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

Jumbos perform well in three weekend regattas

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Senior Kate Shaner and junior Julia Fuller sail through a storm during practice. The Jumbos’ fall season begins this weekend.

The Tufts women’s and co-ed sailing teams were in action over the weekend, competing in a total of three regattas and earning mixed results. The women’s team sailed in the Victorian Coffee Urn regatta, hosted by Dartmouth, while the co-ed team participated in the 74th annual Erwin Schell Trophy, hosted by the University of Vermont, and the Nickerson Trophy, which represented the New England Freshmen Championships and was hosted by Tufts.

The women’s team sailed in FJ dinghies at the Victorian Coffee Urn regatta and earned an eighth place finish out of 18 teams. This result qualified Tufts for the Atlantic Coast Championship.

"[The best moment of the weekend was] definitely when we qualified for Atlantic Coast Champs,” senior tri-captain Emily Lynn said.

There were two divisions, each consisting of ten races. Tufts totaled scores of 88 for the A division and 100 for the B division for a total team score of 188. Boston College won the regatta in convincing fashion with a total team score of 89. In the A division, three sailors represented the Jumbos. Sophomore MaryClaire Kiernan was the skipper for each of the ten races, while senior Caitlin Durand and junior Amanda Sommi shared the crew position. Durand raced in the first through fourth races and Sommi raced for the fifth through 10th races. Tufts finished in seventh place in the A division, with the highlight coming in the ninth race, when the Jumbos finished in second place.

In the B division, the Jumbos finished in 11th place. Senior Kate Levinson skippered for the first through eighth races, and junior Kate Shaner took over the skipper responsibilities for the ninth and 10th races. Lynn and sophomore Julia Fuller shared the crew position, with Lynn on the boat for the first through fourth races and Fuller crewing for the fifth through 10th races.

“MaryClaire [Kiernan] had a consistently good regatta and even though Kate [Shaner] only sailed two races, her second place finish in the last race was what we needed to qualify,” Lynn said.

To complement the women’s team over the weekend, the co-ed team posted a great result at the 74th Annual Erwin Schell Trophy. The Jumbos came in third place out of 18 teams, led by a strong performance in the A division.

Senior Alec Ruiz-Ramon was the skipper for all 10 A division races, while seniors Sam Madden and Duncan Swain shared the crew duties. Madden crewed for races one through six and Swain took over for the seventh through 10th races. The three seniors compiled a score of 47, which placed them just three points behind A division winner Boston College. Tufts finished in second place in the first and 10th races, and also posted a top-five finish in seven out of the 10 races.

"I think that one of the biggest factors for success at the regatta was our ability as a team to adapt to and deal with the intense conditions on Sunday better than most of the other teams there," Swain said.

In the B division, Tufts finished with a total score of 85, which was good for ninth in the division. Even though the sailors in the B division finished with a higher score than those in the A division, the five Jumbo sailors in the B division won two of their 10 races - the eighth and 10th. The skippers in the B division were senior tri-captain Dan Nickerson and sophomore Scott Barbano, and the crew responsibilities were split between senior Jaime Maffeo, junior Caroline Atwood and sophomore Alex Tong

Tufts’ total team score added up to 132, which placed it just behind regatta winner Boston College and runner-up Yale for third place. 

"A take-away from this regatta for us is that we know we are a formidable team for heavy air racing conditions," Swain said.

Finally, the first year Jumbos sailed in the Nickerson Trophy, which was held at Tufts. Tufts finished with an A division score of 87 and a B division score of 47, placing them second in the B division. The Jumbos’ total score amounted to 134, which was good for seventh place out of 18 teams at the regatta.

The co-ed team continues its fall season this weekend at the Hap Moore Trophy at Coast Guard, while the women’s team’s next regatta is the Atlantic Coast Championships, held at MIT on Nov. 15 - 16.