For the co−ed sailing team, it's all about Charleston.
Thanks to a dominating performance at this past weekend's New England Dinghy Championships from A−Division members Tomas Hornos and Rachael Brill, the nationally ranked No. 10 Jumbos will be heading to Charleston, S.C. for the national semifinals on the heels of a fifth−place team finish at Conn. College.
Hornos and Brill, who are both seniors, finished second in the A Division, just 12 points behind Boston University (BU) junior Tyler Sinks and freshman Lauren McKenna. Skipper Hornos and crew Brill took home first−place finishes in two races in addition to runner−up showings in four races. The duo, all told, captured top−10 finishes in 13 of the 17 races, earning 97 points toward the team total.
"It was pretty clutch from the team," Hornos said. "It's one of our last three regattas in college, so it was really nice to end on a high note and to keep the season going — basically if we don't qualify our season ends. Now we can go farther and hopefully get to nationals. I didn't want it to end early, so it was awesome."
In shifty wind conditions similar to those at its home course on the Mystic River, Tufts had to additionally deal with the presence of a current at Conn. College. Though the Jumbos were not used to that, Brill noted that she and Hornos used it to their advantage.
"Especially in the direction the wind was coming from in both days, it was very unpredictable, but Tomas and I played the shifts really well," Brill said. "On the second day, the current was pushing people, so you can't get caught in that and have to understand what it does."
Racing in the B Division for the Jumbos were senior co−captain Andrew Criezis, who skippered the first eight races, sophomore Massimo Soriano, who skippered the final nine, and senior co−captain Jennifer Watkins, who crewed all 17 races. Though the boat ultimately finished in 11th place in its division, the trio teamed up to place in the top 10 nine times, including a victory in the ninth race and a runner−up showing in the penultimate heat.
The B Division boat's 167 points was more than enough to give Tufts fifth place in the regatta, well inside the top−8 mark necessary to qualify for Regionals, with a shot at heading to the national regatta in Madison, Wisc. in early June on the line.
With the top co−ed sailors admirably representing the Jumbos at Conn. College, members of the nationally ranked No. 14 women's team competed at the Wick and Shrew Regatta at the Coast Guard Academy. Racing in FJ boats, Tufts succumbed to inconsistent racing conditions, which alternated from beautiful on Saturday to a shifty breeze that never seemed to settle on Sunday.
At the Coast Guard, the Jumbos took home 12th place, 13 points behind Rhode Island and comfortably ahead of 13th−place Vermont. Racing in the A Division boat were senior Peggy Tautz and junior Margaret Rew, who teamed up to take ninth place in their division behind a first−place finish in the fourth race. The B Division boat of junior captain Meghan Pesch and sophomore Alyson Yee did not fare as well, totaling 140 points and just five top−10 finishes in the 13 races.
"I think it probably could have done better," Pesch said. "It was tough conditions with the really shifty winds, so it was something that we weren't necessarily used to practicing in. But both myself and Peggy had good races and bad, and we definitely made mistakes to learn for them."
Also racing in FJs over the weekend was the co−ed squad at the Oberg Trophy at BU, where the Jumbos placed sixth out of 16 teams amid constant wet and rainy conditions. Leading the way was the B Division boat of freshmen William Hutchings and Amelia Quinn, who placed fifth with 43 points, eight behind Roger Williams in the standings.
The pair of first years finished inside the top 10 in all eight races and were a model of consistency, with three sixth−places, two fifth−places and a runner−up showing. Despite capturing the first race of the regatta, sophomores Nicholas Russo−Larsson and Reeves Bright immediately slowed down in the A Division boat, finishing in 12th in the ensuing race and ending the regatta in eighth−place.
The freshmen on the co−ed squad took advantage of the friendly home waters in the first year−only Gibb Trophy on Sunday, as both the Tufts 1 and the Tufts 2 teams placed in the top three, with the former capturing the overall title. First−years Andrew Meleney and Mackenzie Loy, racing in the 1A boat, finished first overall after winning three races and never placing out of the top eight in any of the 12 heats.
"It's always exciting to have really good freshmen; it makes everyone more motivated to practice and to do well on weekends," Hornos said. "The group is really good and exciting to be around. It makes me want to teach them all the things that they probably won't learn on their own but will take four years of experience to learn."
The 2A boat of Albert Nichols and Charlotte Welbourne, likewise, never placed outside the top nine and had seven top−three finishes. It was a dominating performance across the board for the Jumbos' boats. In the third race, for instance, the four Tufts boats finished first, second, third and fifth. Matthew Russell and Mariel Marchard, in the 1B boat, placed third overall to give the Jumbos a clean top−three sweep in the overall standings.
The Tufts women have only the New England Championships and Reed Trophy at Brown University this weekend left between now and the National Championships in late May. Last year, a relatively young unit did not qualify for Nationals, so doing so this year at Brown would indicate marked improvement, according to Pesch.
"It would be awesome, especially for the seniors to end their careers going to Nationals," Pesch said. "It would be a great way to see that we've improved so much over the years. I think for any sport, qualifying and doing that is something we strive for, so it would mean a lot to me."
And with just one weekend separating the co−ed squad and the ICSA Semfinals in Charleston, the co−ed Jumbos will turn their attention to the upcoming Admirals Cup at Kings Point, while the young members will race in the NE Frosh Single Div. Champs, Priddy Trophy at Mass. Maritime.
Either way, this weekend provides the final tune−up before one of the biggest races of the year, which should determine how the rest of the spring season shapes up. Sailing in 420s, the boats that they will sail in at the semifinals, at Mass. Maritime will provide the Jumbos with ample experience for their biggest regatta to date.
"We just really want to get used to the boats," Brill said. "It's really nice to get into the boats that we will be using at semifinals to get used it. I haven't been to nationals before, and it would mean a lot for me to make it there and even more. If Tomas and I do well like we did at quarterfinals, it would be a pretty solid way to top off my career."
"Last year, we nearly won the semifinals, so we know we can do well there and I think that if we get the top half, top nine, then we'll qualify for nationals," Hornos added. "I think we have a really good chance, so I'd be more excited to do well at nationals."
