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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Tufts rowers earn top-five finishes in both events at Textile River Regatta

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The Tufts men's rowing team holds an early morning practice on the Malden River.

It typically takes a regatta or two for the men’s crew team to settle into a rhythm both on and off the water. Midseason or later, therefore, the team reaches peak form, and the best results emerge. This go-round, however, the team burst out of the gates and raced its way to a double-top-five finish.

Loaded with upperclassman for the first time in recent years, the Jumbos capitalized on their experience and finished fourth out of 25 boats in the Open Four event and fifth out of 15 in the Club Eight at the Textile River Regatta in Lowell, Mass. Weather conditions could not have been better, as the clear, sunny day and calm waters were especially conducive to smooth rowing over the 6,000-meter course.

Tufts’ Open Four was the lone lightweight boat in a field composed exclusively of heavyweights, which put Tufts at a major disadvantage. Nevertheless, the Jumbos, who boasted only one freshman, Matthew Cohen, clocked in at 21:26.793, just over one minute behind second-place finisher and NESCAC rival Bowdoin.

The Jumbos jumped right into the fray at the outset, and their stroke remained synchronized for the first several hundred meters. 

“We passed the Wentworth boat [which beat us last year] within the first 1,000 meters of the race, which definitely motivated us to push,” senior tri-captain Krzysztof Danielewicz said.

As the race wore on Tufts lost steam, and its technique suffered. However, fighting the fatigue, the Jumbos persevered and successfully fended off a late charge from Bowdoin’s B squad.

Tufts' four-boat recorded a time a minute faster than it did last year in the same race, showing progress. Danielewicz said the improvements are to be critically inspected, however, based on several major reasons. 

“We have more depth in the team -- half of the varsity squad is composed of upperclassmen ... which is in stark contrast to the last few years, where the younger rowers greatly outnumbered the older [ones]," he said. "We’ve also picked up seven experienced freshman rowers this semester, whom we’ve folded into the varsity team. They’ve done a phenomenal job of learning our style of rowing."

Danielewicz explained that practices have also changed this year.

"We’ve had more long, swing rows, which has really helped the boats come together and learn to move as a single unit," he added.

This style has been a boon for Tufts’ eight-boat as well, whose fifth place finish was likewise a step up from years past. Its time of 19:44.109, an improvement of more than two full minutes over last year’s, put it just out of range of fourth-place Wesleyan.

Senior tri-captain Peter Estes, echoing much of Danielewicz’s sentiment, also attributed the hot start to a capable freshman class.

“We honestly didn’t know too much about the freshmen coming into the year,” Estes said. “They have been a very pleasant surprise, and have really stepped up.”

Experience, too, played a major role in Tufts’ success in the eight-boat, as upperclassman leadership guided both new and returning rowers.

“We did record a better finish in this year’s Head of the Textile, but the root of that is a healthier, larger team,” Estes said. “This is the first time since our freshman year that we have more than two seniors on the team. We have gone through a rebuilding phase and now it appears we are finally in a position to start making a new name for Tufts Crew.”

The Jumbos will continue to ride their momentumon Saturday at the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta in Worcester, MA.

“We have a lot of talent and drive on the team right now, and I’m excited to see how we use it," Danielewicz said.