Both the men’s and women’s crew teams competed this past weekend in the Housatonic Regatta in Shelton, Conn., which represents the first races of the fall. The men had two entries in the Collegiate Eight event and finished third and eighth of the 16 contestants, while the women’s sole boat in the Collegiate Eight race finished sixth of 10.
For the men’s race, Fordham captured the win 13 seconds over Williams, while the Cards barely pulled ahead of Coast Guard in the 2.8-mile course. Rosemary Ostfeld ’10 was the coxswain in the third-place boat, directing rowers Ross Heinemann ’09, Gael Hagan ’09, Charlie Weiss ’09, Elliott Skopin ’11, Terrence Word ’11, Adam Nikolich ’09, Eric Spierer ’10 and Gilder Keeler ’11. Weiss was recently named captain.
Meanwhile, the women’s boat came in at a time of 16:27.8 in the 2.7-mile course. The novice boat also placed sixth of 10. The Cards took first in the open quad sculls, ahead of two boats from University of Massachusetts Amherst and Trinity. This was the first time the women competed in this event. Co-captains Beth Ogata ’09, Elaine Lauriat ’09 and Sofia Warner ’09 lead the team this season, a combination of varsity and novice athletes.
The crew program has high expectations after success last year. The men’s team sees 20 returners, while six women remain from last year’s varsity eight. The men and women will each compete in two more races this fall with a focus on the Head of Charles in Boston, Mass. on Oct. 18 and 19, which features more than 7500 athletes in 55 events.
Last fall, the men placed second while the women finished in the top half of the Collegiate Eights. Later this month, the two teams will compete in the Head of the Fish in Saratoga, N.Y., where the men placed second last year.
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