Novice crew finishes season strong

This past Saturday, the men's and women's novice crew teams gathered with other novice teams at Quinsigamond Lake in Worcester, Mass. It was here that both teams rowed their last race of the fall season in the 2003 Quinsigamond Challenge.

The women's A-boat took second place out of seven boats in the Frosh/Novice 8 with a time of 14:49.01. The Trinity A-boat won the race with a time of 14:49.01. In the second Frosh/Novice 8, the Tufts B-boat took home a first place finish, out of four competitors, crossing the line 16:21.31.

Despite a tough start in warm-ups due to cold weather conditions coupled with nerves, by race time, the team was ready. Getting off to an excellent start, the A-boat passed Wesleyan within the first 500 meters. Next, the team set its eyes on the Coast Guard Academy, who had a several second time advantage over them due to a staggered racing start. Keeping a steady pace, the A-boat was eventually able to catch them.

"By the end of the race we made some excellent distance," freshmen, A-boat member Dora Levinson said. "We had a really good race, everyone seemed to be working well together."

Freshman Britt Christian, who rowed in the five-seat this fall season was also happy with the team's results.

"We had a phenomenal row, I felt like we really clicked. When we finished I didn't care what place we came in because I knew we had put our best effort into the race," Christian said.

Saturday's performance, however, is not atypical of the Tufts novice A-boat. With four races under their belt, the team has recently made a name for themselves. At the first regatta of the year, the Riverfront recapture, they took home first place.

"We didn't know what to expect, but we gave it our all and ended up with a first place finish," Christian said.

The following weekend, the team raced in the junior/novice division, coming in second place overall and first place in the novice division at the New Hampshire Championships.

At the Head of the Charles, the A-boat placed 38th in the Youth 8 division.

"At about the half-way point a boat passed us, which had never happened before and we lost our focus." Christian said. "Our rowing fell apart and our finish was not as strong as we had hoped."

But that only inspired the crew to work harder, which earned it their second place finish this weekend.

"We have all rowed before and at pretty intense levels. So, we row with good spirit and are all excited about rowing," Levinson said regarding her teammates.

Also participating in Saturday's regatta was the men's novice team. The A-boat finished solidly in the Frosh/Novice 8 with a fourth place finish in a time of 12:04.28, following close behind the Trinity B-Boat. Taking home first place was the Trinity A-boat (13:50.53).

"We had a rough start because of waves from a nearby boat, but our coxswain, Ray Wu, did an excellent job of keeping composure. Our stroke, Jordan Chiu, did a great job of keeping pace," freshman A-boat member Mike Abare said.

The Jumbos ended their season on a high note, avenging their late-September loss to Wesleyan at the Riverfront Recapture, by ousting it out of the fourth place spot.

In the 2nd Frosh/Novice race, with a time of 14:55.47 the Tufts B-boat finished fifth, about a minute off of the first place Holy Cross A-boat.

"During our race this past weekend, we were all psyched up because this was our last race of the fall," Abare said. "We wanted to maintain our streak from the last two races of being one of the top six boats."

The team now looks to stay strong over the winter off-season with daily workouts and intensive weight training. This is all geared toward staying in peak physical condition for the competitive spring season.