Rapidly pulling their oars past the finish line following the counts of G1 coxswain, Grace Hannam ’17, Andover Girls Crew’s first boat clocked in a time of 4:59 in its 1,650-meter race, while also securing first place over its opponent Brookline High School. The strong performance from the first boat led the way for future success with the rest of the team on Saturday when they raced Brookline at Andover’s home course.
Molly Katarincic ’18, a member of the G1 boat, said, “The first race is always really hard, given that though, we did a good job coming together as a team. Everybody was super focused and excited to get on the water. We definitely put a lot of effort in, and I was really proud of the effort through the middle 500 of the race.”
Both G2 and G3 raced in the same heat with G2 winning with a time of 5:20.3, and G3 finishing in third with a time of 5:26.7.
This weekend, Andover will face off against one its largest Crew rivals, Kent. The team looks to further its teamwork and perseverance in the vigorous races ahead.
Janneke Evans ’18 said, “Kent is always a tough race for us. It is always nice to have a challenge early in this season. We get to race them again at New England’s which shows us how much we have improved.”
Katarincic said, “This weekend the team hopes to row together and finish as close as we can to Kent. We want to give ourselves a very strong platform so that we can take strong strokes. I think we all are looking forward to this weekend, but especially the Exeter meet. It is always one that we especially are set on winning. ”
New Head Coach Ellen Minzer implemented a combination of fitness and technical work to prepare for this race. Although multiple weeks of training have passed, the team is working to cement the chemistry among its members, according to its teammates.
Katarincic said, “We have really been working a lot on our fitness. We are working to sustain a fast pace throughout the races. Also, just getting our timing together from ‘the catch to the finish.’ ”
