Emily Cannon - Field Hockey
Junior midfielder Emily Cannon had a huge weekend for the Jumbos' field hockey squad, pouring in eight points in three games to take NESCAC Player of the Week honors for the first time.
Prior to this weekend, Cannon had never scored a goal and had earned only seven assists in her first two seasons on the team, but in three games last week against UMass. Dartmouth, Colby and Trinity, Cannon absolutely went off.
It began on Wednesday with an assist against the Corsairs, leading to one of the Jumbos' pair of goals in a 2-1 victory. But the junior from New Hampshire really began her monster weekend against the Mules on Saturday afternoon.
Early in the first half, with the score tied at 1-1, Cannon buried a shot as a part of a flurry of chances for the Jumbos, cashing in for the first time in her Tufts career. Later in the game, Cannon gave Tufts breathing room with a backhanded strike in the 53rd minute.
In the second of the Jumbos' back-to-back matches on the weekend, Cannon came through in a more dramatic fashion, scoring in the 77th minute of overtime to finish off the Bantams with a 3-2 win.
In five days and three games, Cannon scored three goals, tallied two assists, and surged to the points lead for the Jumbos and the weekly honors for the NESCAC.
Ben Wallis - Cross Country
Running by himself as the only Jumbo in a 208-person race at the Purple Valley Classic this weekend, junior Ben Wallis took matters into his own hands to win not just his event, but the NESCAC Performer of the Week award as well.
Finishing in 26:13, Wallis beat out Williams' Scott Rodilitz by four seconds to win the eight-kilometer race at Williams College, leading the team in his first competition of the season.
Sidelined last week due to a calf injury, Wallis entered this week's race as a competitive warm-up before the All New England Championships next weekend, and turned his tuneup into the best performance of the week.
With about a mile to go, Wallis made his move and surged to the front of the pack, and was able to cling to his lead even as he faltered a bit down the stretch.
Following a performance like this, the Jumbos will be extremely excited to have Wallis back to NESCAC competition and to have him in full form at the Championships at Westfield State.
This week's honor marks the third time a Jumbo has been awarded Performer of the Week over the last two years, and the first time for Wallis, a strong start to what Tufts hopes will be a breakout year.
