With the women's crew team having wrapped up its fall season last weekend at the Head of the Charles, the novice team took center stage this Saturday at the NESCAC Novice Championships at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester.
The A boat's 17:13 finish was good for fifth place in a field of 15. The B boat followed with an 11th-place finish with a time of 19:15. Trinity won the championship with a 16:55 finish, just 18 seconds ahead of Tufts' A boat.
The Jumbos left Worcester feeling more than satisfied with their performance, especially since they didn't finish far behind the first-place Bantams. The top three boats all finished within six seconds of each other
"Trinity has a lot of recruited, experienced freshmen on their boats, so to be that close is really good and encouraging, said Anna Lindgren-Streicher, the novice women's coach.
Weather-wise, the day started off bleakly with pouring rain, but the elements proved not to impede the Jumbos' start.
"We started off really strong and went past the Clark team after about 10 minutes," freshman co-captain Katherine Rosenblatt said.
Since it was a 4,000-meter head race, it was a matter of endurance for the team, which ended up finishing at a faster pace - 32 strokes per minute - than it started, at 28.
The discipline of the team can be attributed to the late addition of sophomore Erica Udow, who normally is a part of the Jumbos' varsity team. The regular coxswain for the novice team fell ill and Udow was called in to replace her for the race. Her experience ended up being an invaluable asset to the team.
"She was really great and was different from our normal cox because she kept talking the entire time," Rosenblatt said. "She kept pushing us forward. Especially for me, she got in my head and became that little voice in the back of my head saying, 'Go! Go! Go!'"
Many of the members of the novice team were walk-ons, including its two captains, Rosenblatt and freshman Caitlin Kauffman, so getting some instruction from a veteran member of the varsity team helped the novice group a great deal during Saturday's race.
This race also marked the first time this season that the team did not "catch a crab" during a race, referring to a technical miscue in which the oars are not turned properly after each stroke. Kauffman said that the absence of errors was due to the mechanics and technique that the team has been practicing.
"It was just a matter of feathering and squaring early," she said.
"Feathering" is turning the oar blade from a position perpendicular to the water to a parallel position, and "squaring" is motion in the opposite direction. If these moves are incorrectly performed, then the act of catching a crab usually follows.
Lindgren-Streicher sees a lot of potential on the team despite the fact that only three members of the novice crew have had prior experience in the sport. The spring season will feature shorter races and more head-to-head matchups, which are much different than the long head races of the fall. Lindgren-Streicher believes that this young group is ready to take the next leap after gaining valuable experience this fall.
"I think there is a really good core of athletes," she said. "If you look at some of the classes that have gone though Tufts crew, there are times when there have been entire classes that have made an impact.
"This group here has a really good work ethic and great attitude," she continued. "The winter season will show their motivation and dedication to the team, and we have very high expectations with this class of students."
