The Colby Echo

Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Tate Kaneshige

With the sun shining bright and the spring heat bearing down on them, the Colby men's and women's crew teams took to the water against the University of New Hampshire and the University of Vermont last Saturday, April 25.

In the race-held at Messalonskee Lake in Sidney-the men's team took home a victory in the 4 boat race over three different UNH boats. The Mules clocked in with a time of 7:21.3, easily besting their opponents, who finished in 7:34.5, 7:38.5 and 7:53.2, respectively. The winning 4 boat was coxed by Jill Howell '12 and rowed by Spencer Crim '09, John Lewallen '10, Trevor Hardigan '09 and Brian Kupke '09.

"It was a tight race the whole way down the course, but thanks to…some effective power ten moves, we surged ahead with about 750m to go and never really looked back," co-captain Crim said.

The Mules were likewise buoyed by strong support from a group of students who took advantage of the balmy temperatures and paddled out to an island in the middle of the lake. Their boisterous support helped motivate the Mules and kept them churning all the way to the finish line.

In the men's varsity 8 duel, UNH narrowly nipped Colby on the 2,000-meter course with a time of 6:29.3. The Mules cruised in just behind them with a time of 6:31.1. In the second race for the men's varsity 8, UNH also bested a hard working young Colby team.

In the women's varsity 8 race, the women couldn't quite find their stroke against the larger UNH and UVM teams, finishing fourth. In the novice 8, the young team rowed extremely well and came in second, finishing a slim margin behind the victorious UNH squad. In the varsity 4, they also finished second, falling short by just a slim margin.

Next up for the teams is the New England
Rowing Championships, to be held next weekend in Worcester, MA. There, the very young men's varsity 8 (which boasts five first-years in the nine-an squad) is gunning to either make the grand final or to win the petite final. Following this challenge is a trip down south to Camden, NJ, home of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship. There, the team will compete against crews from up and down the entire east coast. Also making the trip to Camden will be crews from the Universities of Michigan and University of Texas. The team has had a strong run of success lately, and will be looking to continue that streak as it heads towards the home stretch of its year-long season.

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