ECAC Regatta Recap

This past weekend was another success in the books for the Bobcat Squad.  The field was deeper at the top so claiming any hardware was even more difficult than the previous weekend at the New England Rowing Championships.  The women looked to solidify their spot for an NCAA team bid as they proved themselves against Ithaca, Washington College, William and Smith for the first time this season.  The men in their final race of the season looked to go out with strong results despite the addition of Marist, Hobart, Bucknell, Ithaca, and Michigan to an already deep field. 

The Bates crews had traveled home after New England Championships to put the finishing touches on their race plans and attempt to find some more speed coming into the final regular season race of the season. They made the repeat journey to Worcester with fine-tuned lineups, rigging, and technique with hopes of having personal best performances.

The weekend was predicted to be windy so the coaching staff played it by ear and the team was able to practice the course on Saturday before the rain and wind came through.  Sunday morning there was scattered light showers here and there, but the wind was a non-factor.  Eventually, in the afternoon, the wind picked up and there were pretty difficult conditions for the finals.  The wind shifted directions frequently so at times the course had a solid tail wind, while other times it was strictly a cross wind.  There were even times that there was a head wind. 

The Novice 8 performed at a high level again.  In their heat they finished 3^rd behind the leader William and Smith and second place finisher US Coast Guard Academy.  Their main competition in the heat came from Williams College who they traded bow balls with all the way down the course.  Finally in the final 500 meters of the race Williams dropped back and the Bobcats could focus on Coast Guard whom finished a mere .8 second ahead of the women in maroon.  In the final this group of first years was close in the early going, but dropped off the pace around the 1000 meter mark and never recovered finishing in 6^th place in what turned out to be a very fast final.  

Women's 3rd Varsity 8

The women’s 3^rd varsity 8 had a similar heat to New England Championships where they had an open water lead by 500 meters into the race and held that margin as they rowed on to win their heat qualifying them for the grand final in the afternoon.  In the final this young group got off the line quite well and led the race to the 500 meter mark.  At this point Blue Bantams from Hartford began to move back into the Bobcats who attempted to hold their early pace.  The Ephs from Williamstown eventually caught the Bates Women at the 1000 meter mark at which point both Trinity and Williams extended their leads going one two as the Bobcats rowed to a solid bronze medal finish.  

Women's 2nd Varsity 8

For the women’s 2^nd varsity 8 the heat was business as usual; the Bobcats repeated the result from the heat the previous weekend rowing through the line first and qualifying for a top spot in the grand final.  The most interesting development of the 2nd varsity racing was that the Williams coaching staff had finally moved some high power novices into the boat and were sure to have more speed than the previous championship weekend.  In the grand final the Bates women got off to a solid start in the 3rd position.  The top three crews separated from the rest of the field early as they tested each other with moves and counter moves, while blazing down the course.  No team gave way and the margins consistently spread out to about 4 seconds between crews as Williams crossed the line first, Trinity crossed second and Bates finished in the bronze medal position.

Women's varsity 8

The women’s varsity 8 race was expected to be a showdown between the Bates and Williams women once again with the question mark, where the William and Smith College women would land in the fray.   After the New England Rowing Championships final the Bobcats were eager to have a second shot at the Williams women after placing 2^nd only 3.5 seconds behind them, the closest the Bobcats have ever been to the Ephs at this point in the season.  The heats played out as expected with Trinity, Williams, and Bates crossing the line first in their respective heats.  The scene was set for the grand final.  Would it be a repeat of the NERC race? Would the Herons from William and Smith elbow their way into the conversation? As it turned out William and Smith did end up getting the better of Trinity, but as expected the real excitement was between the purple and the maroon.  The women from Williams never managed to get open water on the Bobcats as they stormed down the course trying furiously to break free from the trailing Bates women.  With 200 meters to go the women from Bates put on an incredible surge of speed closing the gap between bow balls even more.  Just when it seemed the difference between the two boats was shrinking Williams responded just in time to stay ahead as they crossed the line a little more than 2.4 seconds ahead of Bates.  It was great race.  The Bates women were closer than ever and they look forward to the next meeting of these two rowing powerhouses at the NCAA National Championship. 

