Depth gives Jumbos results

The Jumbos sailed to a second place finish behind number two nationally ranked Harvard at the Navy Fall Intersectional Regatta at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD on Sunday. The two-day event featured some of the top teams in the country, including sixth-ranked Hobart William Smith (third with 575 points), fifth-ranked Kings Point (fourth with 586) and first-ranked Dartmouth (fifth with 598). Tufts ended the weekend with 526 points, 78 behind the Crimson.

The regatta featured four divisions consisting of two double-handed and two single-handed sections, rather than the usual two divisions seen at most college meets.

Senior women's captain AJ Crane and her boatmate, senior Kristen Tysell, ran ninth in the A division, finishing with six top-five finishes in 20 races. In the B division, sophomore skipper Dave Siegal and senior Katie Shuman came in second behind Dartmouth, six points ahead of Dartmouth thanks to three wins and eight other top-five finishes from 20 races.

"We were definitely happy with it because it's a regatta that has so many divisions. It really shows that our team has a lot of depth, and is strong overall," Shuman said. "It would have been nice to beat Harvard. We were leading them after the first day, but we were still happy with the finish."

Sophomore Zander Kirkland (C division) and senior co-ed captain Joel Hanneman (D division) placed third and fourth in their respective classes in the single-handed events. Both sailors placed amongst the top five in 11 of their 20 races. The regatta is scored on the total of all four divisions, with each score contributing equally to the final result.

"It was big, we sent our very best team down there," coach Ken Legler said. "They did very, very well. The winds were light on Saturday. On Sunday the conditions were moderate to windy, and Harvard was faster in those conditions."

The Jumbos also sent four double-handed crews to the Jack Wood Trophy at Dartmouth on Sunday, another four-division regatta. Tufts won the event by seven points, running before the light breeze and an under-performing host Dartmouth squad, which placed second.

"Dartmouth didn't have their best team," Legler said. "However it was nice to go up there and take that one."

The four-division format adds interest to the regatta, according to senior Ariel Fromer, who crewed for sophomore skipper Jeff Cruise in the A division. The pair won one of seven races, placing third in three others.

"It's always a really interesting event because there are four divisions," Fromer said. "It shows that our team has a lot more depth -- that we could do well in all four divisions and still win the event."

Sophomores Bryan Prior and Rachel Filip competed in the B division while classmates Alex Singer and Eric Morley took to the waters in the C division. Freshmen Stephen Cox and Anna Martin rounded out the group in D division.

The A, B and C division crews from the Jack Wood Trophy also raced to a third place finish at the Lane Trophy Team Race at Tufts on Saturday, finishing with a 4-3 record behind Dartmouth (7-0) and MIT (5-2). Team racing involves three boats from each competing team facing off against each other, much like three-on-three basketball. According to Fromer, who had hoped for a better finish, the conditions were not ideal and the breeze was unpredictable.

"I thought we might win [the Lane Trophy]," Legler added. "But Dartmouth was just too strong."

The Jumbos also won the BC Bowl Team Race on Saturday in rather fickle conditions, winning all eight of their races. Junior Sebastian Reeve, sophomore Katie Mims, seniors Garin Pace and Hatsy Hoder and freshmen MacKenzie Kigin and Cox handily won the event over BC.

"Team racing is a big part of [our] team," Reeve said. "We tend to do pretty well in it, and it's an important part of something we also enjoy doing. The BC Bowl certainly went well. It was a rainy event but things were good."

Tufts now turns its attention to qualification for the mid-November Atlantic Coast Championships.

"The Schell Trophy at MIT [in two weeks] is sort of an informal New England Championship, but it's also a qualifier for the Atlantic Coast," Legler said. "First and foremost we want to qualify for the Championships. In the process we'd like to win [the Schell] if possible. Harvard and Dartmouth are both stronger teams right now but we're not to be completely discounted."

Fromer agreed, saying that the team will now concentrate its efforts on championship qualifications.

"Now that midterms are over, we can focus a lot more in practice and really put some time into make sure that we really have it centered for New England's."

Shuman also noted that while Tufts is a strong team, the next couple weeks will see the team add to that strength.

"We need to work on being able to transition into windier or heavier conditions," Shuman said. "As a team we're pretty small, and sometimes when it gets windier we have to sail with heavier crews that aren't our regular crews. It's a difficult transition, sailing with somebody new. A lot of other teams do it more seamlessly than we do."

Tufts will also send Kirkland and Hanneman to this weekend's New England Single-handed Laser Championships, held at Dartmouth. Both have strong chances to qualify for the North American Single-handed Championships at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida in late November.

"Only four sailors will qualify from New England to go to Nationals," Legler said. "We've counted at least five really good ones: two from Tufts, two from Harvard, and one from Dartmouth, so somebody's going to be left out."