It’s been a busy but exciting few weeks for Blue Crew. From bow seat of the 1N I’ve been fortunate enough to see a great deal of racing going on behind us... So here’s a not so quick recap of the past three weeks of racing:
NEWMACs:
With some last minute lineup changes we set out a bit nervously but settled in after the first 500. We walked away in the second thousand, crossing the finish 17.2 seconds ahead of second place Mt. Holyoke. On our row back to the dock, Jess, our coxswain, sang us a heartfelt rendition of “Just a Little Bit.” She was about to start on “Smang it,” but unfortunately we ran out of time.
We docked just as the 2V was going into their final 500 and hear the announcer calling how close the race was. They finished second, just seven seconds behind Smith. We put our boat in slings and ran down to watch the 1V go by. As they passed by the boathouse (near the 500m mark) they were down on almost the entire field. It was a nail-biting race with Wellesley even with Coastguard at 250 to go. Ultimately Wellesley took it in the sprint- as Bamy, stroke seat of the 1V later said, “Well, we decided to win in the last 8 strokes.” It was a great day of racing for everyone, especially for the 1V and 1N winning their individual races. The team won the NEWMAC championship and took home the Florence Jope Smith Cup for the second time in the team’s history.
Malden Sprint Regatta:
With a new lineup, once again, we set out in the 1N a bit nervous for our first race. Racing Smith’s 4V we established an early lead and maintained our composure throughout, recovering nicely after, as Jess put it, nearly grazing the bridge. Later, we raced Smiths 1N and opened the margin by nearly 10 seconds off our margin at NEWMACs, assuring us that the lineup changes would not inhibit our performance. The 1V and 2V both had a strong day as well racing Simmons then Smith. The 1V opened the margin on Smith, and the 2V closed in on Smith. The 3v had a rough first race against Simmons but had a solid second race, finishing 16 seconds ahead of Tufts.
New England Championships:
With our first time racing in the same lineup as the week before, we went into New England’s nervous, but confident. For the first time we hadn’t had our characteristic wakeup call on Thursday morning thus were excited to race and show the improvements we had made. In the morning heats we were between Trinity and Tufts and knew we’d have to have a solid race to advance. We had a rocky start, settling high at first, but we found our rhythm and walked away mid way through the second 500.
In the afternoon we knew we’d have a race from the entire field. Holy Cross and UNH were only one second slower than us from the morning heat, so we knew we’d have to perform in the afternoon. The race went off without a hitch. We were up by a few seats if not even at the 500 meter mark and moved throughout the body of the race. With 500 meter to go we could see Tufts, Holy Cross, and UNH battling it out behind us and set into our sprint with only one thought in our minds, “medals dock.” We crossed the line third, behind Williams and Trinity, five second ahead of fourth place UNH. After cooling down we made our way to the medals dock (the Williams coxswain asked us for directions). It was our perfect race- our start, our settle, the body, the moves, and finally the sprint. We are very proud of how we executed the race and owe a large part of that to our ever wise, and inspiring coxswain Jessy Walker (who made some excellent calls including “They’re wearing flowers in their hair… They have bows!” which inspired one of our biggest moves).
Afterward we watched the 2V and 1V race. The 2V had a strong race but ultimately came in sixth in the grand final against a strong field. The 1V’s race was probably the most exciting of the day. According to Lyndsey (who may have briefly ‘glanced’ out of the boat) at the 500 meter mark) they were even and walking on Trinity. From the beach we could see them ahead of the field and nearly even with second place Bates. Thus the second Wellesley boat of the day made a trip to the medals dock (though this time they knew where they were going).
Going into our last week of the regular season we know we have some work ahead of us. As always the goal is to be even faster this week then we were last. For us in the 1N our goal is to return to the medals dock next weekend and close the margin on Trinity and Williams. As well as get the entire team to call Jess, Jessy. We’re up against everyone we raced this weekend and New York schools, which will surely make for some great racing!