Men's Open 4

On the Men’s side of the boathouse the four young men who had success racing as a Novice 4 in the previous weekend’s regatta were this week entered in the Open 4 event.  They could be racing against athletes who were in their second, third, or fourth year of collegiate rowing.  This inexperienced group went into the weekend with no expectations and they had no heat with which to gauge their competition.  Racing in a straight final they knew they had to race with guts and in their final race of the season they performed yet again.  They got off to a slow start as always and managed to take a silver medal finish about a second and a half ahead of the boys from Hobart.  This crew has had an incredibly successful start to their rowing careers and the coaching staff hopes they continue their progress and intensity in years to come. 

The Men’s 3^rd varsity 8 capped off a successful championship season this past weekend with excellent results to show for it.  In a closely contested heat the men from Bates were able to once again best their New England rivals Williams by about 2 seconds finishing in third, managing to qualify for the grand final in the afternoon.  In their grand final there was a clear separation in speed as the Bates Bobcats and the Marist Foxes were unable to maintain the pace early in the race.  As they men from Bates crossed the 1000 meter mark they were in a brawl for the fifth place spot in their final race of the year.  They separated themselves from the Foxes eventually opening up a five second lead by the time they crossed the finish buoys.  It was a great final performance of the year to come in ahead of Marist in the final; the men from Marist beat Wesleyan earlier on in the day, who was a crew the Bates men had lost to earlier in the season.  A great representation of just how much improvement these nine athletes made in the final weeks of the season, the ECAC grand final was a success for this crew. 

Men's 2nd Varsity 8

The Men’s 2^nd varsity 8 finished up their season by opening up their racing day with their morning heat against tough competition.  They raced to a comfortable 4th place finish in the heat qualifying for a position in the petite final and a second chance to race against their New England competitors Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  The petite final, the last race of the spring racing campaign, ended with a strong showing from the boys in maroon.  Hobart and Wesleyan got out early and moved away as the Bobcats started in a solid 3rd position, the Engineers from WPI were close behind.  The Bates boys were able to slowly move away from their competition with a strong middle thousand and they crossed the line solidly in 3rd about 5 seconds ahead of WPI.  This was the same crew who had edged them out by a little more than one second keeping the 2nd varsity 8 from the grand final at New England Rowing Championships the previous weekend.  The men again proved that they were able to put together a strong final race and complete the spring season on a high note. 

Men's Varsity 8 post race

Men's Varsity 8 dueling with Marist

The Men’s Varsity 8 had their work cut out for them at this race with the addition of five crews who had all shown good speed this spring season.  Coming off a solid bronze medal result from New England Rowing Championships, the Bobcats knew besting these new opponents would take skill and grit.  In the heat the Bates men were up against Michigan, who just finished 4^th at the Dad Vail the day before, and Ithaca College, who had finished 2^nd, 1.5 seconds behind Hobart, at NYS Championships the weekend before.  Their heat started fast and the Bobcats were in it from the word go.  They trailed Michigan by no more than a half a boat the entire race and managed to stick right with the Woverines, a very strong crew, for the entire 2000 meters.  The Bombers did not start quite as fast, but also never lost contact with the Bobcats as they bided their time attempting to reel in the Bobcats who never gave them an inch.  The Bombers inexorably clawed their way back into a position where they could successfully sprint to the line and finish ahead of the Bobcats.  The race was determined in the sprint.  Ithaca charged hard exerting their lungs and muscles to the fullest extent, but the challenge happened too late as the boys from Bates held off the grand push crossing the line .29 seconds ahead of their valiant competitors from Ithaca. The grand final was even faster than the heat with Michigan exerting their dominance finishing clearly in the top spot.  The 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th place positions were pretty close behing and there was a small gap back to Bates and Marist who were in a very tight race for the 5^th position in the final.  Despite pushing hard and having a strong performance the Bobcats were edged by the Foxes by .23 seconds at the line.  

Seniors Peter Haley, Charlie Carey, Andre Gobbo, Matthew Johns and Lauren Hadiaris.  Coach Steenstra in the middle.

It was a bittersweet day for the Seniors Peter Haley, Charlie Carey, Andre Gobbo, Matthew Johns.  The team loaded the trailer and Coach Steenstra said a few short words of thanks to the seniors.  The men dispersed after the team bus reached campus.  The younger members of the team remain on campus for short term classes while some of the upper classmen went off to internships.  The seniors will be on campus for senior week in a couple of weeks.  It is always such an abrupt end to the season, but the men got a proper goodbye to and from the team at the end of the year banquet.  

