Women's crew fights at Head of the Charles Regatta
Boston, MA - Women's crew traveled to Boston this weekend to compete in the famous Head of the Charles Regatta. Both boats competed in the women's collegiate eight category. Williams College was one of two teams to have two boats entered in this event, the other being Bates.
Battling through rough conditions, the Ephs pushed through to have a strong finish for both crews. The women's 1V took 3rd place and the 2V captured 10th place.
In head racing, each crew enters the course on their own with a ten to fifteen second gap between them and the next boat. Additionally, starting order is determined by the crew's last year performance.
Starting in bow number one, the 1V opened the women's collegiate eight race. From the very beginning, the women were contending with a strong 20mph headwind. The team kept its focus throughout the race, disregarding conditions. The 1V with a time of 18:01.38 came in 3rd only one second behind Williams Smith and three seconds ahead of fourth place Grand Valley State.
"Our boat came together and fought hard today. I think we can be proud of the solid race we rowed without being content. Today is just another source of motivation for us to continue pushing to find more speed," said co-captain and bow seat Kat Amano. "The Charles is the biggest regatta in the world, and we put two boats in the top ten for another year running!"
The 2V entered the course with bow number 6 after a strong performance last year. This boat was presented with the challenge of rowing up against primarily 1Vs and finished ahead of 15 of them. With a time of 18:36.93 the 2V came in 10th, one second ahead of Georgia Tech's 1V. Most excitingly, the Ephs finished over a minute ahead of Bates' 2V who finished 23rd with a time of 19:43.94.
"The race felt incredible," commented freshman Katie Costantini. "We set out for a top ten finish and we accomplished just that. We really came together as a unit in these past two weeks and today we proved what we are capable of."
Both boats came off the water proud of their performance and excited to keep working on gaining speed. The women will race next Saturday at the Head of the Fish in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. This competition will be the first race for the novice women, presenting an opportunity for newcomers to the sport to demonstrate what they have learned so far. The Head of the Fish will be the team's final fall season race.