The women's crew enters the fall season as veterans of Div. III Nationals and has six weeks of competition ahead to back it up last spring's performance.
Last May, Tufts earned one of six team berths to the NCAA Championships, allowing it to send both its first and second varsity boats.
With the exception of a sparkling-new boathouse and a few fresh faces, the same cast of characters returns this fall. While Coach Gary Caldwell has determined the seating of the first varsity boat for this Sunday for the Textile River Regatta, he will use the fall season to experiment with the lineup for the more competitive spring season.
"The fall stuff is just fun and games," Caldwell said. "The primary function of the fall season is to train effectively for the spring season, which is our primary season."
For training purposes, the races in the fall season are considerably longer than those in the spring season. The Textile River Regatta covers 3.5 miles, and the rest of the fall races are three miles, both considerably longer than the 1.25-mile races in the spring season.
"The races are a lot longer, and it really focuses on building endurance," senior Katie Saville said. "It also allows everyone to really get a feel for the boats and to begin to work together as a team, which is an essential component in the spring."
Although this Sunday's order does not necessarily reflect the spring season's seating, the first varsity boat boasts an impressive roster. Seniors Kristine Shoemaker and co-captains Airlia Esworthy and Faith Hester and junior Caitlin Gallagher were all members of last year's NCAA first varsity boat. Shoemaker, Hester and Gallagher will sit in the fifth, sixth and seventh seats, the boat's powerhouse, while Esworthy will hold steady at the bow.
Caldwell has also promoted some rowers from last season's second varsity boat to the first varsity boat for Sunday's race. Sophomore Rebecca Herbst will occupy the third seat, Saville will take over as the stroke, the person situated at the stern in charge of setting the rowers' rhythm, and senior Suzanne Horwitz will step into the role of coxswain.
Senior Emily Wark, who was abroad last year, and freshman Alexandra Shapiro from California round out the lineup, and will sit at second and fourth seats, respectively.
The team is fully aware of its fans' high hopes for the season.
"I think that we definitely raised the bar on where we'd like to go this year and in future years," Saville said. "We sent our top two boats to NCAAs last year, and obviously we'd love to do that again.
"I think everyone has high expectations of where this year can lead, and I think that will prove to be a great motivating factor all year, especially during those tough winter months in the gym when it can be easy to lose sight of the end goal," she continued.
While this year's team will miss the leadership of last year's senior co-captains Daniela Fairchild and Jackie Stone, Esworthy has clear priorities for her tenure as captain.
"We can improve in being a team," she said. "I feel it's important to know that the girls who come out here everyday are coming out here because they just love to row."
The women's training, which has included twice-weekly lifts and as much on-water time as possible, has them primed for Sunday's Textile River Regatta, their first competitive race since the May's NCAA event.
"It's always a challenge feeling ready to race this early in the season, but I think we've done all we can to prepare," Saville said. "It will be a fun way to kick off a great year of rowing."
The team's intense preparation comes with an eye towards the fall season's biggest event, the Head of the Charles Regatta on Oct. 21 and 22.
"[The Head of the Charles is] a big event which draws large crowds and brings rowers from many countries and levels all together for one weekend of rowing," Saville said. "That said, it's a hard race in many ways-it's a tough course, and it's always a challenge to stay focused when surrounded by so many distractions. I've participated in this race many years, both on the high school and collegiate levels, and I'm excited to make my last one the best yet."
