Ryan Jones ‘09 and coxswain and boys co-captain Alex Manfull ‘09 competed for Boston Rowing Club in the Mens Intermediate Eight (8+), the Mens Junior 8+, and the Mens Junior Coxed Four (4+).

• After a definitive win in the junior 4+ heats, Manfull’s boat cruised to a 5.20 second first-place finish in the Friday semifinals.  In the Saturday afternoon final, the four finished a close second, 1.30 seconds behind the Boston USRowing Development Camp.
• After a similarly comfortable win in junior 4+ heats, Jones’ four was not able to hang on in the semifinal in the four, finishing one place and 1.61 seconds out of contention for the final.
• Jones and Manfull raced together in the junior 8+, easily winning their heat for the junior 8+, to qualify for the Friday semifinal, where they finished second to the Boston USRowing Development Camp and qualified for the Sunday morning final.  In this race, Jones and Manfull came back from their second place finish to beat the USRowing boat by 3.54 seconds to take first place and gold medals.
• After a solid second-place finish in the intermediate 8+ heat, Manfull and Jones’ eight finished third in the final behind perennial powerhouse Pennsylvania Athletic Club and USRowing Development Camp.

Luke Thoms ‘08 competed for Quad City Rowing Club in the Mens Junior Quadruple Sculls (4x) and the Mens Junior Single Sculls (1x).

• After finishing third in a tightly contested semifinal for the quad on Friday morning, Thoms finished 6th in the final.
• After rowing well in the junior single heats, Thoms finished third in his semifinal, missing the second-place requirement to qualify for the finals.

Chris Courtin ‘06 and coxswain and girls co-captain Katie Courtin ‘09 competed for West Side Rowing Club in the Mens Intermediate 4+.

• Courtin and Courtin repeated their first-place in their heat with a first-place finish in the intermediate 4+ semifinal.  In the Sunday final, the four could not keep up with fast crews from Vesper and Penn. A.C. and took third.

Jeremy Bernstein ‘07 competed for Potomac Boat Club in the Mens Intermediate Double Sculls (2x) and Mens Intermediate Quadruple Sculls.

• After a solid first-place finish in the intermediate double heat, and a second place finish in the semifinal, Bernstein finished sixth in Saturday’s final.
• In the intermediate quad, Bernstein sculled to a solid 6.48 second win in the Saturday semifinal.  In the Sunday final, his boat couldn’t hang on to the pack, finishing fifth.

Meredith Mead ‘07 competed for Riverside Boat Club in the Womens Senior 4+, the Womens Intermediate 4+, and the Womens Intermediate 8+.

• Mead raced in the semifinal for the intermediate 8+ on Saturday, finishing third in a rare 1/100 second dead heat with Clemson. Such ties are very rare when electronic timing is used, but as the photo finish shows, both bow balls are exactly even.  In the unusual seven-boat final, Mead’s eight ended up finishing fourth.
• After finishing second in the intermediate 4+ heat, Mead’s boat wasn’t able to make it in the semifinal, finishing sixth in the top-three qualifier.
• Mead raced in the Saturday semifinal for the senior 4+, but came up short in the competitive, top two to progress qualifier, finishing sixth.

Rebecca Freeman-Slade ‘10 competed for Community Rowing in the Womens Junior Double Sculls, the Womens Junior Quadruple Sculls, and the Womens Intermediate Lightweight 4+.

• Freeman-Slade raced in the competitive semifinal for the intermediate lightweight 4+ on Saturday but came up short, finishing fourth in the top-three qualifier.
• In her Wednesday morning heat for the junior double, Freeman-Slade finished fourth, missing the top-two qualifier for the semifinals.
• In her Thursday morning heat for the junior quad, Freeman-Slade finished fourth, barely a length off of third place and a spot in the semifinals.

Christina Hanlon ‘10 competed for East End Rowing Club in the Womens Junior Double Sculls and the Womens Junior Single Sculls.

