In the midst of a dominating fall season to date for Jumbo athletics, one of Tufts' most successful squads in recent years is itching to do its part and continue the pattern of winning.
The men's crew team, which took first place at the New England Fours Championships and third at the ECAC National Invitational in the spring, will hit the water for the first time this Saturday at the Textile River Regatta in Lowell, Mass.
The team boasts a solid résumé and a wealth of experience. And while the possibility of a "hangover" effect exists for winning teams, this collection of Jumbos looks at the experience as an important building block for future achievements.
"We'll probably have some residual effects from last year's championship win," coach Jay Britt said. "But we have three of our four starting varsity guys back, plus our coxswain, so we should be able to build on last year's solid finish and use the fall as a chance to really train and get prepared for the spring season."
With such a high percentage of contributing members from last year's team returning, fierce competition will naturally ensue for the limited number of remaining spots on the varsity A and B boats.
"Four out of five guys are coming back from that championship boat, so we're definitely coming back with a lot of talent," senior co-captain Robbie Bayless said. "Because the majority of the guys are returning, there is going to be a lot of competition for that last spot [on the A team] and the spots on the B team. That should improve the overall quality of rowers in those spots and help us to develop our younger guys."
An interesting aspect of the crew schedule is the limited fall portion of the season. While the fall calendar is only comprised of a handful of races -- which are sometimes referred to as "tune-up" events -- these tend to go a long way toward helping the crew prepare for its heavy slate of spring action.
Tufts understands the importance of using the fall races as an opportunity to build team cohesion and help some of the younger rowers become acclimated to the intense level of competition, but the Jumbos also view the fall schedule as a key step along the way to a championship season.
"Obviously, our goals are to build on last year's success and to use the fall's regattas to continue improving," senior co-captain Nahv Etedali said. "The main focus is on the spring, however, so we use the fall as a training mechanism and a springboard into the spring season."
"There are some really great races in the fall -- especially the Head of the Charles -- which is one of the most prestigious races in the world," Bayless added. "So while, yes, they are tune-up [races] for the spring season, we are also seeing some of the best collegiate competition out there. We have some longer rows in the fall compared to the length of the spring races, so we need to use these races as an opportunity to get back up to speed again."
For a team that seems to possess a well-rounded corps of rowers, one weakness might be their overall size. While the team isn't lacking in strength, Britt noted that it will often be "looking up" to the opposition.
"Our weakness is that we're not very big physically," Britt said. "The majority of our oarsmen aren't that tall, so we will be shorter than most of our opposition. To make up for that, we need to be quicker and keep our stroke rate higher. If we can maintain a higher tempo than the opposition by putting the blade in the water more often, then we will be faster."
As the fall season opens Sunday in Lowell, the Jumbos' focus remains on competing and working hard in order to achieve even more than they did in the 2007-08 campaign.
"The guys definitely want to be successful," Britt said. "Having had a taste of [victory], I'm looking at that to force our guys to strive for more excellence. I tend to think of it as success breeds more success. It should be easier this year because they've tasted it and now they want more. It is certainly a sweet fountain to drink from, but once you've tasted it, you only want to drink from that fountain and none other."
