosse team also faces off against the Bantams on Saturday on Bello Field at 3 p.m. as Tufts looks to defend its 2018 NESCAC title. They are also undefeated at home. In another paranormal similarity, the men's team shares the same record as the women’s team, going 14–1 overall and 9–1 in the NESCAC.

That’s about where the similarities end. The men’s team won seven consecutive NESCAC championships from 2010–2016, and it is the only NESCAC squad to have qualified for the last 18 NESCAC tournaments. The Jumbos have bested the Bantams in 17 out of the last 19 matchups between the two squads. Watch out for senior attacker Ben Connelly who scored 11 goals and notched two assists against Middlebury and Bates in Tufts’ last two games.

Men’s Track and Field

The men’s and women’s track and field teams head to Middlebury, Vt., for the NESCAC championships. On the men’s side, senior Josh Etkind races for his third title in the 110-meter hurdles, an event he has dominated all season. Senior Henry Hintermeister looks to spear his second bird in as many years this weekend in the javelin throw after taking the crown in 2018. The team has finished in the top three since 2012, and are looking to reclaim the NESCAC crown for the first time since 2015.

Women’s Track and Field

On the women’s side, senior co-captain Evelyn Drake — the only Jumbo with a conference championship under her belt on the team — looks to lead a young team ripe with talent on Saturday. Teammate Kelsey Tierney, ranked No. 2 in the 3k steeplechase, also will look to rack up points for Tufts. The Jumbos have a particularly deep team, integral to a strong finish at the team-based format of NESCAC. The Jumbos start racing bright and early at 9 a.m. on Saturday.