Coming down the last 1000 meters against Hingham, coxswain Janet Conklin ’17 motivated G1 to dig deep and edge out its opponent. To her right, she said she could see Hingham fighting every one of her rowers’ strokes.
G1, along with the rest of Andover Girls Crew, raced Hingham and Shrewsbury on Saturday at the Andover Boathouse in Methuen, Mass. Although G1 was unable to secure the victory, G2 and G3 both captured first place.
The G1 lineup consisted of Conklin as coxswain, Sam Hawley ’16 stroking, Vienna Kuhn ’16, Julia Marcus ’15, Lane Unsworth ’15, Cara Cavanaugh ’15, Elizabeth Kemp ’15, Qiqi Ren ’15 and Charlotte Chazen ’15.
Warming-up, the six Seniors were especially motivated by the knowledge that this was going to be their last home race. G1 started off strong. Shrewsbury was behind the other two teams for most of the race, creating an intense duel between the Andover and Hingham boats.
Coming down to the last 300 meters when both crews increased stroke rates for the sprint, Hingham edged out Andover by two seconds for the victory. Hingham’s final time was 5:27 and Andover’s was 5:29.
This was G1’s first loss since the race against Kent on April 11. Co-Captain Elizabeth Kemp ’15 maintained a positive outlook, much like the rest of G1.
“Saturday was not our best day racing, and we all know that,” said Kemp. “We are excited that we get to see the same crew in a few days and really bring our best selves to the race. Let’s just say in all accounts the countdown to race day had definitely begun.”
Kuhn said, “I think our greatest period of the race was the middle 500. It was the time when we felt most connected. I think the race as a whole was not a representation of our abilities as a boat, so in a way, it was actually beneficial that we lost, because now we have fuel to beat them at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association Championship [NEIRAs].”
The G2 race followed the G1 race. The G2 lineup featured Claire Tao ’16, Sofie Brown ’18, Lila Brady ’18, Liz Irvin ’17, Amanda Krakauer ’15. Evelyn Mesler ’17, Bella Berkley ’15 and Fiona Yonkman ’16. Katherine Santoro ’15 was the coxswain.
Andover’s G2 outraced Hingham’s G2 and captured a victory by eight seconds with a time of 5:39.
G3 also produced remarkable results, defeating Hingham by six seconds. Its lineup consisted of Claire Glover ’16, Anna Zimmer ’17, Alex-Maree Roberts ’16, Adrienne Allen ’16, Marina Folz ’15, Lauryn Roberts ’17, Alessandra Allen ’16 and Whitney Garden ’17. G3’s final time was 5:55.
Head Coach Dale Hurley said, “G1 faced adversity in their race with Hingham and Shrewsbury. It was a tough loss – only by a mere two seconds. There was not as much of a change in lineups this week, and the team has improved as a whole. G2 and G3 raced very well and gave their opponents a tough act to follow.”
Overall, the race showed that while Andover is prepared for NEIRAs on Saturday, there is still work to be done. Kemp said, “Our main objective this week is to work as hard as we can. When you get into the race, and there is pain everywhere, what keeps many of us going are the girls in front of and behind us. We are building that blind faith in each other that is so crucial to the speed of our hull.”
Andover is seeded third out of 18 schools at NEIRAs, behind Hingham and Kent. Pursuing a turnaround from last year’s finish, each boat is looking to capture first place, and perhaps for the first time ever, the Team Trophy.
Hurley said, “I am not too worried about the loss in G1, as the girls worked very hard this week in preparation for NEIRAs. I feel like we have got something in store for the crews on Saturday. I am excited to see what we can do.”
G1, G2 and G3s’ heats are at 9:21 a.m., 10:51 a.m. and 12:41 p.m., respectively, at Lake Quinsigamond on Saturday.
