Despite the lead Tufts boat not rowing its most polished race, the women's crew managed to row to a respectable finish and prepare for this week's Charles Regatta.
While the Tufts Varsity B boat had a strong finish at the New Hampshire Championships on Saturday, the Varsity A boat struggled throughout the race, which was held on the Merrimack River in Pembroke, N.H..
Although the Varsity A boat had trouble staying together through a turbulent race, it still managed to finish in 8th place out of 25 teams in a time of 16:33.49.
The boat came in right behind four of its biggest competitors: Colby, Bates, WPI, and Holy Cross.
"The race itself was really frantic; it just didn't leave anyone very happy at the end," junior Daniella Fairchild said. "If you look at the place we came in though, it was pretty good because we didn't really row well, but we were still able to beat some boats that are our big competitors."
The Varsity B boat finished in 17:22.63, less then a minute behind the Varsity A boat, and came in 19th. In the novice race, the women's boat also had a strong race, coming in 14th out of 17 boats with a time of 20:26.91.
While the Varsity A boat was disappointed in the outcome of their Saturday race, the Varsity B boat's ability to focus led them to a challenging but successful row.
"It was a good race and we worked well together," senior Abby Schlessinger said. "The start was pretty chaotic, but we came together and focused and we did have a good row."
The Varsity A and B boats faced certain challenges coming into the race which may have made the race a more chaotic one. The boat's new lineup, or order of rowers in the boat, and the weather conditions may have affected the outcome of the race.
The inconsistency in seating often makes it difficult for rowers to row together as a boat, rather than as individual rowers.
"We hadn't rowed in that lineup until the day before because we have a couple of girls hurt and he [coach Gary Caldwell] didn't really know who he wanted to put in what seat," Fairchild said. "We also hadn't done a lot of pieces in the boat or at a high rating.
"We had a little wind which is not what we're used to because our water is pretty calm. There was a tailwind for the first two miles and that turned into a headwind, which is pretty hard to maneuver."
For both boats, a frantic start made it difficult to settle (decrease the stroke rate and concentrate on power) for the remainder of the race.
While the Varsity B boat was able to focus, the Varsity A boat had greater difficulty working together.
"There was so much chaos launching at the docks that we didn't stay in order. It was hard to tell how we did [against other boats], so it was really just a race against the clock and against ourselves," Schlessinger said.
The A boat also struggled throughout the race to "walk through," or pass, some of its biggest competitors.
"We had Colby working us for the whole race, and we had two boats right ahead of us for the first mile or so," Fairchild said. "We passed one boat pretty early, but it took us a while to walk through them. Then we worked on walking through Colby for the rest of the race. Colby had a really good row compared to our bad row, so it is good that we were able to hold them off for a while."
Although the team certainly had a less-than-perfect race at the New Hampshire Championships, they are confident that the Head of the Charles, which takes place this weekend, will be a much more fruitful race.
Last year, the Head of Charles was a very successful race for the Tufts women's crew. The Varsity A boat finished 15th out of 48 teams with a time of 17:49.20 and the Varsity B boat came in 35th out of 42 boats, finishing with a time of 19:08.97.
"The Head of the Charles is always a really fun race and we always get really excited. It is our last chance to show how far we have come," Schlessinger said. "I think we are all just ready to lay it out there. I think our coxswains are very well prepared, and I have confidence that they will be able to steer good courses."<$>
