On Saturday, the Tufts Tufflepuffs opened their conference schedule and soared to a 2-1 match victory over the Harvard Horntails at Fletcher Field.
The victory marked the first game played within the newly founded Massachusetts Quidditch Conference, the first intercollegiate quidditch league in the northeast, which was established by Tufts junior Ethan Sturm, who is also a Managing Editor for the Daily. Member schools include Boston University, Emerson College, Harvard University, Smith College and UMass Amherst.
"It's really nice to start out with a win," sophomore beater Joshua Snyder said. "It's a tough conference because Emerson and BU are in it, and those are two powerhouses from the World Cup. So every win counts."
Entering the game, the Horntails had only seven active players, allowing for no substitutions over the course of their three games against Tufts. On the other side, the Tufflepuffs had only practiced once as a tournament team prior to their season opener on the Friday before. In addition, the weather was unfavorable; the playing field had to be relocated from the rain-soaked Res Quad to a muddy Fletcher Field.
"[The weather] was definitely an equalizer," junior field captain David Meyers said. "It really maxed out the speed that people were able to move at and controlled the flow of the game."
In game one, the Tufflepuffs narrowly led 60-50, powered by 40 points from returning star junior chaser Austin Bening. Sophomore seeker Duncan Leaf ended the game by capturing the snitch, giving Tufts a decisive 90-50 win.
The Horntails fought back in the following game, jumping out to a 50-20 lead. But Bening scored for the Tufflepuffs, and seconds later Leaf grabbed the snitch to complete the 40-point swing and give the Tufflepuffs the victory, 60-50.
By the third game, fatigue and injuries began to take effect. The Tufflepuffs lost two chasers and a beater, including sophomore Fiona Weeks and junior Rose Eilenberg, all to injuries. This required the Jumbos to shuffle their roster, as the rules require two players of each gender to be on the field at all times, and Tufts found itself completely out of female chasers. That played into the hands of the Horntails, who took advantage and led 50-40 before capturing the snitch to earn a redemptive 80-40 victory and prevent a 3-0 Tufflepuffs sweep.
Overall, the Tufflepuffs ended the day with a 10-point edge in the cumulative score, 190-180. Bening led all scorers with 80 points, while freshmen Andrew Carp and Steve Mullahoo each contributed 20 points.
Sophomore Jared Nash, another recent addition to the team, also played well in his first game as a keeper.
"Since the World Cup [in the fall], we've really improved our core of chasers," Snyder said. "We have a bigger, more physical team than in the fall."
Still, the team knows there is still room to get better in a number of ways.
"I'm happy with the way the team is starting to come together, though we have a lot of work to do," Meyers said. "We need to really pick up the quality of play. We need to get better at passing the ball, moving the ball down the field and executing and scoring goals."
"We're still getting chemistry to build up between us," Snyder added. "We should improve a lot in the next few weeks."
The Tufflepuffs play UMass Amherst at home this Saturday, March 10, before going on the road to play at Emerson on March 31.
"I think we have a good team together. It will just come down to whether we can get the extra polish on our play," Meyers said. "We're looking forward to our next game and the rest of the season."
