In the world of sports, several relationships are key to the success of any team: pitcher-catcher, quarterback-receiver, tennis doubles partners.
And when you're hanging off the side of a 14-foot boat in 25 knots of wind, that kind of relationship becomes even more important.
The skipper-crew pair of sophomores Kaity Storck and Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff have worked together all season, putting together one of the most successful runs on the top-ranked Tufts sailing team.
The two were named to the All-New England team for their performance this year as the women's team's A division skipper and crew and will represent Tufts at Women's Nationals in Charleston this week. Storck was also recently voted captain of next year's Jumbos team.
"I've never seen two people get along so well on and off the water," said Jeff Cruise, a current senior on the team. "They're best friends, and you can really tell. That's really important for a sailing duo. They've worked hard all year and we're psyched to see them go to Nationals."
Storck and Gibbons-Neff have both been sailing since they were eight years old. Lindsey grew up in Radnor, Penn., and spent her summers sailing in Annapolis, Mary. Kaity grew up in Long Island and sailed there, joining a traveling sailing team when she was 10.
"[Kaity and I] started off sailing in Optimists, which are one person boats," Gibbons-Neff said. "We could have sailed against each other when we were little and not known it."
Both moved on to double-handed 420s as they continued sailing. Storck won the US Sailing Junior Women's Double-Handed Nationals and the Club 420 North American Championships during her high school career. They arrived at Tufts as freshmen together, and during their first year, they split time between the women's and coed events, sailing the B division boat in the women's New England Championships.
The pair excels on the water due to their individual skills and off-water chemistry; the two are roommates at the Alpha Tau Omega house.
"She's one of my closest friends," Gibbons-Neff said. "We're both into improving, and we love sailing."
"[Lindsey] always keeps a level head, even when I get frustrated," Storck said. "She keeps me calm and brings me out of it."
That chemistry has combined with a dedication to self-improvement and the program to create the winning combination on the water that has almost single-handedly accounted for several of the team's high finishes this season.
"Lyndsey is the most fit person on the team," Storck said. "She's always in the gym. She felt that she needed to be more in shape when she got here last year and she has been doing so ever since."
"I don't think other crews will do as well as we do," Gibbons-Neff said. "We made some preventable mistakes in the more important regattas earlier in the year and we will need to work hard for Nationals. We will do well though, and we're definitely excited for the opportunity."
While Storck and Gibbons-Neff are gearing up for Nationals, they still have next year in their sights.
"We will be racing some single-handed boats next year, which will help me with my steering," said Gibbons-Neff. "I hope we get to sail the women's again. We'll be upperclassmen and we will hopefully sail some coed, as well."
Storck, as a newly elected captain, also looks forward to the coming season.
"A captain is someone that people on the team look toward to ask questions to," Storck continued. "I've always felt like a leader, more so this year than last. Some of the older girls come to me with questions anyway, captain or not."
And as current sophomores, the pair will have the chance to continue the tradition of Tufts sailing dominance for two more years, bringing their close relationship and skills to New England waters in future seasons.
"They clearly get along really well," senior Zander Kirkland said. "They're always trying to get better. They're something special."
