The men and women’s crew teams finished the fall season at the Head of the Fish Regatta in Saratoga, N.Y. last Sunday. The men’s varsity eight team captured second, falling behind Colgate University’s first varsity by the slim margin of just 0.15 seconds over the two-mile course. The women’s varsity four finished 10th out of 16 contestants. Linnea Damer ’10 and Katie Boyce-Jacino ’10 each rowed in the women’s collegiate single, taking first and second places respectively of three entries.
Sunday marked the team’s second time competing in the Head of the Fish. The season traditionally ended with the Head of the Charles regatta in Massachusetts a week earlier, but the coaching staff decided last year to push the start of the fall racing season back a couple weeks and add the Head of the Fish to the end.
“When you race later in the season, it’s just more time earlier on to focus on training, and you have something to look forward to,” said men’s coach Phil Carney.
The men’s team fielded four entries in three events. The first varsity boat finished with a time of 10:15:72, a comfortable 7.5 seconds ahead of Hobart College and a full 35 seconds ahead of fourth place Williams College. Both Wesleyan boats performed well in the junior varsity event, with a first place finish and a fourth place finish.
The men’s team completed a remarkably successful fall season, losing to just two boats in the massive regatta rowing scene. The boats making up the Head of the Fish were somewhat different from the crews that both teams normally race in the spring and fall seasons.
“We’ve had a lot of success this season,” Carney said. “When you think about the fact that you’ve faced about 80 different boats in the past month, and only two have beaten you, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
The women’s team entered five boats in four events, including two single’s races. The women’s varsity four ended its race with a time of 14:54, while the novice eight finished second of 18 entries with a time of 13:04, a little over one second behind first place Williams.
The women’s team showed great improvement over the final three regattas of the fall, as the young team made the gains it had hoped for earlier this season.
“We made up significant time on all the crews that beat us at the Head of the Housatonic [a few] weeks ago,” said women’s coach Brian Dawe ’70. “It’s the learning curve you would hope for with such a young crew.”
The Head of the Fish marked the final competition for both teams for the fall season. Winter training commences in early November, athough coaches are not allowed to attend training sessions. The teams must take it upon themselves to conduct a productive and intense four months of training before the opening of the spring season.
“Ultimately, all knowledge in sport is self-knowledge,” Dawe said. “At some point everyone will have to make the choice of whether or not she wants to transform herself completely.”
The winter months will dictate whether both programs will show continued improvement in the spring. The men’s team will look to capitalize on its depth. While the men have their eye on the New England championship, the women hope to continue to develop the core of a solid program.
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