Additionally we have some individual goals for the final week of the season. I’m working on getting my baby hairs under control-- with the help of my ‘big sisters’ Shernaz and Aidan. Jessy is working on a new post race play list-- she’d like to add “Big Girls You Are Beautiful” to her repertoire. Olivia, like always, would like to be more like Bamy. Bamy is campaigning for captain- she believes she will do an excellent job as captain from abroad in Kenya and Tanzania. And Lyndsey would like to even our her tan (burn) lines—she’s got the back of her legs covered, so now the front needs some work…
-3rd place finishes in the 1V and 1N
-4 more days of classes
-5 more morning practices
-6 days till ECACs
-8 days till “Selection Tuesday”/my American Politics Exam
Becca Freeman-Slade ‘14
“Starts! Starts! Starts! Starts! Starts! Starts! Starts! EVERYBODYYY!” Sprint season is the best season, as many Blue Crew rowers would attest. Bamy’s love for starts has made what is now known as the Starts Song become a staple chant on the bus. Because what could be more exhilarating than the first five strokes that get the boat off the line in lightning speed?
We’re hoping that the good start we got off to this past weekend gives us steady momentum as we head onward with our mission. Blue Crew raced against Tufts, Bates, and Wesleyan at the Malden River on Saturday and against WPI, Holy Cross, Trinity, Rochester and Bates at Lake Quinsigamond on Sunday. With 3 2K’s over two days, we knew that this would be a test both physically and mentally – but our performances showed that we have the toughness to not only embrace the challenge, but also to do well.
We arrived at the Malden River early on Saturday morning – the first ones to the regatta, as usual – and quickly discovered that our tent had…skylights in it. The squirrels in our boathouse really seem to be against us. Earlier that week, one had jumped out of Maggie McConnell’s seat in a four that we were using for seat races. At least it was before we launched…
Squirrels and skylights notwithstanding, all boats won their heats on Saturday against Tufts, with impressive races from the 1N and 3V. In what was the novice rowers’ first sprint race ever, both boats finished with open water. Props to coxswains Jess Walker and Susan “Tex” Laves steered the notoriously narrow and tricky Malden River with skill and precision! In the finals, the three varsity boats fell to second-ranked Bates College, but not without a solid fight.
The varsity eights narrowed the margin against Bates on Sunday at Quinsigamond. The 1V race came down to a close finish with a four-second spread between the top three finishers (Bates, Trinity and Wellesley). Especially noteworthy was the 2V race, in which the Ames beat out Trinity to finish second behind Bates, with a margin of 5.1 seconds. In the novice race – the first of many 2K’s on Quinsigamond for the first-years – the O’Neal came in second behind Trinity, beating Holy Cross and WPI. (Please see row2k.com for a full list of times.)
A special shout-out goes to the parents who made the time and effort to come all the way down to see our races and to provide us with delicious post-race hot food, and to Tess Ruderman and Jess Frey’s parents for taking some great photos. Our three coaches (plus Stella) might just be in the running for America’s Next Top Model.
After many “pieces con switches,” technical refinements, and some heavy lifting (or what Olivia Froehlich would call, “pumpin’ irrrooon!”) we’re confident that the quality work we’ve put in this week will translate into every stroke on Saturday’s NEWMAC Championships. We will be racing once again at Quinsigamond against Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Clark, WPI and Coast Guard, with a new, HUGE, skylight-free 10x20 tent that better reflects our large appetites – especially our hunger to win. To answer my previous question: what could be better than a great starting five? The answer to that might just be THE SPRINT!
Valerie (DJV) Soon '13
We’re are now back at Swells, with some serious fire in our hearts, drive in our legs and strong conviction to push it hard, then push it harder. Each of us has committed to taking every stroke with the intent to make it better than the last, and to continue building up to our racing season with intensity.
Noteworthy news from the past week is as follows: Dodge celebrated her Golden Birthday on March 20 - happy birthday, Dodger!! There were some outstanding 2k’s pulled, with a season PR for Bryn Garrity and a career PR for Nicola Rentschler. Some folks who have been managing injuries were back in action both on land and on the water this week as well! It’s exciting to have our team put itself back together as people heal, and get stronger wisely, efficiently and enthusiastically. The race wasn’t so bad either. The 1V had a great race, finishing 19 seconds ahead of Washington College. The 2V finished ahead of Washington College’s first and second varsity boats and the Novice and third varsity boats had phenomenal first 2,000 meter races with a 7 second margin separating them. Needless to say, it was a GREAT way to start the spring season! For official times, please go to row2k.com.
