At the 80th Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia PA Bowdoin entered 7 crews in 5 events and earned medals in 4 of them, including the gold in the Women’s JV Four, ahead of Drexel and Florida Institute of Technology. The Women’s Varsity Four took silver 3 seconds behind Florida Tech and 3 seconds ahead of Drexel. The Men’s Varsity Four won the bronze by a bow ball over Milwaukee School of Engineering and behind winner Lafayette, with Stetson University in second. And the Men’s JV Four flew to a silver behind Drexel and just ahead of Colgate.
Coaches Birney and Welling were ecstatic.
“We are just so proud of this team,” Birney said.
“To advance to the Grand Finals at Dad Vail is a significant accomplishment; to earn medals is huge. To win gold is off the charts. But to have four crews in that mix is out of this world!”
The B entry in the Women’s JV Four won the Petite Final, while the B entry in the Men’s JV Four came fifth. Men’s Novice Four won the Third Final.
After 22 years, this was Birney’s last Regatta as Head Coach for the Rowing Team. “I could not have asked for a better ending to the story,” he said. “All our crews had really scrappy, close finishes with really talented competition. To do so well on this national level of racing is a tribute to our athletes and a great gift to this retiring coach. I am profoundly grateful to them.”
