The fall 08 season has drawn to a close and BLUE CREW is already hard at work with winter workouts. There are a few things you should know about this group... they are without a doubt a group consistently committed to excellence. It is a joy to work with them. We had 29 women on the varsity team this fall who put in a great deal of time and effort to meet the expectations that the team put forth this season. They met these goals and exceeded them. In the process we had fun on the water and performed at a much higher level this fall. SInce my last update, we have many results to report...we had a highly successful fall season!
Our first race was the Textile River Regatta in Lowell, MA. We entered 3 varsity 8+s in the Club 8 event and competed in a field of 21. In that field we placed 3rd in the varsity 8+, 5th in the 2nd Varsity 8+ and 11th in the 3rd Varsity 8+ (there were only 21 seconds separating 5th and 11th in that field!) We also entered a Novice 8+ comprised of experienced high school rowers and novices - this was a first for this program, and a great opportunity for our novices to learn about racing prior to the Seven Sisters Championship. All in all it was a great day and a first for some of our seniors - never before had they medaled in a race!
Our second race of the season was a collegiate head race in Worcester, MA - the Head of the Snake - on Lake Quinsigamond. It was a fantastic day for a race...65 degrees, bright sun, flaaaat water and great competition. Our boats placed as follows: 3rd place in the Varsity 8+, 6th in the Second Varsity 8+ and 13th in the Third Varsity 8+. We beat our rival Tufts, which is a pretty significant accomplishment. We saw the same spread on times for the three boats (about 25 seconds apart). At this point, we were starting to see a strong trend with this team; we began to find a rhythm in our season.
After this second weekend of racing we changed our lineups for the Head of the Charles. This year we were fortunate enough to have 2 entries, and in a way of honoring a very large senior class, we decided to row the varsity 8+ in the Collegiate 8+ event, and to use our second entry in the Club 8+ event as a senior lineup - we had 4 seniors in the 2v, 5 in the 3v, and it worked out perfectly! The Senior 8+ rowed on Saturday and did well in the field of very fast club teams, considering they had 2 days together in that lineup! The V8+ raced on Sunday, after a little drama at the launch (we knocked our skeg off on the dock, and had to do an emergency repair - complete with Trident gum, thanks to Connie Bauman). But the team headed down to the start line relaxed and ready to go. They took the course by storm and finished way ahead of all of our Seven Sisters rivals! They finished 13th out of 36, and were the 7th place DIII team - pretty great, especially when you consider where we finished in 2007 (around 30th in a field of 45). Of all the DIII schools that did beat us this year, all were at the NCAA championship in 2008!
We had one more week on the water after HOCR to prep for our biggest race of the fall - the Seven Sisters Championship, hosted by Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia. We raced on the head of the Schuylkill race course, and had a decent showing, but fell short of our main goal - to win the team points. The highlight of the day was our 2v8+ winning their event and dominating the field. The V8+ did not have their best race and came in second to Mount Holyoke, but managed to beat Smith, Simmons and Bryn Mawr handily. The 3V8+ did not have a great race either and due to some really pore steering by the MHC coxswain, we were assessed a penalty. Our novices also struggled a bit on the course - it was the first race for many of them. All in all, it was a slightly disappointing way to end the season. HOWEVER, where there is a loss, there is also a gain. What these results did for this team was to make them that much more determined going into the winter. I said it in the early fall, and I will say it again...this team is going to go so much faster than we have seen in the past.
I want to take the time to thanks some significant "friends" of BLUE CREW:
A very special thanks to Claudi Malone '63 for her amazing generosity in the form of the Mary Ellen Ames - this Vespoli hull is top of the line and was raced with great speed by our V8+. This boat was donated at a time when Blue Crew was in great need of a new hull. The effect of this gift has trickled down from our V8+ through Novice. Each 8+ of student-athletes is racing in a better boat- this is significant at all levels. We have made a promise to race the "Ames" with all the speed that the "FIRST WOMEN ON THE WATER" should! We thank you and hope to make you very proud.
To all the family, friends and alum that came to the tent and shared food, stories, support and love for our student-athletes...you are an amazing group and we are exceedingly grateful. It was wonderful for our kids to be able to share in their success with all of you on race day.
That is all I have to report for now...it will seem like an interminable amount of time before we can practice again...but you can rest assured that your crew team is putting in the time to insure our speed in the spring...until that time...
ONE CATCH, ONE DRIVE, ONE RECOVERY, ONE TIME, ONE WIN, ONE TEAM...BLUE CREW