The Jumbos walked off Scott Stadium on Sunday, May 24, the same way they have for three years running — as national champions. Tufts beat RIT 17-11 in Charlottesville to claim its third straight Division III men’s lacrosse title, the sixth in program history, and there’s no longer any argument about who runs this division.
This isn’t a hot streak. This is a dynasty.
Rare air
Winning three in a row at any level is almost unheard of. Tufts is the first DIII program to three-peat since Salisbury did it from 2003 to 2005, and just the fourth ever to win at least three straight, alongside Salisbury, Middlebury and the old Hobart powerhouse. The Jumbos’ six titles — all earned since 2010 — now stand alone as the third-most in DIII history.
A senior class that walked off the field as freshmen having lost a national championship walked off this time as three-time champs. Four years, an 85-5 record, three rings.
The burst that broke it open
It was a fight early. RIT grabbed a 2-1 lead in the first quarter, and the teams traded haymakers before Tufts edged ahead 4-3 after fifteen minutes. Then came the dagger sequence: clinging to an 8-6 lead late in the second quarter, the Jumbos erupted for four goals in 79 seconds. Garrett Kelly scored twice in 17 seconds, Brooks Hauser added his 73rd of the season, and suddenly it was 11-6 at the break. RIT never recovered.
A record-breaking sendoff for Jack Regnery
Senior Jack Regnery — the national player of the year — saved his best for last. He poured in three goals and two assists in the final and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. He closed his postseason with 31 points in five games and now owns the Division III record for goals in NCAA Tournament games with 61, breaking former Tufts great John Uppgren’s mark of 51.
He wasn’t alone. Hauser matched him with five points (three goals, two assists), and Will Emsing — who opened the scoring — chipped in two goals and three assists for five of his own. Kelly’s hat trick made three Jumbos with a trio of goals on the day.
The wall in the cage
Sophomore goalie Jack Old was a problem all afternoon, stopping a career-high 17 shots to anchor a 19-1 season between the pipes. When RIT tried to climb back in, Old slammed the window shut.
The coach behind the run
“It’s been a pretty incredible journey with this group,” said head coach Casey D’Annolfo, whose Jumbos finished 22-1 and rolled into the final by torching Wesleyan 23-7 in the semis — with eleven goals in the first quarter alone. Three titles in three years. Nobody in Division III is doing it like Tufts.
Still the kings
Sixth banner. Three straight. A player of the year rewriting the record book, a senior class going out on top, and a coach who’s turned Medford into the center of the Division III universe.
The Jumbos remain in a league of their own.
Go Jumbos. 🐘 Fire up the champs and fuel their NIL on RallyFuel.
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