The Tufts Daily
Commencement 2012
35
Sports
Senior leaders have kept men’s lacrosse team on top MEN’S LACROSSE
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Wood buried a blistering shot to win it. Since then, Tufts, which MEN’S LACROSSE POSTSEASON AWARDS M Nick Rhoads (’12) First Team All-NESCAC M Kevin McCormick (’12) First Team All-NESCAC NEILA Player of the Year First Team All-New England D Matt Callahan (’13) First Team All-NESCAC First Team All-New England A Beau Wood (’14) First Team All-NESCAC First Team All-New England A Cole Bailey (’15) Second Team All-NESCAC NESCAC Rookie of the Year NEILA Rookie of the Year Second Team All-New England M Peter Bowers (’14) Second Team All-New England D Dan Alles (’14) Second Team All-New England
received a first-round bye, made quick work of Trinity in a second-round game, avenging the March loss with a 17-8 defeat of the Bantams, this time on Bello Field. The Jumbos stand at 18-2 overall after their NCAA quarterfinal victory against the Tigers, and with a win today they will play for a second national championship title in three years. “Every team has their strengths and weaknesses, but we know that if we play solid as a team, it’s going to end well for us,” Diss said. “We haven’t reached our potential yet. We haven’t played a complete game at the level that we can play.” Tufts boasts six All-Region selections, including New England Intercollegiate
Lacrosse Association Player of the Year graduating senior co-captain Kevin McCormick and NESCAC Rookie of the Year Cole Bailey, who was tied with Wood for the conference lead in points heading into Wednesday’s game. Over the course of the season, the Jumbos developed one of the most well-balanced, powerful rosters in recent memory, filling the gaps of last year’s graduated seniors and more. In particular, McCormick and graduating senior cocaptain Sean Kirwan have been sensational. McCormick, never afraid to shoot, has filled the role left by former quadcaptain Matt Witko (LA ’11) and then some, finishing with greater accuracy and proving that he can handle pressure from poles. Meanwhile, after missing the first half of the season due to injury, Kirwan has rebounded with a 26-goal campaign that includes 13 points in the last four games alone, and he remains the Jumbos’ most reliable crease man. “Sean’s a phenomenal player,” Bailey said. “He just draws so much attention, and it allows other guys to step up. For me as a feeder, it helps a lot. You feel like he’s always open no matter what, even if there’s a guy on him.” Graduating senior Geordie Shafer has also been a reliable scoring threat and workhorse at midfield, working to push the ball in transition and posting 22 goals and 12 assists through Wednesday night. Midfielder Nick Rhoads has also enjoyed a sensational senior campaign, leading the NESCAC in groundballs on his way to a .596 faceoff percentage, good for second in the conference. Rhoads’ faceoff success combined with excellent wing play, particularly from graduating senior Mark Findaro, has helped the Jumbos become nearly unstoppable at midfield, securing countless possessions that have allowed
Courtesy Salvatore Ruggiero
Rising junior Beau Wood scored the game-winner in double overtime of the NESCAC Championship game against Bowdoin on May 6, sending Bello Field into a frenzy. them to set the pace and close out games. Rounding out the team’s 10-man graduating class are keeper Steven Foglietta, attackman Jordan Korinis and midfielders Ben Saperstein, Will Duryea and Lucas Durst, all of whom have stepped up in significantly larger roles this season. All spring, the Jumbos have drawn from the experience
Cohesion remains major asset for Jumbos WOMEN’S LACROSSE continued from page 44
half, so I think they will try to continue our goal of trying to play really hard for a full 60 minutes.” Tufts rebounded, rattling off three straight wins, including one against Williams, before finishing the regular season at 5-5 in the NESCAC after a heartbreaking overtime loss to Bowdoin. “The really close games this season, like Hamilton, Bowdoin and the second Middlebury game, will be forever remembered,” Lotz said. “During those games our team really came together and came back from behind, having complete trust and believing that we could win.” That resilience was on display all season, as games in which the Jumbos were in danger of getting blown out often turned into nailbiters. Although the Jumbos failed to defeat a NESCAC team with a winning record, they gave every team in the conference a tough battle, a testament to their spirit and mentality. “To see the determination in your teammates’ faces and knowing that you are all going to do everything you can to win the game is such an inspiring part of being on a team,” Lotz said. “Over the season our team grew a lot, as we had to overcome losing some players to injuries and changing up positions of some people. But we all remained close throughout it all and kept working as hard as we could, and I think that’s why we were able to stay competitive.” The playoff game against