• In her Wednesday morning heat for the junior double, Hanlon finished fifth, missing the top-two qualifier for the semifinals.
• In her Thursday morning heat for the junior single, Hanlon finished third, missing the top-two qualifier for the semifinals by only a couple lengths.

Many of the same boats will race again at the annual Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in St. Catherines, Ontario from August 4-10.  In addition, a few Exonians are among the rowers competing for medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, which begin on August 8th.

Luke Thoms ‘08 is competing for Quad City Rowing Club in the Mens Junior Quadruple Sculls (4x) and the Mens Junior Single Sculls (1x).

• In his Wednesday morning heat for the junior quad, Thoms finished first, a comfortable 3.77 seconds ahead of the next boat.  Thoms will race in the semifinals Friday morning at 11:12 AM in Lane 4.
• In his Thursday morning heat for the junior single, Thoms finished less than two seconds behind the winner, and had the second best time overall among all nine heats.  Thoms will race in the semifinals Friday afternoon at 2:15 PM in Lane 1.

Ryan Jones ‘09 and coxswain and boys co-captain Alex Manfull ‘09 are competing for Boston Rowing Club in the Mens Intermediate Eight (8+), the Mens Junior 8+, and the Mens Junior Coxed Four (4+).

• In her Thursday morning heat for the junior 4+, Manfull’s boat finished first, a relaxed 7.71 seconds ahead of second place.  Manfull will race in the semifinals Friday morning at 9:30 AM in Lane 2.
• In his Thursday morning heat for the junior 4+, Jones’ boat finished first, an easy 10.40 seconds ahead of second place.  Jones will race in the semifinals Friday morning at 9:36 AM in Lane 4.
• In their Thursday morning heat for the junior 8+, Manfull and Jones’ boat finished first, an impressive 9.70 seconds ahead of second place. Their eight will race in the semifinals Friday afternoon at 2:39 PM in Lane 3.
• In their Wednesday afternoon heat for the intermediate 8+, Manfull and Jones’ boat finished second, 3.86 seconds behind the winner and in the second fastest time overall among all three heat.  Their eight will race in the finals Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM in Lane 1.

Chris Courtin ‘06 and coxswain and girls co-captain Katie Courtin ‘09 are competing for West Side Rowing Club in the Mens Intermediate 4+.

• In their Wednesday afternoon heat for the intermediate 4+, Courtin and Courtin’s boat finished first, 4.23 seconds ahead of second place.  Their four will race in the semifinals Friday afternoon at 5:57 PM in Lane 4.

Jeremy Bernstein ‘07 is competing for Potomac Boat Club in the Mens Intermediate Double Sculls (2x) and Mens Intermediate Quadruple Sculls.

• In his Wednesday afternoon heat for the intermediate double, Bernstein finished first, 6.95 seconds ahead of second place.  In his Thursday afternoon semifinal, he finished second, qualifying for the final on Saturday at 2:38 PM in Lane 2.
• Bernstein will race in the semifinal for the intermediate quad on Saturday at 10:36 AM in Lane 3.

Meredith Mead ‘07 is competing for Riverside Boat Club in the Womens Senior 4+, the Womens Intermediate 4+, and the Womens Intermediate 8+.

• In her Wednesday morning heat for the intermediate 4+, Mead finished second.  Her four will race in the semifinal on Friday at 8:48 AM
• Mead will race in the semifinal for the intermediate 8+ on Saturday at 8:42 AM in Lane 5.
• Mead will race in the semifinal for the intermediate 4+ on Saturday at 10:18 AM in Lane 4.

Christina Hanlon ‘10 is competing for East End Rowing Club in the Womens Junior Double Sculls and the Womens Junior Single Sculls.

• In her Wednesday morning heat for the junior double, Hanlon finished fifth, missing the top-two qualifier for the semifinals.
• In her Thursday morning heat for the junior single, Hanlon finished third, missing the top-two qualifier for the semifinals by only a couple lengths.

