The women's varsity eight and varsity four boats took to the water this past weekend against Connecticut College, Ithaca, and Holy Cross. The varsity four finished second out of three boats and the varsity eight ended up third out of four boats.
The varsity four boat came into the race already familiar with one of their competitors, Holy Cross. The two boats had competed earlier in the season, with Jumbos losing to the Crusaders by 20 seconds on April 7. This weekend again pitted the two teams against one another, also throwing Ithaca into the mix. And the Jumbos came back with a vengeance, not allowing themselves to be beaten by the same team twice.
The Tufts crew started off well, putting themselves ahead of both opponents at the beginning. By the 1200-meter mark, Holy Cross was left far behind in their wake, with only Ithaca left to be concerned about. Unfortunately, the Jumbos could not keep pace with them, and ended up losing by 12 seconds (8:08.8). However, this time it was the Crusader's turn to slink across the line 18 seconds behind Tufts. The turn around performance can be attributed to concentrated training as well as changes made in the boat.
"We have been working on a lot of technique since the last time we raced Holy Cross," sophomore coxswain Bess Dopkeen said. "This boat is now a really strong one. There is a lot of raw power on the boat and everyone is ready to push it to the max."
Similarly, the women's varsity eight boat went into their race fully knowing how difficult the competition would be. Both Ithaca and Holy Cross have been strong competitors on the circuit this season, and the Jumbos were preparing for a battle. The Jumbos also knew they had to come back from a rocky start in their previous meet, which ultimately cost them the win in a race against Wesleyan.
This week, the beginning of the race was not a problem for the Brown and Blue. Despite wind and choppiness, the Jumbos got off the line well, and managed to remain even with all of the teams.
"It was a fast start for us, despite the conditions." sophomore coxswain Beth Grosart said. "Everyone was together at the beginning of the race, then we shifted our focus to pulling away from Connecticut College."
The Jumbos would do just that, beating out the Camels in the end by six seconds. However, they were unable to catch Holy Cross and Ithaca as the two teams pulled away during the middle portion of the race. The Tufts boat did manage to execute a solid power ten during the middle, which brought it closer to catching the two leaders.
"We kind of lost ourselves in the middle of the race," Grosart said. "We were going at a frantic pace and I could tell by the strokes that there were a lot of questions about the race. We were back on track by the end however, but unfortunately it wasn't in time to win."
The varsity eight now has one regatta remaining before the New England Championships, as it will take the line against Mt. Holyoke and Smith in two weeks. The primary goal for the team at the New Englands is to qualify for the Avaya Collegiate Championships, which will be held in New Jersey on the weekend of May 11. The varsity four boat, on the other hand, will be competing in the varsity four championships this weekend, and are hoping to qualify for New Englands by virtue of a solid finish.
"We are expecting to qualify for New Englands," Dopkeen said. "Last years team qualified and I think the boat this year is a little stronger than the one last year."
