Varsity Eight: If our varsity and jv are better at one thing more than the others it is making changes from week to week. Last week we executed well in the first 1000m and then tightened up just a bit in the 3rd 500m. Our goal this week was to stay composed and trust the rhythm in the 3rd 500m and the guys executed perfectly. We had a good start and were running level with Columbia and BU was back a bit. BU put a nice push on through the middle 1000m and got the margin down to 1 or 2 seats. BU made a couple of strong pushes and we did a nice job of staying composed. We started our finishing sequence from 350m out and again I thought we executed our two shifts well and kept our length as we pushed to the line. A solid race after a tough week of practice. It is always good to see what you practice all week show up on race day.
Second Varsity: If you remember last week’s report you will recall that we spun our wheels in the first 500m and from the first stroke of this one it was apparent that the guys were paying attention to this. We were actually a bit lower in cadence in the first 20 than last week but did a much better job of driving the boat. We pressed out early and built a length lead by the 1000m mark. BU does a lot of aerobic base work so you know they are not going to go away in the middle 1000m and they hung on to our stern. We did a nice job of keeping our eye on them and staying tough through the finishing 500m. I call these guys our Band of Misfit Toys—don’t tell them that—as we have two 5’9” guys (#6 and #3) and a 6’6” guys in the #4 seat. If you look at the bodies it looks a bit odd but if you watch the blade work you noticed they have figured out how to move together pretty well. And they love to race.
Frosh Eight: these guys made some nice progress this week. Last week was a bit of a debacle and this week was threatening to be the same when our #4 seat came down with the flu on Thursday. A quick reshuffle with a guy moving up from the second frosh and Coach Bagnall had the guys ready to go. Last week’s start looked tentative to me and we definitely didn’t make that mistake this week. The boys were moving the boat from the first stroke and pushed out to an early half length lead on BU and Columbia. In the second 500m BU started to press back and took over the lead in the 3rd 500m and kept moving away. We were paying for our early pace a bit and Columbia kept creeping forward in the last 1000m. We made a nice lift in the last 250m and it was just enough to hold Columbia off to take 2nd. We have some more work to do here but his was definitely a step in the right direction.
Second Frosh: I was only able to watch the last 500m of this one but got the full report from SARA Announcer Joe Paduda. When we found out that BU and Columbia didn’t have a 2F to race we had to do some scrambling and many thanks to Harvard and Holy Cross for letting us into a race they had set up. Officially it was Harvard’s 4V/3F combination boat, Holy Cross’s 3V and our 2F. All three crews were off the line together and once they shifted to pace Harvard started to move out. It was quite a battle with the Holy Cross guys and we did a nice job of pressing through them in the last 500m to take 2nd. Next up for us is the Eastern Sprints in three weeks. Between now and then we have final exams and some tough practices ahead. The guys seem fairly excited and are certainly looking forward to heading out to Sprints and seeing what we can do. Thanks to our parents group for moving the food tent on the road this week. They did a great job with the tent at home last week and the are now mobile!
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