Andover crew put on an outstanding performance at this weekend’s regatta in Worcester, winning six out of their eight races. Exeter, Simsbury, Northfield Mount Hermon, St. John’s Prep, Brookline, and Boston Latin all sent boats as well. All five of the boys’ boats swept the competition by considerable margins. The boy’s first boat was tied with Simsbury and NMH after the start, but managed to break from the pack after the first 500 meters. Andover continued to extend its lead and finished first ahead of NMH by 12 seconds. “Our settle was much better in this race than in our race against Kent,” said Kyle Rogers ’09. A steady stroke rate and synced catch timings, both improvements from last weeks race against Kent, proved to be vital elements in the team’s success this weekend. Andover’s second boat had two seats up on St. John’s Prep after the start. Andover continued to gain significant ground until the last 500 meters, at which point the team maintained its distance until the finish. “We haven’t worked on our sprint yet, so we didn’t move ahead anymore, but we also didn’t lose any ground,” said Curtis Hon ’10. Exeter passed St. John’s prep in the final 500, and Andover finished with an eight second lead in front of Exeter. The boys’ third boat faced a closer race, fighting with St. John’s for the lead until the last 500 meters, where Andover pulled ahead and managed to win by less than two seconds. “We made a great 40-stroke move during our middle 500, and were able to start pulling away from the other boats,” said Julian Danziger ’11. “We started strong and maintained our strength throughout the entire race. Everything just clicked in our boat during those five minutes,” he added. The girl’s first boat fought an exceptionally close race against Exeter, chasing its arch-rival stroke-for-stroke to the finish line. Andover caught Exeter’s bow ball right after the start and maintained this lead until the final 500 meters. Andover’s lead diminished when Exeter kicked in an early sprint and surged through the last 500 meters. The tension heightened as the two opponents pulled dead even with the final few strokes of the race. But Exeter pulled ahead and out-touched Andover by a mere .4 seconds. “I knew Exeter was going to have a move towards the end of the piece, but I was surprised at how much they were able to come back,” said Captain Isabelle Engelsted ’09. The team has spent the past two weeks of practice focusing on the first and second 500 meters of the race. Englested said, “Our last 500 could use some work, but we haven’t focused on that yet. Once we do, we will be a tough crew team to beat.” The girls’ second boat placed first in its race, followed closely behind by Exeter and Boston Latin. After the first 100 meters Andover had a seat up on Exeter, and it continued to gain water during the entire race. The girls’ third boat took an early lead, but Exeter slowly crept up and passed Andover at the 500 meter mark. Exeter expanded its lead throughout the rest of the race and finished 15 seconds ahead of Andover. On Saturday, the boys’ team will face Salisbury and Brunswick.
