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[all college previews]

Elephants Never Forget
By Eileen Schneider © 2002 SquashTalk October 7, 2002 © 2002

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The Jumbos from Tufts University are gearing up for the 2002-2003 season with hopes of surpassing their 2002 marks on both the men’s and women’s sides. Ending last year with both the men and women gracing the top-20, Tufts is looking to new faces on the men’s team and experienced veterans on the women’s to pace their squads in 2003.

Women

The Tufts women anticipate that their deep lineup will perform at a stronger level than last year’s squad, which finished at #18 after the regular season. The 2001-2002 season ended with plenty of close matches including 5-4 wins over #19 Vassar and #20 William Smith – avenging an early-season 4-5 loss. At the 2002 Howe Cup, the Jumbos lost a close 4-5 match to Vassar and came back with a 7-2 defeat of William Smith on Sunday. The Tufts women exhibited strength in the middle of their ladder where Leigh Checchio (Newton Square, PA), Eileen Connors (Ramsey, NJ), and AJ Crane (Warwick, Bermuda) went undefeated at numbers 5-7 on the weekend. This depth will continue into the 2003 season and hopefully translate to some wins.

Losing just two players to graduation, the 02-03 team will feature Seniors; Winnie So, Eileen Connors, and Abi Cushman, Junior A.J. Crane, and Sophomores; Nida Ghouse, Eliza Drachman-Jones, and Nicole Arens. The Jumbos look forward to a challenging schedule, hitting up Bowdoin, Dartmouth, Amherst, and Wellesley this semester with more round robins in January and February. Two players are also flirting with the record books this season as #1 Winnie So (32-27) and #5-6 Eileen Connors (33-20) chase the all-time win record (men or women) of 49 by Natsai Mandisodza ’97. Only two women have broken 40 wins in the history of Tufts squash.

Men

On the men’s side, Coach Doug Eng promises a crew that is “younger and deeper than last year’s edition”. Losing five players from the top 9 to graduation and transfer, Tufts looks to fill those spots with five freshman joining the ranks. Contributions in the top nine are expected from recruits: Spencer Maxwell (Avon Old Farm), Pranav Tripathi (Modern School, India), Tom Keidel (Taft), Derek Lee (Groton), and Dan Karlin (Buckingham, Browne & Nichols).

Returning from the 2002 squad that finished at #20 after the NISRA championship are Senior captains Chris Choi (14-50 at #2) and Nathan Anderson (23-17 at #4). They will be boosted by veterans from the middle of the ladder, Junior #5 Jordan Kolasinki (18-19) and Sophomore #6 Jason Krugman (6-12). The youthful Jumbo line-up is hosting only one match this season, and looks to make waves on road trips to Dartmouth, Wesleyan, and Amherst.

The Jumbos don’t make their most-awaited trip until late in the season when they face-off against MIT on February 6th, hoping to avenge a 3-6 loss on Sunday of the 2002 NISRA championships. Look for Tufts to come through on the threatening promise that “elephants never forget”.

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