It makes all those mornings of getting up early worthwhile. Last weekend, the crew team cleaned up last weekend in Worchester, Mass. at the at the New England Rowing Championship, which hosts approximately 1,200 athletes representing 36 schools.
A group of around 30 athletes from Bowdoin gave up part of their sunny Ivies Weekend to race against many competitive teams. In a typical early start to the day, each crew passed through a round of heats, competing against four or five other boats.
All Bowdoin boats advanced to the final round. The second round of racing took place later in the day during which crews faced varsity and club programs from schools like Connecticut College, the University of Rhode Island, and Amherst.
The novice women went on to win gold, the varsity women earned silver, and the men's second varsity took home the bronze.
"I was extremely proud that all of the five entries rowed in the grand finals, and especially happy for the medalists," said Coach Gil Birney. "The racing spirit on this team is what makes it such a pleasure to coach, and the results speak volumes for the tenacity and determination of these athletes."
The women's racing on Saturday was bittersweet because of the many injuries on the team. The women's team has been struggling to keep enough bodies healthy to row, but continues to post impressive results nonetheless.
The women's novice boat lost a key rower this spring, Anna Westervelt '14, due to injury, but fellow teammate Taylor Cochran '13 stepped in, making their win possible. Cochran, and teammates Katie Ross '14, Melissa Arliss '13, Samantha Burns '13, and coxswain Ruiqi Tang '13 had a "really dominating row," in the words of Birney, and pulled out ahead of the other boats in the final for a definitive win.
Captain Molly Taft '11, who was braving an injury, nonetheless helped the varsity women win silver. Taft, along with Heather Kinnear '12, Claire Ellwanger '12, and Caroline Ciocca '12, along with coxswain Bonnie Cao '13 had a fantastic race against Connecticut College, closing in on the other boat in the finals, finishing only seconds after Connecticut College.
The men's second varsity boat also had a dramatic race on Saturday. Morgan Andersen '12, John Bruno '13, James Henry '13, and Elliott Munn '11 had one of their best rows, narrowing in on other boats throughout the race, and finished a thrilling day of racing with a bronze medal.
According to Birney, "this one was a huge accomplishment." Similarly, the novice men had one of their best rows, and in the words of Birney, "finished the season with their best race of the spring."
The men's first varsity had a really tight race as the medaling boats finished barely seconds apart, but they are already looking forward to the next regatta, the Dad Vail Regatta, to reassess the competition and go out for gold. Captain Andrew Otton '11 has high hopes for the team.
"We have a really good and dedicated group of rowers who have been putting in the hours all year, so it makes sense that that shows on the water," he said. "This is a pretty young team too so going forward we should just be getting better from here."
The crew team participates in around five regattas in the spring and five in the fall. The fall racing culminates in the Head of the Charles, while the spring racing is focused on the regional, New England Championships, and then the Dad Vail Regatta which takes place in Philadelphia on May 13 and 14.
The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest collegiate regatta in the United States, hosting around 100 schools from the U.S. and Canada. The team is now looking ahead to Dad Vail and expects to be in the medal hunt in Philadelphia within the next week.