Crew team rows in tough, exciting competition

Author: Jeff Klein

This past Saturday the Middlebury men's crew team headed down to Worcester, Mass. to participate in the New England Championship regatta along with a host of rival schools. The men turned in solid performances in what proved to be an overall exhilarating day.

The varsity four of Scott Robinson '09, Evan Doyle '11.5, Chris Rogers '09.5 and Nick Zhao '12 - along with coxswain Matt Rojas '11 - emerged victorious in their first heat and moved on to the grand finals against NESCAC foes Amherst, Tufts and Bowdoin, along with UVM and UMass.

"Just being there was amazing," said Robinson. "We had been competing against these crews all season and everyone knew that it could be anyone's race."

The competition proved to be fierce, as all six crews remained neck-and-neck for the large majority of the race. Around the last 500 meters, the teams began to separate. The Panthers got out ahead a little bit, but in a testament to the quality of their competition, the other crews answered back.

Amherst and UMass then started falling behind, but UVM "managed a spring like I've never seen," according to Robinson, and caught up to the front of the pack.

With the finish line in sight, Middlebury found itself neck-and-neck with Tufts. Unfortunately, the Jumbos managed to squeak by the Panthers by a mere 5/100ths of a second - "literally about three inches," according to Robinson - which prevented Middlebury from earning medals for the event.

"That was really disappointing after the kind of season we have had," said Robinson, "but it remains probably the most amazing race I've ever rowed in."