The mark of good competitors is their ability to rebound and regain their composure after a setback, and that's exactly what the sailing team did this past weekend at the Hatch Brown Trophy at MIT.
The nationally ranked, No. 11 sailing team was confronted with a setback, albeit a minor one, just two weekends ago in its first regatta of the season, finishing a disappointing 15th out of 20 at the Harry Anderson Trophy. This past weekend's finish in 8th place out of 18 at the Hatch Brown was not the best the team could have done, but it was a solid effort that put the Jumbos back on track to win the Atlantic Coast Championship at the end of the fall.
Senior tri-captain Andrew Criezis believes some of the improvement from last week's misstep can be attributed to a change in boats. Two weekends ago, the Jumbos sailed in 420s, whereas this past weekend they sailed in FJs.
"[420s and FJs are] both similar but are a slightly different design," Criezis said. "The FJs are more commonly used in collegiate sailing ... It felt good to be in a boat that we're comfortable in. It made us more confident in our maneuvers."
Senior Rachael Brill crewed in the A division boat with classmate Tomas Hornos at the helm. Brill and Hornos came into the weekend with an idea of what they wanted to accomplish, but were unfortunately unable to entirely realize their goals.
"We set modest goals for ourselves, such as increasing boat speed through minor adjustments in our weight placement, adjusting controls on the boat, predicting the next wind shift, and getting off the starting line bow out, ahead of our competitors," Brill said.
"Unfortunately," she continued, "Tomas and I struggled a bit in this regatta. While our boat handling improved throughout the regatta, we had trouble reading the wind, and often times ended up on the less favored side of the course."
With 505 points over 54 races combined between three divisions, the Jumbos weren't that far off the pace of those finishing in the top five, such as fifth-place St. Mary's, which totaled 437 points. Tufts will take this as a good sign, as the 68-point difference was one that could have been eliminated with just a few more good races and a few minor improvements.
"We could most improve on understanding the wind shifts better," Brill said. "Our starts were also often less than desirable, so we could also work on accelerating at the line in clear air."
At times, though, Tufts showed why it has consistently been one of the best sailing teams in the nation over the past few decades. Each of the three divisions won at least one race and the three divisions as a whole combined for 15 top-five finishes. The problem, as it often is in a sport so vulnerable to the fickleness of the breeze, was inconsistency.
"In the races that we did well, we caught the right wind shifts at the right times," Brill said. "Getting lucky with those shifts, as well as executing good tacks and gybes, contributed to those top finishes. In races where we did poorly, we ended up on the wrong side of the race course and could not recover enough ground, as boats in the favored shifts moved far ahead."
Criezis and fellow senior tri-captain Jennifer Watkins, who sailed in the B division boat, had by far the best performance of all three divisions. Their 130 points placed them third in their division, whereas Hornos and Brill finished 15th in the A division with 194 points, and sophomore skipper Nicolas Russo-Larsson with junior Roisin Magee as crew had 181 points, coming in 10th in the C division.
Criezis believes that it is the underclassmen, like Russo-Larsson, who are really pushing the veterans to work harder and perform better. The younger team members could prove to be a driving force as the Jumbos attempt to surmount the national rankings.
"Our sophomores and underclassmen are really pushing us hard," Criezis said. "Our sophomores are like our B team and they're pushing our A team.
"We're definitely looking to be top-five at these intersectionals and we can definitely achieve that, but we all have to be doing well at the same time instead of one person doing well and one not doing well," he continued.
The women's sailing team went in the opposite direction of the co-ed squad, going from a first place finish at the Antonia Schuman Trophy Women's Regatta two weekends ago to a 12th place finish out of 17 at the Mrs. Hurst Bowl regatta at Dartmouth.
For their exceptional performance in the Schuman Trophy Regatta, the A division duo of junior Catherine Swanson and first-year Mariel Marchand was named the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association's Women's Sailors of the Week. Neither Swanson nor Marchand participated in this past weekend's Mrs. Hurst Bowl.
Next weekend, Tufts will host the Hood Trophy Regatta at Upper Mystic Lake. The Jumbos hope to have a strong showing at this race, sailing in their own Larks
"We want to defend our home waters and kick some ass," Criezis said. "To be top three or hopefully win would be awesome."
