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 15th season with the team is head coach Doug Eng. Last year's team finished #20 nationally with a 9-12 record. It was the tenth straight year that the team finished in the top 20 nationally despite not having international squash courts. At Nationals, the team came within three points of beating #1 seed Bowdoin in the semi-finals of the Summers Cup.

For the 2009-10 season, the men's team retains the top of the order. Graduated are tri-captains Josh Levinson, Chris Martin and Brian Rassel. Their leadership loss will be felt, but the core of the team and the top seven players all return. Seniors include John Subranni, Scott Leighton, co-captain Max Dalury, co-captain Zach Bradley and Tyler Krizan. Returning juniors are Alex Gross, Ben Rind and Andrew Kim. Gross and Rind are abroad in the fall semester. Henry Miller, Eli Borek, Will Salisbury, Chris Stoj, and Chris Mutzel are sophomores. Sheldon Taylor from Westminister School in Atlanta is a promising freshman. The team's goal is to win the Summer Cup with some of its best depth ever.

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. 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 Belkys Velez hails from Ecuador and plays on the Women's International Squash Players Tour (WISPA) tour. Her highest ranking was 84. Belkys coached squash at SquashBusters, Maugus Club, and Newton Country Day. This season, she will primarily focus on the women's team, although she still finds time to help out with the men's 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 10th in the 2009 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, which awards points based on NCAA performances. The University's proximity to a world-class city renowned for its academic institutions is also a major draw.