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Volume CXXXII, Number 23 |
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Crew reclaims title at the N.E. Fours
MADELINE POTT
STAFF WRITER
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| The Bowdoin Rowing Team finds power in numbers. (Courtesy of Coach Gil Birney) |
Locked in intense competition against rival New England colleges, the Bowdoin Rowing Team performed admirably in the New England Fours Championship Regatta, held in Lowell, Massachusetts on the Merrimack River.
With U-Mass Lowell holding the event for the fourth consecutive year, Bowdoin traveled to Lowell with hopes of taking its third trophy in four years at the event. Last year Amherst snatched the trophy away from Bowdoin. Intent on reclaiming the title, Coach Gil Birney made it his goal this year to win back that trophy and return it to its rightful place in the Bowdoin trophy case.
In addition to the trophy awarded to the school with the highest overall points total, separate trophies are awarded for men's and women's teams. Awards were also presented to the winners of all events, while individual medals were given to all rowers finishing in the top three places. Bowdoin entered a total of nine crews in the men's and women's varsity and novice events, including one lightweight women's crew.
The women's first boat, coxed by Meredith Harris '05 and stroked by Katie Chandler '04, dominated the field races despite the poor weather conditions. The Bowdoin boat finished ahead of Middlebury and Amherst with a time of 8:00.3.
The women's second varsity crew, coxed by Lauren Sarno '04 and stroked by Lindsay Kyzer '05, rowed by Mass Maritime and Assumption crews to win its race as well. Kyzer said, "Despite the horrible conditions, we rowed a strong race and finished with open water between us and Mass Maritime. We are all really proud of our work this season and look forward to next fall."
The first varsity men's boat, coxed by Ben Needham '05 and stroked by Pat Welsh '03, came ahead of both UVM and Amherst boats with a time of 6:50.6. The men's second varsity boat, coxed by Madeleine Pott '06 and stroked by Chad Pelton '04, also pushed ahead of Bowdoin's own third varsity boat and the Amherst and Mass Maritime crews to win its race as well.
The men's novice crew came in second to Middlebury, earning themselves silver medals. The first women's novice crew, coxed by Katinka Podmaniczky '06 and stroked by Lucy Van Hook '06, won its race ahead of a Lesley crew to land gold medals. The second novice women came in second to a Lesley crew, leaving the Middlebury crew in its wake. The lightweights found themselves well matched against the Middlebury crew they were rowing against and finished second in a tight race.
Reflecting on this weekend, lightweight rower Rachel Tavel '05 said "This last regatta made everyone realize that the season is coming to an end, and it's time to whip out everything we've got left to end it with our best rowing yet. I think we've all been saving a little something extra for Dad Vail's, and it's almost time to let that animal out of its cage!"
Due to strong rowing and coxing, Birney's mission to recapture the trophy was realized as the Bowdoin crew carried away the overall points trophys, both men's and women's trophies, as well as five first place awards they received otherwise.
Currently, the team is preparing to compete in the New England Championships to be held this weekend on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The men's and women's first boats will compete against other New England schools. A men's varsity eight will also be competing this weekend, as will a novice women's eight.
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