The Colby College men’s and women’s crew teams had their season opening regatta in Lowell, Mass. this past Sunday.
Competing at the Textile River Regatta, the men placed two boats in the top seven, while the women took home 12th place.
The two men’s eight-man boats placed fourth and seventh. The Colby “A” boat finished with a time of 19 minutes, 59.223 seconds to secure the fourth spot in the 6000-meter race.
The Colby “B” boat clocked in soon after, earning the seventh-place time 20:37.411. The Mules’ “B” boat finished ahead of other schools’ “A” boats, demonstrating Colby’s depth. In varsity four-man racing, the Mules finished 13th out of 27 boats with a time of 22:39.503.
Senior Tim Corkum was pleased with the team’s performance on Sunday. “Both crews were happy with the results, but both are also certain that we have a lot of potential for speed and growth that we’re going to tap into over the next few weeks,” Corkum said after the race.
Colby’s eight-woman boat placed 13th out of 19 boats with a time of 23:21.178. In the four-woman race, the Mules placed ninth out of 26 boats, clocking in at 25:19.46.
Senior co-captain Amy Paulekas shared Corkum’s sentiments. “For the first regatta of the season, I think it went well… it was a great way for us to figure out where we stand and how we can improve from here.”
Coach Stew Stokes was also pleased with the way his teams performed in the opening race of the season. “The team handled the first race of the year fairly well... I was also curious to gauge our fitness by having many of the rowers race twice... we’re moving in the right direction.”
Colby crew races in a short fall season. Next weekend, the teams will travel to Worcester, Mass. to compete in the Quinsigamond Snake Regatta before racing in the highly anticipated Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge, Mass. on October 23.