Crew teams take on world's best at Head of the Charles

The Jumbos competed in the Head of the Charles regatta this weekend. The Head of the Charles is one of the biggest and most famous regattas in the world of rowing, with thousands of athletes competing across several events. Tufts competed in the Men's Club Eights, Men's Championship Doubles, Directors' Challenge Women's and Men's Quads, Women's Lightweight Fours, and Women's Collegiate Eights over the two day event.

This event is on a different scale than all the others that the Jumbos compete in throughout the season. Alongside the thousands of rowers competing, tens of thousands of spectators and supporters stood alongside the Charles cheering them on, raising the excitement and the level of competition.

The Jumbos competed in two events on Saturday.Tufts placed in 13th in the Men's Club Eights with a time of 15:41.555 in a race that was eventually won by Harvard. According to junior co-captain Mats Edwards, this was good enough to earn Tufts an automatic qualification spot for next year's event. It was a strong showing for the Jumbos and was certainly an adjustment for those who were racing in the regatta for the first time.

"By design, the race puts the boats in really close proximity with the spectators throughout the entire course, which [is] usually not the case in rowing races," sophomore Harris Hardiman-Mostow, who competed in the Men's Club Eights, said. "Because of this, it really puts the onus on the rowers and coxswains to be in their bag and not get carried away by adrenaline or cheering fans. So for me, the effort was as much of a physical exertion as it was a mental challenge to stay focused on our own boat, and let the energy of the fans reinforce and motivate the focus rather than distract from it."

First-year Jack Batchelor and senior Tamas Takata competed in the Championship Doubles,finishing in 18th of 20 total boats in 19:34.647 plus a five-second penalty. Competing in a championship event meant that Takata and Batchelor were going up against rowers from around the world.

"It was really [a] huge honor to represent Tufts in the Championship Double[s]," Batchelor said. "Tamas and I rowed against the best doubles in the nation, comprising mostly of people that row as their job. Despite the seemingly impossible task of not coming [in] last to many national level crews, we were able to survive."

Batchelor praised the work his teammate put in that led to the duo's good performance in the event.

"Tamas, the bowman and steerer of the course, put a lot of bolts on the line," Batchelor said. "We had the mindset that we were going to leave it all on the course. And that's what we did. I cannot say how thankful I am to Tamas for just bolting the course with me and not caring about how great our competition[s were], but focusing on ourselves."

On Sunday, the Jumbos competed in four more events. The women's team featured many alumni, including Caroline Ricard (LA '14), Rachel Paterson (E '15), Emma Peabody (LA '15) and Emma Conroy (LA '18). They placed 23rd out of 35 teams competing in the Directors' Challenge quads with a time of 21:05.558. Shortly after, the men's team featuring first-year Matias Facciuto, and seniors Takata, Rohail Rai and co-captain Isaac Mudge placed 18th in the Director's Challenge Men's Quads with a time of 18:59.492. In the Women's Lightweight Fours, the Jumbos featured finished with a time of 22:08.448, earning them 11th place. Lastly, the Jumbos had two boats race in the Women's Collegiate Eights finishing impressively in seventh and 14th places, with times of 19:17.656 and 19:46.484 respectively. 

Senior Bibi Lichauco, who competed in the Collegiate Eights, had nothing but praise for both the course and the Jumbos' performance.

"Being around hundreds of spectators and fellow athletes along the entire three-mile stretch of one of the most beautiful courses makes this race a very exciting and totally unique rowing experience," Lichauco said. "The wind was pretty brutal during the race, but we moved through it together by focusing on technique and staying strong every stroke."

Meanwhile, Edwards, who competed in the Men's Club Eights, was pleased with the performance of the team as a whole, as they put in one of their best showings at the regatta in recent years.

"All in all, this regatta was a success for both showing Tufts Men's crew as a program with a strong base in the eights, but also a squad of very capable scullers in the quad and double," Edwards said. "We had great support this weekend from friends and family [and] are excited to head to Saratoga Springs [on Saturday] for our racing at Head of the Fish."

Hardiman-Mostow echoed Edwards' sentiment.

"In terms of place, we had one of the best performances at the Charles in recent memory, and since we finished in the top half of our event, we automatically re-qualify for next year," he said. "The atmosphere is really unlike any other rowing event in the world, and we're incredibly lucky to have it right here in Boston."

Both the men's and women's teams will compete at the Head of the Fish in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. this Saturday in what will be the final event of the fall season for the women and the penultimate event for the men.