Team post racing

The team was able to say thank you to the parents for their support throughout the racing season and in particular Scarlett Carey who was the main organizer for parent support of the team.   Thanks to all the alumni and parents who showed up to demonstrate their Bobcat pride on racing weekends. 

Coaches Steenstra and Foglia congratulate each other on a job well done.

ECAC National Rowing Invitational

Sunday the Bobcats take the water for the 2013 ECAC National Rowing Invitational

Live Video of the event can be seen

HERE

Check out the race schedule

HERE


GO BOBCATS!

2013 New England Rowing Championships

MN4+ (l -r) Mark Charest '15, Ian Ramsay '16, Zhenny Gong '16, John Albanese '16, Cody Jenkins '14

It was a sunny day in Worchester, MA as teams from throughout New England descended on Lake Quinsigamond  to take the traditional pre-championship lap over the course. It had been a solid two weeks of training since the Bobcats had seen action outside of their home stretch of the ‘scog, and knew the weekend would raise the standard of competition to an even higher level. With a record number of podium finishes in 2012, the precedent for success has continued to rise on a yearly basis.

            One thing to note prior to talking about the specifics of the racing is that even prior to making their way through the finish line,  a new record for the program was set as 32 men, and 36 woman (68 total - wow!) strapped on the garnet and white. According to team archives this elapses the previous mark of 63 set back in 2000.

            I believe that the theme of the day can best be summed up by a gracious woman working the medals dock that afternoon, “Wow here come Bates again”. To which Coach Steenstra could only, smile nod and maybe even blush just a little. To get right down to the root of it Bates, competed in 8 events, advanced to 7 Grand Finals, had 6 trips to the medal dock, and 1 very wet coxswain.  

Some of the highlights of the day Included –

WN8+ Advancing to the Grand Final!

            The Woman’s Novice 8+ is a crew that has spent the past few weeks creating an identity for themselves. A fifty fifty split of experience to pure walk on talent, coupled with some injury issues stunted the early growth of this young squad. But Devin using his tireless patience and bottomless enthusiasm, has been able to foster a love for competition and racing  that will surely result in lifelong competitors. These woman put on display of what a focused week of training can result in besting a strong crew from UNH who had solidly beaten them the week prior, putting their bow ahead by 2.6 seconds, and a respectable 5^th place finish.

M3V8+ Makes programs first trip to the awards dock!

            Another young crew for the Bobcats waited until late in the season to let its true potential shine through as the 3V 8+ finished a close 3^rd to Wesleyan (2.6 sec), out sprinting Williams (1.9 sec) for the Men first ever medal performance in the event.  This group made up of all freshman minus stroke Evan Cooper ’15 has defiantly challenged my patience at times throughout the year, seeming to glance over the finer points of technical prowess for sheer love of pulling hard and racing, but when all was said and done this group came together when it counted most (through the middle 1200m) using this opportunity to demonstrate that depth of a young and eager men’s roster.

W3V8+ Repeats as silver medalists!

             The Woman’s 3V came into the race having seen little competition outside of their own 2V for much of the season but knew that with the big players showing up this weekend open water victories were a thing of the past. In the heats the early test came from perennial powerhouse, William who has dominated the event since 2008. Feeling confident in their body of the race a solid 3^rd 500 put them out front and in a great position going into the afternoon final against the woman from Trinity. A quick burst off the line for the Bantam’s gave them a tether that the Bobcats would fall just short of reeling back in. It was a close race and one that left the rest of the competition open water back.

W2V8+ Finishes 2^nd in a Barn-burner with Trinity and Williams!

            As spectators peered down the course to catch the slightest refraction of the suns rays off the blades of charging crews, even the most trained eye could not distinguish the separation between the top three boats. As the race approached the famed red buoys it became clear that the race was in a three way battle for supremacy. Trinity used an early lead to edge their bow out in front with Bates charging through Williams in the final 50 strokes for a silver medal performance. Should be an exciting rematch to keep an eye on this weekend at ECAC’s. 

