The Tufts men's crew team displayed an impressive well of depth and talent on Sunday as two varsity eight boats finished in the top five at the Textile River Regatta in Lowell, Massachusetts. The two boats finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in a field of 29 crews.
The College of the Holy Cross won the race in a time of 19:05, followed by West Point's team five seconds later. The Tufts boats of eight finished 24 and 29 seconds off the pace.
Seniors Andy Mueller and Robbie Goldstein, juniors Mark Roberts and Jeff Burke, and sophomores Jeff Vanderkruik, Danny McGee, Mike Abare, and Nick Haslett raced in the Jumbo's fourth-place eight boat.
"The boat put in a lot of effort and kept up a good pace," Abare said. "We need to work on our balance and keeping the form up, but the effort was always there."
The Tufts boat of eight that finished fifth included, from stern to bow, senior Andrew Pelkey, sophomore Jordan Chiu, sophomores Anthony Dennis and Nick Walker, junior captain Ben Harburg, senior Alex Moerlein, and sophomores Tim Pineau and Benjy Tarshis.
"We weren't sure what to expect going into the season," Pineau said. "[But] we did well and our coaches seemed to agree."
"I was satisfied," Tashis added. "We let West Point row catch us, but it was a very satisfying first race of the season. We've barely tapped our potential."
In their first collegiate race, the freshmen rowers of the men's novice eight finished in the middle of the pack, coming in at seventh out of a field of 16 teams. "[This race] was a nice way for them to get their feet wet and have fun rowing," coach Jason Britt said. "They did a nice job [after] only rowing for a few weeks."
In the Open Fours, the Jumbo rowers took 17th in a field of 32. Rowing in this boat was freshman Sam Goldstein at the bow, sophomore George Kourdon in the second seat, classmates Alex Argyros in the third seat, Dave Kelley stroking, and coxswain Nick Lepham. Lepham raced last year in an eight but was pleased with the finish of his boat.
"In terms of our first race this is a great way to start the season," the sophomore coxswain said. "We did what we could and left everything on the water."
"I'm very pleased with their finish," Britt said. "All the coxswains did a very nice job this weekend. They did a great job maneuvering and keeping the oarsmen motivated."
The strong finishes by both of the varsity eight boats have great implications for success later this fall and in the spring season. The team wants to use the fall season as a building block for a strong spring season.
"This is a great accomplishment." Britt said. "I asked the guys to go out there and race, and that's what they did."
This season the two boats will stay equally balanced as much as possible until the last race of their fall season, Head of the Charles Regatta, where one boat may be made stronger than the other. The Head of the Charles is the pinnacle of the fall crew season, and the strongest possible hybrid boat might be formed for that occasion.
Until then, however, Britt's goal remains overall team strength and chemistry.
"The goal is for everyone to learn how to row together and move in sync," Britt said.
The Jumbos will attempt to duplicate Sunday's results at their next race, which will be the New Hampshire Championships in Pembroke, N.H., on Oct. 16.
