The Wesleyan crew team scored a big victory Wednesday, with both the men’s and women’s teams ending the day on top of the Amherst Lord Jeffs by :69.
“We came and got head to begin the race, but then we just went limp,” said Matt Gregory ’07. “Then David Wyant [’05] somehow ended up going overboard, and we all started yelling, ‘Our coxswain! Our coxswain!’ Finally, we managed to pull him out and we continued to stroke.”
By this time, the Cardinals had put themselves in a big hole, but that’s just where they wanted to be.
“We like getting in a hole during the early stages of our race,” said Zak Alexander ’07. “Because there’s nothing we love more than coming from behind. And believe me, we’re good at it, something the Lord Jeffs can attest to after Wednesday.”
The moment of climax came seven-eighths of the way through the race when the Cardinal seamen stroked vigorously enough to come from behind and take the Lord Jeffs by surprise. Wyant yelling, ‘In! Out! In! Out!“ could be heard from miles away. The Lord Jeffs assumed their positions behind the Cardinals for the remainder of the race, but Amherst, unlike Wesleyan, was unable to come from behind and stick it to the Cardinals.
”Pulling it out against Amherst was one of our greatest victories of the season,“ said Jeremy Brown ’08. ”It was an exhilarating ride, and I think that during the second half, everyone stroked better than they have ever stroked before.“
The women had a similar experience with their Amherst counterpart, falling behind early.
”At first, they were putting it in harder, faster, in the right place, and at just the right moment,“ said Rachel Williams ’05. ”But for us, it wasn’t pleasurable at all at first. Nothing seemed to go right, and the oars felt like foreign objects in our hands.“
The Cardinals were inspired by a bizarre incident slightly more than halfway into the race.
”One of the girl’s hands got tired, so she started to use her mouth,“ said Amy Nebenhaus ’07. ”She actually put the wood in her mouth and effectively went to work. When we finally came upon the Lord Jeffs, she started using her hands again, but the fact that she could help the team with her mouth when her hands got tired inspired everyone.“
The incident showed that the Cardinal women just won’t give up, no matter what it takes to get the job done. Near the end of the race, the Cardinals pulled out in front of the Lord Jeffs. They never relinquished their lead, ending the race on top of their opponents and setting a new Wesleyan record time.
”There’s nothing more satisfying than going up against stiff competition, setting our eyes on the lucrative record, and beating it!“ said Mara Baldwin ’06. ”Once we were abreast to the Amherst squad, I knew we would overcome them, and when the moment finally came, it was ecstasy.“
This weekend, the Cardinals will try to beat off the Jumbos of Tufts in a home meet.