It was another victorious weekend for the men’s crew team, as the first eight boat again went undefeated, beating Tufts and New Hampshire to stretch the Cards’ record to 7-0 on the spring. Tufts came into the race ranked twelfth in New England, while New Hampshire ranked sixth. However, they proved to be no match for the second-ranked Cardinals, as Tufts was 18.5 seconds off the pace, while the UNH race was a much tighter, as Wesleyan won by just 2.6 seconds.

“This last weekend, we found ourselves engaged in a tough battle with UNH in the second race” said Gael Hagan ’09. “We were able to make substantial gains in the first half of the race with a solid start, but the second half was a veritable dogfight.”

The rowers for the varsity race were Doug Cody ’09, Parker Cook ’10, Hagan, Ross Heinemann ’09, Elliot Skopin ’11, Charles Weiss ’09, Ben Roberts ’09, and Jeremy Brown ’08 with coxswain George Bennum ’09. Despite UNH pressing them hard in the second half of the race, the Cards were able to hold on for the win.

“UNH pressed us all throughout the second 1,000m of the race” Hagan said. “It was only with great concentration and effort that we were able to hold off their charge.”

The second and third teams for Wesleyan also raced successfully, with the second eight beating both UNH and Bates and the third conquering Bates.

As has been the case all year, Wesleyan flexed its muscles against stiff competition. Just two weeks ago, Wesleyan placed first in a race among three top ten teams.

This spring, five of the team’s seven wins have come against top ten crews.

“The racing of the last few weeks has shown us that the level of competitiveness in New England has certainly reached a higher level,” Hagan said.

The success so far this year will be tested greatly this coming weekend. Traveling to Pittsfield, Mass., Wesleyan will take on Little Three Rivals Williams and Amherst in pivotal regional match ups. The match up with Williams is especially noteworthy. Already bitter rivals, the crews rank second and third in the region, respectively.

Last year, Wesleyan was able to defeat the Ephs twice, including one win in the New England Championships. However, as they have all year, the team is putting the race into perspective.

“Every Wesleyan crew put in a strong performance this past weekend” said Charlie Weiss ’09. “Williams will just be another test of our will and endurance.”