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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

Sailing | Jumbos' season comes to end at ACCs

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The Tufts co-ed sailing team wrapped up its fall season at the Atlantic Coast Championships in Charleston, S.C. on Nov. 16 and 17. The Jumbos had worked all season to qualify for and compete in this two-day event, which featured 18 top-level teams from the East Coast in 14 races.

Although Tufts had prepared all season for a chance at the ACC's, the team was overwhelmed by the competition and the conditions. Tufts placed last in the field of teams with a total score of 349 points, 21 points behind Eckerd College, the 17th-place finisher.

"We could not really figure out how to get a good start off the starting line and how to maneuver our way around the course," senior Paula Grasberger said. "The conditions were somewhat different than what we were used to, and it was difficult to adjust."

Senior tri-captain skipper Will Haeger and crew Grasberger sailed in races 1-6 and 10-14, while senior tri-captains David Liebenberg, at skipper, and Kathleen Kwasniak, at crew, competed in races 7-9 in the A Division. Junior skipper Alec Ruiz-Ramon and classmate crew Sam Madden started for the B Division.

Although the season did not end as the Jumbos would have hoped, there were great moments that will carry the momentum into the spring season. For example, one of the highlights of the season came on Nov. 3 at the Professor Erwin Schell Trophy at MIT. Tufts came in second place of 18 teams and was leading until the last race when Dartmouth College usurped the Jumbos. The Jumbos qualified for ACCs with the impressive performance.

"From a team perspective, the best part of the fall season was at the Schell Trophy," sophomore Pierre du Pont said. "We came in second place at the New England Conference Championships, and almost won."

The B Division boat shined at the Schell Trophy, where Ruiz-Ramon and Madden came in first place in their division. They won three of the nine races and came in third or better in four of the races.

"The biggest improvement throughout the fall season has been the progress of the B Division boat," Grasberger said. "At the ACCs, the boat figured out how to have more success by starting races faster. Also, as a team we became smarter as the season rolled along about where to go on the course based on what the wind was like on that particular day."

With such a large team, there is bound to be improvement from the bottom part of the team, and that is exactly what occurred throughout the fall season.

"I thought that the biggest improvement was the development of the freshmen," du Pont said. "Boat-handling was also a big improvement that the team made."

However, there is still progress that needs to be made during the offseason if the Jumbos hope to put forth better results in the second half of the year.

"Consistency is the biggest issue that needs to be fixed in the spring," du Pont said. "During the fall we performed well and then poorly at different regattas. If we hope to sail like we know we can, we need to be consistent and perform well at every regatta."

The co-ed team looks forward to the change in competition style that will come with a new season of sailing in 2014.

"We are looking forward to doing a lot of team racing," Grasberger said. "In the spring, the format is three boats versus three boats, as opposed to every man for himself. This makes the races more team-oriented, and we are excited to compete as one team."

And for a team that will not be sailing for more than two months, most of the sailors are just looking forward to getting back out on the water to compete for championships. The Jumbos know they have the potential, and they are motivated to see where it leads them.

"I'm just excited to sail again," du Pont said.