Rebecca Freeman-Slade ‘10 is competing for Community Rowing in the Womens Junior Double Sculls, the Womens Junior Quadruple Sculls, and the Womens Intermediate Lightweight 4+.

• In her Wednesday morning heat for the junior double, Freeman-Slade finished fourth, missing the top-two qualifier for the semifinals.
• In her Thursday morning heat for the junior quad, Freeman-Slade finished fourth, barely a length off of third place and a spot in the semifinals.
• Freeman-Slade will race in the semifinal for the intermediate lightweight 4+ on Saturday at 11:06 AM in Lane 5.

Check back for more results as the regatta progresses.

The girls finished third in their 10:24 AM grand final race in 6:37.39, behind first-place Marin (6:33.66) and second place Los Gatos (6:36.93). Behind Exeter was local rival St. Paul’s (6:38.61), Community Rowing (6:40.05) and Green Lake (6:52.07). They are the third fastest girls youth eight in the United States for 2008.

The boys finished fourth in their 11:20 AM grand final race in 5:54.72, behind first place Newport (5:50.24), St. Joseph’s Prep (5:50.34) and Winter Park (5:53.41). Behind Exeter was Capital Crew (5:59.06) and Wayland-Weston (6:06.66). They are the fourth fastest boys youth eight in the United States for 2008.

To see how both crews progressed from the heats, through the repechages and semifinals to their grand final finishes, check out the completed brackets below:

Congratulations to both crews on being some of the best crews in the country!

Race Photos

Friday Heats
(more…)

The boys eight, rowing in the Titus with (from bow to stroke) Tim Moore ‘08, Vaughan Coder ‘08, Mario Barosevcic ‘08, Ryan Jones ‘09, Chris Jones ‘08, Andrew Safir ‘08, Ian Winthrop ‘08, Luke Thoms ‘08, and Alex Manfull ‘09, raced their top-3 semifinal today at 4:08 PM. Also in this race was Newport Aquatic Center, Winter Park High School, St. Augustine Prep, Westerville Rowing Club and Green Lake Crew. Despite a delayed start, the boys were able to hold off the entire field except for Newport, finishing second in 5:53.31, 0.47 seconds ahead of third place Winter Park. Looking ahead to tomorrow’s 11:20 AM grand final, boats are assigned as follows:

• Lane 1: Winter Park High School (school from Winter Park, Florida)
• Lane 2: Capital Crew (club from Gold River, California)
• Lane 3: Newport Aquatic Center (club from Newport Beach, California)
• Lane 4: St. Joseph’s Prep (school from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Lane 5: Phillips Exeter Academy
• Lane 6: Wayland-Weston (club from Wayland, Massachusetts)

The girls eight, rowing in the M. Catherine Gilmartin with (from bow to stroke) Lyn Ann Forrester ‘08, Allison Courtin ‘08, Katrina Regan ‘08, Erin Metcalf ‘09, Katherine Dyke ‘08, Lizzy McDermott ‘08, Rory Erickson-Kulas ‘08, Cathy McDermott ‘08, and Alyssa Murray ‘08, rowed their semifinal today at 3:47 PM. Also in this race was Community Rowing, St. Paul’s School, Lincoln Park Juniors, Cincinnati Junior Rowing Club, and Oakland Strokes. The girls rowed another strong 2000 meter piece and finished first without sprinting, 0.79 seconds ahead of Community Rowing. Looking ahead to the girls grand final tomorrow at 10:56 AM, boats are assigned as follows:

• Lane 1: St. Paul’s School (NEIRA school from Concord, New Hampshire)
• Lane 2: Marin Rowing Association (club from Greenbrae, California)
• Lane 3: Phillips Exeter Academy
• Lane 4: Los Gatos Rowing Club (club from Los Gatos, California)
• Lane 5: Community Rowing (club from Watertown, Massachusetts)
• Lane 6: Green Lake Crew (club from Seattle, Washington)

To see how both crews have progressed through their heats, repechages and semifinals in the three-day regatta, check out the updated brackets below:

Best of luck to both crews. Follow along with the races as the results are published live at the Racetrak results page.

