Last Saturday, Bowdoin’s crew posted strong finishes at the Clark Invitational Regatta, bringing home gold for the first varsity men and silver for the first varsity women. On Sunday, the Polar Bears also boasted impressive performances at the President’s Cup, including the first varsity men’s gold-medal triumph over the nationally respected varsity crew from Bates.
The weekend before, Bowdoin competed against nine other schools at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Invitational Regatta and won medals in six of the eight events entered. The team also earned two medals on April 11 and 12 at the Knecht Cup, the first regatta of the season for the Polar Bears. Over 70 schools, including several Division I and II programs, participated in the regatta.
According to captain Nathan Post ’15, the Polar Bears were only able to train three days on water after Spring Break before facing other teams in the Knecht Cup due to ice on the New Meadows River, where they usually practice.
Despite the unfavorable training conditions, the men’s first varsity won the silver in their first D-I competition, following gold-medaled University of Rhode Island (URI) by a close 1.2-second margin. The second varsity women also captured a D-III silver medal when they surged ahead of Marietta College by 0.6 seconds. The men’s first novice placed first in the Petite Final, with the fourth fastest time of the day out of 32 crews total. The women’s first and second novice boats also broke into the top third of the field, placing sixth and seventh, respectively, out of 28 crews.
“During the heat, the first novice men caught a crab, which means the oar gets stuck in the water,” said Post. “They lost quite a few seconds there and didn’t make to the Grand Final. Despite everything, they still got the fourth fastest time overall.”
A week later, the Bowdoin team went to Massachusetts and competed against nine other schools from New England. Once again, the first varsity men brought home a silver medal, falling to URI by 1.3 seconds.
Other highlights for Bowdoin that weekend included the gold medal finishes in men’s second varsity, men’s first novice and women’s first novice. The second varsity men walked away with their first gold medal of the season, 6.6 seconds ahead of second-placed University of Connecticut.
Last Saturday, Bowdoin entered two crews at the Clark Invitational Regatta and brought back a gold for the men’s first varsity and a silver for the women’s first varsity boats.
“We had a new lineup for the women’s boat,” said captain Mary Bryan Barksdale ’15. “We started off a little awkward and were only in fourth place at the first 500 meters. But we remained calm and confident, chipping away at our competitors and ending in second instead.”
On Sunday, the team raced against Bates and Colby at the Bobcats’ home course in Greene, Maine.
The first varsity men sailed ahead of the Mules’ boat by 6.1 seconds to finish first, while the first novice men defeated Colby and trailed behind Bates by 8.6 seconds to win a silver medal. The women’s novice eight, which include the first and second novice crews, also finished in second place, capping off a successful weekend for the Polar Bears.
Next Saturday, Bowdoin will compete in the New England Championship. The first varsity men and first and second varsity women will move on to the national Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta on the weekend of May 8 and 9.