The crew program had a successful weekend as both the men's and women's varsity eight defeated Tulane in dual races, and the men's crew defeated rival Boston College. On the downside, the women's varsity four lost to Holy Cross on Sunday. The crews battled headwinds and suffered slower times as result.
After staring off the season with a loss, the women's varsity eight buoyed themselves over a week of training and pulled off a decisive victory against the women's varsity from Tulane. Last week's problems of first-race jitters were gone, leaving a confident and cohesive crew. The Jumbos crossed the line in 7:28.6, 18 seconds ahead of the Green Wave.
The differences between the two races can be attributed not only to increased confidence, but also to marked technical changes in the rowing style. Last week's race was kept at a high rate of 36 strokes per minute. This week, the boat took this pace down a couple of beats for a much more relaxed race.
"There were marked changes in the way that they rowed," head coach Gary Caldwell said. "They looked much longer in the water and this race was significantly better. The technical changes made were a positive step forward."
After the men's dominating win against WPI in the season opener last week, Caldwell asserted that this varsity eight would be the surprise crew in New England. This weekend, the boat only helped to further this prognosis. In their first of two races of the day, Tufts left Boston College in its wake, coming in at 6:23.9. The time provides strong evidence that the Jumbo men will be a formidable opponent to any challenger this season. Tufts has fallen to BC in each of the last two seasons. This time around however, the Jumbos commanded the race, cruising to an 11-second win.
"I am really happy with where we are at right now," senior Raj Marreddy said. "Beating Boston College is a big deal because they pretty much handed it to us for as long as I have been here."
In its next race, the men's varsity team took on Tulane, winning by nine seconds and improving on its time (6:21.0). Tulane suffered a broken skeg in the race, which is the fin on the bottom of the boat that aids in steering. With the win, Tufts now holds an undefeated record of 3-0 for the season.
"The men's varsity rowed equally well the week before, and I see the consistency of their races continuing," Caldwell said.
The early success can be attributed to diligent winter training that has made a difference in this crew's performance. Concerned about becoming overconfident, however, the boat is still focusing on improving, particularly with technique in the water.
"We are looking to improve further, specifically technically in the water, becoming more confident with our strokes," Marreddy said. "I think this crew has a lot of potential. We are definitely starting to turn some heads in New England."
On Sunday, the women's varsity four competed against a difficult varsity four from Holy Cross. Unfortunately, it was not able to keep pace with the Crusaders. The Jumbos finished the race in 8:18.0, dropping its season mark to 1-1. The Jumbos were expecting to face a competitive team because Holy Cross typically puts its four strongest rowers in the varsity four boats.
"We had a solid race," sophomore Anna Lindgren-Streicher said. "The boat came together, but there is still a lot of work to be done."
While the cemented lineups in the women's varsity four and eight are as yet undetermined, both boats have a lot of physical strength with which to work. The season's goal is technical improvement.
"We have a lot of power and now we need to convert that power to make us race faster," Lindgren-Streicher said. "It is early in the season, and we have time to make more improvements."
Next up for the Jumbos will be races this weekend at home on the Malden River against Wesleyan and Bates. The women's crews will also take on Simmons while the men's crew will face UNH.
"Wesleyan is supposed to be the fastest of the three but traditionally we have had a rivalry with UNH," Marreddy said. "It is going to be an exciting race to see."
