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Volume CXXXIII, Number 7 |
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Ephs prove no match for rowers
ALIX ROY
ORIENT STAFF
Despite strong winds and high water in Saratoga Springs, NY, the men's and women's crew teams pulled through for a strong finish last Saturday at the Head of the Fish Regatta.
Coxswain Meredith Harris '05 lead the varsity A boat, consisting of Lindsay Kyzer '05, Mary-Kate Wheeler '07, Katie Chandler '04, and Christine Bevacqua '04, to a third place finish out of 54 teams. The women finished in a time of 16:00, trailing first-place finisher Umass Amherst by 31 seconds.
"We had a really good rhythm and were all rowing together really well," said Kyzer.
One of the high points of the race for the Bowdoin women was beating rival Williams's A and B boats for the first time. Harris attributes much of this success to Kyzer.
"Lindsay was able to keep the rate up to a higher level than we had raced before in the season and was able to control her stroke really well," said Harris. Bowdoin's B boat also finished strong with a time of 16:24 to take 10th place, a mere two seconds behind the ninth-place boat.
The women's team dominated all season long, medalling in every race except the Head of the Charles. Ironically, this was the race that stood out as the most memorable moment of the season for many of the women.
"It was a lot of fun and gave us some very, very fierce competition," said Harris. "It was a really good experience overall and improved our strength and cohesion within the boat dramatically."
The men's team also fared well in New York despite the men's varsity A boat's near collision at the finish. Chad Pelton '04, Justin Clance '04, Ben Needham '05, Colin Drake '04, and Captain Thomas Ricciard '04 placed fourth in the men's open four with a time of 12:42. Only 20 seconds behind the winning boat from Umass, the men's boat sprinted ahead of rival Williams who finished fifth. Needham was pleased with the men's performance in what was "definitely a good race." He and others credit their skill at racing in tough conditions to their training site at New Meadows River which presents much of the same conditions found on Saturday.
The men's lightweight boat also raced well, finishing in third place with a time of 13:49. John Haines '05, Alex Paul '06, Walker Pruett '05, Mark Hendrickson '07, and Juleah Swanson '04, trailed winner UVM by 19 seconds. Hendrickson attributed the reason for his personal success this season was the coaching. "I learned a lot from [assistant coach] Dave Thomas," he said. "He helped me out and gave me a lot of positive feedback." Hendrickson described the team as "a really great group of people who are all really into it."
Even though both teams had model seasons this fall, goals for next season are already set. Last spring Bowdoin had four boats medal in the Dad Vail's, the largest collegiate regatta in the country. This spring, Bowdoin hopes to places all its boats in the top of each race. An accomplishment such as this would be rare for a Division III school, but Bowdoin rowers are definitely up to the challenge. Needham said, "Every year is great, each season to me is surprisingly successful."
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