MV8+ Makes trip to medals dock for the 3^rd time in three years!

            The MV8+ has had its fair share of ups and downs over the course of the 2013 season, but found its stride when it counted most. In the early rounds the going was tight as always with only 5 sec separating the top 5 crews, but lead by its 4 senior members, the Bobcats battled hard and were able to secure a qualification spot in the afternoon finals. They found themselves amongst the familiar powerhouse programs of Trinity, Williams, Wesleyan, WPI, and URI in a dog fight that had them trailing just about all comers by the 500m mark. Relying on their maturity and fitness they slowly began to assert themselves amongst the contenders, with a final push bringing them past Wesleyan, avenging an early season defeat, for their third bronze medal in as many years. This senior class will graduate from  Bates having left an unmistakable mark on the program, and as the most decorated in program history, a phrase that seems to be the standard in recent years. 

WV8+ Make it three for three in the Varsity 8+ events!

            The Woman’s Varsity 8+ crew is one that was tested early and often as the season progressed. Yet each time this group rose to the occasion taking all comers to  rack up an undefeated duel racing schedule. Championships always bring with it a new level of competition and expectation. Williams, with their 7 consecutive national titles and Trinity with a HOCR win had set the standard high for what looked to be an exciting grand final showdown between these three powerhouse programs. The race did not disappoint, with all three overlapping at the finish, Bates in a solid 2^nd only 2.6 sec away from the gold. This is a crew that continues to rise to gain confidence with each race and  hopes for a return trip to the NCAA championships again in June. Stay tuned as the story on this group still have much to be written.

MN4+ WINS!

Zhenny goes for a swim!

            In an event that by most would not be considered the premier race  at the NE Championships turned out to be the “performance of the day” for a program on the rise. Bates has a bit of a history here with their first medal in the event (silver) coming in 1990, then bronze in 2012. This group of four walk-ons (no prior rowing experience) and their high school veteran stroke, had yet to rack up a true win on the season, having been bested twice prior by their fellow Bobcats during The President Cup, and at The Bates Invite. Yet often enthusiasm trumps all, and this was truly the case for this particular crew.  Having won their heat in convincing fashion, the Bobcats trailed early in the final, as Wentworth took an early lead followed by instate rival Bowdoin who was looking to avenge their early season loss to Bates. Yet coxswain Zhenny Gong ’16 kept her crew calm and in control as she followed the race plan to a T. As each 500m interval pass this group gained confidence and position, using the final 100m to put an exclamation point on what would result in the first NE championship for Bates since the 2001 WN8+. This crew has a special place in my heart for obvious reasons, but is a product of the program they represent, and their success can be traced back to the standard that has been set around them, more so than any training program or technical ability. These four young men, and their fearless leader in my mind epitomize what the Bates Rowing family represents, that each member regardless of, class, experience, or stature hold themselves to the highest standard both on and off the water. It was not only a win for these 5 individuals but a testament to the depth, solidarity, and drive that is a Bates rower. Congratulations from all of us both past and present!

Alexandra Hill '14 and Heather Monty '14 WV8+

(pictures to come tomorrow)

Watch Out New England Here Comes Bates College

It was a glorious morning on the Androscoggin as the Bates College Women brushed up on starting technique and unloaded with some race sequences this morning.  The coaching staff and the team are very excited for this weekends racing in Worcester, MA.  Stay tuned for updates this Friday and Saturday.

The Big Cat Challenge

The Wildcats (UNH), Panthers (Middlebury), Bobcats (Bates) and Catamounts (UVM) raced in what is turning out to be a yearly fixture between the four schools. While it does not look like there will the silliness of awarding cups and trophies involved in the annual race weekend in the future, it is a weekend that the Bates rowers and coaching staff look forward to yearly.  All four schools hail from the best states in New England and each has a large ferocious cat as its mascot.  This is why we unofficially dubbed the weekend the "Big Cat Challenge".

The weather was almost warm and the conditions were fast on the always majestic Androscoggin river. There was a slight head current and a slight tail wind that increases throughout the morning.  The water remained very flat and allowed for fantastic racing across the board.

First race of the day for the Bobcats was the Novice 4, a four boat race with all schools represented, which turned into a two boat race by the thousand meter mark between UNH and Bates.  In a spectacular final 500 meters the Bobcats with Emilie Muller '16 in the stroke put on a surge of speed to win the first race of the day.

