Jumbos suffer disappointing losses in Maine

The Tufts men’s squash team came away from a tough road trip, 0–3 to close out its regular season. The No. 28 Jumbos (6–8) fell to NESCAC opponents Bates, Bowdoin and Colby in consecutive days. However, in a rebuilding year for the team, there were some positives to take away from an otherwise disappointing weekend.

The final match of the weekend pitted No. 24 Colby (7–7) against Tufts, but the scoreline did not reflect the close proximity of the teams’ national rankings: the Mules defeated the Jumbos definitively 9–0, delivering the visitors one of their worst losses of the season.

One of the few bright spots for Tufts was first-year Daniel Hutt, who came closest to winning a match against Colby.Hutt, who took on Colby senior Andrew Swapp, won the second and fourth sets of the match, before losing the fifth set 11–6.

"It was a tough match. I wasn’t able to pull it out, but I was happy with the way I played," Hutt said. "I was able to push after a long weekend. Three matches in a row is tough. I fought until the end."

A possible reason for the Jumbos' underwhelming performance was their fitness levels, as it’s not easy to compete in three matches in as many days.

"By the time we played Colby we were pretty tired, and it showed," junior co-captain Aidan Porges said. "We’re a young team, some seniors didn’t come back to play and our roster is full of first-years and sophomores. So we’re definitely on a steep learning curve."

On Saturday, the Jumbos faced No. 27 Bowdoin. This match was closer, but the hosting Polar Bears ultimately edged the Jumbos to the tune of 6–3. The visitors were disappointed not to come away with a victory because, of their three weekend opponents, Bowdoin was closest to them in the College Squash Association rankings.

"We really felt like we could’ve gotten something out of the Bowdoin game," Porges said. "They were pretty similar to us skill and fitness wise. We were definitely tired after the Bates match, but that’s the reality of the sport."

Porges won his match against Bowdoin first-year Uday Khanna in an intense five-game battle. After Porges won a first-set tiebreak, Khanna answered with a victory in the second set. After the players traded the third and fourth sets, Porges proved to be decisive in the fifth, winning 11–9.

"It was really satisfying," Porges said. "I was the first to play on-court, and I hoped a big win early on would make the team fight even harder."

First-year Salik Awan and junior Cameron Ewan provided the Jumbos' other victories from the eighth and fifth positions, respectively. Awan dropped the first set, but returned with a vengeance, vanquishing his opponent, junior Cal Fullerton, in the following three sets.Ewan was able to defeat first-year Gannon Leech in four sets, as well, winning the first two, dropping the third and taking care of business by winning the fourth 11–8.

Tufts kicked off the road campaign on Friday in Lewiston, Maine, where it was overwhelmed by No. 18 Bates. Only junior co-captain Brett Raskopf — playing in the third position — was able to win his match, besting first-year Omar Attia 11–9, 6–11, 11–8, 12–10. Porges was proud of his teammate for his impressive performance.

"Brett had an excellent match against someone who was ranked a lot higher than him," Porges said. "He stuck it out [and] found points where he could. It was great for him, and it gave him confidence for the rest of the weekend."

On a road trip with such a quick turnaround between matches, fitness is key for any successful squash team. Tufts coach Joe Raho has been quick to concentrate on fitness since the season’s beginning, focusing on endurance running and squash-specific workout routines.

"Fitness is definitely something we’ve been working on this season," Raho said. "Most games will last 35–40 minutes, while they can sometimes get up to an hour. For better or for worse, it’s a key part of the sport, so our athletes need to be prepared both mentally and physically for that.”

With the three recent losses, the Jumbos end their regular season with a record of 6–8. Porges referred to the season as a "rebuilding year," with many first-years and sophomores gaining a lot of experience on the court. Although it didn't show in Maine, the Jumbos recently turned more attention to their conference rivals, who were often their strongest adversaries throughout the season.

"We’ve been working on beating NESCAC opponents," Raho said. "We got the win against Wesleyan earlier in the season, but we couldn’t find one this weekend. Hopefully we can find one against Bowdoin in the NESCAC Championships."

On Friday, the men's squash team will travel to Clinton, N.Y., where it will again face eighth-seeded Bowdoin in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament.Should the ninth-seeded Jumbos win that match, they would take on the undefeated Trinity Bantams (11–0), the top-ranked team in Div. III.