4/11 – Andover, Kent: W
Girls Crew kicked off its season with a dominant victory over Kent this Saturday. After placing second at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) last season, the team drew on that confidence to push ahead of its opponents.
Girls Crew has maintained certain traditions for many years, which build strong team morale and a level of selflessness. Eloise Malle ’27 explained one such tradition: a callout that her boat does.
“One thing specific to Andover Crew is that we do a Name Call. We have several sprint pieces, or several times when everyone has to push a little extra hard, and one of those times is name calls. Our coxswain will say ‘2 for,’ and then she’ll go down the boat. So it’ll be ‘2 for Eloise, 2 for Daphne,’ and you do two strokes pushing extra hard for the person whose name is being called, to show that we’re all in it together,” said Malle.
With the first race of the season against a strong opponent, Arden Muldoon ’28 noted how the team atmosphere felt both anticipatory and enthusiastic ahead of the meet.
“Everyone is really determined, and everyone approached the race with a lot of excitement as well. Not necessarily nervousness, but turning that nervousness into excitement. The vibes were high, everyone was really excited, and there was a lot of positivity, which really helped get the energy up on a really long day,” said Muldoon.
Co-Captain Willow Wright ’26 spoke about the team’s mental strength, referencing its season mantra.
“This race showed us how strong and relentless we can be. One of our words for the season is to be relentless and continue going at it. Rowing is a very mentally tough sport, and we’re really strong in that sense, especially with all of the novices who haven’t realized how mentally taxing it is. Everybody’s excitement and joy at being on the water in the sun and doing this together is really exciting and something that we get to grow with as a team,” said Wright.
Wright recalled how her boat pulled ahead within the first twenty strokes and used that momentum to secure its win.
“Getting right off from the start and being aggressive from the beginning was huge, but for me, seeing them get smaller in the distance, which sounds mean now, was really exciting. It shows everything that we’ve worked towards is paying off. You don’t know when you’re sitting on the start line how it’s going to go, and then to take off like that is really fun,” said Wright.
With a constant cycle of moving up and down boat levels, every day of practice is crucial to maintaining a high boat level. Malle explained that this level of competition isn’t a divisive force but rather strengthens the team’s chemistry and connection.
“Team chemistry is really important. It’s the most important part because it’s such a hard sport in the sense that it’s based on a metric. Every single day, your performance is judged, and because we have moving lineups, you have to give it your all. Our coaches always say you have to leave all your problems on the dock. You can’t bring anything with you on the water. You can’t let your day affect the way you row, because if it does, you’re going to lose your spot. It’s really hard because there’s a huge mental toll, and we have all these tests on the erg, where a number defines you. But because of that, we’re all kind of trauma-bonded, and help each other compete,” said Malle.
Girls Crew will host Deerfield at home on Saturday.
