New Haven, CT — Tufts University defeated Connecticut College, 5-4, to win the 2016 Chaffee Cup and the E Division title.
During the regular season, the two teams had traded matches. Tufts won their first meeting, 8-1, in the first semester. Two months later, Conn had the edge in a 5-4 match at the NESCAC Championship.
In today’s final, Tufts jumped on the board first with a three-game win at number 3. Conn answered with a four-game win at number 9. Two of the games in the number 6 match went to tie-breakers, but the match went to the Jumbos in three. At the end of the first flight of matches, Tufts led 2-1.
The matches at the top of the order went comparatively quickly, with Tufts winning in three at number 2 and at number 1, though both contests saw games go to tiebreakers. With several matches left to play, the Jumbos had collected the five wins they needed to capture the Chaffee Cup.
Though the suspense was gone, the Camels soldiered on, winning three more matches.
In the end, the final score — 5 to 4 — mirrored the NESCAC scores for the two teams from a few weeks ago, but this time Tufts came out on top. With today’s 5-4 win, the Jumbos are 2-1 against the Camels in the 2015-2016 season.
This is Tufts’ first Chaffee Cup, and the Jumbos’ first division title since 2004.