Women's Novice 4

The Men's V8 race was a highly anticipated race because Middlebury had shown good speed throughout the season and the Bates men knew it would be contest.  The Bates boys looked incredibly sharp that day and lead for the entire race.  Bates steadily increased their margin throughout the course and ended up with a convincing seven second victory.

Men's Varsity 8

The Women's V8's turn was next with another race that was forecast to be tight.  UNH had a very good results vs. the Trinity women the weekend before and the Bobcats knew it would be a close engagement. As expected the race was tight with the Bates women getting out to a lead, but never managing to break open water on the Wildcats.  In the final 500 UNH put on a terrific challenge a slightly closed the gap, but it was not enough as Bates held on to win by a little less than two seconds.

Women's Varsity 8 followed closely by UNH.

The Men's 3V8 raced next against Middlebury and UVM with an impressive performance and a large margin to show for it as they crossed the line in 6:13.6.  Middlebury followed about 13 seconds later and UVM was open water back on them.  When the Bates boys crossed the line they were so pleased with their effort that their seven-man Andrew Voss '16 roared like a man-bear declaring his satisfaction with the performance.

Men's Third Varsity 8

The only five boat race of the morning was the Women's 2V8 which had no UVM entry but a 3V entry from Bates and Middlebury.  There was clear separation from first to fourth in the event with about eight to nine second separation as the Bates 2V was clearly the fastest crew followed by the Bates 3V then Middlebury 2V then UNH 2V and the Middlebury 3V was well back of them.  The Bates 2V led the entire race while the 3V trailed Middlebury for about 1000 meters before eclipsing them for the second place position.

Women's Third Varsity 8

Women's Second Varsity 8

The next race was the Men's 2V also lead the race from start to finish in front of a good battle for second between UNH and UVM with Catamounts eventually winning out.  The Bobcats raced the course in a Corvette-fast time of 6:02.1 just barely missing the ever coveted sub 6:00 minute time.  The other crews were two boats of open water back.

Men's Second Varsity 8

The Women's Novice 8 was "Some of the best novice racing I have ever seen", according to Coach Foglia who watched this three boat race unfold on the 'Scog.  The race was tight for the first 1000 meters with all boats overlapping.  After the first half the Bobcats fell off the pace set by UVM and UNH who raced the day before on UNH's home course.  The lead changed several times before UVM pulled ahead slightly for the finish.  The Bobcats were a boat length of open water back in third.

Women's Novice 8

The Women's Varsity 4 was a sizable victory for the Bobcats while again UVM and UNH had a heck of a battle as UVM held the second place spot for 1500 meters only to be passed in the final 500.

Women's Varsity 4

The Men's Novice 4 was a great representation of the increase in depth on the men's side of the team as both boats finished first and second.  The chat of "Tam-Poh-Zee" in honor of Jack Tamposi, a well liked senior on the team who joined last year, went out across the waters as his boat with winning in a time of 7:58.8 crossed the line.  The second place boat was a little bit of open water back.

Men's Novice 4's

After the racing there was a barbeque as the bates coaching staff and rowers thanked their competition for making the trip to Greene, ME for the morning of racing.  There were cheeseburgers, hamburgers, hot dogs and many sides.  The sun became quite warm and it was definitely t-shirt weather as people shed their sweatshirts in the gorgeous weather.  After the grill was shut down and UNH, UVM and Middlebury headed home the Bates Rowing Family welcomed a new member to their ranks.  Lynx rufus was the newest boat added to the fleet.  Coach Steenstra asked William Carey '82 to say a few words about the new shell.   The current rowing parent and Bates College Trustee spoke about how happy he was to see continued support in such a valuable program and how he would like to see not only a new boat, but perhaps a new boathouse in the coming years. 

William Carey '82 christening the new shell Lynx rufus

Women' Boats 
Varsity 8 : coxswain Gabby Bilotta '14, Aisling Ryan '14, Jenna Armstrong '15, Mallory Ward '15, Heather Monty '14 , Alexandra Hill '14, Hope King '14, Elizabeth Sangree '15, and Eliza Barkan '15

2nd Varsity 8: coxswain Molly Huffaker '14, Alison Simmons '16 , Hadley Dawson '14, Sarah Murphy '14 , Margaux Joselow '16, Taylor Kniffin '14, Emma Taylor '16, Rebecca O'Neill '15, and Lauren Hadiaris '13.

