Sports Shorts: Men’s crew drops a big one in the river

The men’s crew team suffered its first defeat this season at the hands of Trinity, New England’s top-ranked squad. Having maintained the second spot in the New England rankings for several weeks, Wesleyan hoped to leapfrog Trinity into the number one spot heading into the New England Championships at Worcester, Mass. this weekend. It was not to be, as Trinity’s varsity eight grabbed an early lead they would not relinquish, en route to a 13-second victory over Wesleyan’s first boat.

The squad remained unchanged from the boat that claimed the Little Three title a week ago, as Doug Cody ’09, Chris Cody ’07, Gael Hagan ’09, Colin Prensky ’07, Tom Volgenau ’08, Matt Carey ’07, Brian Studwell ’09, Jeremy Brown ’09, and coxKim Davies ’07 again occupied the first boat.

The second and third races finished similarly, as Trinity held rank with a 10-second victory over Wesleyan’s second boat and a four-second triumph over the third Cardinal boat.

The Cards have no time to lick their wounds as they must quickly regroup and refocus, as an impending rematch with rivals Trinity and Williams looms large over the New England weekend. Trinity, Wesleyan, and Williams, ranked one, two, and three in the NERC poll, are seen as the top contenders for regional honors, as Trinity remains the lone undefeated favorite.