There was a brief pause before the sailing team could kick off its spring season, but when it finally got out on the water at the Wood Trophy Regatta at Salve Regina in Newport, R.I., the Jumbos were able to deliver a solid seventh-place finish out of 14 competitors.
After Saturday's events were cancelled due to 30-mph winds, races resumed on Sunday. Both the A and B divisions of the fleet regattas competed in four races. In the A division, junior skipper Megan Pesch joined up with fellow junior Sarah Carnahan at crew. The duo finished sixth in both of its races for a total of 33 points.
The B division fared somewhat better on the day, finishing fourth out of the 14 teams with 20 points. Freshman Andrew Meleny skippered all four races while sophomore Will Pelleteri and Carnahan split races at crew — Pelleteri on the first and second races and Carnahan on the third and fourth. The total of 53 points left the Jumbos in the middle of the pack, behind several talented opponents led by the likes of Boston College and Brown.
As any member of a competitive team will tell you, cancellation due to weather is always a setback that can be difficult to overcome, even with a level head and victory still in sight. The shortened schedule clearly played a part in the Jumbos' performance on Sunday.
"We only really had four races because Saturday was cancelled," Pesch said. "It's usually easier to get a better gauge of how you did when there are more races. It was our first weekend of sailing, though, so I think it was a good way to get the rust off and get back into the swing of things."
Even though the weather permitted racing to occur on Sunday, conditions were certainly not ideal throughout the day. Rain persisted through the weekend, and to add to the obstacles, winds began to diminish to gusts of 10-15 mph as the afternoon went on.
"We had to make sure we were transitioning and dealing with all of the wind conditions and the constant change," Pesch said. "That definitely made things more challenging."
Tufts faced a difficult opponent in Boston College, currently ranked as the No. 1 college team by the Sailingworld.com coaches poll. The Eagles went on to win the Wood Trophy with an impressive score of 25 points.
The Jumbos can now look forward to the continuation of a fresh season in their next competition in the Truxtun Umstead Trophy at Navy this weekend.
"In terms of the women's regatta coming up this weekend, I think we're pretty well-matched for that," Pesch said. "We have a great senior team going, and this year we're definitely looking to qualify for nationals."
The members of the Tufts team, many of whom are incoming freshman and high-potential sophomores, are looking to come back strong in the second half of the year after a disappointing end to the fall. Senior skipper Tomas Hornos is considered by his teammates to be one of the most talented members of the team, and he is gunning for a stellar finish to his sailing career at Tufts, beginning with the Truxtun Umstead Trophy.
"We didn't do as well as we wanted to in the fall," Hornos said. "I think we all learned a lot, though. All the talent in the country will be at Navy this weekend. Historically we do well at this regatta. We're hoping to finish in the top 10."
The Truxtun Umstead might only be a regatta that features 20 teams, but colleges must qualify based on previous performances in order to compete. The Jumbos feel that they are worthy opponents for this year's regatta, especially with the young talent they have.
"Our top freshman is William Hutchings," Hornos said. "He's sailing this weekend at Navy, and it's pretty rare to have a freshman compete at this regatta since it's mostly juniors and seniors, but he will definitely do well."
The prospects for the season thus far are shaping up nicely for a team with so many new faces. Tufts looks forward to a packed schedule over the next two months and is hoping it will be a top contender for the New England and National Team Racing Championships at the end of May.