3rd Varsity 8: coxsain Emma-Kate Lindsay '15, Michelle Kelley '16, Rachel Ellis '14, Kiera Degener-O'Brien '16, Caroline Kern '15, Hannah Weiss '15, Caroline Caldwell '15, Sarah Brooks '16, and Rebecca Moore '15

Novice 8: coxswain Nancy Tran '16, Sarah Brooks '16, Emilie Muller '16, Katharine Wick '16, Lydia Merizon '16, Folashade Ade-Banjo '16, Emma Conover '16, Kaylyn Kipper '16, and Aris Margosian '16.

Varsity 4: coxswain Molly Huffaker '14, Elizabeth Sangree '13, Jenna Armstrong '13, Mallory Ward '13, and Eliza Barkan '13.

Novice 4: coxswain Nancy Tran '16, Emilie Muller '16, Katharine Wick '16, Emma Conover '16, and Folashade Ade-Banjo '16.

Men's Boats

Varsity 8: coxswain Jacob Sandor '14, Charlie Carey '13, Welles Mathison '16,  Peter Haley '13, Hank Schless '14, Andre Gobbo '13, Nicholas Muccio '16, Matthew Johns '13, and, Nicholas Flynn '14

2nd Varsity 8: coxswain Maggie Carey '14, Perry Mortimer '15, Sam MacGregor' 14, Caleb Glassman '14, Ryan Conrad '15, Matthew Silverman '15, Jamie Naso '16, Alex Hadiaris '15, Jackson Moore '16 and Jamie Naso '16.

3rd Varsity 8: coxswain Marit Wettstein '16, Evan Cooper '15, Andrew Voss '16, Leo Foglizzo '16, Tommy Fitzgerald '16, William Curley '16, Samuel Maher '16, Alex Moskovitz '16, and Chris Kussmaul '16

Novice 4 : Coxswain Zhen Gong '16, John Albanese '16, Cody Jenkins '14, Mark Charest '15, Ian Ramsay '16.

Novice 4 (B): Coxswain Marit Wettstein '16, William Curley '16, Chris Kussmaul '16, ALex Moskovitz '16, and Jack Tamposi '13.

The 17th Presidents Cup

This Sunday April 21st was the annual running of the Presidents Cup, where Colby College, Bowdoin College and Bates College compete for supremacy of the Maine NESCAC schools.  Bates was victorious on a blustery, chilly yet thankfully sunny day of racing and retained the Presidents Cup in a dominant display of speed.

The women competed in 4 events: the varsity 8, varsity 4, novice 8 and novice 4.  In the Varsity 8 race the women displayed their team depth as their Varsity 8, 2nd varsity 8 and 3rd varsity 8 finished 1, 2, 3 respectively against the competition of Bowdon and Colby's Varsity 8's.  The women's varsity 4 had the closest finish of the day for the women's team finishing 3/4 of a boat length in front of a talented Bowdoin crew. Both the novice 8 and 4 were also clear demonstrations of Bates skill and power across the boat as both boats won by large margins.

The men competed in 4 events: the varsity 8, varsity 4, 2nd varsity 8 and novice 4.  The Men's Varsity 8 had a close race with Colby as the White Mules threw everything they had at the Bobcats in the first 500 and established a good margins.  The Bobcats slowly clawed back and bested their neighbors Colby by about a boat length in the end.  The Varsity 4 was the only race of the day where the Bobcats failed to tally a win and that was because of an unavoidable steering malfunction which caused the boat to veer off the course.  In the 2nd varsity 8 men too got a chance to demonstrate their depth as their 2nd and 3rd boats cruised to good margins over Colby's 2nd varsity 8.  In the novice men's 8 race a strong recruited boat had a great lead and crossed the line well ahead of the competition.  What was very exciting for Coach Foglia was that his 2nd novice four comprised mostly of walk-on athletes had an incredible race where they started the race in last place and then at the half way point began to move through Colby and Bowdoin to place in second behind the top novice 4 from Bates.  Way to go Bobcats.  Coach Foglia said, "Zhen Gong '16 executed the race plan perfectly.  She had those guys low and long on their rate until the thousand meter mark where I told her to start to reel back in whoever was in front of them".

