Andover blew NMH and Belmont Hill out of the water last Saturday, as both Boys and Girls teams took seven out of eight races. The wins were huge, as Andover will take on the best from New England this Saturday at the NEIRA Championships in Worcester. Charlie Walters ’10 commented on the victory, “Everyone was happy with the results, and we are ready to show the rest of the league what we’ve got Saturday.” The Boys’ first boat bounced back from a tough race last week and beat NMH’s boat by over seven seconds. Meanwhile, the Boys’ second boat crushed NMH’s second boat by over 16 seconds. The second eight jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back, despite catching a crab halfway through the race. The second boat heads into Interschols the reigning New England champions, and with an undefeated season behind them, it looks to dominate the competition. The Boys’ third boat rebounded from a tough third place finish from last week by trouncing Belmont Hill and NMH respectively, clear of Belmont Hill by over two seconds. While it came home with a victory, Andover’s fourth boat lost to Belmont Hill by 2.5 seconds. The fifth and sixth boats competed in the same race, squaring off against NMH’s fifth boat. Both boats sunk NMH’s fifth boat, as Andover’s fifth coasted to an easy win while the sixth boat took second. All four Girls’ boats dominated NMH, as the team swept with four clean victories. The Girls’ first boat continued to dominate, as it beat NMH by over fourteen seconds. Kristen Faulkner ’11 said, “We expected to win against NMH, but Coach Green really emphasized that we should treat this race as a dress rehearsal for Interschols and pull our hardest with each stroke.” The second boat won by almost 24 seconds and looks ready to build on their confidence this Saturday at Interschols. The girl’s third and fourth boats raced together against NMH with G3 taking the win, and G4 coming in second place over NMH’s third boat. G4 ended their season well and impressed against stronger competition. This coming weekend, Andover will send their top six boats to Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA to race against the top competition in the New England area. Coach Kathryn Green is “ready to see her team perform well this weekend and continue their hard work at practice.”
