Last week, senior captain Kate Woodard said this past weekend's trip was a chance for the Tufts women's crew team to "have fun." But that did not mean the Jumbos put any less effort into the competition.
The fruits of their labor were evident on Sunday, as Tufts junior Kaylee Maykranz and sophomore Kathleen Holec won the Collegiate Double race at the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga, N.Y. The pair crossed the finish line first out of 13 teams in the race with a finishing time of 14:56 which put them nearly 28 seconds ahead of second-place Colgate.
Overall, the Jumbos entered four boats in the Collegiate Doubles, including the eighth place finisher, and two in the Collegiate Quads. In the latter race, one Tufts boat placed fourth with a time of 14:55.05 and the other finished just behind in fifth place. The high finishes were a pleasant surprise considering that Tufts was sculling, a fashion of rowing that the Jumbos were not accustomed to.
"It is totally different because [usually], we only have one oar," Woodard said. "You are either a port or a starboard. You kind of learn how to row on that side and it's very difficult to row on the other side. In sculling, you have an ore in each hand. I am a port so it is especially hard for me to learn how to control my starboard oar. It's just a very different feeling."
The Head of the Fish was the first sculling event for most of the women on the team. Many only learned how to scull in the week leading up to the race. But Holec, one half of the winning pair, went in with notable experience, helping the Jumbos to victory.
"Kathleen Holec has actually been sculling for many many years," Woodward said. "She sculled in high school. Kaylee Maykranz just picked it up this week. She did really well. They were just on their own for the race and ended up winning by a really large margin."
Despite the steep learning curve, coaches and members of the team saw sculling as a valuable way to improve technique.
"Being in a sculling boat as a teaching tool gives each athlete the opportunity to be responsible for both sides," coach Gary Caldwell said. "When you are in a sweep boat, like we are most of the time, you are only responsible for your own side."
"In the spring, sculling is not as practical," Woodard added. "But in the fall and in the future I think it is something we will continue to pursue. Our coach, Brian Dawe, is a really big advocate of sculling. I think he sees a benefit in the technical work. It was fun, but I think it helped all of us with our blade work."
The Head of the Fish marked the end of the fall season for the Jumbos. However, the winter is an important time for the team, as members must stay in shape and prepare for the remarkably different spring season, which features more sprint races.
"In the spring season we race 2,000 meters," Woodard said. "We race 5,000 or 6,000 in the fall. A lot of people will have multiple races in the same day. It is very different."
"There are general offseason goals on both the men's side and women's side," Caldwell added. "One is to improve strength. Two is to improve flexibility. Three is to improve overall fitness. This interval of time that we have between now and February is three times as long as the amount of time we spent organized as a team this fall. The individual and the team progress are critically important to the success of the program come spring racing season."
Although rowing is a year-round endeavor, Tufts certainly deserves to take a moment and appreciate its performance at the Head of the Fish before launching into further training for the the more extensive spring season.
"I think this was a really good way to end the season," said Woodard. "Everybody felt really good about what they did and now we are looking ahead to the future."
