Despite modest results, Jumbos gain valuable experience on Lake Quinsigamond

A smattering of middle-of-the-pack results best characterized a couple of busy days of rowing for the women's crew after two full days of racing on Lake Quinsigamond over the weekend.
    Competition on Sunday during the Baker, Brown, and Class of 2009 Cup – which included boats from WPI, RIT, Mills, William Smith and Tufts – saw both the Jumbos' varsity eight and second varsity stymied by their respective opponents from William Smith. In the varsity race, the Herons (6:50.52) beat out Tufts by less than a second (6:51.47) to take the race, with WPI (6:59.97) and Mills (7:23.47) rounding out the field at third and fourth, respectively.
    Meanwhile the second varsity boat (7:01.89) finished runner-up to William Smith by just over three seconds (6:58.70), while another Tufts entry in the race took a distant third (7:27.43) ahead of fourth-place WPI (7:45.72).
    On Saturday, Tufts competed against heavyweights Ithaca and Holy Cross, and the Jumbos managed no better than third in any of their races, which also included crews from Conn. College and Colby.
    "The Quinsigamond races are pretty much the climax of competition of the spring season, so we went into this thinking we've performed well in our home court [on the Malden]," senior co-captain Kaitlyn Mula said. "And we realize there are really tough competitors out there, i.e. Ithaca, Holy Cross, and maybe some crews we didn't know a whole lot about like William Smith.
    "Varsity I know had a very good row as compared to last week, and the 2V was also really good," Mula continued. "But we realized at the end of [Saturday] pretty much across the board, the intensity needed to get kicked up, and not necessarily effort but so far as to say in the race itself, the first half of the race should be more intense than it has been."
    Indeed, despite coming up short of posting first-place showings on Sunday due to the surprising output from the Herons, the Jumbos still felt that they had improved from the prior day and could take solace in that.
    "When Sunday came, we were racing against WPI, RIT, William Smith -- we definitely met that goal in that we were way more aggressive than we had been on Saturday, but the success in terms of our performance was still middle-of-the-pack," Mula said.
    "This weekend has always been an eye-opener for what the competition out there is really going to be like, how fast these crews are, and what we really will be up against in two weeks when we have New Englands and then the week after that at ECACs if we make it there," senior Kate Siegel added. "Like Kaitlyn said, that was something that was a goal for all the crews, between Saturday and Sunday to try and make sure you get that extra aggression with every stroke."
    There was also one other high point for the crew on Sunday when the Jumbos took home more than just bragging rights after outracing WPI in the varsity race.
    "I know the 1V and the 2V just lost to William Smith, and it was painful, but on the more positive note, we did beat the pants off WPI, which was wonderful," Mula said. "This regatta is where the Baker, Brown and Class of 2009 Cup is awarded, so basically it's this competition between Tufts men's and women's crew versus WPI men's and women's crew and since the 1V beat WPI this year, we were awarded the Brown Cup, and that was one thing that was really special about this regatta."
    Middling racing results aside, Tufts knows that it likely gleaned valuable experience over the weekend in preparation for the New England Rowing Championships on Lake Quinsigamond, which take place during the first weekend of May. Adjusting to a course that is markedly different from the Malden might arguably have been the most important gain from this weekend, especially with regard to the mental challenge this move presents.
    "Racing on Lake Quinsigamond compared to racing at home is a very different race because it is a straight shot -- it is six lanes across so you have the intensity [and the] sheer number of boats can be a great motivator," Siegel said. "At the same time though, because physically you're just going straight the whole time, there's less to go off of in terms of not feeling like you're progressing as much.
    "You're basically seeing the same thing the entire race and so it's something, even as a senior, you sort of have to get used to every year, that transition from [the Malden] that has a lot of turns and has a lot of place marks to one where you have to continually motivate yourself [without] seeing your progression," Siegel continued.
    Taking all that into account, going up against tougher crews and rowing on a different body of water will probably play into Tufts' hand come the postseason.
    "I feel like our performance this past weekend is a good base for New Englands," Mula said. "New Englands is really what matters to us; that's our priority right now. We've definitely established our goals of being more aggressive at the first half of the race because we're going to meet teams where it's not going to be so easy to catch them in the end, so from here on out that's going to be the plan."
    The Jumbos return to the Malden this weekend for the last home race of the year versus crews from Middlebury, Simmons, Smith, and Wellesley -- a school that Tufts has experienced wins and losses against this season already. After cruising past the Blue in the first race of the spring on March 28, the varsity eight slipped up against them two weeks later. The second and third varsity boats, however, have yet to lose to Wellesley this season.
    "I'm sure the 1V has some motivation with Wellesley," Mula said. "The 2V and 3V are probably going to be fighting them off because [Wellesley's] going to want it. They're going to want to beat us; they're probably excited at the prospect of getting some revenge. So we just need to hold them off and keep doing what we've been doing. The 1V is really excited ... this past weekend was much better for them than the weekend before [when they lost to Wellesley], so they are out for revenge too."
    "Senior race is the last home race of the season for us, so I think that's going to be a big motivator for the mental-emotional side for a big part of our team," Siegel added. "We have a good number of seniors on the team, and they're spread throughout all boats. I think that's going to be an added push to practice this week, and I think we're all looking forward to it.