Coach Ken Legler predicted that the Tufts University sailing team would rebound from a disappointing Patriot's Day weekend, and he was right.
After finishing near the middle of the pack in eight of the nine events the Jumbos entered two weeks ago, the squad bounced back this past weekend by finishing near the top of all four regattas it entered boats into.
As a result, Tufts finished second out of 17 teams at the New England Women's Championship, in what was probably the most important result of the weekend. Harvard won the Regatta with 119 points, while Tufts finished with 139.The top six finishers at the event qualified for Nationals, where Tufts won last year.
"I was a little bit nervous about the event, having not done well last week and it being a qualifier for nationals," women's captain senior AJ Crane said. "I thought we'd qualify for nationals, but I was still nervous."
Crane did her part to get the Jumbos in, finishing first in the A division with 58 points. Senior Kristin Tysell and freshman Gretchen Curtis split time as Crane's boat mate. Curtis sailed most of the races on Saturday, with Tysell taking Sunday.
"It was really windy on Saturday and Gretchen is a little bit bigger than Kristin," Crane explained.
The event also gave Crane some valuable experience with Curtis, who will be important at Nationals because of similarly windy conditions.
"The race gives us a lot of confidence," Crane said. "I feel that with a lot more time practicing, more time with Gretchen, I'll feel even more confident about Nationals. I think we've shown we can do well when conditions are all over the place."
Also racing for Tufts at the championships, which were hosted by Boston University, were junior Lindsay Shanholt and senior Katie Shuman.
Tufts was in co-ed action at the Thompson Trophy, where the team finished sixth out of 18 teams. Sophomore Jeff Cruise and senior Ariel Fromer sailed in the A division, and in the B division senior co-ed captain Joel Hanneman sailed to a second place finish. He was crewed by junior Elizabeth Haddad.
The Jumbos finished third out of 15 teams at the Priddy Trophy, where freshmen Peter Fallon and Anna Martin ran up the sail for Tufts.
Tufts also won the Staake Trophy,defeating Dartmouth College, Robert Williams, Harvard, and Boston University. Junior Sebastian Reeve, sophomores Katie Mims, Bryan Prior, Michaela Brady-Lederer, and Rachel Filip, and freshman Jimmy Praley all sailed for the 'Bos. The team went a perfect 8-0 record at the event.
