The women’s crew team began its season on a good note at the Head of the Housatonic in Shelton, Conn. on Oct. 6. The first boat was fielded in the collegiate-eight competition and finished sixth of 12 boats with a time of 17:13, four seconds behind Wellesley College. Wesleyan also fielded a novice boat in the collegiate-novice eight race, finishing 12th of 13 boats with a time of 22:13.
The varsity boat faced traditional competitors Wellesley and Mount Holyoke, finishing behind them by relatively small margins.
“I think everyone felt really positive coming off the water,” said captain and coxswain Jinny Jang ’08. “We were pretty much with the top of the pack of the other A-boats. We’re really looking forward to being back on the water, and it was a really great way to start off the season.”
The team lost four rowers to graduation since last spring. Last year’s New England Championship saw continued improvement in the team, with their varsity four finishing ninth of 16 entries. Despite the youth and relative inexperienced nature of this year’s roster, hopes are high for continued progress in this weekend’s Head of the Charles.
Its performance at the Housatonic bodes well for a team dominated by underclassmen. The team begins the fall season with 18 rowers, many of whom are relatively new to the sport. Fourteen freshmen fill out the line-up including nine novices. With only four weeks of training under their belt, the team performed admirably at their first race.
“We went up to the Charles to get a feel for the race this past weekend,” Jang said. “Since we have about six people who haven’t been on the course before, we’ve been doing a lot of high intensity work. I think everyone is really excited, and we’re really hoping to improve upon our times from last year. We’re really in it to focus on our own times and our own progress.”
Coaching the varsity squad this year is Brian Dawe ’70, with Beth Emery at the helm for the novices.
The women will be competing in the Head of the Charles in Boston, Mass. on Saturday and Sunday of this coming weekend.
“We have a young team, and we are looking forward to a good strong year, and really building for the years to come,” Jang said. “We’re looking for the long term. This is just the beginning.”
Leave a Reply