Crew shines over the lake

Author: Stephanie Pritchard

Middlebury Crew traveled to the Stonehurst Capital Invitational Regatta in Rochester, NY this weekend. The competitive field of 45 teams included both Division I and III teams, most notably Harvard, Brown, Williams, Syracuse and Dartmouth. The regatta is famous for its unique format: a 5000m race in the morning, followed by a 1500m sprint race dual in the afternoon. The times are totaled for the final scoring.

The Middlebury men were met with a more challenging field than at their last regatta in Ottawa two weekends ago. Both boats performed well, with the men's 4+ coxswain Eva Nixon '09 (Eric Hoest '07.5, Julio Chong '08, Ashwin Gargeya '08 and Tim Cavanaugh '08) finishing their first race of the season confident and optimistic.

Nixon, in her career debut, was pleased with the boat's performance, saying, "We really put the power in our boat to good use and it was awesome to see the boat unite and really work together to row their best."

The men's 8+ coxswain Kelsey Eichhorn '08 (Douglas Penrose '06, Greg Judson '08, Matthew Daylor '06, Daniel Lopotro '08.5, David Wood '07.5, Teddy Iobst '08, Justin Scott '08 and Neil D'Astolfo '07.5) was equally as proud of their boat's performance, noting an impressive level of improvement over the past two weeks of practice.

"We are a very athletic boat, and we are constantly working on channeling that energy into our technique, said Eichhorn. "This weekend I saw an incredible amount of focus and determination in the boat and I am eager to apply that enthusiasm to a strong rest of the season."

The women's squad was equally as energetic about the weekend, even in the face of a few challenges. The varsity A boat (Miko Heller '07.5, Camden Burton '06.5, Meira Lifson '07 and Allison Lange '06) had a rough morning when debris in the river disabled the boat's steering at the start of the race. Fortunately, it was repaired before the afternoon sprint race, where the girls placed ninth of 21. "Our ability to come back [for the afternoon] showed our perseverance, and our ability to adapt to any situation and really work as a team," said Lifson.

Burton agreed, noting how all five girls stayed calm in the face of a crisis, something not all crews are able to accomplish.

The younger women's second four (Ellen Flanagan '09, Eric McCormick '08.5, Janet Schroeder '08.5, Flora Campbell '09 with guest coxswain Matthew Griswold '07.5) had a strong morning, finishing with a sprint that resulted in a five second gain on the boat ahead of them. Griswold commented on the boat's "tremendous power through the race" and on the girls' dedication.

Next weekend the team travels to the New Hampshire Championships and begins preparation for the season's largest race, Boston's Head of the Charles River, which will take place over fall break.