Teams: Men's Squash: Press Releases

Thursday, February 7, 2008

GROSS LEAVES NO DOUBT ABOUT MEN'S SQUASH WINS RECORD

MEDFORD -- With his outstanding play this season, senior Jake Gross (Washington, DC/Potomac School) has established himself as the biggest winner in Tufts University men's squash history.

Gross entered his senior season of 2007-08 with a career record of 36-19. Due to some unreliable record keeping from past seasons, it wasn't certain how many victories shy he stood of the all-time record. According to records produced by Tufts coach Doug Eng, Wes Baker (Class of 1985) won 43 matches, while Scott Packard '84 and Sahki Khan '85 have 39 wins. Willard Bigelow '80, who along with Khan and Rusty Hasim '88 are Tufts squash All-Americans, had 38 victories. Give or take a few.

Gross has surged to 49 career wins with a senior season record of 13-1 so far. Now well ahead of the other players, it's safe to say he's the all-time winner in team history. With 20 losses in 69 matches, he has a .710 winning percentage.

Gross is ranked 26th in the College Squash Association's (CSA) Men's Individual Rankings of January 15. Among his 13 wins this season are three against national top 50 players. He went 4-0 during the NESCAC Tournament last weekend (Feb. 2-4) at Trinity, including his second victory of the season versus 37th ranked Jon Barry from Williams College. Gross's lone loss of the season was in five games to #17 ranked Andrew Boumford from Dartmouth on November 28. Gross has built a 10-match winning streak since then.

Gross came to Tufts as one of the top-ranked juniors in the United States. He stepped right in to the #1 position and won 11 of 15 matches as a freshman. His best single-season to date was the 15 wins he posted in 2005-06. Last year he finished with a 10-7 mark.

With Gross at its top spot, the Tufts men's squash program under Coach Eng has climbed the national ladder in recent seasons. The Jumbos (7-7 overall) were ranked #17 in the February 1 CSA Team Rankings. Up next for the team, and Gross, is one of the toughest challenges of the season at eighth-ranked Bates College on Friday night (Feb. 8). Gross will likely face Bobcat Ricardo Weiskopf, the #10 ranked player in the nation.

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