Tufts sees mixed results, missed cuts

Armed with a new boathouse and a squad of determined Jumbos, the sailing team has competed in multiple competitions: the Moody Trophy, the New England Sloop Championship, the Truxton Umstead Trophy, the Oberg Trophy and, most recently, the Erwin Schell Trophy. The team saw mixed results in those regattas, placing 14th out of 18 teams, sixth out of eight, seventh out of 19, sixth out of 18 and ninth out of 18, respectively.The team placed in the top half of the standings in three out of the last five competitions.

The Jumbos’ recent placements have been decent, but, in some cases, have not been quite good enough. The team missed the cut for further qualification on at least two separate occasions.

Senior tri-captain Caroline Atwood was disappointed in the team’s placing at the Schell Trophy.

“In the Schell Trophy, which is a regatta across the country, we placed ninth out of 18,” Atwood said. “That's a pretty disappointing score for me, because it means we did not qualify for the North American Atlantic Coast Championships. We have a really competitive conference here in New England, so our qualifier was probably more competitive than the regatta itself.”

Despite the result, the captain had some praise for the team’s B squad, which won its division on Sunday.

“Our B boat probably [had] the best regatta of its college sailing career and won the division,” Atwood said. “That’s huge for us, and we’re really looking forward to working off of that momentum that [junior] Griffin [Rolander and sophomore] Emily [Shanley-Roberts] generated for us.”

To round out the Schell Trophy, the A team finished with a score of 134. Junior Scott Barbano and senior Casey Gowrie served as the skippers for the competition, while Atwood, junior tri-captain Liz Fletcher and classmate Alex Tong switched off as the team’s crew. The score was good for ninth place, just short of qualifying for the Atlantic Coast Championships.

Atwood, specifically, felt that her mindset has been better than ever in her last fall sailing at Tufts.

“I feel the best that I've ever felt in the boat, but my confidence is not translating into scores,” she said. “That is frustrating. I'm looking forward to taking weeks off this winter and preparing for the spring, when we have nationals.”

The sailing team also failed to qualify in the New England Sloop Championship. The Jumbos placed sixth out of eight teams in that regatta, meaning they will not compete for next month's ISCA Match Racing Championship.

According to Atwood, however, there is a bright side to the team’s recent performances.

“Our starts have improved drastically throughout the season, and our B division, as well as our [first-years], have made significant gains in their racing as a whole,” Atwood said. “ That has really pushed the A team forward in their performance as well, which will help translate into regattas.”

The sailing team can look forward to its final two regattas of the season later in November. Moving forward, the Jumbos will try to keep their heads up and sail their best matches of the season.

“Sailing is a funny thing,” Atwood said. “You can prepare all you want, but when you get in the water you need to have the right mindset.”

Nevertheless, the Jumbos will look to close out this fall season on a high note.