Women's varsity crew team sets impressive tone for year

It seems a little change in scenery can make a big difference. After moving its boathouse from the Charles River to the local Malden River, the Tufts Varsity Women's Crew team has already seen a vast improvement.

In the team's first competition of the fall season, its two entries finished fourth and 13th respectively out of 35 boats in the Women's Club Eights at the Oct. 6 Textile River Regatta in Lowell. Last year, at the same competition, the team finished 26th and 32nd.

"It was a really strong showing," sophomore Alana Van der Mude said. "It sets a good precedent for the rest of the season."

This past Saturday, the team competed in the New Hampshire Championships in Pembroke, the last competition before this weekend's critical Charles River Regatta. In New Hampshire the team's two boats finished second and tenth out of 21 boats in the Open Division.

With a total of 19 rowers and three coxswains on the roster this year, the team has been able to create two boats of eight rowers each. In the Textile River Regatta, the two boats finished 47 seconds apart in one of the most competitive races of the day on the three-mile course on the Merrimack River. The Riverside Boat Club took home first place honors, edging out Bates College and WPI, with a time of 20:10, just more than a minute faster than the first Tufts' boat.

The first Tufts' boat finished with a time of 21 minutes and 14 seconds; the second boat was clocked at 22:01, both competitive times.

There is more reason for optimism though, with two of the top three teams that finished ahead of the Jumbos' first boat closing out their year-long seasons at the Charles River Regatta, the most important race of the fall schedule. Tufts rowers, however, are just getting going. The fall season is considered preliminary, before winter training and the strong close of their season strong in the spring with the aptly titled spring races, the shorter sprints.

The New Hampshire Championships, considered a tune-up for the world famous Head of the Charles Regatta on Saturday, made for some hopeful rowers.

"We're starting to really apply what we're learning in practice, and we're seeing the results," senior co-captain Maggie Danielson said.

The first Tufts' boat finished with a time of 16:41.41, just 11 seconds behind first place winner Holy Cross; the second boat came in at 17:48.02 to finish tenth. Last year, Tufts came in tenth and 13th at the same competition.

In addition to the boathouse move-a move which, according to the rowers, has made them more focused and given them a stronger team identity-this year's improvement can be attributed to a new sense of team unity and an influx of nine promising sophomore rowers and one sophomore coxswain. The Lowell meet was the first of their Varsity careers.

"It was exciting," Van der Mude, a 5'7" New Jersey native, exclaimed.

There's plenty of experience on the team as well. Led by senior captains Amira Baker-Jud and Danielson, the team has a total of seven seniors and ten returning members in all.

In accordance with the team's unity theme, the Jumbos attempt to balance their attack by making each of their two boats equal in strength.

"We are rapidly coming together as a very strong knit team," Danielson said.

With a quality start under their belts, the Varsity Women's Crew Team's potential seems to be limitless and will hopefully be a precursor for success at the Charles River Regatta this weekend. The Head of the Charles has added a new division this year exclusively for colleges, increasing Tufts' chances for a breakthrough performance (the team will no longer have to compete against advanced rowing clubs).

"This is an extremely exciting year for the women's varsity program," Danielson said. "We have a depth and breadth of talent on the team that I, as a senior, have never seen before."

The novice team, composed of freshmen women who have never rowed before, also performed well at Textile River and in New Hampshire-finishing fourth out of 11 in Lowell and fourth out of 18 in New Hampshire in the Women's Novice Eights.