Casey Sedlack ‘11
To accompany the lighter physical work in the mornings, in the afternoon, we attacked our second round of fitness testing, including the mile run, a “Wendy” circuit, a 30-minute erg test, and the infamous 2k-erg test. All in all, Blue passed with flying colors—with some of the strongest results in the history of this team (need to check my facts, but I’m pretty sure). 17 out of 34 rowers had a PR (personal record) on their 2000m tests, which is HUGE! Way to go Blue! And those numbers are just going to keep on dropping…
A strong round of testing is the best way to leave for spring break: it’s closure. We can say, “Wow, look at what we accomplished indoors this winter!” But, now it’s time to take all the speed and power with us onto the water, and that’s why spring break is so exciting: it’s our first real trial. Sure we can be fast on the erg, but how about on the water? Well don’t worry, from what we’ve seen so far, Blue hasn’t forgotten how to row.
The eight-hour bus ride down to Maryland flew by, with the help of some great movies, of course. When we arrived late Thursday afternoon, we unloaded the trailer, rigged our boats, and set up camp. A beautiful sunset welcomed us to the Chester River (home to Washington College’s facilities—this is also the team we will scrimmage next Thursday). A note about the Chester River, the only thing it has in common with the Charles is the letter C. I’m not kidding: the Chester is so wide across, definitely wider than the Basin (the widest point of the Charles), there’s also only one bridge, no sharp turns, oh, and NO other boats (a coxswain’s heaven, I would imagine).
After set-up at the river, we headed back to the hotel and ate at a nearby restaurant, Broccolini’s. We feared this meant a dinner of only broccoli, but to our delight we had salad and lots of pizza. We turned in for an early night, since most of us were falling asleep at dinner already. We are probably the quietest after-hours group a hotel has ever seen: we may have dance parties and sing-a-longs, but they’re usually over by 8pm.
Friday was our first full day on the water: we went out in four eights (what a sleek fleet of boats!). The new Resolute went out on its inaugural row, and let me tell you, the seat rolls up and down the slide as smooth as skates on ice. The weather was warm mid 50s and sunny. Our morning row usually runs from 7-11am then we have a 3-hour break for lunch, naps, and homework, followed by an afternoon row from 2-5pm. Just in case, parents are reading, I will put you at ease: lots of homework is getting done! In fact right now, I’m writing this during our lunch break, and the breakfast room of the hotel is filled with about ten of us intently doing work.
Today’s row was a bit rougher than yesterday’s—actually it was some of the roughest waters I’ve ever rowed in, as my coxswain Aidan said today, we were literally rowing in the open ocean, but don’t panic: whitecaps, 20mph winds, and 3-foot waves don’t get us down. In the novice boats, we got in 4, 12 minute pieces, and as Austin told the troops: today was the best day he’s had all year, witnessing some of the most focus, technical precision, and raw power than ever before with this group.
In other exciting news, Wellesley Crew is featured on row2k’s website (www.row2k.com), the go-to website for basically the entire rowing community. The picture is of last spring season’s Varsity 8 at NCAA’s. Check it out!
Well it’s getting a bit noisy in the previously quiet breakfast room which means it’s time to get ready for Battle with the Winds round 2. What will be in store for us? Some pieces, some seat racing? Who knows? Regardless, Blue will be ready to attack, making the most of every stroke, every practice. Till next time!
Shernaz Dossabhoy '12
B-Town to C-Town
It has been slightly less than one month since the commencement of Winter Training, and much to our surprise and delight, Blue Crew is back in business with our good friend, Charles.
Yesterday morning we left for the river at 4:45 am (the early bird special) for some serious spring-cleaning of the boat shack. Boats were taken off of their dusty racks to be wiped down, assessed for any damage that our furry squirrel friends had caused over winter, and the shack was given a thorough back to front deep clean. Even the floor was swept.
Besides the unbelievable efficiency of the team throughout this spring-cleaning process, and seeing former captain Kate Spelman, the best part of the morning was when the red four was put into slings. “Roll down to waist, and roll!” was called, the boat was rolled, and the slings placed, when out like a loaded spring came a small furry animal (later determined to be a squirrel) right at Tess Ruderman’s and Kathryn Goffin’s faces. I’m sure the resulting screams were the due to uncontrollable fits of joy…
Yesterday morning also marked the first day that our new novices, Jen Marble, Hannah Van der Eb and Sarah Halbert were introduced to our beautiful plot of land in Watertown…welcome to heaven, ladies :)
Today was the first row! With three eights (the Colonel wasn’t able to make it, nor was the Ames, the O’Neal or the D-Money) and a four out on the water, it made this rainy day a little bit brighter :) Just technique today, and an intro for the novices about the rowing basics was enough to get us even more excited about you-know-what…SPEED.
