The men’s and women’s crew teams traveled to race on the Merrimack River in Lowell, Mass., this past Sunday to compete in the 35th Textile River Regatta. With successful finishes for a number of the boats, both teams are satisfied with the positive start to the fall season.
The Textile River Regatta incites excitement in all team members. It is a great race to start the season, putting the rowers to the test both physically and emotionally.
“Textile Regatta is always fun because it’s our first race of the season,” said Ellen Paik ’16. “It’s a challenging course that puts our endurance to the test.”
Women’s team Captain Emily Garvin ’15 concurred, adding that the length of the race adds to the challenge.
“This is a 5.8km race, which is a lot longer than the usual 5k fall race course, so it’s both an opportunity for us to get back into what we call ‘race day mentality’ as well as get in some great training,” Garvin said.
This year the men’s first varsity eight (1V) placed second in the men’s club eight behind Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The 1V boat also competed in the men’s open eight, claiming fourth place. The second varsity eight (2V) placed fourth in the men’s club eight, impressively finishing above a number of 1V boats from other schools.
When considering the performance of the team, it is important to note the inexperience of many of its members. For Sam Giagtzoglou ’16, Matt Weinsier ’16, Thad Brown ’17, and Zach Obstfeld ’18, the Textile was their first race ever in the 1V boat. The 2V boat also had four freshmen racing in their first ever collegiate event. The fact that the team was able to do so well at this first race makes this fall and coming spring season look even more promising.
For the women’s team, the 1V placed first in the women’s open eight as well as in the women’s club eight. The 2V placed fifth in the women’s club eight and was the first of the 2V boats to finish. In fact, the 2V boat actually outraced a number of the 1V boats from other competitors from Simmons College and University of New Hampshire. The third varsity eight (3V) placed 11th in the club eight, also placing higher than a number of 1V and 2V boats.
Overall, the teams are content with this baseline start to the season.
“Going into the Textile, we really weren’t sure how we would fare, but I feel confident now that we have a lot of speed just under the surface, and with the right ethic and outlook, we can bring it up in time,” said men’s Captain Ethan Currie ’15.
Nonetheless, Captain Ben Record ’15 added that there is room to build on the skills the team has.
“We have our work cut out for us over the next month of racing,” Record said.
The women’s team will face similar challenges in the coming weeks.
“The team’s performance really showed that all the hard work we’ve been putting in, on and off the water, has been worth it,” Garvin said. “There’s still a lot more work to put in before [the Head of the] Charles, but this week’s performance has really showcased that we’re ready to do what it takes.”
Both teams will get back on the water on Oct. 18 and 19 when they ship up to Boston for the Head of the Charles Regatta.
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