Finish line photos courtesy of Racetrak and Finishlynx.

Update: The schedule has been adjusted slightly.  The girls now race at 10:56 AM and the boys at 11:20 AM.

The regatta takes place over the course of three days, due its double elimination format. Unlike the single elimination format of NEIRAs, crews get a second chance to make it to the semifinals (and, by association, the grand finals) regardless of their performance in the starting heats. The 18-seed 6-lane double elimination format used has four steps:

• All 18 crews race in three heats of six boats each. The top two boats from each heat qualify directly for the semifinal, skipping the repechage races. The bottom four boats race in the repechages.
• The top three boats from each repechage qualify for the semifinal. The bottom three boats race in the C Final.
• The top three boats from each semifinal qualify for the Grand Final, the bottom three boats from each semifinal qualify for the Petite Final.
• All crews race in either the C Final, Petite Final, or Grand Final.

Since there are only 16 crews racing in the girls event, that bracket is slightly different, with the top three crews from the heats getting a bye on the reps and a single 7-boat repechage for the remaining crews, the top three of which get the last spots in the semis.
Full brackets for the Boys and Girls events are below:

The girls eight, rowing in the M. Catherine Gilmartin with (from bow to stroke) Lyn Ann Forrester ‘08, Allison Courtin ‘08, Katrina Regan ‘08, Erin Metcalf ‘09, Katherine Dyke ‘08, Lizzy McDermott ‘08, Rory Erickson-Kulas ‘08, Cathy McDermott ‘08, and Alyssa Murray ‘08, rowed their heat Friday at 10:55 AM.  In the top-two to qualify heat, the boat cruised to a 3.64 second win over second-place Green Lake.  Courtin said “We were conservative going into the heat, preparing for hard competition since we don’t know anything about these crews.  We had a pretty solid row all the way down, didn’t sprint, Green Lake fell back early and trailed us most of the way.”  Looking ahead to the semifinal on Saturday at 3:47 PM, the girls are “cautiously optimistic,” in earning a top-3 finish to qualify for Sunday’s grand finals.

The boys eight, rowing in the Titus with (from bow to stroke) Tim Moore ‘08, Vaughan Coder ‘08, Mario Barosevcic ‘08, Ryan Jones ‘09, Chris Jones ‘08, Andrew Safir ‘08, Ian Winthrop ‘08, Luke Thoms ‘08, and Alex Manfull ‘09, raced their heat Friday at 11:16 AM.  Despite having the third fastest time in any of the heats and being 9.41 seconds ahead of the fourth best time, top two finishers St. Joseph’s Prep and Winter Park were both in Exeter’s heat, and forced the eight into the repechages by 0.79 seconds.  The reps were originally scheduled to occur Friday afternoon, though severe thunderstorms forced a postponement of the reps until Saturday morning at 9:38 AM.  In this race, the boys took first by 3.69 seconds.  The Titus will row in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at 4:08 PM, needing a top-3 finish to qualify for the grand finals.

Good luck to both crews!  Follow along with race results as they become available at the live results page.

Update: (6/14-11:03 AM) News from the repechages has been added, and the brackets have been updated in preparation for this afternoon’s semifinal races.

• Dozens of news articles detailing recent races and other Exeter Crew events.
• A comprehensive photo gallery with 1527 total photos from races and boat christenings (with full-res versions available).
• A fully functional discussion board.
• The team’s full schedule, complete boys and girls rosters, and a breakdown of race results for every boat over the entire season.
• Maps and other information about each racecourse on which the teams race.
• A collection of video clips taken at races.
• A history of the Academy’s crew program.
• Biographies for the varsity and junior varsity coaches.
• A detailed list of the 2604 varsity letter recipients since 1923.
• An overview of facilities at the Saltonstall Boathouse.
• “The Whiz Kids,” a recollection by Jack Bissell ‘58.

