Sports

Boats One and Two Dominate Shortened Race

Andover Boys Crew persevered through horrible weather conditions and a shortened race in its scrimmage against Greater Lawrence Rowing (GLBC) and Essex Rowing this past Saturday. The team faced brutal, rough winds and frigid temperatures. For safety reasons, some of the races had to be shortened from 1500 to 1000 meters to avoid white caps on the early part of the course. “The race was definitely more of a battle through conditions than a race,” said Captain Henry Kennelly ’13. That being said, the team kept its composure and did not let the harsh weather conditions interfere with its rowing. “The coaches were all very pleased with how everyone handled everything,” wrote Coach Peter Washburn in an e-mail to The Phillipian. “They rowed their race and did what they were prepared to do.” Both the first and second boats were victorious. B2 had the fastest time of the day and set a new course record. They beat Essex by eight seconds and GLBC by 22 seconds. “The race was a good start to our season, and we can only go up from there,” said Chandler Washburn ’16. “[The second boat] started the race off strong with a great start that got us out in front,” said Kevin Newhall ’13. “Despite the rough water of the middle 500 meters, we were able to power through it and maintain our lead all the way to the end.” The first boat faced the worst conditions of the day, which took a big toll on the way the oarsmen had to row. “The weather was so brutal that we couldn’t take any full strokes. The waves were higher than we could carry our oars between strokes,” wrote Kennelly. However, B1 showed its grit and pushed through these awful conditions. “It wasn’t a smooth race, but we kept moving up on them throughout the entire race and ended up about a length and a half ahead,” said Marc Sevastopoulo ’15. The weather conditions were far from ideal, but the team showed their determination and motivation to win. “It proved to be more of a survival row than anything else. In these kind of conditions, it came down to who was the stronger crew,” wrote Washburn. The weather conditions reinforced camaraderie within the boats, and the scrimmage was a great way for the team to start becoming more unified. “The first boat is really big, with some guys who are new to the team, and we are really starting to row more smoothly together,” said Sevastopoulo. The team plans to continue working hard and prepare for their away race this Saturday against Kent. Kent will be one of the toughest teams that the team will row against this year, and, despite Andover’s recent success, the team has improvements to make this week in practice. “We are looking forward to [the race against Kent] and will work hard this week to get a bit fitter, stronger and more polished in our rowing,” wrote Washburn in an e-mail to The Phillipian.