Bowdoin Rowing

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Gold at The Snake!

The Bowdoin Navy again earned medals in each event it entered at the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta in Worcester, MA on Oct. 15. Racing in the fours,  the men finished 1st and 7th in a 20 boat field, and the women took the gold with a 44 second margin over 2nd place Simmons. Three scullers competed in the Open 1x with Bowdoin’s Scott Mitchell claiming the silver.  Our Novice Men finished 17th overall and 2nd among the novice entries and the Novice Women were 6th and 7th, and first among novice crews!

The men squeeked out a 4 second victory over  Vermont,  so racing next weekend will have the added drama of this close rivalry.  Our Second Men beat all other B entries and A boats from Bates and Tufts in finishing 7th.  The women pounded up the course with aggressive catches to take advantage of the tailwind as they zoomed to an impressive victory.  After a big medal haul at the Textile earlier in the month, this was an especially satisfying day of racing in challenging conditions.  Heading into the Charles next weekend, the navy is eager and ready to mix it up with a national field.

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Cleaning Up at the Textile!

The Bowdoin Navy opened the fall racing season with an impressive showing at the Textile River Regatta on Oct. 2.  We had nine crews and a sculler entered in six events and took medals in five of them!  James Henry ’13 opened the run with a win in the Men’s Rec single, a boat he had only rowed for a couple of weeks. The Novice Women finished 2nd and 5th; the Varsity Men were 2nd and 11th; the Varsity Women took 3rd and 4th, and the Men’s Club 2x got a 3rd!  The Novice Men were 4th and 7th, just out of the bling.

1st Men win Silver!

The regatta came a week after a wonderful gathering of over 100 alumni, parents and rowers celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Restoration of Rowing at Bowdoin. Rowing was the first intercollegiate sport at Bowdoin, going back to 1858, and was active and successful into the 1890’s. Phin Sprague ’50, Coach Bill Brown, and Bill Harding  introduced rowing again in 1986.  Folks traveled from Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, DC and even Switzerland to mark the re-introduction by dedicating a new hull to honor Coach Brown, row over the New Meadows, and feast on the friendships and accomplishments of the last 25 years.

Founder Phin Sprague ’50 with early rowers from ’89

Bowdoin races next at the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta on Oct. 15th, and we have 4 college fours and an alumni men’s four racing at The Head of The Charles on Oct. 21.

 

 

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New Englands: Three Crews in Medals

Click for results

Thanks to all you who joined us at Lake Quinsigamond for the NERC. It was wonderful to have so many of you join the team, and the throng, at lakeside. Crews have been racing there since the 1870’s and it always amazes me that the lake has such a vibe and creates such drama, in these intense competitions.

We had our own share of drama this year! On the bright side, all our crews made the Grand Finals, and 3 of our 5 crews won medals. On the other side, our first men, seeded first, had a disappointing row to finish fifth. All part of the life of racing boats and we’re learning from our successes as well as our disappointments.

The Novice Women took the gold medal with an open water finish over the field. The drama in this one came from a season ending injury the crew’s stroke, Anna Westervelt, just after camp. Coach Pitney shuffled and reshuffled, and we finally brought in Taylor Cochran who had rowed last year but not at all this spring, and put her in the bow and she rose to the occasion. What a satisfying win for her and the mates, Katie Ross, Sam Burns, Melissa Arliss and coxie Ruiqi Tang in a really dominating row.

The Varsity Women had its share of drama as Captain Molly Taft faced injury as well; with subs and uncertainty they made their way though the last races of the season, and the week before New Englands Coach Pitney put Molly back in the boat and they finished second to Conn by open water at the Clark Invitational. Without much water time before the Championship, the outcome this week remained uncertain, but their race to the silver medal at NERC was inspirational as they closed the gap with Conn to a couple of seconds. Caroline Ciocca stroked and Bonnie Cao coxed with Heather Kinnear and Claire Ellwanger joining Molly to round out the boat.

The M2V was the most exciting and closest race of the day. Without the advantage of a morning heat, stroke Morgan Andersen and coxie Julia MacDonald had only the row to the start to get the crew of John Bruno, James Henry, and Elliott Munn in the groove. In winning the bronze medal they had to stage a dramatic finish to move through Amherst, and they did. At the line, only 2 seconds separated the first 4 crews, with Bowdoin just .6 seconds behind the VT crew that beat them by 5 seconds in Lowell, and only 1.2 behind winner UNH!. Amherst was .8 behind Bowdoin, who beat the Jeffs the week before by only .4! This one was a huge accomplishment.

The Novice Men had a flat heat in the morning, but after a good long break, coxswain Jen Helble took her men to the water and with stroke Dan Lesser’s leadership Graham Edwards, Steve Strout, and Soichi Hirokawa broke through to a higher level of competition to finish 5th in field loaded with speed. Winning is not always finishing first: these men won the race with themselves and finished the season with their best race of the spring.

Coxie Christine Buckland and the Varsity Men, stroke Michael Hannaman, Tucker Colvin, Dan Polasky, and Kenny McCroskery, went into the day seeded first based on beating Amherst by 8 seconds the week before. URI surprised them in the morning heat and beat them by a breath, but the men had the 3rd fastest qualifying time behind VT and URI so they were poised to be contenders in the afternoon. In a thrilling final VT had a couple of seats at the 1500 m. mark and 4 boats were bow to bow to challenge at the end. But by the line, VT and Amherst took gold and silver while UMASS Lowell bested UMASS Amherst by 1.2 seconds for 3rd and 4th with Bowdoin trailing for 5th by 1.1 seconds. It was a huge disappointment, but the men are determined to understand it and learn from it and get back in the speed for Dad Vail in 2 weeks.

So Quinsigamond offered up its historic drama once again, and the Bowdoin Navy had its share, all for the good as we celebrate the accomplishments and learn from the defeats.

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Championship Season

Though the 4/16 regatta was canceled due to high winds and unruly water, the Bowdoin Navy had a great day at the President’s Cup with Colby and Bates here in Maine on the 17th. Men’s and Women’s fours retained the Harding and Brown Cups and Bowdoin finished 2nd in team standings behind Bates and ahead of Colby.

At Worcester in the Clark Invitational on a rain drenched 4/23, the 3 men’s varsity crews won their events with the Novice Men in second behind Conn. The VW were 2nd to Conn and the NW won going away.

April 30 we’re back in Worcester for the New England Rowing Championships feeling strong and confident. The racing will tell, but we are rowing for medals all the way around!