Head racing isn’t glamorous. Essentially, crews fight an uphill grueling battle against the clock over a course that extends two and a half to three miles, depending on the race. The boats start staggered, meaning there are 15-second gaps between the crews. Coxswains gauge their position relative to how far they are from the crew in front, enticing the crew to close the gap with a flurry of praise, expletives, and calls for Power-10s. Each rower responds with aggressive, crazed, yet paced strokes. The crews cross the finish line, return to the dock amid gaps in the racing, and wait for the results.
The results for Wescrew have been impressive to say the least. The men’s varsity eight continued its quest for victory, winning both the Head of the Riverfront in Hartford a week ago (15 minutes, 24.19 seconds) and the Head of the Connecticut (men’s intermediate 8) in Middletown on Sunday. The women’s varsity eight finished thirteenth in Hartford (18:40.72), but surged to a third place finish at home on Sunday. Even the men’s junior varsity squad was impressive, finishing first in Hartford (15:32.97) and fifth in the same race that the varsity rowers won. The women’s junior varsity finished sixth in their race with a time of 19:40.67.
The men’s team won the New England Championships last spring. However, the victory opened up a well of rumors throughout the New England rowing world that the victory was a fluke and that powerhouses like Trinity, Williams and the Coast Guard Academy would soon reclaim their position at the top. Wes quashed those rumors on Sunday, beating bitter rival Trinity along the way.
“We manhandled everyone,” said Darrell Lambert ’05. “Trinity should hang their heads in shame. We’re just going to keep beating them until the forget how to row.”
Other teammates expressed satisfaction with the race.
“We didn’t even have our best race, but it was good enough,” said coxswain Dave Wyant ’05.
After a disappointing Head of the Riverfront, the women’s varsity squad rebounded on Sunday in the Intermediate Eight category, coming in behind only Brown and Fordham. Smith, Williams, Trinity and Coast Guard all fell behind in their wake.
“This was a redeeming race for us,” said co-captain Rachel Williams ’05. “We beat all of the crews that didn’t take us seriously and forced them to recognize us. Everyone is extremely strong and talented on this team and because of that things are starting to come together.”
Hundreds of spectators crowded the banks of the Connecticut River in the past two weekends, and Wesleyan is making the crowds murmur. The most successful team in Wesleyan’s history is taking the spotlight again. Members of Wescrew break their collective backs day in and day out to produce results, and even this early in the season things are coalescing.
The crew teams will continue their season at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston next weekend.
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