Lake Quinsigamond proved to be almost as frustrating to row on as to spell, as the men's crew failed to win in any of its races on Saturday and Sunday.
On Sunday, the Tufts men's varsity eight (6:15.62) finished behind WPI (6:12.30), and RIT (6:13.15) and ahead of RPI (6:34.07) during the Brown and Baker Cup. The second varsity eight (6:29.33) beat RPI (6:56.51) but trailed WPI (6:26.15). While the boats displayed some slightly improved rowing, the Jumbos could not maintain consistency throughout the race, a troubling indicator as the team approaches the all-important New England Championships, which will take place on May 7, again at Lake Quinsigamond.
"We raced a little better than we have in past races, and we were competitive for longer periods of time, but at the end of the race, we let it get away from us," coach Jay Britt said. "We need to resolve that problem in order for us to do well in the New England Championships."
While the team has corrected its earlier problem of dropping off in the middle of the race, it had more trouble down the home stretch.
"In previous races, the middle of the race used to be our weak point, but now the problem is finishing off," senior tri-captain Jeff Vanderkruik said. "We get in the last 100 meters, and we need to want it more. We need to be more determined to make sure we finish first. We've done a great job of keeping up with the opponents for the first 1,500 meters, but now we need to focus on the last 100."
According to Vanderkruik, the results are even harder to swallow because he can't seem to put his finger on what exactly is wrong with the team's approach.
"It's disappointing mostly because we don't exactly know what we're doing wrong," he said. "We made changes and some worked and some didn't. It's frustrating when we don't get the results we feel we deserve."
The races on Saturday were not any better for the men, as they once again finished well below expectations, with the 1V coming in fourth in one five-boat race and the 2V finishing second in a three-boat field.
"My expectations were to be very competitive with Holy Cross on Saturday," Britt said.
Yet that would not be the case in Saturday's races, as the first varsity eight disappointingly placed fourth with a time of 6:22.0 behind Holy Cross (6:03.1), Ithaca (6:15.1) and Colby (6:18.1) and ahead of Connecticut College (6:51.6).
The second varsity eight (6:40) struggled, finishing a whopping 16 seconds behind Holy Cross (6:24) but ahead of Colby, which finished third with a time of 7:06.2.
Britt believes this team has not yet reached its potential and needs to grow physically and mentally to be able to compete with the elite teams.
"It's an internal battle that not everybody can conquer; we're trying to exercise the mind process," Britt said. "Your body and mind are telling you that this hurts and to stop, but you have your goal. Your will is the one that says, 'No, I want to win the race," and you need to make the conscience decision between the two. You have to let your will dominate your pain. It's not easy, and I think that's our biggest problem at this point."
The team will have a chance to pick up the pace this Saturday at Lake Onota in Pittsfield when they face Williams, Marist, Bates and Coast Guard. With the New England Championships less than three weeks away, the team will need to get into gear in order to compete with some of the best programs in the region.