Full Results

Coach Steenstra and President Spencer with the President's Cup.

The barbecue afterwards was the best part of the day.  The families of many athletes joined the three teams for fantastic day of racing.  The president of Bates College, Clayton Spencer, was also on hand to watch the Bobcats on their day of glory.  She experienced Bates Rowing by riding in the officials launch and watching the racing first hand, a treat many never get to experience.  A special thanks goes out to Scarlett Carey and Jane Haley who do much for the team and coaches on land providing food and drink.  Also a thank you to Cory Sanderson '10 and George Taylor who manned the grills and kept the burgers and dogs coming.

Captains Gabby Bilottta '14, Charlie Carey '13, Peter Haley '13 and Lauren Hadiaris '13 with President Spencer and her Bates Rowing T-Shirt.

Women' Boats 
Varsity 8 : coxswain Gabby Bilotta '14, Aisling Ryan '14, Jenna Armstrong '15, Mallory Ward '15, Heather Monty '14 , Alexandra Hill '14, Hope King '14, Elizabeth Sangree '15, and Eliza Barkan '15

2nd Varsity 8: coxswain Molly Huffaker '14, Sarah Murphy '14, Hadley Dawson '14,  Clara Jessup '16, Margaux Joselow '16, Taylor Kniffin '14, Emma Taylor '16, Rebecca O'Neill '15, and Lauren Hadiaris '13,

3rd Varsity 8: coxsain Emma-Kate Lindsay '15, Alison Simmons '16, Rebecca Moore '15, Michelle Kelley '16, Caroline Kern '15, Kiera Degener-O'Brien '16, Caroline Caldwell '15, Hannah Weiss '15, and Rachel Ellis '14

Novice 8: coxswain Nancy Tran '16, Sarah Brooks '16, Emilie Muller '16, Katharine Wick '16, Lydia Merizon '16, Folashade Ade-Banjo '16, Emma Conover '16, Kaylyn Kipper '16, and Aris Margosian '16.

Varsity 4: coxswain Gabby Bilotta '14, Aisling Ryan '14, Heather Monty '14, Alexandra Hill '14, and Hope King '14.

Novice 4: coxswain Nancy Tran '16, Emma Taylor '16, Michelle Kelley '16, Caroline Caldwell '16, and Clara Jessup '16.

Men's Boats

Varsity 8: coxswain Jacob Sandor '14, Charlie Carey '13, Hank Schless '14, Peter Haley '13, Welles Mathison '16, Andre Gobbo '13, Nicholas Muccio '16, Matthew Johns '13, and, Nicholas Flynn '14

2nd Varsity 8: coxswain Maggie Carey '14, Perry Mortimer '15, Sam MacGregor' 14, Caleb Glassman '14, Ryan Conrad '15, Matthew Silverman '15, Jamie Naso '16, Alex Hadiaris '15, Tommy Fitzgerald '16, and William Curley '16.

3rd Varsity 8: coxswain Marit Wettstein '16, Evan Cooper '15, Jackson Moore '16, Andrew Voss '16, Jamie Naso '16, Leo Foglizzo '16, Samuel Maher '16, and Chris Kussmaul '16

Varsity 4: Coxswain Jacob Sandor '14, Peter Haley '13, Hank Schless '14, Matthew Johns '13, Andre Gobbo '13

1st Novice 4 : Coxswain Marit Wettstein '16, William Curley '16, Nicholas Muccio '13, Welles Mathison '13, and Jackson Moore '16.

2nd Novice 4 : Coxswain Zhen Gong '16, John Albanese '16, Cody Jenkins '14, Mark Charest '15, Ian Ramsay '16. 

Sunday Racing for the Bobcat Crews

On Sunday the men raced against Host Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and University of Rhode Island (URI) where they had again mixed results with some very close finishes.