Back to some indoor news… great developments have happened athletically in the last week as well. Coogs finished last in this round of beep tests. For those of you who have ever done a beep test, you know that’s a good thing. And get this…she finished at a 12-5. SCREAMIN’ FAST! Thursday’s 30 minute test produced some incredible numbers, and I believe Lyndsey Abt pulled the team’s first sub 2:00 average split (1:57) for the duration of the piece this year! GREAT JOB LYNDSEY!!!
In other wonderful news: team laundry is still going strong, I showered 4 times this week so I could avoid further public embarrassment, and the Resolute looks (and smells) delicious…we’ve also managed to keep it out of harms way…we love you softball, but bats and balls don’t go well with carbon fiber. Also, coach Regan Bernhard is going to Barbados to meet her mother who is about to become the oldest woman to ROW across the Atlantic!! She will be back on Wednesday before we leave for Maryland. Congrats to Regan and her mother, Suzanne Pinto. We can’t wait to hear from Regan about how she’s doing!
Without shadow of a doubt, we are all ready to get out of B-Town to head down to C-Town, focus on nothing but sleeping, eating and rowing, and have a great time with our teammates :)
Oh, and here are some numbers for ya :
- 1 day till we christen the new Resolute 8+
- 6 days till we leave for spring break
- 14 Days until our first race (against Washington College)
Casey Sedlack '11
As the first rower to post on this website, I’ll quickly catch you up on our season so far. We officially started on February 14th at midnight, after months of training on our own. As the clock struck midnight, we ran as a team into the field house and began our first practice. Since then, we have been working hard every morning in the KSC. We’ve erged, run stairs, spun, erged, run, swingulated, erged, lifted (or “pumpin’ iron’” as Olivia calls it), completed circuits, erged, done video review, core circuits, erged, and yoga (spending quality time in corpse pose).
This morning we wrapped up our third week of winter training with a 2K and full team circuit. Coogs, Jess, Gaby, Rachel R, Camille, Hailey, Kristen, Sarah H, Olivia, Bryn, Jen and Maggie W all PRed on their 2ks (that’s 12 people/1.5 boats!). The fastest times of the morning went to first-year varsity rower Lyndsey and first-year novice rower Rachel. Overall the team average is 7.7 seconds faster then at this point last year!!
A couple more exciting numbers:
· 8 days until we christen our brand new resolute 8+
· 13 days until we leave for our spring training trip
· 21 days until our first race (against Washington college)
Some other exciting things that can’t go without mention:
The ice on the Charles is getting thinner every day. On Monday a dog fell through the ice. Two good things that emerge from this story: first, the dog was saved by Cambridge firefighter and second, this proves the ice is getting super thin (it can’t even hold up a dog) so, we should be back on the water any day now…
Coogs, Bamy, Dodge, and DJVal (I never realized how much this team really likes nicknames) raced at Crash B’s. Coogs PRed-- making that 3 PRs in 3 weeks!
Ally, Becca K, and Kathryn all rejoined us this week from their winter sports squash, basketball and diving respectively. Ally had a strong first half of her senior squash season but was sidelined for the second half due to injury. Becca K had a strong basketball season, making it to the quarterfinals of the NEWMAC tournament. Kathryn , despite spending the majority of the two weeks prior recovering from a concussion, finished twelfth at NEWMACs.
Lyndsey learned when to use her arms on the erg this week—yes, this is the same Lyndsey who pulled the fastest 2K on the entire team this morning. Finally, during video review, after weeks of being told to straighten her arms when erging, she asked Regan “So when are you supposed to use your arms?” Congratulations Lyndsey for winning the “Are you kidding me?” award of the week.
Susan (aka Tex), a junior rower and coxswain, participated in the “Disney Princess Half Marathon” with her family over the weekend in Florida. I think everyone was a bit jealous of her sunny vacation, albeit brief.
Finally, my roommate, a non-rower, would definitely say this is the most exciting thing of the entire year- we got laundry loops. Now the staff at the KSC will wash our practice clothes. This is a big, exciting, step forward for the personal hygiene of the blue crew team. Now if only we can get Casey to shower...
That’s all for now. We have a long weekend away from crew (alright, not that long, just no Saturday practice) and we will be taking full advantage of the free time to catch up on work and spend time with friends.
-Becca Freeman-Slade 14’
