Medford, MA — As of the beginning of October, Tufts had not yet hired a replacement for long-time head coach Doug Eng, and co-captain Jeremy Ho took it upon himself to fill out the preseason questionnaire for his team. The dedication of Ho and his teammates is an encouraging sign for a program that is going through a potentially rocky transition. In addition to the coaching change, five of the players from last season’s top 10 have graduated, making a return to the D Division finals seem like a challenge. Even so, Ho and the Jumbos are optimistic about the upcoming season. “We have a very strong freshman class that will fill out more than half of the roster. We also have a higher level match schedule as compared to last year,” Ho explains. The newcomers are Aditya Advani, Harrison Liftman, Brandon Weiss, Aaron Fernandez, and Andrew Miller. Advani, a highly ranked player from India, is expected to play in the top 3, and Weiss (Hotchkiss), Fernandez (Sidwell Friends), and Liftman (Noble and Greenough) bring plenty of squash experience to the team. “Our team is very young and we are rebuilding the program and the roster from the ground up with fresh ideas and new faces,” Ho says.
2011-2012 SEASON RECAP
Season Record: 10-12
Final Ranking: 26
Team Championships: 2nd in the Conroy Cup (D Division)
2012-2013 SEASON PREVIEW
Program Status: Varsity
Returning Players from Team Championships: 1. Zach Schweitzer; 5. Jeremy Ho (NESCAC All-Academic); 6. Gordon Silverman; 7. Hugo Meggitt; 8. Elliot Kardon
Graduated/Non-Returning Players from 2011-2012 Team Championships: 2. Alex Nalle; 3. Henry Miller; 4. Michael Abboud (NESCAC All-Academic); 9. Eli Borek; 10. Chris Stoj (NESCAC All-Academic); Andrew Meleney
Additions to the 2012-2013 Roster:
- Expected to play in the top 3: Aditya Advani
- Expected to play in the middle 3: Brandon Weiss
- Expected to play in the bottom 3: Harrison Liftman, Aaron Fernandez, and Andrew Miller
Captains: Jeremy Ho and Zach Schweitzer
Team Goals: To finish in the top 20, climb NESCAC rankings, and rebuild and increase the skill of the current players.
Key Matches: Stanford, Hamilton, Hobart, and Connecticut College
To read other team previews, please visit the 2012-2013 College Squash Season Previews page.