Andover’s first boat dominated opposing crews from Salisbury School and Brunswick this past weekend. With a time of 4:37.1, Andover won by an impressive margin of 12.7 seconds. The victory brings the first boat’s record to 6-2 and marks its only first place finish of the season thus far. Off the start, all crews faced adverse wind conditions. Yet despite a 10-12 mph headwind in the first 750 meters of the race, the first boat maintained its composure and rowed long and strong, handling the conditions much better than its opposition. Kyle Rogers ’09, the four seat on the first boat, commented on the race, “Our start felt sloppy because of the strong headwind. However, we took a definitive lead during our move, but we didn’t capitalize on it during the last half of the race.” Conor May ’09, the six seat on the first boat, agreed, “We felt good during the first half of the race, but we still have to improve the second. Over the next few weeks, our primary goal is to continue picking up speed.” Though the early lead was enough to beat Salisbury and Brunswick, Andover’s first boat will have to bring its rowing to a whole new level by Interschols in several weeks in order to win. The second boat also found success against Salisbury and Brunswick on Saturday. Though they did not win so handily, the second boat was able to beat the Brunswick crew by 4.3 seconds, a bit over a boat length. Hanson Causbie ’08, the six seat on the second boat, shared his views on the race, “We had a bit of a rough start, but the fact that we were able to win a solid victory demonstrates Andover’s true determination to win.” In the first twenty strokes of the race, Andover and Brunswick clashed oars due to aggressive steering and harsh winds. The two boats quickly separated and Andover began to pull away. Throughout the race, Andover was able to inch away from Brunswick and at one point was winning by open water. The Brunswick crew charged forward in the last 500 meters and walked ¼ of a boat length on Andover. Charlie Walters ’10, the two seat on the second boat, said, “Although we were victorious, we need to work on building a lead throughout a race, not just maintaining one.” Tomorrow, both boats will be facing perennial powerhouse, St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH. This will present the Andover Boys Crew team with the opportunity to determine the current speed of their fast rivals. It will be an excellent preview of things to come at Interschols in May.
