Bowdoin Rowing

Remigio Delectate et Remigate Velociter

Coach Gil Birney

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Really Grand Finals at NE’s!

Bowdoin placed all six of its entries into the Grand Finals at the New England Rowing Championships on May 3, and came away with a gold, two silvers, a bronze, and two 4th place finishes!

The Varsity Women’s Four took the gold with an open water thirteen second win over Amherst and Conn in third. The win capped an undefeated regular season and inspired the crew to enter the Open Heavyweight Four at the upcoming Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia May 9-10. After five consecutive years of medals, 2 of them gold, in the D2-3 event, entering the Open signals the ambition and determination of these women to compete with the best in the country.

The Varsity Men’s Four won a hard fought silver against rival Wentworth Institute of Technology. With a stunning closing move, the Bears gained a boat length of water but came just short of WIT by a second. It was another in a long series of close races with the Wentworth crew and fans the rivalry for the upcoming Dad Vail.

The Novice Women took a silver behind Bates in very tight finish
and the M2V dashed to the bronze in another close race.

The Novice Men and W2V were both 4th by seconds in races that came down to the wire as well.

The Bowdoin Navy came away from NE’s with four medals in six events, and showed once again it is a powerhouse in regional fours competition. Next weekend the team travels to Philadelphia for the storied Dad Vail Regatta, the largest intercollgiate regatta in the country, with entries in six events.

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Great Rowing at Greater Boston

After a terrific regatta at Knecht Cup, we returned to the New Meadows ready to take on New England. At the Greater Boston Invitational on the Merrimack at Lowell, the Bowdoin Navy again showed speed and determination. We earned top three finishes in all eight events we entered, with 3 firsts, 4 seconds and a third.

The First Men showed composure and power as they rowed through host WIT in the last 500 meters. The First Women remain at the top of the field with a :14 win over Bryant with Amherst in third. The Jeffs had some difficulty at the start but rowed through the fleet and will be tough at New Englands. The Novice Women finished 1st and 3rd sandwiching the Amherst women. The Second Men and Second Women took second, as did the Lightweight Men and Men’s Pair. The Novice Men were third.

Next weekend we stay in Maine for the President’s Cup with Bates and Colby in Greene, ME on the mighty Androsscoggin.

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Spring Season 2014

After a great spring break at Camp Bob Cooper we are back to the frozen north! Ice in the river has delayed installation of docks, but we are hard at work back on the ergs while we wait for the thaw.

We will be racing this weekend on Sunday, 3/30, at UMASS Lowell in the eights and fours. This has been shifted from Quinsigamond which is still iced up.

Next weekend we will be practicing at home and then head to Mercer Lake in NJ for The Knecht Cup 4/12-13.

Though the weather continues to be cold, we’re feeling hot after camp and look forward to testing speed as spring creeps into the northeast!

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Speedboats!

A beautiful fall season saw speed boats right through the Navy! In the three races of the head season the top women’s boat won both the Textile and the Snake and was 5th at the Charles. The Men’s First was second twice and 6th at the Charles. Lightweight Men won at Textile and took third in the Open Division at the Snake, and competed with gusto to beat a couple of crews in the elite lightweight event at the Charles. And we had speedy novice crews as well. The Women’s Novice Four sped its way to gold and silver at the Textile and Snake, and the Novice Men’s Fours came second and third in Lowell, and then third in Worcester. We also boated a Women’s Novice Eight which came fourth at the Textile and seventh out of twenty at the Snake!

Hard work and long hours translated to great speed this fall. For the third consecutive year we had both men and women in the top ten at the Charles, which is a great accomplishment. Coupled with the depth and speed of our novice pool, the Navy is looking very competitive for spring! So competitive, that while most of the Navy will be off the water after Dad Vail in May, we are pleased to be taking the women to England to compete in the prestigious Henley Women’s Regatta in June! More speed to come!

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Strong Showing at The Snake

At the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta in Worcester on 10/12, the Women’s Four posted a decisive win in 18:02 for the 2.5 mile course, a :40 victory over Connecticut College in second and third place University of Vermont!

The Men’s Four won second :12 behind University of Rhode Island, and the Bowdoin B boat, our lightweight crew, took third. Our C boat took 9th in the 14 boat field, but ahead of A boats from Amherst, Colby, and Tufts.

In the Novice events, our Women’s Four was second behind a very fast Connecticut College crew, and the our Novice Men’s four was third behind 2 boats from Conn. The Novice Women’s Eight was 7th in a very competitive 20 boat race, and finished ahead of top boats from Clark, Simmons, Smith, Amherst, and Tufts.

Complete results at snake.qra.org.

Next Saturday, our Women’s Four defends last year’s gold medal win at the Head of the Charles, and the Men’s Four seeks to extend its medal winning row in Boston to 3 consecutive years; and 2 alumni crews compete in the Men’s and Womens’ Club Fours. Our Lightweight Men’s Four will compete in the international event on Sunday afternoon.