Middlebury was a demonstration of that philosophy and almost a microcosm of the season, as the team came out much tougher against an opponent that had defeated Tufts 16-5 early in the season. Rising senior attackman and leading scorer Kerry Eaton scored four goals, and Tufts’ defense put forth another strong effort against one of the NESCAC’s toughest offenses. While the Jumbos lost 12-8, the game was an impressive display of their grit. “The second half [against] Middlebury marked the best half of team lacrosse we played all season,” graduating senior attackman Kelly Hyland said. “We’d just dug ourselves into too deep a hole in the first half to pull off the comeback.” Eaton, along with graduating senior tri-captains attackman Lara Kozin and midfielder Kelly Cakert, was selected to the All-NESCAC Second Team. The selections of Cakert and Kozin belied the massive contribution of the team’s eight seniors, who were as much leaders and contributors as friends, using their bonds off the field to improve their play on it. “The bond made by playing on a team with the other seniors for the past four years is something that I will always treasure, and I’m so happy I’ve become such good friends with my fellow seniors,” Lotz said. “Four years is a long time, a lot of off-season practices, lift sessions, bus rides, in-season games, practices and tailgates, and to have been together through it all, the good times and the bad times,
and skills of these seniors to turn a talented young group of underclassmen into a group of impact players. Each win has seen goals, groundballs and big hits from freshmen and seniors, attackmen and defenders alike, and Tufts has thrived as a result of their depth and unselfish play. “The seniors mean so much to the team,” Bailey said. “At this point, we just want to keep
has given us so many memories that none of us would give up for anything. Knowing that we all worked our hardest for each other for so long is something I can never thank them enough for.” “I can honestly say that these girls are my best friends on and off the field,” Hyland added. “Not only are my classmates unbelievable lacrosse players, but they are incredible people who have made my time at Tufts unforgettable. We have had some great successes on the field, including two NCAA runs and four appearances in the NESCAC tournament, and all of my best lacrosse memories involve accomplishing goals with them.” Although the loss of the graduating seniors will leave a void in the team, the future still looks bright, with numerous talented underclassmen that will look to uphold Tufts’ reputation as one of the top teams in the Northeast. “We made some adjustments and learned a new play that really sparked our attack, and I think that will be a great motivator for the underclassmen going into next season,” Hyland said. “With eight starting seniors graduating, the team next year will be young, but we are returning some great players, and I have no doubt that other girls will step up and produce. “We always talk about how what our team has is really special,” she added, “because it’s not very often you find a team of 25 girls that genuinely like each other.”
winning and have them around for longer, because they’re running out of time.” Throughout the season, the Jumbos have stayed true to one of the program’s core philosophies: With each new challenge, they have looked their opponent in the eye and punched it in the chest — something that will stay the same long after this year’s seniors have said their goodbyes and the Bello lights go out.
Tufts will return heart of singles lineup MEN’S TENNIS
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tions where they hadn’t competed before. “Most people had to move up from where they were last year, and even though we didn’t end up [ranked] where we were, it was a confidence booster,” Pataro said. Now, the Jumbos can look back positively on what turned into a rebuilding year, proud of the fight shown by their sophomoreand junior-heavy roster. “I think it was successful in that we came together as a group,” Bossen said. “It could’ve turned into a trainwreck, and it didn’t. It was very impressive.” Bossen is one of two graduating seniors, along with co-captain Sam Laber. Both have started for the Jumbos for four years, and they worked hard this season to keep the young team together and focused. “The biggest thing we’ll miss is their leadership,” Pataro said. “They really kept the team pumped up and never got down on anybody else. That will be tough to fill, but I think we can do it.”
While it may be losing its two strongest leaders, the core of the roster will remain largely intact next season, with five of six singles players returning, including rising seniors Ben Barad and Andrew Lutz. “You’re going to see some of these guys that were playing a role this year having to play that same role next year, and they’ll be used to it,” Bossen said. Bossen referred to the end of the transition period for players such as rising sophomore Brian Tan, who will return with a year of experience under his belt. In addition, Pataro will go from being somewhat of an uncertainty at the start of this year to a strong and consistent piece of the Jumbos’ puzzle. With such a strong returning corps, the team is looking forward to the fall. “We’ve got a couple of really good freshman recruits,” Pataro said. “We just have to continue the momentum that we have and relay that to the new freshmen. If that all works out, I think next season is going to be incredibly successful.