By Sam Gross
Elm Staff Writer
If there’s a team on this campus that really defines the word dedication, it has to be the men and women’s rowing teams. All our sports, of course, are amazingly dedicated, but for as long and hard as this team practices and competes, it can only be true dedication and love of the sport that draws an incredible number of recruits and novices consistently every year. To give you an example of its dedication, even when it’s “out of season,” the crew team is still in the gym nearly every day, working out and training on its own.
This, of course, is paying off big time. Most recently, both teams competed at the Knecht Cup in Cherry Hill, NJ, this past weekend, having some unexpectedly close races with some top teams.
Starting off the weekend was the men’s varsity pair, comprised of sophomores Anthony Cairo and Dominic DiMarino, coming in third in heat 2 with a time of 7:53.31. The men’s varsity four with juniors Jeff Nutting, Robert Storck, and Parker McIntosh, sophomore Conor Howlett, and senior Sean Harrison then came in fourth in heat 3 in 7:06.16.
Freshmen Christie Phebus, Andy Sauthoff, Ian Briggs, Brian Zohorsky, and Ben Sproule made up the Frosh Four and were able to win first in heat 3 in a time of 7:06.40.
The men’s varsity four, comprised of sophomores Chris Moylan, Rob Billings, Chris Carrara, Max Villa, and senior Migdad Annab in DII/DIII were also able to win first in heat 2 with a 7:14.41. All were able to qualify for the semi-finals.
During the semi-finals, the men’s varsity pair was able to place second to Maryland A with an improved time of 7:41.32 and qualifying it to move on to the Grand Final. The men’s varsity four placed fourth also with a better time of 7:01.38, moving it on to the Petite Final. It was then the women’s varsity four A in DIII time to race as it placed third in heat 1 with a time of 8:32.29. This boat comprised of freshmen Sam Mason, Mickey Fili, Rachel Dilliplane, Krystal Brostek, and junior Lauren Halla.
The women’s varsity four B, with sophomores Abby Thomas, Emily Sahadeo, Carly Ogren, Katherine McCarthy, and Allie Everhart, followed with a fourth in heat 3 with a time of 8:52.29.
Continuing on with the men’s semifinals, Washington College took home another first in semi 3 with its Frosh Four with a 7:11.69, allowing it to move on to the Grand Final. The women’s varsity eight, comprised of seniors Kelsie Jensen, Kendall Mulligan, juniors Kate Fiori and Rachel Benders, sophomores Valeria DiLisi and Ellie Hilton, and freshmen Kelly Bird Taira Sullivan, and Ashley Myles, rounded out the day with a first in heat 2 in a time of 6:58.91, putting it in the Finals along with the Varsity Four A.
Sunday was full of close calls, as both crew teams were faced with very close races. Starting off in the Grand Final for men’s varsity pair, Cairo and DiMarino came in fifth overall with a time of 7:47.59. The Frosh Four then came in second in its Grand Final with an overall best time of 7:05.26.
The men’s second varsity four came in third in its final, finishing in at 7:23.60.
The first close loss came with the men’s varsity four as it narrowly lost to Rochester in the Petite Final, finishing at a 6:53.07 to Rochester’s 6:52.12. The women’s varsity four A also came in second to Bryn Mawr in a time of 7:57.88. The men’s varsity four in DII/DIII came in fifth in its final with a 7:06.90.
The day ended with two very close races in which WC came in second. The first was the men’s varsity eight as it came in behind Trinity in only .05 seconds. The last was the women’s varsity eight as it came in behind Marietta by little more than a second.
Rumor has it that there’s a picture hanging in the boathouse to remind the men of their narrow loss.
Men’s captain Jeff Nutting said that this weekend was tough, naming “choppy water conditions, injuries, and sickness” as some of the issues the team had in practice the week leading up to the race. He said optimistically though that this was “a whole new level of ‘fast’” for the crew team; in the fact, it raced faster teams and still managed the places it received.
He says the team learned a huge lesson in the important role of errors, and this weekend x-will only drive the team to work hard for the rest of the season.
“We’re going to Philadelphia to race at the Kerr cup against most of the crews that we saw this weekend. We’re definitely planning on coming back on the winning side this time around,” said Nutting.
Senior women’s captain Kendall Mulligan agrees.
“We battled with Marietta down the whole course. We’re looking forward to conference champs in two weeks where we will meet them again. This time we’re ready to beat them and get that bid to NCAA’s,” she said.
“It’s crunch time on the Chester,” Nutting said.