The members of the women's crew team went into the spring season after a rigorous winter training program in the best shape of their lives. But the level of competition among the New England-area crew teams was raised a notch this season, and any team had the chance to win on any given weekend.
After one of the team's best showings of the year at New Englands, Tufts had mixed results at the ECAC Championships during the weekend of May 10-11 at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester for its last competition of the season.
The championship was a series of heats in which the top three finishers would advance to the semifinals. The top three teams there would advance to the grand finals, while the remaining squads would compete in the petite finals.
On the first day of competition, the first varsity (6:49.028) finished behind Trinity (6:39.818) and St. Lawrence (6:45.378) and ahead of Hamilton (6:58.925) and Wellesley (7:02.263) to qualify for the semifinals the next day.
The success did not carry over onto Sunday, however, as Tufts found itself in sixth place with a time of 7:06.300. Trinity won the race in 6:49.700, just over three seconds ahead of Bates.
As a result, the Jumbos had to compete in the petite finals, where they also finished behind the pack in sixth place with a time of 7:16.009. Coast Guard, Holy Cross, William Smith, Skidmore and Smith - whom Tufts had previously defeated on two separate occasions, once at the New England Championships and then again at a home meet the last weekend of April - rounded out the top five.
"We raced really hard and effectively," senior co-captain Caitlin Gallagher said. "It was an unfortunate way to end our last race, but we were happy with the way we raced. Our competition was just faster."
The ECAC provides teams a chance to face off against teams from outside the New England area. While this offers the regatta great excitement, it also presents challenges since most teams know very little about each other.
"There were definitely a lot of new faces at the ECACs this year, which is normally a challenge because we don't normally see the New York schools like Ithaca, Skidmore and Hamilton," Gallagher said.
The second varsity had better luck that weekend by finishing third with a time of 6:58.831, behind Williams (6:47.778) and Vermont (6:57.900). It went on to win the petite finals with a time of 7:42.175, well ahead of the competition. New Hampshire came in second with a time of 7:46.087, followed by William Smith, St. Lawrence, Bates and Colby.
"They made a huge statement [in their race]," coach Gary Caldwell said. "They got out early and moved farther and farther away from the field. They avenged a couple of losses [during the season] like UNH. If you asked any of them, they would say that the petite final was the best race of the year."
The novice eight did not get the chance to compete in the ECACs because the stroke of the boat came down with a severe case of tonsillitis, leaving the team without enough members to field a boat. As a result, the New England Championships, which took place on May 3, also at Lake Quinsigamond, was that boat's last official race of the season.
For the team as a whole, New Englands represented one of Tufts' best showings of the year. In the first varsity's first heat, the Jumbos finished third in a time of 7:07.516, behind New England powerhouses Trinity (6:54.616) and Holy Cross (7:03.983). The 3.533-second margin between Tufts and Holy Cross is a vast improvement from the Jumbos' bout with the Crusaders earlier in the season.
They went on to out-sprint the competition in the petite finals with a time of 7:09.024, ahead of Wesleyan (7:11.794), who had beaten them previously this season.
"The varsity got nosed out by Holy Cross in the morning and came back and had perhaps their best race of the year," Caldwell said. "It showed their best qualities as a team. They got out a little bit in the start and worked their way downfield in a tremendously savvy race."
In the petite final, the Jumbos were about four feet ahead of the other seven boats, which all found themselves neck-and-neck. Senior stroke Alison Ungerleider called to start the sprint a little earlier than usual, upping the team's strokes per minute (spm) from the typical 35 to 36, and then, in the last 200 meters, up to 38. By the time the Jumbos crossed the finish line, they were at a stifling 39 spm.
"The challenge that comes with rowing at a high rate is being effective - you can be as fast as you want but you have to make sure it's an effective row," Gallagher said. "We've been at 39 spm or higher before, so it wasn't our fastest sprint, but it was definitely the most effective sprint of the season. It was an experience I haven't had in a lot of races, and it was one of my favorite races of all time."
The 2V came in third in its first heat as well with a time of 7:12.441, behind Williams (7:00.255) and Smith (7:07.992). In the grand final, it finished fifth (7:17.278) behind Williams, Trinity, Holy Cross and Smith.
The 3V found itself in a grand final of its own in which the boat medaled with a third-place finish behind Williams and Holy Cross.
The novice eights placed runner-up to Simmons in their first heat with a time of 7:25.695 and ended up coming in fifth with a time of 7:29.845 in the grand final in their last race of the season. Williams, Simmons, Wellesley and Mt. Holyoke rounded out the top four.
There are a total of nine seniors - Gallagher along with fellow co-captain Sara Douglass, Jane Case, Ashley Goldthwait, Molly Jaffe, Leah Koeppel, Julie McCarthy, Laura Sherman and Ungerleider - who are graduating today. They have come together along with the rest of the athletes to create a team dynamic that was particularly special.
"We had a lot of committed people on our team - just really good characters in our boat," Gallagher said. "While there will be a lot of those people who will carry over into next year, it still won't be the same. This team was an entity of its own."
After the last competition, Caldwell recalled the high emotions reverberating within the group.
"For most of them, crew will be the thing they remember the most about their four years at Tufts," he said. "It's a remarkable group of young women, and I feel privileged to have been a part of their lives, and I don't say this about every group, but this year has been extra special."
