Women claim gold with final push 'Big Three' Regatta next as Bowdoin and Amherst lie in wait

Author: Brooke Farquhar

It's still winter for the Middlebury crew team. At least it was this past Monday morning at 4:30 a.m. when practice began with the temperature hovering around 28 degrees. These bitter practice conditions, however, have not hindered the start of the team's season.

As Brooke Adams '07, coxswain of the men's varsity four, commented, "Despite only having a few days of practice on the water before our first regatta of the season, the weekend was an overall success."

The regatta was held at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass. The women's varsity four A boat finished in first place ahead of Bowdoin, Fairfield and Mass. Maritime in an exhilarating race. Bowdoin held first place for the initial 1000m, but Middlebury overtook them with less than 700 meters to go.

Coxswain Stephanie Pritchard '06 described the race as "a fight all the way until the end of the race, but Bowdoin faded during the sprint." The women's four B boat finished in second place against Bowdoin after leading for the first 500 meters. The women's varsity eight also earned an impressive first place finish against a strong Clark team, winning by three boat lengths of open water.

The success of the women's team at the regatta was fueled, according to Pritchard, by a "surprising silver medal during spring training at the Atlanta Olympic Rowing Center."

The men's varsity four also competed strongly during spring training, pulling off a third place finish in the finals against several large southern schools including Vanderbuilt, Emory, Georgia Tech and LSU. The men's varsity four looks very similar to the boat that raced last spring, with the exception of Justin Scott '08 who Adams '07 describes as a "very promising sophomore bowman."

The men's varsity four finished second versus Bowdoin and Clark. The men's novice four finished fourth against Bowdoin, Mass Maritime and Clark, although it was their first race and only the fourth day rowing for two of the novices.

The women's novices raced two four boats. The A boat finished third against the Bowdoin and Middlebury varsity boats, and the B boat finished second against Bowdoin. Acting Women's Novice Coach Neil D'Astolfo commented that "overall, it was a very successful weekend for the novice women's team. Both boats looked extremely strong and both competed well against one of our biggest rivals, Bowdoin…[the regatta] was especially beneficial in that it gave us our first taste of New England competition." He continued, "These women are hungry for a New England title, and they are definitely hoping to take the first steps toward that title with a win this upcoming weekend against Amherst and Bowdoin." This sentiment applies to both men's and women's varsity teams.

This upcoming weekend in Hadley, Middlebury will see Bowdoin for a rematch and Amherst for the first time this season. Adams noted in light of the upcoming regatta, "Next weekend, we face our toughest competitors…and hope to keep ourselves ahead of the other crews at the start to ensure a strong finish."

Pritchard added "This 'Big Three' regatta is one of our most important during the regular season as Bowdoin and Amherst are always strong crews and there are trophies on the line." Assured of a few more practices on the water, the crews are confident going into the weekend.