Teams: Men's Squash: Team Overview

The Tufts University men's squash program has long been respected on the national squash scene. A long line of outstanding players, including several All-Americans, has helped establish this reputation. The men's schedule includes New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) rivals and Ivy League powerhouses. Now in his 14th season with the team is head coach Doug Eng. Last year's team finished 10-9 with a National Ranking of #18. The team finished second in the Summers Division at Nationals.

For the 2008-2009 season, the men's team retains the top of the team. Graduated are tri-captains Jake Gross, Kris Leetavorn and Nelson Schubart. Also graduated is senior Jonah Peppiatt. Instead, leadership will be provided by tri-captains Josh Levinson, Chris Martin and Brian Rassel. Juniors include John Subranni, Scott Leighton, Max Dalury and Zach Bradley. Bradley had the second-best record on the team at 15-2. At the top of the team, sophomores Alex Gross and Ben Rind should contribute. At #2 last year, Gross had a 10-8 record. The entering freshman class includes Henry Miller, William Salisbury, Jamie Matheson and Eli Borek.

The team practices at Tufts, Belmont Hill and Harvard and prepares with on-court pressure drilling, tactical situational games, and technical work. Non-racquet and off-court practice includes ghosting, interval training, strength and conditioning and flexibility training. The team also works with mental toughness training and tactical court awareness exercises. In January 2009, the team will train in Grand Cayman. The holistic training philosophy for the Jumbos involves emotional, tactical/cognitive, physical, and technical training. The Tufts program is centered on complete development of the student-athlete and a healthy relationship with communication between players and coaches.

As members of the NESCAC, Tufts is part of the nation's most competitive small college conference academically and athletically. The NESCAC is a group of highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities that share an academics-first philosophy for intercollegiate athletics. Tufts squash players train both on and off the court to be future leaders. Recent graduates have gone on to graduate, business and medical schools, as well as successful professional and business careers.

Coach Eng holds three degrees from Tufts (BSChE 1984, MS in 1987 and PhD in 1990), and an EdD in sport pedagogy/psychology from Boston University. He was the assistant coach at Tufts in 1992-93 and has taught and coached tennis and squash for nearly 20 years. Eng holds certifications from the United States Squash Racquets Association (Level II) and the Professional Squash Association. He has worked with dozens of regionally and nationally ranked players. He has served on the board of several different regional and national organizations and committees in squash and tennis. Eng lectures and writes on sport sciences for squash and tennis organizations and magazines, and is an expert on sport psychology and coaching theory. Over the past two years, he has served as head coach of the men's tennis team and has also previously coached the women's tennis team.

Assistant Coach Kelsey Engman graduated from Bates College in 2007 where she played #1. Last year, she worked with both teams. This season, Kelsey primarily focus will be the womens team although she still finds time to help out with the mens team.

Located right outside of Boston, Tufts offers a well-rounded collegiate experience to student-athletes. Within its picturesque small-college campus, Tufts is a major university with "an unprecedented diversity of programs, exceptional faculty and staff, and bright and talented students," according to President Lawrence S. Bacow. The Athletics Department sponsors a varsity program of 28 sports that is among the most competitive in the NCAA's Division III. Tufts finished 15th in the 2008 U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup, the prestigious award presented annually to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country. The University's proximity to a world-class city renowned for its academic institutions is also a major draw.