The men’s crew team continued its success this past weekend, closing out a strong fall season with an outright first place win at the Head of the Fish Regatta, which is held annually in Saratoga, New York. The Cardinals defeated several highly touted programs, including Little Three rival Williams, who earlier in the fall won the competitive Head of the Charles Regatta.
“This weekend’s race was an excellent capstone to a season in which a lot of great work and progress has taken place,” said Gaël Hagan ’09.
For those just tuning in to crew this season, the men’s first boat has been making waves, taking 3rd out of 16 at the Head of the Housatonic Regatta and then placing an impressive 6th out of a field of 38 at the prestigious Head of the Charles.
After a strong showing at the Charles, the maritime Cards were excited by their achievement, but salivated for a first place finish in the Head of the Fish.
“In the week of practice between the Charles and the Fish, the boat really took ownership of its rowing and found an intensity that wasn’t present earlier in the season,” Hagan said.
Powered by four senior rowers, three sophomores and one freshman, the “A” boat channeled that intensity into a synchronous and powerful performance, tearing up the two-mile Collegiate Eights course, and cruising into first out of 18 with a time of 10:29:10.
The Cards never found open water, however, as Hobart College came knocking on the proverbial door. The race was settled within the breadth of an instant, but ultimately Wesleyan prevailed, winning by only 46/100ths of a second.
The victory at Head of the Fish was especially sweet for the Red and Black as the team left in its wake formidable boats, such as Colgate, Middlebury and the aforementioned Williams.
As Charlie Weiss ’09 pointed out, the first boat wasn’t the only important finish on the day. The men’s crew team also displayed the depth of its squad with strong finishes by the Junior Varsity Eights boat and two four-man boats.
“Everybody rowed well,” Weiss said. “Both fours and both eights. We are a smaller team this year, but we have proved that we are a force to be reckoned with.”
As the team heads indoors to train in anticipation of the upcoming spring season, the excitement on the part of the men is ubiquitous.
“Now we head into winter training with the taste of blood in our mouths,” Weiss said. “Look out for us in the spring.”
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