The men’s and women’s crew members headed over to Worcester, Mass. this past Saturday to compete at a dual meet hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The women squared up against the likes of Colby, Smith College, and WPI in multiple events. The men, on the other hand, tested their luck against Colby, WPI, and Division I school University of Massachusetts Amherst. Both teams performed outstandingly well and dominated the competition in multiple events. Lake Quinsigamond was the setting for the Cardinals to put their hard work and racing shells to the test this past weekend.
The women won all of the events they competed in, which consisted of the varsity eight, second varsity eight, third varsity eight, and the novice four races. Each boat posted faster times than in last week’s Murphy Cup results.
“Every single one of our boats won their race, and that’s the kind of momentum and commitment we are bringing in to this season,” said senior captains Anne Dade and Remy Johnson.
The team’s momentum and commitment is certainly showing, as they continue to drop time in every single race. For instance, the varsity eight finished with a time of 6:50.5. This time was eight seconds faster than Colby which managed to get a 6:58.14. With a 6:50.5 time, Wes would have won its petite final last week against Division I programs.
The second varsity eight managed to also win their race with a time of 7:25.0. They defeated host WPI by seven seconds with a time of 7:32.81. Afterwards, the third varsity eight took command of the lake, outdueling WPI by an impressive 19 second differential. They finished with a time of 7:43.6 against WPI’s 8:02.77. Lastly, the novice four made an appearance for the first time this spring season to defeat Smith and Colby with a time of 9:06.7.
“We were really proud of the way our whole team performed this past weekend on Lake Quinsigamond,” Dade and Johnson said. “We are really excited to see where it takes us! Stay tuned for results this Saturday when we race Wellesley, Tufts, and Bates.”
On Saturday, the women will travel to Medford, Mass. to face off against host Tufts, Wellesley, and Murphy Cup grand finalists Bates, in another dual meet.
The men’s program also traveled to Worcester and competed against WPI, Colby, and UMass Amherst in the men’s varsity eight, men’s second varsity eight, and the men’s third varsity eight. Overall, the men took first in two of the three events that they competed in.
The first crew to compete Saturday morning was the men’s 2V, which finished with a time of 6:30.7, defeating host WPI by eight seconds, who finished in 6:38.75. UMass-Amherst came in at 6:39.14 and Colby followed with a time of 6:44.88. The men’s 2V showed their competitive spirit by separating themselves from the field and displaying similar results to their Murphy Cup showing earlier this season.
Next came the men’s third varsity eight that came away with a time of 6:57.7 ahead of WPI’s two boats. WPI’s first boat in the event finished with a time of 7:08.52 and the other WPI boat in the event finished with a time of 7:46.38. The Men’s 3V pulled ahead of both boats with staggering times, beating the first boat by 11 seconds and the next boat by 49 seconds.
Lastly, the men’s varsity eight faced off against WPI, UMass-Amherst, and Colby. While they did not attain first place, they definitely put on a strong showing. They received second place with a time of 6:11.5, only two seconds behind host WPI. WPI finished with time 6:09.0 and the other crews, UMass-Amherst and Colby, placed third and forth with times 6:16.5 and 6:28.5, respectively. The men’s varsity eight passed the finish line at a mark of 6:11.5, an improvement from their showing at the Murphy Cup Grand Finals time by just under three seconds. The program is constantly working to be better for each meet, and the athletes are starting to see the results time and time again.
April 9 is the next chapter as each team will strive for medals at the ECAC/NIRC championships this May. The men and women will face off against Tufts in Medford, Mass. along with other competitors including Bates and the University of New Hampshire. Both squads will wake up early to start racing at 9 a.m. The coaches and athletes are eager to see the time, effort, and commitment they have put in thus far flourish this Saturday against a stiff competition waiting for the Cardinals.