The men's squash team may not have had a dramatic season brimming with upsets over higher-seeded teams, but the Jumbos refused to write it off as a "rebuilding year."
"If you just sit back on the couch and say it's a rebuilding year, you put less pressure on the team," coach Doug Eng said. "But I don't believe in rebuilding years. Instead, we said, ‘Let's try to reach the same place as last year.' That is a much bigger challenge and it's what we worked towards this season."
After the team lost four of its top five players from last season, the ranking committee and various coaches counted the Jumbos out. And in the beginning of the season, it looked like the speculation might be right, as Tufts dropped five of its first six matches by scores of 9-0.
After entering the holiday break with a disappointing 2-5 record, the Jumbos rebounded, going 5-2 in January, including a big win over Denison on Jan. 24, as they edged out the Big Red 5-4 with wins from the Nos. 6-9 spots on the Tufts ladder. The fifth point came from an incredible five-game victory by sophomore Ben Rind, who came back from being down 2-1.
"Against Denison, we knew it would be so hard to win a match at the top four, but [Rind] came back and won in the [fifth] and that really helped us turn the corner," Eng said.
The Jumbos then added two wins against Conn. College and victories over Northeastern and Wesleyan to go into February having won five of their last six.
Although February included a tough schedule, the Jumbos did not back down and ended the season with a respectable performance in the College Squash Association (CSA) Team Championships to finish at 9-12 overall. The run was highlighted by Tufts stunning No. 19 Hamilton in the first round, 6-3, before coming just a few points short from a similar result against the No. 18 Bowdoin Polar Bears in the semifinals.
Despite the loss, the Jumbos felt that their performance was a commendable one.
"It's tough to enjoy a loss, especially when we were so close," senior tri-captain Josh Levinson said. "But with that said, Bowdoin beat us down pretty badly earlier this semester. To be able to have that much of an improvement was unbelievable. The amount of effort put in from everyone was really incredible. I would say it's the best loss I've ever had."
"I have never been more proud of a team that lost a match," Eng added. "Bowdoin was a team that supposedly we shouldn't be competing against. We are way below these other teams in skill level and still competing."
The Jumbos attributed their ability to compete with higher-ranked teams, especially toward the end of the season, to fitness and a will to succeed.
"We knew if we were fitter that we would be able to outlast our opponents in a lot of close matches," Levinson said. "Sprints and strength training definitely helped the team, and our mental focus and attitude got better. Because of that, we're able to hang with teams that a few weeks before stomped on us."
Multiple Jumbos stepped up down the stretch, including the three senior tri-captains, Levinson, Chris Martin and Brian Rassel, none of whom started last year. The group slotted into the bottom third of the roster, and as the season progressed, did so quite successfully. In the last two months of the season, the trio went 18-3 in matches that Tufts won, including the three crucial wins that kept the Jumbos in contention with Bowdoin in the final match of the year and the 6-through-9 sweep that boosted the Jumbos to victory over Denison in January.
Tufts also benefited from the tenacious play of junior Zach Bradley, who pulled off two four-set comebacks in two days against both Hamilton and Bowdoin.
"Zach Bradley has pushed really, really hard," Levinson said. "His focus and improvement was excellent. He had a huge transformation this season."
Also stellar was the play of No. 1 sophomore Alex Gross, who had to play incredibly skilled opponents all season but clawed out wins on his way to qualifying for the CSA Individual Championships, to be held this weekend.
"Gross had some really tough matches over the weekend, but he played the best squash I have ever seen him play," Levinson said. "He has helped lead the team with skill and overall performance."
