Jumbos win 17-11 over Rochester Institute of Technology to capture NCAA crown, and the senior class end their careers with a stellar 85-5 record
The celebration begins, hoisting the Jumbos’ third straight NCAA championship trophy on May 24. Photo: Stephen Blue/Sideline Media
Seniors Brooks Hauser and Jack Regnery each tallied five points and sophomore goalkeeper Jack Old stopped 17 shots as the No. 1 Tufts men’s lacrosse team won its sixth NCAA title in program history with a 17-11 win over No. 10 Rochester Institute of Technology May 24 at the University of Virginia.
It marked the Jumbos’ third consecutive title, becoming the first time since Salisbury University in 2003-05 that a team earned three NCAA crowns in a row. Almost more impressive is the senior class record, going 85-5 over the past four campaigns, and finishing this season 22-1.
“I love this senior class so much,” said head coach Casey D’Annolfo. “It’s been a pretty incredible journey with this group, 85-5 record across four years, and just enjoyed every minute of it. And just so proud that the end of their freshmen year we walked off the field having lost a national championship, and I think it’s pretty cool that they get to walk off as a senior class winning the national championship."
Regnery was named as the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Most Outstanding Player, as he had three goals and two assists in the final. Regnery finished the postseason with 31 points over five games, and is the Division III all-time leader in NCAA tournament goals with 61 over his four seasons.
“I love this senior class so much,” said head coach Casey D’Annolfo. “It’s been a pretty incredible journey with this group, 85-5 record across four years.” Photo: Stephen Blue/Sideline Media
The Jumbos got on the board first with 11:20 remaining in the first quarter as Will Emsing opened the scoring with his 33rd of the season. RIT responded with two, to take a 2-1 lead, but an acrobatic goal from Garrett Kelly started a 3-1 run to end the frame as Tufts led 4-3 after the opening 15 minutes.
Sophomore Davis Owens scored in transition early in the second quarter to give the Jumbos their first multiple goal lead of the game at 5-3. The Tigers once again rallied with a pair of scores from Ryan Sanders and Erich Acton, but Brooks Hauser’s 72nd of the season put the Jumbos back on top at 6-5 with 6:38 to go in the half.
Owens would score his second of the game on a backhand twister off of a nice feed from Regnery to take a 7-5 edge. After the Tigers pulled one back, junior Peter Kraemer scored, followed by back-to-back tallies from Kelly to put the Jumbos up four at 10-6 with 1:30 left in the second stanza.
Late in the half, Hauser fired home a rocket from 10 yards out for his second of the game off of a loose ball pick up to make it 11-6. On the ensuing possession before the halftime whistle, RIT looked to have a great chance at clawing a goal back, but a fantastic play by junior Jackson Redd in transition stopped the Tiger attack as the game went to half with the Jumbos up five.
The lead for the Jumbos would swell up to as much as seven in the third quarter following a goal from junior Jackson Redd, as Tufts eventually took a 16-11 edge into the final quarter. RIT got one back early in the frame, but Cole Friedlander capped the scoring with an empty net tally on a 10-man ride to seal the win for Tufts.
Regnery added five ground balls to his point total for Tufts, while Hauser had three goals, two helpers and four ground balls. Emsing set up three scores while netting a pair of tallies, and Kelly finished with three goals on three shots on goal. Senior face-off Victor Salcedo had a solid day, going 9-for-15 with six grounders, and Logan Lee caused three turnovers to go with three ground balls.
Old was stellar in net for the Jumbos, as he posted a career-high 17 stops. He also had five ground balls, and Friedlander’s outstanding end of the year finished with a goal, assist, and three caused turnovers. Friedlander had one point in his career before picking up at least one each of his final four games.
Tufts posted a slight 41-39 edge in shots for the game, as well as a small 47-44 ground ball advantage. The Jumbos went 1-for-6 with the extra man, while hosting RIT (19-5) to an 0-for-4 clip on the EMO.
With this latest victory, Tufts adds another trophy to its mantle, having captured the NCAA crown in 2010, 2014, 2015, 2024, 2025, and now 2026.
