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

Crew teams earn a pair of second place finishes at the Head of the Fish Regatta

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Tufts rowers prepare to bring their boat into the dock after practice on the Malden River on an early October morning.

The men’s and the women’s crew teams showed impressive performances at last weekend's Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga, N.Y., in what was the men's team's last race of the fall seasonBoth teams finished in second place, with the men's second place finish coming in a field of 15 teams and the women's coming in a field of eight teams.

“We were generally happy with the results we got this past weekend,” senior tri-captain Peter Estes said. "We were beating boats we couldn’t beat last year."

The Jumbos' most commendable performance came from the top-seeded men’s lightweight fours, who won the race in a time of 11:44.87. Other strong performances from the men’s side included a third place finish in men’s open lightweight doubles by senior tri-captain Krzysztof Danielwicz and senior Jeff Aalberg, an eighth place finish in men’s collegiate eights, a seventh place finish in men’s JV eights and a second place finish in men’s singles by freshman Andrew MacMillen with a time of 13:21.59.

“We were particularly encouraged by the result we had with the men’s lightweight fours defending its championship,” Danielwicz said.

The Jumbos also had notable races on the women's side, placing fifth and tenth in doubles, sixth in women's novice quads, second and third in women's quads, and second in women's lightweight eights.

When asked which factor contributed most to the team's success, Estes said that he believes that the large number of races in which the Jumbos competed helped them to finish high in the standings.

"A big part of [the] results this weekend came from rowing a lot that day," Estes said. "We took part in more events than we normally do in other races. That helped us stay poised and not become too frantic. By the time we got to the second or the third race, we were able to keep our composure.”

That composure showed through and revealed the team's growth.

“We can’t really judge how well we did by looking at the times because the weather conditions played a big part,” junior tri-captain Jonathan Lapadula said. "From looking at which teams we beat, the results show we definitely improved as a team from last year."

On the women's side, the Jumbos still have one race left in the fall, the Small Boats Challenge in Princeton, NJ next weekend on Lake Carnegie.

But for the men, the Head of the Fish marks the end of the fall season. The team's winter training will now begin in preparation for the spring season, in which the seniors will have their last chance to row at Tufts.

The biggest advantage that the team  will carry over into the spring season is its depth. 

“The strength of our team is that we don’t have a specified lineup of rowers,” said Lapadula. “The first, second and the third varsity rowers can all row with each other without being uncomfortable. For example, we raced with a different group of guys in the eights this weekend than we usually do.”

The team hopes to carry this weekend's momentum over to the spring season and to continue churning out strong results.