Men’s and women’s crew traveled to Saratoga, N.Y. on Saturday, Oct. 25 to compete in the 2014 Head of the Fish regatta. Both teams rowed hard, accomplishing strong finishes to the fall racing season.
The Head of the Fish is one of the teams’ favorite regattas of the season, as it is the first regatta in which novices are allowed to compete.
“A big part of our program has always been novice walk-ons,” said Captain Emily Garvin ’15. “They spend the entire fall learning how to row and training to get faster, and the Head of the Fish is their first chance to get out there and actually race.”
The men’s team took part in four races, starting with the Freshman 8+. This boat placed first with a comfortable 20-second lead.
The first varsity boat (1V) came in second in the Men’s Collegiate 8+.
“This was especially exciting because we beat several crews that bested us a week prior at the [Head of the] Charles, including Marist, who got third place yesterday, only 0.01 seconds behind us, the smallest possible margin to measure in rowing,” said captain Ethan Currie ’15 of the 1V race.
The second (2V) and third (3V) varsity boats competed in the Men’s Collegiate JV 8+ event, placing 2nd and 15th respectively. The Cards’ 3V boat was the third fastest among the other 3V boats entered in the race.
In the Men’s Collegiate Novice 4+, the newcomers were finally able to get out on the water to test their skills for a race and placed 16th.
Men’s assistant coach Trevor Michelson G’13 raced in the Men’s Open Light 1x event and placed seventh, continuing the trend of strong finishes for the team at the Head of the Fish.
The women’s team found similar success in their three races. The 1V placed fourth in the Women’s Collegiate 8+. In the Women’s Collegiate JV 8+, the 2V and 3V placed 3rd and 11th respectively, with the 3V boat being the second fastest of the other 3Vs entered in the race.
In the Women’s Collegiate Novice 8+, the Cards took 13th place.
Overall, both teams were able to wrap up the season with a strong finish, which will give them momentum going into winter training.
“This regatta was huge for us because it was somewhat of a return to form after not having had stellar performances so far this season,” Currie said. “Having done worse than we hoped at the Charles, we know we have a lot of work to do this winter, but now that we turned out some great performances at the Fish, we know we have a lot of potential to go fast in the spring.”
After a season of indoor training, it will be exciting to see the men’s and women’s crew teams compete this spring.
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