The Head of the Charles was the biggest race of the fall season for men's crew. As well as being the most anticipated race, it was the last race for the Jumbos this fall. Braving the bad weather and a course change, Tufts finished in the middle of the pack this year in the men's college eights, but was the fourth NESCAC team to cross the finish line coming in behind Trinity, Wesleyan and Colby.
The Jumbos raced on a shortened course over the weekend. The starting line was moved from the Boston University boathouse to the Riverside boathouse, cutting the course down by three-quarters of a mile due to the weather.
On Saturday, Tufts raced in the men's open eights, finishing 24th out of 53 teams with a time of 16:32:477. Racing for the Jumbos from stroke to bow were senior Andrew Pelkey, sophomore Jordon Chiu, senior Robbie Goldstein, senior Alex Moerlein, sophomore Tim Pineau, junior Jeff Burke, sophomore Benjy Tarshis and sophomore Mike Abare.
"The race went okay, the conditions were not great and the course was shortened because of the wind, but those conditions affected everybody," Tarshis said. "We finished in the middle of pack so its nothing you can get excited about, but at the same time you can't be disappointed either."
Sunday's race did not deviate much from Saturday's performance as the Jumbos finished 29th of 45 teams with a time of 12:18:022.
"We were hoping for a higher finish," coach Jay Britt said. "Both boats had decent rows and came off the water knowing that. They are just now getting an understanding of what it is to race."
Racing for Tufts from stroke to bow on Sunday was junior Mark Roberts, senior Jeff Mueller, sophomore Jeff Vanderkruik, sophomore Nick Walker, sophomore Anthony Dennis, sophomore Danny McGee, junior captain Ben Harburg and sophomore Nick Haslett.
"The race was good in terms of us finishing a clean race with no accidents," Harburg said. "We didn't go after it as much as I had hoped though."
After finishing its fall season, men's crew will train all winter. It will still row on the water until the cold weather forces the practices indoors.
"We all tried hard but something was missing," Dennis said. "The coaches implemented lots of changes and in the winter we will train as hard as possible to apply those changes."
The Tufts crew is looking forward to a strong spring season , using its fall season as a building block. This fall offered an opportunity for the Jumbos to gain a better understanding of their new coach and to create a general idea of what they hope to accomplish in the spring.
"We are just starting to come together as a team," Tarshis said. "I am looking forward to the spring and I think that we are going to turn some heads in the rowing community."
As a whole, the Jumbos had a successful fall season with consistent rowing. Tufts will now look to the winter to improve its technique and become stronger.
"Our goal is to be on the podium at NESCAC's in the spring," Harburg said.