Looking to the future, it would be great to get more user interaction with the website–especially on the forum. For example, anyone rowing over the summer or planning on going to Canadian Henley should post a reply. If you have any photos or videos from Exeter Crew events, make a new thread and post a link so it can be added to the site’s galleries. Any suggestions or comments about the site are best posted on the feedback discussion board.

In addition to contributing content to the site, make sure to tell any of your friends who were part of the program about ExeterCrew.com. The vast majority of the site’s exposure is from word-of-mouth.

On a personal note, I am very happy with the site’s success, and want to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to everyone who has visited it regularly. Seeing the site’s traffic grow from a few dozen to a few hundred hits a day has kept me motivated.

This week, expect a news article about the boys and girls eights headed to the USRowing Youth National Championships outside of Cincinnati, Ohio next Saturday, June 14th. In the meantime, Happy Birthday ExeterCrew.com!

G1		G2		G3
Exeter	4:46.606	Exeter	4:53.118	Exeter	5:02.363
St. Paul’s	4:50.846	Andover	5:00.026	Andover	5:06.960
Andover	4:52.498	Hanover	5:01.853	Kent	5:11.795
Hanover	5:05.615	St. paul’s	5:03.222	St. Paul’s	5:14.961
Tabor	5:06.112	Kent	5:09.777	Hanover	5:19.618
Boston Ltn.	5:07.050	Tabor	5:26.251	Simsbury	5:29.538
B1		B2		B3
Exeter	4:14.510	Andover	4:21.811	St. John’s	4:32.369
Andover	4:16.289	Kent	4:24.949	Kent	4:33.190
Kent	4:20.028	Exeter	4:26.202	Salisbury	4:36.946
Salisbury	4:25.727	St. John’s	4:31.529	Andover	4:38.372
Shrewsbury	4:28.754	Brunswick	4:34.957	Exeter	4:39.133
NMH	4:34.726	Simsbury	4:37.610	Brunswick	4:50.799

Weather conditions on Saturday were great for racing: sunny skies, temperatures in the upper 60s, and a steady tailwind from the north at 10-15 mph.

The girls first boat, rowing in the M. Catherine Gilmartin, had (from bow to cox) Allison Courtin ‘08, Rory Erickson-Kulas ‘08, Katrina Regan ‘08, Erin Metcalf ‘09, Katherine Dyke ‘08, Lizzy McDermott ‘08, Cathy McDermott ‘08, Lynn Ann Forrester ‘08, and Alyssa Murray ‘08. The boat had a “phenomenal row” in the heat, “some of the best rowing all season” according to Courtin. After an aggressive first 500 meters, Murray called the rating down and did not sprint–the boat finished the race at a 31 and 13 seconds ahead of second place Boston Latin. In the final, the boat got off the line behind Andover and St. Paul’s after a mediocre start and unsteady settle. After a significant move 800 meters in, the Gilmartin caught up to and passed St. Paul’s and Andover, eventually opening up the lead in their best sprint this season to beat St. Paul’s by 4 seconds and Andover by 6 seconds. In addition to winning gold, the Gilmartin’s 4:46.6 finish broke Kent’s 12-year-old 4:48.7 course record, as well as earning a coveted “three-peat”: three wins by the girls varsity eight in consecutive years.

