Competing against two large state schools and a conference rival, the Colby men’s and women’s crew teams had solid performances on Saturday at the Hume Center in Sidney, Maine. This weekend marked Colby’s first race on its home course as winter conditions had prevented the teams from rowing there.

Poor weather conditions, mostly consisting of alternating snow and rain, forced officials to  shorten the course by 500 meters. Women’s captain Lis Henderson ’11 said that the conditions  were “not optimal.” “There were some headwinds and a little chop here and there,” she said. But she wouldn’t complain, explaining that “every boat experiences the same conditions.”

Men’s captain Will Brewer ’11 believed that the Mules succeeded in overcoming the conditions, saying, “Both squads adjusted accordingly and performed very well in spite of the weather on the course.”
The men’s varsity eight boat finished in four minutes, 47.5 seconds, placing second among four schools. The University of Vermont (UVM), The University of New Hampshire (UNH) and Middlebury College finished first, third and fourth, respectively, putting up times of 4:40.7, 5:10.0 and 5:17.8.

Brewer was satisfied with the performance, saying, “Everyone did really well….We executed an aggressive start in both races, taking seats on the competition early on.” The men's second varsity eight boat beat UVM (5:31.9) with a time of 5:16.8, while the third men's varsity eight boat took third place in 5:33.1.

In the women’s race, the Mules fought hard in a very close race but placed fourth out of the four boats, clocking a time of 6:01.6 to finish just behind UNH (5:44.0), UVM (5:55.7) and Middlebury (5:56.7). The Mules’ women’s second varsity eight boat finished in third place with a time of 6:29.99. Henderson said of the race: “I was pleased with our first varsity eight’s performance in the first race.  We came off the start well and had a nice battle with UVM down the course. Ultimately, UVM pulled ahead in the last sprint….We had trouble bringing up [our] stroke rating in the last few hundred meters, and that's where they got us.”

Both captains cited a need to focus on preparation and motivation to succeed in the upcoming races. Henderson noted, “We know what we need to do and we're just anxious to get out there and make it happen.” Brewer spoke to the team’s optimism, saying, “We are confident that this will continue to be a great season, and that this will be one of our best years yet.”

The teams will race this weekend in Worcester, Mass. for the New England Rowing Championships.