Despite losing to Hingham High in the opening race of the season, Andover Girls Crew gained crucial experience working together as a team. With this loss, Andover’s record now stands at 0-1.
According to Sofia Garcia ’21, the race served as a learning experience for many beginner rowers. She notes the perseverance of the team, particularly that of the less-experienced rowers, and highlighted the overall composure of the team.
“I’m really proud of how our race went because we didn’t know what to expect. We have a lot of new members on the team in our boat, and although we didn’t end up winning our race, I’m really proud of some of the newer rowers because we were able to stay really composed and really aggressive. It was a great chance for novices in the boat to get racing experience and to have a lot of fun with it, so it gives me a lot of hope for how the rest of the season will go,” said Garcia.
According to Ameri Vest ’23, the race gave Andover an opportunity for the team to bond, especially because of the fewer number of crew races in this season than in past years. Garcia added that maintaining an encouraging environment has been important, especially since many of the rowers are new to the team.
“It was definitely a learning experience for a lot of people, it was a lot of people’s first race, including mine, but even though my boat lost, the energy was great, everyone was pulling their hardest, and even though it didn’t go as we wanted, everyone still got the most out of it that they could, and we had a lot of fun while doing it,” said Vest.
Garcia continued, “I’m very happy about how we’ve managed to create a new team culture with so many new athletes, it’s really warm and welcoming, and it’s amazing to see new rowers not only enjoy the athleticism of the sport, but to really have fun and make the team a wonderful environment.”
According to April Arbian ’24, being surrounded by many beginner rowers like herself has made joining a new sport a much smoother transition.
“I think that it has made it so much easier because you have people around you who need help, so it opens a space for you to ask more questions,” said Arbian.
While there is only a small number of people that row in each boat, the team has made sure to rotate the groups to facilitate team chemistry, according to Garcia.
“This year we’ve been really intentional about mixing up the lineups because we have so many novices, and because of that, just the very nature of the sport, no one can do anything alone, and everything is in the spirit of cooperation and teamwork, and I think that that very well lends itself to creating a strong team dynamic,” said Garcia.
Andover looks to earn its first victory of the season next Saturday against Phillips Exeter Academy.
