Andover Crew won the team trophy at Interschols last Saturday, marking a glorious conclusion to the spring season. The boys’ first boat battled stroke for stroke against Kent as it carved its way down the course. Both Kent and Andover stole inches from each other with every stroke, exchanging the lead as the two boats approached the finish line. With 100 meters left in the final race of the day, Andover powered its last ten strokes and seized the lead. Andover crossed the finish line only a fraction of a second ahead of Kent and won the gold. The boys’ second boat also had a close, but victorious, race against Kent. The two opponents cruised down the course with open water on Salisbury, Exeter, Brunswick and St. Paul’s. Andover accelerated into the finish line and grabbed the win by just .4 seconds. The boys’ third boat fought against Salisbury in the closest race of the day. Competing for second place to Exeter, the two teams crossed the finish line together, but Andover grasped second place by a shockingly small margin of just .002 seconds. The girls’ first boat faced a tough setback in preliminaries when an oar socket came undone after the first twenty strokes. But the team continued rowing and fixed the problem during the race. During the finals, Andover and Exeter were even after the start, but Exeter pulled a move and secured a four-seat lead. Andover tried to regain the lost seats, but Exeter took even more, increasing its lead to an entire boat length. Exeter maintained its lead and finished three seconds ahead of Andover. The girls’ second boat also placed second to Exeter. After securing open water on third place Kent after the start, Andover maintained contact with Exeter and the two teams split from the rest of the pack. Exeter maintained a steady lead above Andover and won by two seconds. The girls’ third boat placed fifth to Exeter, Hanover, Kent and St. Paul’s School. Andover and St. Paul’s rowed side-by-side going into the final sprint, but St. Paul’s pulled ahead and captured fourth by almost two seconds.
