The women's crew team emerged from the first weekend of its spring season with two wins and a loss at home, defeating Tulane on Saturday and Mt. Holyoke on Sunday before falling to NESCAC foe Hamilton in Sunday's second contest.
In their 11th annual race against the Tulane Green Wave, the Jumbos displayed refined technique in their strokes, undoubtedly a direct result of an intense offseason training regimen. Galvanized by upperclassman leadership, they took to the water with a level-headed, winning mentality.
First, though, they had to overcome some pre-race anxiety.
"Everyone seemed to have nervousness on land before the first race," senior tri-captain Erika Parisi said. "But once we were on the water, everyone was extremely focused and ready to race."
The Jumbos left it all on the riverbank, racing as cool as the water they glided on.
We were very happy with this strong start for the team," senior Kathleen Holec said. "The team dynamic is continuing to remain strong after the spring break training trip."
The Jumbos set the pace early at 36 strokes per minute to help keep the Green Wave at bay and by the 500-meter mark were over a length ahead. Over the next 1,500 meters, they doubled that lead and sustained it for the remainder of the race, finishing with a time of 7:29.3 to Tulane's 7:41.1.
The following day also started out well for Tufts, which swept a Mt. Holyoke team that they have struggled against in recent years. All three varsity boats performed admirably, with the first and second eights edging out their competition in the final moments of their races by a combined four seconds.
In the final race against Mt. Holyoke, the second varsity four - not to be outdone by the eights - dealt with its competition handily, winning their race by a whopping 37 seconds to complete the Jumbos' sweep.
Against Hamilton, though, the Jumbos failed to deliver, which can be attributed at least in part to the fact that it was their second series of races within an hour.
While the novice eight boat defeated Hamilton's by seven seconds, the two varsity boats fared worse, suffering from fatigue over the long day. The first varsity eight lost by 20 seconds, and the second fell by 45 seconds to a squad that looked to be in midseason form.
"Our final race against Hamilton was a tough loss but a learning opportunity for us," Holecsaid."We now know we need work on endurance if we're going to be able to race twice in an hour."
Despite the loss, the Jumbos look to be in good shape moving forward. If they maintain their dedicated work ethic, they have the potential to do a lot of winning this spring.
"We're excited going forward with our results and things we learned from this weekend," Parisi said. "We're eager to take on [next week's] challenge but know that we are ultimately looking forward to the championships to be our strongest moment in the season."
The women will next host Bates, Wellesley and Wesleyan in races at Shoemaker Boathouse on April 14.
