The Tufts women's crew team will have both depth and experience to back up their talent in this year's spring season. The Jumbos hope to use their strong 2004 record, where they sent a four-person boat to second place at Nationals, to steer them in the direction of the NESCAC Championships.
At the head of the operation will be program director and current varsity coach Gary Caldwell. Caldwell has headed the Tufts crew program for the last 11 years, and took over as varsity women's coach in the fall.
The Jumbos have technically been in-season since Feb. 15, but due to the freezing of the Malden River where the team practices, they were not able to actually take to the water until early March.
This spring there are 32 varsity women rowing for the Jumbos, and the team is looking forward to competing with juniors Jackie Stone and Maddy Carroll, who both recently returned from studying abroad for the last season. The addition of experienced members to the team will help to maintain strength in each of the varsity boats, allowing Tufts to have several competitive boats.
During spring break next week, the team will train in Florida. There, they will participate in on-the-water practices twice a day. The rigorous training will help prepare them for the upcoming races and regattas, which are scheduled to start soon after they return.
"We are really excited about the upcoming season," senior captain Ashley Korb said, "because there is incredible depth on our team, which will prove to be invaluable for both the preparation for races and actual races."
Last year, the novice crew, consisting entirely of freshmen, performed well. In fact, the first boat was undefeated in the regular season and took second at the New England Rowing Championships on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester. At Nationals, the novice team was outstanding, placing second in the country among Div. III schools. Those women, who are now sophomores, will bring considerable depth to the varsity. The addition of sophomores Emily Wark, Christine Shoemaker and Airlia Esworthy will give the varsity a chance to switch around the boats and find the strengths of individual team members.
Those women will join a group of experienced rowers led by co-captains Ashley Korb and Loi Sessions. Last season, Sessions and junior Daniela Fairchild both were starboard on the Varsity four that took second at the National Invitational Collegiate Regatta with a time of 7:42.98.
"Our goal this year is to send an eight to the ECAC National Championships," Fairchild said. "We are hoping that the depth and drive of the team will help us actualize that goal."
The women's first scheduled competition is on Saturday, April 2 against the Coast Guard Academy, Trinity and Mount Holyoke. The team will look for quick returns from their work over spring break to start the season.
The opening competition will start a tough schedule for the Jumbos. In a preseason national poll from March 15 by USRowing and the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association, Trinity is ranked second, the Coast Guard is ranked eighth, and Mount Holyoke is ranked 14th. Tufts is ranked 15th. Smith, ranked first in the poll, will face Tufts on April 23, and Ithaca, ranked third, will meet the Jumbos on April 16.
The team has spent all winter working in Gantcher to get ready to row. The new members to varsity, like sophomores Liz Parker and Britt Christian, have impressed some of the varsity runners with their work ethic.
"I am really pumped for the season," Fairchild said. "I haven't seen an entire team ever work this hard and it's going to show on the water come race day."
