The men's crew team jumpstarted the fall racing season this weekend at the Textile River Regatta in Lowell, Mass., turning in some discouraging finishes but accomplishing its goals nonetheless.
"I think it was a good race," senior co-captain Robbie Bayless said. "I think we rowed pretty well. We came in the middle of the pack in all of the race; it was what we were trying to do."
The Tufts varsity A team rowed in three races on Saturday, posting a top finish of sixth place out of 10 boats in the Men's Open Eight event. With a time of 20:14, the boat finished well behind Worcester Polytechnic, which took the top spot with a time of 18:48.
The Jumbos fell victim to another Polytechnic boat in the Men's Open Four event, finishing 10th out of eighteen teams in 21:14, more than a minute behind Polytechnic's first-place 20:02 mark. In the Men's Club Eight race, Tufts posted a less-than-ideal 20:36 to finish ninth out of 10 boats.
While the results seemed to be middling at best, the Jumbos remain positive about their outlook on the young season.
"We definitely have a lot of room for improvement after this weekend's meet," senior co-captain Nahv Etedali said. "While the results from the race were good because they showed us the areas where we are strong, we still need to work on raising our stroke rate a bit higher and getting the boat moving faster for the upcoming races."
"You always like to win those races, but we did what we were trying to do," Bayless said. "We started out a little softly and finished hard and used the day to earn some valuable experience."
The Jumbos have already mastered the set of their boat, or keeping an optimal horizontal balance of the boat upon each stroke, which allows for maximum power and speed.
"We were actually maintaining a good set to our boat this weekend, meaning the stabilization from side to side," coach Jay Britt said. "The crew is working together as a unit, and we've made some good strides towards what we're trying to achieve thus far."
"The set of the boat is also a key thing for us this year," Etedali said. "We've been working on keeping our boat set ... to make sure that we maximize our strokes. It could've been better, but at the same time it shows where we are and where we can get better."
Just one race into the fall season, the team already knows that it is running low on time to work on its technique and team chemistry, as there are only three more races left on the fall schedule. Aside from the standard need to form a firm network of trust among the crew, the team members also agree that efficiency and rhythm will be keys to success the rest of the way.
"We took the first step towards success by working together and moving the boat forward as a unit," Etedali said. "In crew, a faster stroke rate helps you move the boat faster. On the other hand, we need to make sure we're doing that efficiently and that we're in sync when we're rowing. Sometimes, guys get out of rhythm and we lose our speed. We need to work on rowing more efficiently at a higher stroke rate."
"Come spring time, the focus needs to be towards being very precise with the execution of the stroke so we can maximize the effort that we put into stroke," Britt said.
After their humble start on the Merrimack River this weekend, the Jumbos will look to hone some of these techniques on Sunday at the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. The Tufts A boat took first place in the Men's Open Four at the regatta last fall, and the Jumbos know what they have to do to achieve similar results this year.
"We're looking for a little more continuity and a little bit more speed," Britt said. "In order to get that done, we've got to raise our stroke rate to be faster."
