Crew teams open season at Green Mountain Head

The Jumbos will kick off their fall season on Sunday at the Green Mountain Head (GMH) regatta in Putney, Vt. Tufts' men's and women's squads will face top scullers from across the Northeast.

The GMH, a three-mile course that starts upstream and turns around downstream at the 1.5-mile mark, is regularly the Jumbos' first competition of the year. All ages and skill levels will be present, beginning with an under-19 category and progressing in age up to 80 years old. The majority of Jumbos will be competing in the individual 19–34s.

Libby Lichter, a senior co-captain on the women’s squad from Weston, Mass., explained the importance of the event for Tufts.

“[GMH] is a sculling-only event with singles and doubles entries," Lichter said. "In past years we have sent most of the women’s team to GMH, but this year we are prioritizing sweeping to better prepare us for Head of the Charles in October and for spring boat selection in March. This year [the women’s team] is sending only a handful of boats — three singles and one double.”

The fall regattas are known for their eccentric prizes, with everything from food to T-shirts to glitter-covered fish heads on the table. In hospitable Northeast fashion, the grand prize of the GMH regatta this weekend is maple syrup, with the runner-up receiving a bag of apples and the third-place finisher taking home apple cider.

The men’s team, led by coach Noel Wanner and senior co-captains Ryan Bell, Mats Edwards, Paul Gelhaus and Isaac Mudge, will look to showcase its talent without putting too much pressure on itself right out of the gate.

“We're excited for the race," Mudge said. "We've been doing these single scull dual races during practice, so we feel like we're pretty well prepared, but Green Mountain Head hosts some of the best scullers in America, so we don't expect to beat [all of] those guys. It's awesome to race next to them and see real speed.”

The seniors appreciate the importance of using GMH as a watermark for how best to guide training going forward. They will enjoy coaching the new recruits through the process and hope the team will gain invaluable experience rowing head-to-head against top competition. 

Despite Mudge’s laid-back approach, Tufts’ performance has historically proven to be anything but. Last year, Andrew MacMillen (LA '18) placed fifth out of 34 participants in the 19–34s, recording a time of 20:07.9 on the three-mile course. Sophomore Charlie Cornillie rowed a 21:40.4, finishing tenth in the U19 group.

The Tufts women team is led by coach Brian Dawe. They also look to make the most of the event without taking themselves too seriously in the first race of their season.

“GMH is a real mixed bag when it comes to competition," Licther said. "This year there are collegiate scullers from Tufts and Ithaca racing alongside U.S. national team members who have just returned from the World Rowing Championship in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. It is such a unique opportunity to be racing some of the best in your sport. I’m most excited to be sharing the water with Tufts med alum and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Dr. Gevvie Stone [M '14]."

The women did not participate in last year’s event, but the Jumbos are eager to get on the water in Vermont this fall. With both teams in good spirits and eager to flex their rowing muscles, the seniors see high potential and the ability to earn some important qualifying spots in next year’s regattas.

“For the fall, we'd like to qualify our eight for next year’s Head of the Charles, which means finishing in the top half of the [GMH] event and to fare well at our third and final race in Saratoga Springs, [N.Y.]," Mudge said. "Our main season is the spring, so above all we're just trying to get in the groove, integrate the [first-years] and walk-ons, and have fun."

The women’s team is already looking ahead to a very promising Head of the Charles regatta on Oct. 21, in which 23 members of the team will be able to row.

“Our finish from last year was good enough to re-qualify a collegiate 8+," Lichter said. "Due to the popularity of the regatta, we had to enter a lottery for a second collegiate 8+ as well as a lightweight 4+, both of which we were fortunate enough to receive."

Tufts men’s and women’s crew has set its sights on a successful fall season beginning with GMH this weekend and continuing with The Hadley Chase on Oct. 14, the Head of the Charles on Oct. 21, and the Head of the Fish on Oct. 27.

Lichter and the Jumbos look forward to embracing the challenge in Vermont and hope to return with a cornucopia of New England-inspired prizes that the regatta has to offer.

“GMH is an opportunity for Tufts to race on a beautiful course against some of the best competitors in our sport," Lichter said. "Ideally, we’ll take down a couple of the Ithaca College boats on the way."