Much like the US Postal Service, the women's crew team not only rows through snow, rain, heat, or gloom of night, it also delivers - victories, that is. This group of dedicated rowers looks ahead to the fall as a time to build upon the largely successful season of this past spring.
Among the highlights of the 2001 spring season were a sixth place finish at Nationals for the novice team, as well as a first place finish at New Englands and a third place finish at Nationals for the lightweight varsity team. One difference between the fall and spring semesters is that while there are separate lightweight and heavyweight programs in the spring sprint season, the two weight divisions row as one in the fall.
While winning is nothing new to this team, there are several other aspects of the season that are. The coaching staff was restructured slightly, and well Gary Caldwell is still retaining his role as the head of the crew program, he moves from coaching the varsity to the novice team. Jessica Normand will now coach the varsity squad after a year of coaching the lightweight team.
Normand is no stranger to the women's crew program, as she participated in it during her four-year tenure as a Jumbo as well as acting as a coach for the past two years. Now in her third year of coaching, Normand brought the novice women to Nationals her first year and the following year coached the lightweight crew to Nationals.
"This team really looks promising. It definitely helps that I know most of these rowers so there aren't any major adjustments that need to be made," Normand said.
The team has also adjusted to a shift in its practice locale. Having moved out of the shadow of the Harvard boathouse on the Charles River, the team now hones its competitive edge on the Mystic River in Malden. Though grateful to Harvard for the use of their prestigious boathouse, many enjoy the prospect of the new location.
"It's definitely exciting being able to practice on our own river, we're able to concentrate on technique and timing without the added worry of precarious situations caused by the heavy traffic flow on the Charles," Danielson said.
Though the team is launching out of what has been called a temporary boathouse, construction on the first-ever exclusive Tufts boathouse is slated to start as early as this spring.
"This is a major undertaking," Normand said. "It's really going to bring the team to a higher level."
However, with all the changes that this year poses there are many returning faces to the crew program. Sophmores Bess Dopkeen, Sandra Goldberg, Beth Grosart, and Courtney O'Keefe; juniors Amira Baker-Jud, Rebecca Clark, Maggie Danielson, Dianna Darsney, Keffie Feldman, and Rebecca Stein; and seniors Marcy Archfield and Shelly Nelson comprise the returning faction of the 20-person strong team. Dopkeen, Gorsart, and O'Keefe act as the teams' coxswains, both motivating and steering the rowers to victory. The varsity team also consists of quite a few novice rowers who moved up in the ranks.
"We're organized differently, but there's also a great sense of continuity," Baker-Jud said. "Even though there are a lot of new members there is a lot of trust, and we're all excited to see how far we'll progress as such a dynamic team."
As the team heads to nearby Lowell for this weekend's Textile Regatta, it will do so with high hopes and expectations
"We're looking for the novice team to place very close to the top," Normand said. "Don't be surprised if they do end up on top. As for the varsity program, both the men's and women's teams are looking to place in the top third."
With a new river, a new boathouse, and a newly structured coaching staff the women's crew program has received a refreshing start on what it hopes will be a fruitful season.
