With a narrow loss to Coast Guard Oct. 19 in the North Atlantic Division Championship -- Tufts' first defeat of the season -- it was all over for the water polo team. After finishing third at Club Nationals two years in a row in 2006 and 2007, the Jumbos would miss that tournament this year and were headed home.
Or so they thought.
Shortly after, the team received news that the University of Chicago had withdrawn from the tournament, and with the best record among the remaining teams, Tufts found itself in.
"When we got that call, I thought it was a joke," senior tri-captain Pete Georgakakos said. "I thought one of the guys was just playing a prank. It was amazing -- we started practicing immediately. You could just tell how relaxed and excited everyone was because the worst had happened -- we'd lost -- so there really wasn't much stress, and every game after that was just a bonus."
The Jumbos made it count, again finishing third in the nation after falling to Lindenwood, the reigning national champion that would go on to win for the third-straight year. But the real marquee matchup of the tournament for Tufts was the consolation game, a rematch with Coast Guard which the Jumbos won narrowly, 7-6.
"For some of the guys, it was almost more what they wanted than playing in the championship because we felt cheated the last time we played them," Georgakakos said. "The last game just kind of slipped away from us. We were really itching to play them again to prove to ourselves and everyone that we should have been there initially."
Meeting for the third time this season, the two squads knew each other well. Georgakakos, the team's leading scorer, found himself pressured with two defenders, while senior tri-captain and hole set Ben Mitchell was guarded carefully on his shooting side.
"Their goalie has been there for four years, and obviously Pete has been with us for four years, so the goalie knows Pete pretty well," sophomore Alex de Castro-Abeger said. "That showed in the numbers. He had a really great game, though they definitely knew how to guard us, but we overcame that."
After a back-and-forth first half, the Jumbos found themselves on the short end of a 4-3 score. But after the break, Tufts came out firing, scoring two quick goals to take the lead and never look back.
"Everyone was very calm and unselfish with the ball and moved it," Georgakakos said. "Our younger guys really stepped up. [de Castro-Abeger] had three goals -- I was forced into kind of a playmaking role, stepping back and distributing the ball, which was fine. The younger guys put in that extra stroke and that extra drive to get open, and it paid off. I was real proud of them."
The victory came on the heels of a brutal 18-3 semifinal loss to Lindenwood, a powerhouse team that boasts several recruited athletes and landed four players on the First-Team All-Tournament list, including the MVP. But while the Jumbos may have been overmatched, they held their own in the first two quarters, staying within reach of the Lions, partly thanks to senior goalkeeper James Longhurst who warded off six attempts from some of the best shooters in the country.
"I don't think anyone was really super upset about the loss," senior Ben Moskowitz said. "It would have been nice to make it to the finals because we've never been there, but Lindenwood was definitely the fastest team there and had the most dangerous players there. It was just good to play them for the experience."
The first game, a 20-5 romping over Carnegie Mellon, was more or less a chance for the Jumbos to have fun, exercise their bench and prove they deserved a spot at the tournament.
"We came into the tournament full of energy and ready to have fun," Moskowitz said. "If you look at the stats, almost everyone got a chance to play a lot of time. [After that], we couldn't leave the tournament and be really upset no matter what we did. We proved that we deserved to be at Nationals after that game, and we had fun."
After the tournament, both Mitchell and de Castro-Abeger were named to the Second Team All-Tournament list for their outstanding performances.
"Ben's first game against Carnegie Mellon was probably the best I've ever seen him play in four years," Georgakakos said. "He was doing everything right. He defined where the defender was going, he was distributing the ball well, he made great decisions on defense and he was really the center of our offense in that game. I just think four years of progress were made very evident this weekend.
"I think [the] third game was really what got [de Castro-Abeger] All-Tournament," he continued. "He came out playing amazing defense and amazing offense. He was right where he needed to be. He played very intelligently and very calmly. I think a lot of other teams saw how mature he was."
Despite being unable to advance beyond the third-place mark, the Jumbos were more than happy to close out the season on such a strong note.
"I just think everyone on our team this weekend played the best I've ever seen them play," Moskowitz said. "Even against Lindenwood, that first quarter we played exceptionally well, and against Coast Guard, I think that's some of the best water polo I've seen. It was just a great way to end our season and for the seniors to end their water polo careers."