The boys first boat, rowing in the Titus, had (from bow to cox) Tim Moore ‘08, Vaughan Coder ‘08, Mario Barosevcic ‘08, Ryan Jones ‘09, Chris Jones ‘08, Andrew Safir ‘08, Ian Winthrop ‘08, Luke Thoms ‘08, and Alex Manfull ‘09. The boat was “a little nervous going into the heat,” and “definitely felt tense for the first 800 meters–a little rushed on the slide” according to Winthrop. After the Titus gained a comfortable lead on the field, Manfull called the rating down. This shift actually gave the boat more speed, as the rowers gained much more “length and relaxation in the stroke,” and the Titus crossed the finish line at a 29. The final was much closer. The start was somewhat shaky off the line with some rush on the recovery during the settle. By the end of the settle, Andover was a few seats up on Exeter. After calling a few power 5s and 10s, the Titus was head-to-head with Andover at the 500 meter mark. During the middle 500, Exeter slowly opened the margin, until an explosive power 10 at the 1000 meter mark broke open the gap significantly. Andover sprinted early, “around 400 to go,” Manfull called the Titus’ sprint early in response, bringing the rating up three times, going on to win by 2 seconds over Andover and 6 seconds over Kent. This is the first gold medal the boys varsity eight has had since 2002, and the first undefeated season since the legendary crew of 1996 that went on to take gold at Nationals.

The girls second boat, rowing in the Anja, had (from bow to cox) Hannah Ward ‘08, Madison Gilmore ‘08, Abagail Loucks ‘10, Rebecca Kisner ‘08, Tamar Nisbett ‘10, Katie DeAngelis ‘09, Arian Wakeman ‘09, Nancy McKinstry ‘08, and Katie Courtin ‘09. The boat felt nervous going into the heat, and had a somewhat rocky start off the line. The boat recovered quickly and steadily opened their lead until they had open water on the field after the first 500. Courtin called the rating down and the Anja cruised to a comfortable 7 second win. The still undefeated boat headed into the final even more nervous: the 2006 and 2007 girls second eights were similarly undefeated but upset in their grand final, taking silver both years. This anxiety showed in the final as the Anja got off to an even more unsteady start. After the high strokes, the eight was 4 seats back on Andover. Courtin called a move and the boat slowly crept back on Andover, until they were even at the 500 meter mark. In the middle 500, the Anja steadily opened their lead further until, after a number of impressive moves, gained open water before the 1000 meter mark. The boat cruised into the sprint to win by a tremendous 7 second margin and finish their season totally undefeated.

The boys second boat, rowing in the E. Arthur Gilcreast, had (from bow to cox) Sam Morris ‘10, Cole Adams ‘09, Ray Tilden ‘09, John Gorman ‘09, Will Scheffer ‘09, Kasey Colander ‘10, Nick Cushing ‘09, Andrew Weinstein ‘09, and Julia Millstein ‘10. The Gilcreast rowed “pretty well ” in the heat, though “not the best” according to Weinstein. The field was not close going down the racecourse–Andover was ahead of Exeter who lead Simsbury the whole way. In the afternoon final, Exeter, Kent and Andover lead the field. The Gilcreast had a solid start, even with Kent but trailing Andover during most of the race. After Kent starting pulling away, Millstein called an early sprint. The eight gained a little water, but not enough to take Kent, and finished third overall. Weinstein said “It felt like we had a decent second boat, we weren’t that big but rowed pretty well together. If we all train and build our strength, I feel like we should have more speed next season.”

The girls third boat, rowing in the Alfred J. Stanley, had (from bow to cox) Paige Wilson ‘09, Katherine Burd ‘10, Anne Preston ‘09, Stephanie Anklin ‘08, Aida Conroy ‘09, Nellie Peyton ‘10, Sam Reckford ‘09, Michaela Tolman ‘09, and Bhargavi Puppala ‘09. Despite the anxiety in the Stanley going into NEIRAs, the boat rowed a very comfortable morning heat, quickly taking a length lead over St. Paul’s by the halfway mark and quickly opening the margin to a length of open water by the finish. In the afternoon final, the Stanley was a few seats down behind St. Paul’s and Andover after the start. Once the boat settled, the deficit deteriorated, and the eight quickly pulled even in their steady base rate. During the middle 500, the boat gained a half-length lead over Andover, which increased to open water by the sprint. In the end, the boat finished just under 5 seconds ahead of Andover and totally undefeated for the season.

