The men’s and women’s crew teams were handily defeated by Trinity on Saturday at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. Having trained throughout the spring, the general consensus among the Cardinals is that the Trinity Bantams are simply a dynamite team.
“In my four years as the men’s varsity coxswain, I have not come across a more dominant boat than this year’s Trinity varsity eight,” said David Wyant ’05. “They went into the race undefeated and seeking redemption for our win at the New England Championships last year. The conditions were ideal and we went fast, but they were ridiculously fast. I’d be surprised if anyone touches them at New Englands next week.”The Cardinals other opponent this weekend was the Connecticut College Camels. The Camels also fell to Trinity’s victory except in the varsity four race, in which they came in first. Despite Trinity’s overall wins, the margin of their victories against the Cardinals and other competitors is not great.“Right now we’re in a pack that has no more than one to three seconds separating about five or six teams,” said Matt Carey ’07. “This just happens to be a competitive year, with no one falling off the pace. Trinity right now is in a league of their own. When a team can post times like that in our division, they’re just going to win. They could give a lot of crews in the divisions above us a run for their money. They will be everyone’s target for the next couple years. Right now, we’ll keep our heads in our own boat.”
Wesleyan is currently ranked seventh in New England and Trinity is ranked #19.
“Trinity is a very fast program, undefeated on both the varsity and JV levels,” said assistant men’s coach Kevin MacDermott, “And our top two boats did well to race hard and close through the first half of each race. In the second 1000 meters, Trinity showed their strength and pulled away. Both crews have room to improve and will be working hard before the New England Championships this Sunday.”The Cardinals, who beat the Camels in the second varsity eight race, were not discouraged by the overpowering Trinity team and are looking forward to a successful championship meet this coming weekend against foes like Williams and Amherst.“[The Trinity Bantams] may be untouchable in my mind, but there are other medals at New Englands, and I believe that we’re fast enough to contend for them,” Wyant said.
Apart from the Cardinals’ weekend defeat, they have carried out quite a successful season, particularly in their April 16 meet where the second varsity heavyweight eight and the novice eight teams led against Williams.
The Bantams also defeated the women’s crew team this weekend, but the Cardinals were able to defeat the Camels. The second varsity eight team had to row unofficially because an illness forced the Cardinals to use its Varsity eight stroke to fill the boat.
Wes women’s crew has otherwise enjoyed a fair season so far, with a strong win in the April 3 meet against WPI, Vassar and Wellesley.
Next up for Wes Crew is Sunday’s New England Championships in Worcester, Mass.
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