The sailing team has quietly sailed under the radar of the Tufts spotlight, cruising to one of the more impressive seasons in the program's history.
Under coach Ken Legler, the women's and co-ed teams have glided their way to a combined 18 top-10 finishes in regattas this fall season, all the while maintaining their status as the only Div. I sport in Tufts athletics.
In it's latest rankings, released on Oct. 17 , the Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) placed the women's team in the No. 11 slot in the nation, while the co-ed team is currently ranked No. 16.
The women proved their ranking when a fourth-place finish at last weekend's Stu Nelson Regatta at Conn. College granted the women's team a bid to the Atlantic Coast Championships. The team finished fourth in a field of 17 squads, placing behind only St. Mary's, Harvard and Yale.
Barring a possible storm this weekend, Jumbo sailors are set to compete in the Women's Victorian Urn competition at Harvard, before heading to the ACC event, to be held Nov. 11-12.
"It will be kind of anti-climactic since we've already qualified," Legler said of the Harvard event. "But if we do race, I think we'll do very well. We'll be facing some good teams."
As the Jumbos head to the ACC event in two weeks, they know that they'll have an added advantage. The event will be held in Kings Point, N.Y. - close to the home of the team's junior co-captain, Kaity Storck.
"[Storck] lives near Long Island where we will be racing," Legler said. "So I know she'll do pretty well down there."
Legler believes that with the team riding a No. 11 ranking at the moment, that position is about where they can expect to finish at ACCs, but anything is possible.
"We're hoping to finish somewhere in the top five, but more likely we'll be near the ninth and 10th spots," Legler said.
The co-ed team has one last chance to earn a bid to ACCs, and it comes this weekend, as the sailors head to MIT to compete in the Schell Trophy competition. Four teams - MIT, Boston College, Harvard and Yale, all behemoths on the college racing scene - have already qualified, and only three spots remain. The Jumbos will be fighting this weekend to nab one of them, and will come up against the likes of Coast Guard, Boston University and Conn. College in the highly competitive world of New England racing.
"It's gotten pretty rough; of the top 20 teams in the country, 12 are from New England," Legler said. "We don't match up with all of them that well, either. Harvard doesn't have much depth, but they're ranked better than us. We don't match up well with BC, either, and they're ranked No. 1 in the country."
Junior A skipper Michael Easton agrees that this year has been one of the most competitive seasons for sailors in recent memory, as the competition has been deep throughout the region.
"There are a few weak teams," Easton said. "But everyone's got all their top players out, and it's a very good level of competition right now. It's by far the most competitive conference in college sailing right now."
In spite of the stiff competition awaiting them, the Jumbos are optimistic of their ability to snag an ACC bid.
"We should get it; it would be very disappointing if we don't," Easton said. "I think it would be the first time in many, many years, but I feel as if we're improving as the semester's been going on. We're a pretty young team, since we had so many graduating seniors, but I think we're getting more comfortable and getting better each day."
