Tufts field hockey, ranked No. 3 in the NESCAC, beat No. 6 Amherst in a nail-biting 2–1 quarterfinal victory on Saturday to advance to the conference semifinals. After a 1–1 draw in regulation time, the game remained undecided after two periods of overtime. During shootouts, the Jumbos won 3–0, their second shootout victory in a row.
After waiting about eight months for the first tipoff of the college men’s basketball season, we have finally made it. Although opening day doesn’t typically offer many competitive, high-level matchups, there were still some surprisingly consequential results and upsets. Most notably, No. 6 Gonzaga blew the brakes off of No. 8 Baylor, winning by 38 points.
The other week, In the Crease took a look at the teams with the most surprising starts to the season. This week, we will take a look at the teams with the most disappointing first few weeks. These are teams that are playing below the expectations that were set for them at the beginning of the season.
Look back at Tufts volleyball’s 3–0 victory over Endicott College as the Jumbos head into the postseason. In their penultimate regular season match on Oct. 30, Tufts swept Endicott in three sets, 26–24, 25–20 and 25–14. Tufts, the No. 3 seed in the NESCAC tournament, faces Williams College at home this Friday at 6 p.m.
The Tufts women’s soccer team stepped onto Bello Field on Saturday for their first game of the NESCAC playoffs, a quarterfinal matchup against No. 7 seed Hamilton College. The Jumbos were the No. 2 seed. Earlier in the season, the Jumbos played the Continentals to a 2–2 tie. Going into the game, Tufts held a 12–2–1 record while Hamilton held a 6–6–3 record.
A lot has changed since 1910. There have been two world wars and six moon landings. Wawa has expanded into the Midwest. However, some constants have remained, including within the executive branch. Since former President William Howard Taft in 1910, every president has thrown out a first pitch at an MLB game, though former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden did so before taking office. Nonetheless, this merging of two American institutions deserves a closer look as America selects its next leader. Thus, I present the definitive top 10 American presidents’ first pitches.
Undoubtedly, the largest question on voters’ minds as they head to the booths this November is who would win in a golf match between Republican candidate former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden. Conversation around the topic rose to such a fervor that it was argued during the June 27 debate between the two candidates at the time. Trump claimed that he “just won two club championships — not even senior, two regular club championships,” and boasted that he could easily beat Biden in a match. Biden retorted that he would be “happy to play golf” with the former president on the condition that Trump was willing to carry his own bag. Alas, presidential elections are not chosen via golf; most voters are likely unconcerned with who the superior player is, and Biden is no longer the Democratic nominee following the disastrous debate. However, we will nonetheless analyze who would win in a hypothetical match between the two in order to hopefully lighten the mood of a very serious election.
Abraham Lincoln is perhaps the greatest presidential athlete in American history. Even though Dwight Eisenhower was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and Gerald Ford won two national championships with the Michigan Wolverines football team, Lincoln has a better track record than both of them. Over the course of his 12-year wrestling career, he dominated against his compatriots, reportedly amassing more than 300 victories and losing only once. Unlike Donald Trump, who is a WWE Hall of Famer, Lincoln was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992, where he is recognized among the greatest wrestlers in history.
The year was 2018, back when current Harvard Head Coach Josh Shapiro was at the helm for the Tufts. That season, program legends Ian Daly and Calvin Aroh were merely in their first and sophomore years, respectively. That was the last time the Jumbos were NESCAC regular season champions and the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC playoffs tournament. Now, a full six years later, on the backs of an undefeated regular season that saw the squad finish at 11–0–4 overall, the Jumbos will seek redemption and hope to make it beyond the tournament’s first weekend.
Tufts football hit the road on Saturday, heading to Williamstown to take on the Williams Ephs at Farley-Lamb Field. Coming off a 20-13 win over Hamilton College the previous week, the Jumbos went into the game knowing they needed to deliver against a tough Williams team to keep their NESCAC title hopes alive.
Coming off a tremendous win against the former No. 1, nationally ranked Middlebury College, the Tufts field hockey team rode that momentum into an offensively dominant win against Roger Williams on Sunday. The Jumbos defeated the Hawks 5–1 Sunday evening at home, remaining undefeated on Ounjian Field so far this season.
Following an exciting opening week, the NHL season is now in full swing and the season is starting to develop a normal flow.Just because the season started does not mean that teams stop making transactions. In what appears to be a great deal for both sides, the New York Rangers and forward Alexis Lafreniere agreed to terms on a seven-year contract worth $52.15 million. After a spectacular showing last season, especially in the playoffs, Lafreniere rightfully earned his payday and will be a key piece of the Rangers core group for years to come.
Tufts volleyball kicked off a busy weekend competing in the New England Challenge with a scrappy 3-sets-to-1 win against Springfield College in the Cousens Gymnasium. The team loaded up its momentum and headed to Cambridge for the second day of contests. They started with a commanding 3–0 victory over Babson College before falling 3–1 to MIT in the event’s final match. Contributions from throughout the lineup and a fearless approach allowed the Jumbos to find success in important regional matchups ahead of the upcoming NESCAC tournament. A standout performance by sophomore middle blocker Akpevwe Akpoigbe earned her All-Tournament Team honors to top off the weekend.
The NBA recently announced an investigation into the Philadelphia 76ers for load-managing superstar center Joel Embiid, who revealed last week his intention to “never play back-to-back [games] for the rest of my career.” Load management is the practice of resting players for certain games in order to decrease stress on their bodies and keep them from injury.
This Saturday, Tufts field hockey took down the then No. 1 Middlebury College, putting an end to Middlebury’s historic 43-game winning streak with an exceptional 2–1 victory on Ounjian Field.
If you’re among the loyal readers of this column (all three or four of you, by my estimate), you might be wondering why a series titled “The Full Court Press” has yet to cover any basketball. As you sat and read about Deshaun Watson or the Padres, you surely thought to yourself, “Does this idiot even know what a full court press is? He knows that’s a basketball term, right?”
Tufts football made sure to avoid a repeat of their loss to Hamilton College last year at their Saturday game. The Jumbos jumped out to a 17–6 lead in the first half and held on for a 20–13 win over their NESCAC rival.
It was the game that everyone had circled on the calendar — a rematch of the NESCAC semifinal, where the Tufts Jumbos ended the Middlebury Panthers’ unbeaten streak in 2023. Both teams came in undefeated, and remain the only two without losses in the 10-team league. The Jumbos came into Saturday knowing that a win would clinch the NESCAC regular season title, with the Panthers needing at least a draw to keep their hopes of hosting a second consecutive NESCAC tournament.
With 37 teams to compete against, women’s cross-country had stiff competition at the Connecticut College Invitational this Saturday. Still, the Jumbos held their own, placing seventh out of 37 teams in the Blue race, where the teams’ top runners participated. This was an incredibly successful race for the Jumbos, and many of the teams’ top seven runners finished with new personal best times. The Jumbos finished sixth out of 37 teams in the White race. MIT won the Blue race, and Williams won the White race. Tufts scored 217 points in the Blue race and 124 points in the White race.
The 2024–25 NHL season is off to an exciting start. From teams off to surprising starts, teams off to disappointing starts and everything in between, these first few days of the season are just the beginning of all the intriguing NHL action to come.
