The men’s crew team began their season with a strong showing at the Head of the Housatonic on Saturday, claiming 1st, 4th, 9th and 14th places. Fourteen boats competed in the men’s collegiate eight competition.
First varsity ended its race with an impressive 11-second lead on Fordham University, and a full 37 seconds ahead of third place Coast Guard Academy. The men’s second varsity took 4th place with a 12 second margin behind Coast Guard. Members of the crew team’s first varsity boat this past Sunday included Doug Cody ’09, Parker Cook ’10, Gael Hagen ’09, Norman Azoulay ’08, Tom Volgenau ’08, Ross Heinemann ’09, Matt McLarney ’08, Jeremy Brown ’08, and coxswain George Bennum ’09.
Wesleyan also fielded an entry in the open weight four event, rowed by McLarney, Cook, Hagan and Brown. The boat captured 1st place by a comfortable 49-second margin.
Saturday marked the team’s first time participating in the Head of the Housatonic, a race normally eclipsed by the Head of the Connecticut, hosted in Middletown this past Sunday. Due to inclement weather during the past two competitions, collegiate enrollment in the Head of the Connecticut was almost non-existent this year.
“The response was low on the collegiate part of the race in the Head of the Connecticut,” said Head Coach Phil Carney. “We wanted an opportunity to race, so we just had to look elsewhere if we wanted to get some real competition in.”
While racing in the fall is seen largely as preparation for the spring season, Saturday’s race provided a good opportunity to compete against teams that will be seen again in next season’s races.
“We were pretty excited to go against teams like Amherst, URI and Coast Guard,” co-captain Brown said.
Saturday’s race was the first one for the teams fall season, with only two more races on the horizon before winter training.
“We came into this race ready to [face] off against some other teams,” co-captain Volgenau said. “It’s a good exercise, because you realize: ‘Hey, we’re on the right track but we still have a lot of work to do.’”
The team is coming off of a successful spring season, in which they managed a 2nd place victory in the New England Championship. The spring was marked by a victory over rival Williams and smaller margins behind New England’s top competitor, Trinity.
Despite losing rowers due to graduation, the team continues to thrive. Six rowers and the varsity coxswain left, but with 30 returning rowers and a new freshmen class, the team has a promising year ahead of it.
“Good teams beget good teams,” Volgenau said. “We lost a lot of powerful rowers, but as a whole the team has become stronger and the average has moved up.”
Men’s crew also saw the return of Wesleyan alumnus Chris Cody ’07, a former varsity rower who now choaches the novice team. While many of the varsity squad’s core rowers often join with high school experience behind them, the novice team remains a source of strong rowers for the team.
“We’re pushing the novices a little harder than normal this year, but we’re looking to keep a solid foundation for the team in the coming years, and the guys are responding well,” said Cody.
The men’s crew team will participate in the Head of the Charles Regatta on October 20 and 21. The team put together a fifth-place win in last year’s 58-team competition, and hopes are high coming into it again this year. “We’re all pretty excited about Saturday’s win, but we’re taking it in stride. We have a much bigger challenge ahead of us at the Charles, and we’ll really be going into it with our heads down,” said McLarney.
Stay tuned for coverage of the women’s crew team next issue.
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