While we were away...

While we were away, many of our Jumbos continued to represent us at various sporting events. Here are some of the highlights.

Men's Track and Field

Tufts placed 16th overall at the NCAA outdoor meet held in Geneva, Ohio over the weekend of May 27. In some of the highlights, junior Josh Etkind finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles final with a time of 12.37, breaking a 15-year program record and earning himself his first All-American.

On the field, senior Stefan Duvivier led the way for Tufts as he recorded six points for the team through his third-place finish of 2.1 meters in the high jump event.

The program bade farewell to Tim Nichols (LA '17) on the best possible note, as he concluded his career with his fifth-place finish in the 5k event. He picked up his sixth All-American honor in his career, with a time of 14:29.19 in the event. This is his second All-American honor for the 2017 NCAA outdoor meet, as he picked up his first with a fourth-place finish in the 10k a few days earlier. In total, the program concluded the school year with six All-American honors.

Women's Track and Field

On the women's side, senior Brittany Bowman set a new program record in the 10,000 meter event at the NCAA Div. III Championships. She clocked in a time of 35:22.11 to finish fifth overall, improving on her qualifying time and her season best by more than 15 seconds.This is Bowman's third All-American performance as she smashed an eight-year program record by more than 10 seconds.

Alongside Bowman, classmate Jennifer Sherwilland Lindsay Atkeson (LA '17)also received United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)All-Region honors.The honors go out to the top five individuals in each event from each region as well the region's top three relay teams.Bowman was recognized for her efforts in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter events, while Sherwill was recognized for her efforts in the discus throw.Sherwill finished third in New England for the discus throw of 41.56 meters she recorded at the MIT meet on May 12.Atkeson celebrated her graduation from the program with an accolade for her efforts, her time of 11:14.54 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on the May 12 New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) meet,which was good enough to finish fourth overall in New England.

Women's Tennis

Junior Mina Karamercan finished last season with her second All-American team nomination. While she was nominated for doubles play alongside senior Lauren Louks in her first year on the team, Karamercan was recognized for her individual display with this award. Karamercan often represented the Jumbos in the top singles position throughout the 2017 season, completing the season as the 17th best player in Div. III. Some of the highlights of her season included defeating senior Bridget Harding of Emory University 6-4, 6-2, then the No. 1 player in Div. III. To cap off her stellar season, Karamercan also made the All-Conference first team in singles action and the second team in the doubles.

Coach Berube

Jumbos coach Carla Berube led the USA Basketball Women's U16 National Team to the 2017 FIBA Americas Championship held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In the championship game against Canada, the team went on a 20–w0 run in the second quarter to establish its dominance, and in doing so, reclaimed the Championship which had been surrendered to Canada back in 2015.Assisted by Steve Gomez of Lubbock Christian University and Vanessa Nygaard of Windward School, Calif., Berube saw her team defeat the Canadians 91-46. Strong defense, so often a trademark of Berube's Jumbos, was on display in Buenos Aires as Canada was limited to just 29 percent shooting from the field (18 of 62). They also gave up the ball on 31 occasions, converted into 36 points by Team USA. By going undefeated in the tournament, the team qualified for the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup.

Women's Crew

Senior Sera Busse is the first to be recognized as an All-American first-team selection. Busse joined the team for the 2015-16 season as a walk-on, and worked her way up to a position on the varsity eight, rowing her first race with them in last year’s National Invitational Rowing Championships. Busse also worked her 2k ergometer time down to a 7:06, the strongest time the team has had in 10 years, showing how large a contributor Busse was to the team’s success. Busse is the second Tufts rower to be recognized as an All-American in as many years, since Rachel Siegler (LA '16) received a second-team selection in 2016.

"To become successful, you have to identify the areas that most need improvement, and work to make them better, little by little," Busse told the Daily in an email. "The 'smart training' ideology is something I learned at Tufts. It is something I cannot take any credit for, because it is the training plan that my coaches proposed to me. Without my coaches, without their unwavering commitment to our team and willingness to teach complete novices how to row, to see talent where we often cannot, I am certain I would not be where I am today."

Softball

While the Jumbos were disappointed by not reaching the postseason with their 22–14 record (8–4 in NESCAC East) for the first time in 17 years, there was some consolation as Cassie Ruscz (LA '17) clinched her third consecutive NFCA Softball All-American Accolade. Ruscz was once again named on the All-American second team, and was the only player from the NESCAC to be named to the top two teams. Ruscz, a Wolcott, Conn. native, led the conference last season with her 11 homers, which was good enough for 16th-best in the nation. She also led the team in RBIs (36), hits (44) and walks (19). Along with that All-American honor, Ruscz graduated with All-NESCAC and NFCA All-New England first team recognition as well.

Baseball

Speros Varinos (LA '17) capped off an impressive final campaign, picking up a plethora of accolades. These awards included the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Third Team Honor, American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) / Rawlings Second Team All-American,D3baseball.com All-America Third Team and was also named as Div. III Pitcher of the Year on the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) teams.

Statistics wise, Varinos boasted an 8–1 record in nine starts, and led the conference in terms of innings pitched (77.1), strikeouts (86) and was second in ERA (1.98). His performance helped the Jumbos finish top of the NESCAC East Division and clinch first seed at the NESCAC tournament.

"He [Varinos] was a role model for myself and everybody on the team," said senior co-captain first-baseman Nick Falkson. "He showed us the way — the Tufts Baseball way — and he always worked hard and competed hard every time he was out there. I have a ton of respect for him and no one else deserves all of those accolades more than he does."

Meanwhile, Falkson earned the NESCAC Player of the Year award and was selected for the D3baseball.com All-New England second team. Falkson boasted a .373 batting average, was good for 37 RBIs and scored 33 runs on the season.

Men's Lacrosse

The Tufts men's lacrosse team had an uncharacteristically short-lived NCAA campaign this year. Their May 13 loss to the Wesleyan Cardinals ended their NCAA tournament run and meant that the team would not be going to the championship finals for the first time since 2013. Despite the relatively early end to their season, the Jumbos had much to be proud of. Tyler Olney (E '17) was one of three students from the NESCAC selected to the Academic All-America Div. III At-Large teams, while contributing to the team through forcing 26 turnovers and collecting 38 groundballs.Juniors Danny Murphy and Ben Connelly were also recognized for their performances over the past year with the receipt of United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) / Nike Honorable Mention All-American accolades. Murphy led the team with 54 goals, while his assists and points scored ranked in the top 25 nationally. Connelly also contributed with 11 man-up goals, good for 12th in the nation, scoring 30 goals and 17 assists in the 2017 season.

Liam Finnegan and Savannah Mastrangelo contributed reporting to this article.