(Photo: Alonso Nichols/Tufts University)
[Athlete to watch]
Boris Sorkin, Men's Tennis
Hailing from St. Petersburg, Russia, Sorkin, A21, had a good freshman season for the Tufts men’s tennis team last spring, earning All-Conference second team honors. He returned to campus in the fall with a new confidence: “I think I just convinced myself that I am capable of winning against players who are stronger than me,” he said. Sorkin won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Cup singles national championship on October 13. He’s now the number one ranked singles player in the country heading into the spring season.
Kat Wiley, A20 plays tennis against MIT.
(Photo: Alonso Nichols/Tufts University)
[Rivalry to Watch]
Women's Tennis VS. MIT
Just four miles apart, Tufts and MIT have become two of the top NCAA Division III sports programs in the US. This proximity—and the caliber of the student-athletes who attend the schools—has spawned a rivalry between the Jumbos and the Engineers. One of the most hotly contested matchups is in women’s tennis: when the squads battled for a spot in the national quarterfinals on Tufts’ Voute Courts last spring, MIT prevailed by the narrowest of margins. Naturally, the Jumbos will be looking for revenge in 2019.
Coach Lauren Ebstein gives a round of hi-fives in the dugout before the game.
(Photo: Alonso Nichols/Tufts University)
[Coach to Watch]
Lauren Ebstein, Softball
Cheryl Milligan, who steered the softball team to three consecutive NCAA Championships in 2013–2015, stepped down as head coach in November to spend more time with her family. Ebstein, A07, pitched for the Jumbos and served as associate head coach for two championship teams. She’s now the interim leader of a squad that’s poised to make some noise again this spring, after advancing to the NCAA Regional Final last year.
The men's lacrosse team runs onto the field before the NESCAC championship game.
(Photo: Evan Sayles for Tufts University)
[Storyline to watch]
Men's Lacrosse
Tufts lost to Wesleyan 12–11 in the NCAA Quarterfinals last spring on a Cardinal goal with twenty seconds left in the game. Wesleyan, a team the Jumbos had beat to clinch the program’s eighth NESCAC title a few weeks before that, went on to win the national championship. The sting wore off quickly and the Jumbos are back to chasing their fourth NCAA title. Four All-Americans are among the top players returning to a team with something to prove.
