The men’s and women’s crew teams showed potential at the Head of the Housatonic Regatta on Saturday in Shelton, Conn. The men’s team excelled in its races, tapping into the potential displayed during a strong spring season last year, while the women’s team finished impressively, despite a communication breakdown.

The men’s first eight-boat won the non-IRA division headrace with a time of 15:23 over the 2.7 mile course, marking the first victory for a Wesleyan men’s first eight-boat since 2007. This finish placed the first boat ahead of the second-place Williams second boat by a full five seconds.

The Cardinal men also finished ahead of the Williams first boat, which competed under the same conditions in the IRA division headrace and finished with a time of 15:24. This unprecedented success over a historic rival has men’s crew brimming with confidence for the future.

“Just take a look at last year,” said Bryce Hollingsworth ’13. “We had an all right fall and a really good spring, so that shows how much improvement can occur over off-season trainings. Top schools that were really close to us or even beat us last year, we beat these past two races. All of that just makes us really excited about the spring.”

Men’s crew also sent two other eight-boats to the Housatonic. The second boat finished fifth with a time of 16:47, while the third boat came in tenth with a time of 18:12.

The women’s crew first eight-boat ran a strong headrace before technical difficulties struck. Midway through the race, coxswain Sami Pop ’11 became unable to communicate with the boat when her cox box stopped working. Without knowing where they were on the course or when to push to the finish, the Cardinal women dug in and rowed to an impressive fourth place finish against high-level competition with a time of 17:20. The women’s second boat came in seventh in the same race with a time of 19:18.

“In terms of competition, it was a really tough race,” said Catie Steidl ’11. “There weren’t that many schools and they were all really good schools. We were really pleased with our race, the novices looked great. I feel like everybody made an improvement over last weekend, we felt really good about it.”

With two impressive efforts against adversity on the water, both the men’s and women’s crews are feeling confident and primed to get back to racing at the Head of the Charles Regatta on Oct. 23.

“In comparison to last year, I feel like we are really moving,” said Christina Ermilio ’13. “Our boat is moving a lot better, but beyond that, our improvement is fantastic. Everyone is really into it, pushing themselves. I think it’s incredible how we’ve improved so much so far.”

“Everybody on the team has a really good attitude, really good work ethic,” Hollingsworth said. “We just have to keep that level of drive, and if we keep that going through winter training, we should be in perfect position for the spring.”