The boys third boat, rowing in the Philip A. Lyster, had (from bow to cox) Jamie Ashton ‘10, Lane Pertusi ‘09, Tony Baker ‘11, Gar Ditz ‘10, Ian Tibbetts ‘10, Peter Shu ‘09, Josh Sans ‘09, Paul Nagao ‘09, and Clancey Stahr ‘11. The boat had a solid start in their morning heat, though the field quickly separated with Kent in front, Exeter in second, and Brunswick in third. Stahr called the rating down after the first 500, and the boat cruised to a comfortable second-place finish. During the final, the boat got off to a slow start: down 2 to 3 seats after the high strokes. After Stahr called the settle, the rating remained unsteady. Andover, St. John’s and Kent lead the field, with Exeter, Salisbury and Brunswick close behind. With 400 meters to go, Andover, in the lane next to Exeter, caught two massive crabs, forcing the Lyster to swerve to avoid them. By the time Andover recovered, Exeter had gained nearly a length and was in third place. With only a few strokes remaining in the sprint, Exeter was a half length ahead of Andover and Salisbury. Suddenly, someone on the Lyster caught a crab, slowing the eight down enough so that Andover and Salisbury both caught up, Exeter finishing in fifth overall.

Overall, a major congratulations to the entire program on another very successful spring season. As the boys and girls first boats both qualified to attend the USRowing Youth National Championship outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, another news post will be published later this week detailing their decision to attend the regatta. A short slide show depicting the entire season is also in the works.

Update: Race photos are now available! Check them out below. Please note that these are a small fraction (370/2252) of the higher quality (one-ninth size) originals optimized for internet viewing. If you are looking for higher quality copies (for prints, cropping, etc.) please do not hesitate to e-mail me and I can easily upload any originals you are looking for.

Race Photos

Morning Heats and Misc. Photos
(more…)

In addition to the gold, silver and bronze medals awarded to each of the top three boats in the finals, a number of ceremonial trophies are awarded on an annual basis to the winning crews. The Father Frederick H. Sill Bowl and Dixon “Tote” Walker Cup are awarded to the boys first and second eights respectively, as well as the Kenneth F. Burns Trophy and Converse Prudden Prize to the girls first and second eights respectively.

In addition to the medals and ceremonial event trophies, the Hart Perry Cup and Gilcreast Bowl are awarded to the programs which earned the most points in the boys and girls eights events respectively. Points are awarded based on the place in which each boat finishes in its event–with more points alloted from more competitive events.

Looking back to Exeter’s past results at the NEIRA, the boys first eight last won first place in the grand in 2002. The undefeated record of this year’s B1 puts such another championship within reach. On the girls side, the first eight has taken first place in the grand finals for the past two years. The nearly undefeated record of this year’s G1 puts a “three-peat” within reach. By placing first or second at the NEIRA, the boys and girls first eights qualify for the USRowing Youth National Championship at Harsha Lake outside Cincinatti, Ohio. The girls first eight placed fourth and sixth at nationals in 2007 and 2006 respectively. The boys placed fourth at nationals in 2002, as well as placing first in 1996–one of only two NEIRA crews to ever win at nationals (the other is the 1995 St. Paul’s School boys eight)

The NEIRA is the most significant and most exciting regatta all year and culminates countless hundreds of hours of hard work on the part of each member of the team. On behalf of the program, I hope that you choose to attend and support the athletes and coaches who contribute so much to Exeter Crew, 144 years after the program was founded. A few reminders regarding the regatta:

• Crews will launch from Quinsigamond State Park near the finish line. Click here for directions.
• Parking is limited along Lake Avenue and generally not allowed in the Quinsigamond State Park lot. However, plenty of parking is available only a few minutes West at the University of Massachusetts Medical School guest parking lot. All day parking costs $4.
• The entrance fee for the regatta is $5. Included with entrance fee is an official regatta program.
• A printable results sheet is available for download here.
• Additional rowing merchandise and memorabilia will be available from vendors at the regatta.

