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

Tufts wins big at Brown Cup

2016-04-16-Crew-121-1
The Tufts crew team rows against Middlebury College on Malden River on April 16, 2016.

Tufts traveled to Worcester, Mass. over the weekend to participate in the Bernie Brown Cup. There, the Jumbos faced off against boats from Clark, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), William Smith and Skidmore.

For the past two years, the Jumbos' first varsity eight took first place at the Brown Cup, and this year was no different. Tufts' first boat posted a time of 6:44.70 and, for the third consecutive year, won the Brown Cup.

The Jumbos finished about two seconds ahead of the Engineers, who posted a time of 6:46.82 and finished second in the race. Behind the leaders were William Smith, Clark and Skidmore, which finished in third, fourth and fifth, respectively. William Smith was a whole 11 seconds behind the victorious Tufts.

Senior tri-captain Emma Conroy remarked that this race served as a valuable lesson for the rowers going forward.

"While we were happy with the win, we viewed this race as more of a test of our racing skills than our rowing skills," Conroy said. "We did not expect the race to be as close as it was, so while it was ultimately a victory, the result was also a reminder that we cannot always predict what will happen going into a race."

Conroy also commented on the tight finish over WPI.

"I think our edge came from determination and having a strong mental race," she said. "While it surprised us, we did not let WPI's speed distract us from racing well."

Following the first varsity race was the second varsity eight competition. Of the five participating schools, only four -- Tufts, William Smith, WPI and Clark -- had second boats. The Jumbos came in third with a time of 7:16.81. Tufts finished about four seconds behind William Smith, which finished four seconds behind WPI. The Engineers' second boat recorded a winning time of 7:08.20.

As for the third varsity eight, only three schools had boats in the race. WPI had two boats, a main unit and a B boat. Tufts and William Smith also participated in the third varsity eight category. The top two spots in the race were filled by WPI boats. The Engineers' main boat took first with a time of 7:17.71, while their B boat finished about 20 seconds behind in second. In third place were the Jumbos, whose third varsity eight finished with a time of 7:46.12, nine seconds behind the second-place WPI B.

Senior tri-captain Hayley Cohen noted that the team puts focus on all three of its boats and hopes that the second and third boats can replicate the success of the first.

"The team is focused equally on all members of the team and on the success and capabilities of all three boats," Cohen said. "The 2V8 and 3V8 are important components of the team and contribute to the overall success. We are all happy about the 1V8 victory and hope to see more victories across all boats in the next few weeks."

Looking ahead, the Jumbos only have one more competition left in the regular season. They will take part in the MIT Lightweights regatta on Sunday in the Charles River Basin in Cambridge, Mass.

After that, the team will look toward May 6, the first day of the New England Rowing Championships in Worcester.

"We are excited to continue to push ourselves and get better each day," Cohen said. "We're not done working hard and we're getting ready to compete as best as we can at New Englands. As the weather gets nicer, the Malden gets even more enjoyable to row on, and it's going to be an interesting two weeks preparing for New Englands."

This will be the first playoff regatta of the year for the Jumbos, and it precedes the NCAA Championships, which will begin on May 6 in West Windsor, N.J.

The final regular season regatta for Tufts, the MIT Lightweights, will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday in Cambridge.