Earns Medals At Riverfront Rega
Both the men and the women have shown that they can not only blow their Division III foes out of the water but also hold their own against Division I teams.
On Oct. 7, the team competed in the Head of the Housatonic Regatta in Fairfield, Conn. The men's heavyweight varsity four of Pavel Chernyshov '03, coxswain John Chu '01, Co-captain Mark Haupt '01, Karlis Kirsis '01 and George Shaw '02 took sixth place, while the men's lightweight varsity four of coxswain Christin Cho '01, Co-captain Baker Franke '02, Emmett O'Hanlon '03, Andrei Sinitsin '01 and Chase Smith '01 came in eighth, out of 20 boats.
"Really, the only crews that beat [both boats] were Division I crews," said Franke. "It's good to see that we're pretty much at the top of Division II and III schools, at least at that race."
The women also saw significant success. The women's first varsity eight, consisting of Co-captain Anna Cabot '03, Lindsay Clarke '03, Lauren Groff '01, Laura Horn '02, Nikki Huvelle '01, coxswain Sarah Luthy '03, Lydi Morgan '01, Carolyn Snyder '03 and Nora Sullivan '02 took eighth place, while the second varsity eight of coxswain Jessie Clavin '02, Co-captain Rebecca Ginzburg '01, Rebecca Hillenbrand '03, Catherine Hirschman '01, Eleanor Goodman '01, Christina Johnson '02, Kelly Milton '01, Juliette Niehuss '01 and Jaycelle Pequet '03 took ninth place out of 13 boats.
"We felt really good about it," said Ginzburg, who noted that there was very little distance between the two Amherst boats. "It was a great result, the only Division III teams we lost to won the race-the rest were Division I."
Without a pause, the men and women continued their ascent, garnering tangible proof of their valor this past Saturday at the Hartford Riverfront Regatta, when four out of six boats medaled in their races. The first women's varsity eight took home a bronze medal, while the first varsity four got silver. A second women's varsity four came in fourth.
"It's always nice to win a medal, but we were pleased in general with the race," said Ginzburg of the women's performance.
The men's lightweight varsity four took the silver in their race, by a two-second margin, while the men's heavyweight varsity four, hampered by the wake of a powerboat, had to stop three-quarters of the way into the race, and took sixth place. The junior varsity four won a bronze of its own, a noteworthy achievement, according to Franke.
"It was an incredible result considering that the coxswain and bow pair are all novices and have never rowed a race before," he said.
Both teams will send rowers to the annual Head of the Charles Regatta next Sunday in Boston. The outlook is promising, but whatever comes of the next few races, the season has already exceeded expectations.
"The fall is definitely going better than expected," said Ginzburg. "Instead of just being preparation for the spring, it's [become] a season in itself. It's nice to have a fall where we do good things too."