Jumbos receive strong showings from all boats in weekend regattas

The Jumbos hosted two regattas on the Malden River over the weekend. Tufts competed against Amherst, Middlebury and UMass on Sunday, taking second out of the four teams. The day before, the Jumbos won two out of three races against the Coast Guard Academy.

On Sunday, the Jumbos won four out of five races against the three other competing schools, losing only to the Middlebury Panthers, as the Panthers' first varsity eight took the win by 4.1 seconds.

Senior tri-captain Doug Burt was the bow for Tufts' first varsity eight, which split its races on Sunday, defeating UMass before the loss to Middlebury.

"By and large, the boats on our team did really well," Burt said. "Certainly there were some disappointing results within the first boat, but the second boat, third boat and novice boat all had crushing victories."

Tufts' second varsity eight won its race against UMass, the third varsity eight took down Middlebury and the novice eight notched a win against Middlebury as well.

The second varsity eight did particularly well over the weekend. The boat also won its race against Coast Guard, which means it had a perfect record in the two regattas on Saturday and Sunday.

Burt credited the success to the second eight's chemistry and coordination.

"They set the tone for the day," Burt said. "There's a lot to be learned from how they rowed, and we hope as a team to replicate their success going forward."

Senior tri-captain Zach Merchant echoed Burt's sentiments and explained that the team has benefitted from increased competition for the top spots on the roster.

"It was a good weekend for the 2V," Merchant said. "Competition for seats in the top two boats has been intense for several weeks now, and it was great to turn that competitive fire outwards this weekend. I think we all enjoyed that."

Along with the 10-second victory for the second boat, Tufts won another of its three races on Saturday against Coast Guard. Tufts' third varsity eight also won its race, finishing first by a dominant 21-second margin. Sophomore Alec Whipple manned the third spot in that boat.

"Individual performance is hard to quantify in rowing," Whipple said. "But I was happy to contribute to our victory over Coast Guard on Saturday. A win is always exciting, and hopefully this will be the first of many for our boat this season."

Coast Guard edged out Tufts in the first varsity boat race. The Bears' boat finished eight seconds ahead the Jumbos'. That makes Tufts' first boat 1-2 on the weekend, with a close loss on each day.

Looking ahead, Tufts will host another meet on Saturday as Bates, Wesleyan and New Hampshire will all travel to the Malden River. This will be the second-to-last regular season meet for the Jumbos.

"We are just trying to grind it out every day of practice and in every competition," Whipple said. "This team is filled with guys who just work really hard, and every day each of us strives to bring the most energy that we can in the boat. We're excited to see what we can do next weekend."

Burt noted that the team's mentality is geared toward consistent improvement.

"The way we approach our season is that each day is another step towards the ultimate goal, which is New Englands," Burt said. "No matter whether you did well or you did poorly on a weekend, each one is a learning opportunity. We're all looking very much forward to the upcoming races."

Tufts will host its next regatta on Saturday at 9 a.m.