Sports

Girls Crew Wins First NEIRA Championship In 10 Years; Boys Second Boat Undefeated

With a victory in the first boat race at New England Interschols, Girls Crew took home the first place team trophy for the first time since 1998. Captain Alex Farrell ’10 said, “It was the best day, and I couldn’t think of a better way to end my Senior year. Before the race began, we talked about how we were doing this for not only ourselves, but also for Coach Green and every girl who has rowed in this program before us.” The girls enjoyed an incredible day as all three boats placed in the top two. In impressive fashion, G1 won its race, beating both Kent and Exeter by three and nine seconds, respectively. After the first boat won its race, they threw Coach Green into the water and jumped in for the sake of celebration. This win marked the first time the girl’s first boat won Interschols in almost ten years. With only Carly Rauh ’10, Vivian Chen ’10 and Farrell graduating, expectations will be high next year for the first boat. The second boat took second place in comeback fashion, finishing six seconds behind first place Exeter and two seconds ahead of third place Kent. The third boat also took second place edging out Exeter by one second and falling to Kent by nine seconds. These second place victories coupled with G1’s triumph allowed for Andover to take the team trophy. Boys Crew performed admirably considering many Seniors graduated from their 2009 NEIRA championship team. Most notably, Andover graduated its entire first boat and needed to fill all nine seats this season. The first boat got third place in its race, losing to a superior Kent boat and falling to Salisbury by a miniscule .01 seconds. The boys defeated Exeter for the first time this season, beating the opposition’s first boat by 0.18 seconds. Captain Charlie Walters ’10 said he was excited and encouraged by the progress made by the first boat. He said, “Our third place finish was not a bad way to end a great Senior year.” The boys second boat won its race over second place Kent by over seven seconds. Cal Brooks ’11 said, “That race was one of the best and most memorable experiences of my life so far.” The third boat performed well in its fourth place finish, finishing behind St. John’s, Kent and Exeter. Several members from the first and second boat will graduate this year including Walters, Curtis Hon ’10, Ryan Marcelo ’10, Charles Shoener ’10, Matt Lawlor ’10, and coxswains Zainab Doctor ’10 and Shane Bouchard ’10. However, many returners are expected to be back and according to Walters, “Andover will be stronger than ever next year.” The crew season concluded in spectacular fashion. In hindsight, Boys Crew Captain Charlie Walters ’10 called it “a great spring.”