For the third weekend in a row, the women's crew team successfully defended its home waters.
In five Saturday races, the Jumbos completed a clean sweep, winning all five including three over rival Bates, which had emerged victorious at both the New Hampshire Championships and at the Head of the Charles regatta during the fall.
The Malden River wasn't exactly kind to the Jumbos, given the less-than-perfect conditions created by strong headwinds, which were possibly the fiercest winds they've faced this season.
Regardless, each varsity boat won its individual race, in addition to the novice crew winning its race for the first time this season.
While the seating arrangements on the boats have yet to be finalized, the changes made this week seemed to work nicely. The past three weekends have yielded three different strokes, with senior co-captain Airlia Esworthy settling into stroke this weekend after sitting in the number two seat last week. Junior Sara Douglass, April 7's first varsity stroke, rowed stroke in the second varsity boat on Saturday.
Moving from the seventh seat, sophomore Rebecca Herbst took over the second seat for Esworthy. The only other change in the varsity boat was the addition of sophomore Stephanie St. Thomas, who couldn't row last weekend due to illness.
The team seemed unfazed by all the seat-jumbling, as the first varsity boat beat Bates 6:54.31 to 7:02.35, a sign of better overall rhythm.
"I thought we had made good progress from week one to week two, but I still wasn't completely satisfied with the rhythm of the boat," coach Gary Caldwell said in an e-mail. "I was trying to find a lineup that would consistently show both rhythm and speed, so we tried Airlia at stroke Wednesday. Practice went well, it went well again on Friday, and it really went well on Saturday.
"I think Airlia has a very, very good sense of rhythm, and she's not easily distracted or thrown off her game," Caldwell continued. "I think that affects the relative level of success you can have over the period of time positively."
After having completed one of its most successful weekends, the team might be settling into a groove, one that should reflect positively on team chemistry.
"Now that the boats are a little more set and the coach is getting a little more of an idea as to where everyone is sitting, we'll get to practice together in a set lineup," Herbst said. "I think it will help internally in each boat, in finding out how everyone works with each other. It makes it a lot easier when you know what to expect from everyone in your individual boat."
Still, the team has some room for improvement.
"We still have more technique things to work out," senior Emily Kelly said. "When we start having set boats, we can work more on that."
Kelly and her boat didn't seem to have any technical problems against Bates in their race, however, as they came out on top by over 17 seconds, 7:18.28 to 7:35.32. The third varsity boat had similar results, but with a wider margin of victory, as it zipped past Bates 7:58.50 to 8:38.44.
Having turned in successful results against competitive squads on Saturday, the team is hoping to carry that momentum into this weekend's regatta on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester.
"It was a really big confidence boost, since Bates was probably the most serious competition we've faced up to this point," senior Allison Javors said. "We're going to see a lot of teams this weekend in Worcester, and I think we're in a real good position."
On Saturday, the squad will have to face crews from Ithaca, Holy Cross, Colby and Conn. College for the first time this season, followed by WPI, RIT, Washington College and William Smith the following morning - a grueling weekend that will force the Jumbos to adjust to the new competition.
"I think we're getting into the time of the semester where rest becomes very important," Caldwell said. "It's a delicate balancing act between trying to get the necessary work done on the water, and getting people rested enough to perform at peak levels, and keep up academically. It seems to all come crashing together at the same time."
Compared to other teams in the New England region, which have been hampered by inclement weather, the Jumbos have been relatively lucky, able to clock in more time on the water.
While this weekend's competition will not be as tough as that of Saturday, the team knows that in this sport, any crew has the chance to win any given race.
"Generally in the past, we've won against [WPI] compared to other schools like Ithaca, Trinity or Williams, but that's not to say we should assume we'll do well this weekend," Herbst said. "You should never take a team for granted."
