Returning from a spring break trip to St. Mary's College in Maryland, the sailing team says the week of practices and regattas was worthwhile despite poor weather. The men and women spent six to seven hours practicing each day instead of the usual two to three. Tufts was able to practice with the St. Mary's team, providing team members with a chance to check out the competition.
Tufts used the facilities at St. Mary's, which included abandoning the Larks that the team usually sails for FJs - the same boats to be sailed at this year's National competition in Honolulu.
The Jumbos have perfected their team racing tactics, including basketball-style blocking techniques. During a team race, two college teams take on a course, and each team is represented by three boats. This three-on-three requires much more strategy than normal "fleet" races. For example one of the Tufts boats might sacrifice its position to block the opponent and let another Tufts boat sail ahead. The Jumbo's team racing skills will play an important role in the team's success at Nationals.
Spring break was no vacation for the team, with regattas on both weekends. The coed team spent the weekend of March 16-17 at the US Naval Academy for the Truxtun Umstead Regatta and finished in second place overall. Juniors Pete Levesque, Caroline Hall, and Ariel Fromer earned second place in the A division, while senior John Birkett, sophomore Katie Shuman, and junior Matt Cohen placed fourth in the B division. Junior Joel Hanneman earned third place in the C division and Junior JR Maxwell placed sixth in the D division.
The regatta was different in that it allowed competitors to participate in four divisions, instead of just the A and B divisions allowed in most regattas. Thus, the regatta provided a good opportunity to test how deep the team is. The second place finish was very close behind Harvard, the first place finisher. As Junior Joel Hanneman pointed out, the team's success will be determined by its placing at New Englands and Nationals. "It's good to know we're up at the top against the competition," Hanneman said.
During the weekend of March 23-24, the coed team headed to MIT for the Southern New England Team Race. Applying the difficult team racing tactics it practiced during break, the team placed third overall.
"By the end of the regatta we had a respectable third-place finish, but we realized there are a few things we need to work on for New Englands," Hanneman said.
The women's team also faced two regattas over break, and spent its first weekend competing at the St. Mary's Womens Intersectionals. The race was unique in that it provided the women with a chance to compete against schools from the western division of the United States - such as Stanford and the University of Hawaii - who normally do not compete against Tufts. Thus, the women were able to evaluate themselves across a broader spectrum of competition and where they stand on a national level. Sophomores AJ Crane and Liz Bancroft placed eighth in the A division while juniors Clare Dooley and Marjorie Affel placed fifth in the B division. Overall Tufts earned a fifth-place finish.
The women spent their second weekend at Boston University for the BU Presidents Trophy. Tufts finished second overall behind BC, with both the A and B teams finishing second.
"It was good practice for New Englands and possibly Nationals," Dooley said. "It was good to sail against teams who we won't sail against again until Nationals. Unfortunately, most women's teams were not fully represented."
Finally, the week rounded out with a new set of rankings for the two teams. Rankings are updated every two weeks at the recommendation of three college sailing coaches - one of whom is Tufts sailing coach Ken Legler. This week, the coed team dropped from fourth to a sixth place ranking. The women's team, which had not previously been ranked, earned a 15th place national ranking.
"The [women's] ranking is sure to go up throughout the year," Dooley said. "We've beaten teams currently ranked above us; our season is looking promising."