The varsity 8 lead the race, but was challenged by strong URI and WPI crews all the way down the course.  There was no open water at the incredibly close finish of this race with the Bobcats going 6:08.3, the Rams going 6:09.7 and the Engineers going 6:10.3.  It was a strong performance by the Bates men and an excellent result for a hard fought race.  In the 2nd varsity 8 race URI lead to the first 500 with an very high stroke rating.  It seemed that they wouldn't be able to maintain the lead as the Bobcats weren't far behind and under-stroking their competition, however their lead only increased during the race.  The Rams went 6:23.3, the Engineers 6:26.9, and the Bobcats went 6:33.6 as the Bates men were outmatched on Lake Quinsigamond. The 3rd varsity 8 had a strong result on the day besting both the URI Rams and the WPI Engineers.  The Bobcats got out to an early lead and extended it throughout the race as they finished the course in 6:38.7, a full 10 seconds ahead of the close race for second place.

The men's boats were as follows.

Varsity 8: coxswain Jacob Sandor '14, Charlie Carey '13, Hank Schless '14, Peter Haley '13, Welles Mathison '16, Andre Gobbo '13, Nicholas Muccio '16, Matthew Johns '13, and, Nicholas Flynn '14

2nd Varsity 8: coxswain Maggie Carey '14, Perry Mortimer '15, Sam MacGregor' 14, Matthew Silverman '15, Ryan Conrad '15, Tommy Fitzgerald '16, and Alex Hadiaris '15, Caleb Glassman '14 and Jamie Naso '16

3rd Varsity 8: coxswain Marit Wettstein '16, Jackson Moore '16, William Curley '16, Andrew Voss '16, John Albanese '16, Samuel Maher '16, Leo Foglizzo '16, Chris Kussmaul '16, and Evan Cooper '15

The women's team had a rematch against Wellesley from Saturday as the WPI Engineers played host.  The closest race of the day for the Bobcats was the women's varsity 8.  The Bates women took command of the race early and lead the entire way down the course.  WPI was in second place to the first 500 until Wellesley began to move through them and into the second position.  The Blue never lost contact with the Bobcats and put together an impressive burst near the end of the race pulling up to less than half a boat length down.  In the end the Bates varsity 8 won in a time of 6:52.5 holding off a great challenge by the Wellesley women who ended up going 6:53.6.  WPI back on both those crews by a length of open water. The Bates 2nd varsity had a very strong race and excellent result, leading the race from wire to wire.  The crew raced the course in a time of 6:59.0 followed by the Engineers who finished in 7:07.5 while the Wellesley Blue completed the 2k in 7:18.7.  The 3rd varsity 8 had a race similar to the 2nd varsity leading the entire way finishing the course in 7:13.5 with open water back to Wellesley closely followed by WPI.  The Novice 8 had it second race of the season as they raced in a new line-up.  They had a very strong first 1000 meters, but were unable to sustain their pace and the Wellesley women passed them around halfway down the course.  The Bobcats were able to hold rally and muster the strength to stay ahead of WPI, but by the time they regained composure Wellesley had the lead and would not relinquish it.  Wellesley went 7:27.6, Bates went 7:35.9 and WPI 7:45.1.


The video below is a visual recap of the weekends racing.  Thanks Emilie Muller '16 and Father for putting this together.

The women's boats were as follows:

Varsity 8 : coxswain Gabby Bilotta '14, Aisling Ryan '14, Heather Monty '14, Mallory Ward '15, Jenna Armstrong '15, Alex Hill '14, Hope King '14, Elizabeth Sangree '15, and Eliza Barkan '15

2nd Varsity 8: coxswain Molly Huffaker '14, Sarah Murphy '14, Hadley Dawson '14, Lauren Hadiaris '13, Margaux Joselow '16, Taylor Kniffin '14, Emma Taylor '16, Rebecca O'Neill '15, and Rachel Ellis '14

3rd Varsity 8: coxsain Emma-Kate Lindsay '15, Clara Jessup '16, Rebecca Moore '15, Michelle Kelley '16, Caroline Kern '15, Kiera Degener-O'Brien '16, Caroline Caldwell '15, Hannah Weiss '15, and Alison Simmons '16

Novice 8: coxswain Nancy Tran '16, Katharine Wick '16, Caroline Caldwell '15, Emilie Muller '16, Emma Conover '16, Folashade Ade-Banjo '16, Aris Margosian '16, Sarah Brooks '16, and Kaylyn Kipper '16.