All season long, the members of the men's crew knew they were better than what the results said. They believed that they had yet to tap their potential, and the "next race" mentality was a constant theme throughout the spring season.
Unfortunately for the Jumbos, time has run out.
The 2006 season ended on May 14 when the second varsity boat competed in the ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championships. The first varsity boat and novice boat did not qualify for the regatta.
"In the past there would be teams that we would always beat, like Tulane, but we lost to them this season," senior tri-captain Ben Harburg said. "This is probably the most disappointing season in my four years at Tufts. It was a disappointing season in the sense we were never really able to get together. Personnel-wise, we had a boat with two novices in it, and we had injuries. That being said, it was still great and I loved going out with the guys every morning."
The final chance for the team to prove itself came on May 7 at the New England Rowing Championships. Tufts entered three boats, but only the second varsity boat performed well enough to earn an invitation to the ECAC National Invitational Rowing Championships, finishing in first place with a time of 6:34.200 in the Petite Finals.
The first varsity boat and the third varsity boats both finished fourth in their respective heats. All together, the three boats earned 34 points to place 10th for the Men's Point Trophy. The women's second-place 84 points put Tufts in fourth place for the Team Point Trophy.
A recurring theme this season for the men has been their lackluster finishes and their inability to pull out big pushes at the end of races.
"I think the most frustrating thing was that there were a number of races where we were right in the race and where we were leading the race in the first 1500 meters and we just couldn't find a way to win," Harburg said. "We would get too tired and were unable to sprint. We were never badly beaten. It was as if we didn't know how to win; we didn't know how to end it."
Harburg is one of five graduating seniors on a team rife with youth, a possible explanation for the team's failure to really gel on the water. There was no novice program this season, so many of the rowers who would have been in novice or lower-level boats were required to step up and contribute at the varsity level.
"I think experience has a lot to do with it," Harburg said. "The only two people in the boat that were returning were myself and [junior tri-captain] Jeff Vanderkruik."
The entire season was an internal and external struggle, as the team tried to fix what was wrong and continue what was working, a process that was hampered by some key injuries.
Senior Mark Roberts hurt his back in the fall, and the injury pushed back his winter training schedule. He was able to come back into form for the spring, but he noted some other key injuries that hampered the team.
"Myself and [junior] Nick Walker have back problems and have to be very considerate of that," Roberts said. "Our stroke, [freshman Mike] Conroy has a shoulder problem which he can usually work around, but it can bother him from time to time.
"In one of the other boats, two rowers had their lungs collapse at different times of the year and they had to be hospitalized for a considerable amount of time," Roberts continued. "[Freshman] Matt Nix's collapsed during the fall, so he was able to do the winter training, but [freshman] James Nadel was right after spring break so after all that winter training, he couldn't even race."
The problems were easy to pinpoint early in the season, but the situation became more elusive as the season progressed.
"As the season went on, it was obvious that our technique was lacking but our power was there," Roberts said. "We were still keeping it tight with the other crews because of our power. Then going into the final races of the season, we were trying to improve on just the little things from week to week. New Englands was the only race that showed the fruits of our labors."
Despite this spring's disappointment, Roberts graduates along with Harburg, senior tri-captain John Papp, and Jeff Burke with positive memories of their experience.
"It's going to be incredibly difficult to leave the team," Roberts said. "These are guys who I spent most of my time with in my four years here. It's been such a huge part of my life for eight years. The friendships that I made on the team are life-long, and it's going to be difficult to leave the school and all the guys."
Harburg believes that the crew has a bright future ahead of it because of its youth and the newly built boathouse.
"I think it's a program on the rise, despite what happened this year," he said. "We have an incredible facility; it's probably one of the top 10 collegiate boathouses in America.
"I think the great element of Tufts is that it's one of those teams that doesn't get a lot of publicity, but we row against the top competition and we do really well against them," Harburg continued. "We can do a better job of recruiting experienced rowers. I think a lot of rowers are not experienced and we have to train them. I think we just need a couple of more pieces."
