By Jordan Fairchild
Elm Staff Writer
The Washington College men’s and women’s rowing teams both had regattas on Saturday, April 3. The regatta took place at home against the Adrian College Bulldogs and St. Mary’s College of Maryland Seahawks.
The Shoremen split last weekend, losing to the Bulldogs and coming up with victories over the Seahawks.
In the Men’s Varsity Eight race against the Bulldogs, the Shoremen came up just short of a victory, finishing in 6:04.5 minutes, compared to 5:59.6 for the Bulldogs.
“We battled the whole way down the course against Adrian,” senior men’s rower Evan Koch said. “They’re a team similar to our size that has found some success, and it’s pretty cool to go head-to-head with a fast boat, and to never back down. We will be back to beat them at Conference Championships in two weeks.”
In the two-man team race, the Shoremen were defeated by the Bulldogs, finishing in 7:52.4 minutes, after the Bulldogs clocked in at 7:31.6 minutes.
In the Men’s Varsity Eight race against the Seahawks, the Shoremen secured a win, finishing in 6:24.9 minutes, a thirty-two second victory margin over the Seahawks’ time of 6:52.3 minutes.
In the Men’s Novice Four race, the Shoremen earned another victory over the Seahawks, finishing in 7:45.0 minutes, almost a minute faster than the Seahawks’ time of 8:58.9 minutes.
“This past weekend I feel that we were able to connect well in the boat so that we could effectively move fast throughout the race,” freshman men’s rower Rodger Ecker said. “We were also able to communicate very well so that problems were fixed instantaneously, which boosted the success of the Novice Four.”
The Shorewomen were triumphant over both the Bulldogs and the Seahawks in their races.
“Our team crushed it by going undefeated for the second weekend in a row,” sophomore women’s rower Ashley Dummitt said. “I’m so proud of everyone.”
In the Women’s Varsity Four race, the Shorewomen’s Varsity Four “A” boat finished first in 7:34.74 minutes and the Varsity Four “B” boat took second with a time of 7:51.19 minutes. The Bulldogs finished third in 7:56.25 minutes and the Shorewomen’s Varsity “C” boat took fourth in 9:11.24 minutes.
“Our boats are good at finding power and just going,” senior women’s rower Talia Seidman said. “We never stop pushing or slow down, even if we are in the lead. We put everything we have into each stroke.”
In the Women’s First Varsity Eight race against Seahawks, the Shorewomen came in first, finishing in 7:09.46 minutes. This was a fourteen second victory over the Seahawks’ time of 7:24.12 minutes.
In the Women’s Second Varsity Eight race, the Shorewomen collected another win, with a time of 7:36.89, defeating the Seahawks’ time of 8:52.06 by over a minute.
In the Women’s Novice Four race, the Shorewomen also won by a large margin, finishing in 8:29.69 minutes, with the Seahawks finishing in 9:24.81 minutes.
“The women’s rowing team is such an amazing family of strong women,” said Dummitt. “ I’m so proud to be a part of this amazing team.”
Featured Photo caption: The Shoremen carry their boat to shore after racing. Photo by Ben Wang.