Bowdoin Rowing

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Rowing Alchemey Turns Silver Into Gold!

At the close of its 25th Anniversary Season, The Bowdoin Navy found some racing alchemy that turned the silver commemoration into Gold! On May 5th at the New England Rowing Championships on historic Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA, Bowdoin advanced all 6 of its entries to the Grand Finals and once there, took 4 gold medals.

The Novice Men’s Four, with cox Bridgett McCoy ’15, stroke Jack Wostrel ’15, Chris Breen ’15, Nathan Post ’15 and Bryce Ervin ’15 rowed its fastest time of the season in finishing 6th in the Grand.  The Novice Women’s Four beat its 8th place seed by finishing 5th under the helm of Ashley Talbot ’15, and with stroke Julia O’Keefe ’15, Catherine Yochum ’15, Amanda Maisel ’15 and Helen Mohney ’15.

All four of the upper boats moved through the morning heats with confidence and poise, and in the afternoon finals showed determination and patience with big moves in the final stages of the 2000 meter course to claim the gold.

The medal run started with the W2V4 moving through the course ahead of the field in a three way race with Holy Cross and Trinity.  Over the last 300 meters coxswain Alex Lynds ’15 moved her crew of stroke Anna Westervelt ’14, Emily Weinberger ’15, Sam Burns ’13, and Mary Bryan Barksdale ’15 into position for a closing sprint which earned the win in the closest finish of the day, taking the gold with a 2.3 second gap over Holy Cross with Trinity back by 7 seconds in 3rd.

The M2V4 staged a similar finish with a decisive move over the last 200 meters to best rivals Vermont and Amherst by 3 and 4 seconds respectively. Stroke Elliott Munn ’12, Scott Mitchell ’15, Tom Marcello ’12, and Capt. Morgan Andersen ’12 took the calls from coxswain Jen Helble ’14. For the 3 seniors it was an especially satisfying finish to their season and collegiate careers.

The WV4 gave a characteristically dominant performance leading Connecticut College and Amherst over the course and pulling away in the last 500 meters to beat the Camels by 7.6 and the Jeffs by 8.8 seconds.  Bonnie Cao coxed for Capt. and stroke Caroline Ciocca ’12, Heather Kinnear ’12, Courtney Payne ’15, and Katie Ross ’14.  This win extended a 3 year streak of silver medals at NE’s with a 4th year in the Gold!

The last race of the sweep was the MV4.  At the starting line, the gold could have gone to any of the three top seeded crews.  Christine Buckland ’12 had the helm and the calls for stroke Dan Polasky ’12, Tucker Colvin ’13, Cal Brooks ’15, and Mark Endrizzi ’15.  Behind at the start, the crew moved patiently through the fleet to set up the finish.  At 1500 meters Bowdoin put on a perfectly executed drive to the line to beat Wentworth by 3.2 and Vermont by 8.9 seconds.

What better way to finish off the Celebration of The 25th Anniversary of the Restoration of Rowing at Bowdoin! From the modest beginnings of modern rowing in 1986, The Bowdoin Navy has become a dominant force in small boat rowing in New England. In 2012 the hard working athletes of the Bowdoin Crew found the secret of turning silver into gold!

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Mid Spring Catch Up

With its strongest spring start in years, the Bowdoin Navy is anticipating an equally strong finish as we head into the championship phase of the spring.

On Sunday 4/22 the Varsity Men and Women both won their events at the President’s Cup with Colby and Bates before racing was suspended due to high winds and waves on the Androscoggin.  The day before at the Riverhawk Racing Series at UMASS, these 2 crews finished within a second of their rivals  at UVM.  Both Men’s and Women’s Second Varsity crews won their events.

At The Big Three on 4/14 Amherst hosted Bowdoin and Middlebury and the Polar Bears came away with wins in the Men’s and Women’s Varsity Fours, and the Men’s 2V4. The W2V took 2nd, and the Novice Men and Women were 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The Big Three was especially fun as we dedicated the newest hull in the fleet and captured the inaugural Cup for the M2V.  Pete and Mara Taft provided a new Pocock named Trigger to honor their longstanding canine companion, who attended and delighted the team for almost every Bowdoin race for the 4 years that Molly ’11 rowed in the Navy.  And Hunt Dowse ’69 was with us to present the Cup named in his honor for his tremendous support of rowing at Bowdoin.

With the New England Rowing Championships coming up on May 5, The Navy is excited about the prospects of fast racing in strong fields across the regatta.

We travel to Worcester 4/28 to test the waters with Amherst and Conn for one last shot at Quinsigamond before the NERC.

 

 

 

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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!