Best of luck to all crews!

Update: Photos from the christenings of the Gilcreast and the Gilmartin are now available in the Photo Gallery, in addition to photos from this season’s events. The entire gallery has also been reorganized, resulting in faster load times for all pictures.

G1		G2		G3		G4		G5/G6
St. Paul’s	5:20.7	Exeter	5:24.3	Exeter	5:53.8	Exeter	5:57.9	Exeter 5	3:54.5
Exeter	5:22.2	St. Paul’s	5:27.5	St. Paul’s	6:05.6	St. Paul’s	6:09.8	St. Paul’s	4:19.9
Concord	6:00.1	Concord	6:00.3	Concord	6:38.4			Exeter 6	4:21.7
								Concord	4:24.4
B1		B2		B3/B4		B5/B6
Exeter	4:46.2	Exeter	4:59.7	Exeter 3	5:07.6	Exeter 5	5:36.7
St. Paul’s	5:03.4	St. Paul’s	5:16.0	Exeter 4	5:15.5	Exeter 6	5:42.7
Concord	5:07.2	Concord	5:43.2	St. Paul’s	5:20.9	St. Paul’s	5:51.2
				Concord	5:51.8

Conditions at Turkey Pond were generally good for racing: sunny skies, temperatures in the mid to upper 60s, and a moderate headwind that tapered off as races progressed. The B1 and G2 races were delayed after both boats lost skegs in their warmups after hitting submerged logs.

Boys co-captain Ian Winthrop ‘08 said, “After having a bumpy race at Hanover and Andover, we wanted to have a good strong race that we could feel good about going into Interschols. After we pulled a half length of open water ahead at the 500 [meter] mark, instead of spinning our wheels down the racecourse, we took the stroke rating down, and didn’t even sprint.” Looking ahead to the last week of practices before NEIRAs, Winthrop noted “We’ve made a lot of lineup changes but we’re finally getting comfortable. We still need to work a bit on bladework.” Regarding the lower boats on the boys side, “It’s really good to finally see some more wins on the guys side, especially from the second boat. We’re glad to know there’s more depth.” Looking ahead to next weekend’s season finale, Winthrop said “We’re all really pumped–ready to push it to the limit at NEIRAs.”

Girls co-captain Allison Courtin ‘08 said, “We were jumped on the start by a good half length, but didn’t counter well enough. We were slowly taking seats back until we were even at 500 to go, but [St. Paul’s] starting sprinting early, getting a good half length in the six or seven strokes until we sprinted. All in all, we have work to do this last week.” This work includes possible “lineup changes, or adjustments to the race plan.” Despite the close loss by the girls first boat, the second boat managed to come out 3.2 seconds ahead of St. Paul’s in a hard fought race. The third, fourth and fifth boats all cruised to comfortable wins to end their season over St. Paul’s and Concord. For the top three boats who are looking ahead to next weekend, Courtin said “Today’s race has by no means have deterred us from what we’re trying to do–the focus all season long is the NEIRA.”

The boys and girls fourth, fifth and sixth eights ended their season at St. Paul’s today–a big congratulations to them. The first, second and third eights will race for medals next weekend at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) Championship Regatta at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA. Additional information, including seedings, lane assignments, and heat times, will be posted later this week.

Photos from today’s races have been added. A reminder: these web-friendly photos are only a small number (213/871) of lower-quality (1/3 resolution) versions of the original photos–please contact me for hi-res copies suitable for cropping, printing, etc.

Race Photos

Pre-Races
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G1		G2		G3		G4		G5/G6
Exeter	6:08.5	Exeter	6:08	Exeter	6:21	Exeter	7:04	Canceled
Andover	6:18.6	Andover	6:20	Andover	6:32	Andover	7:25
Tabor	6:45.7	Tabor	6:34	Tabor	6:45	Tabor	7:44
B1		B2		B3		B4		B5/B6
Exeter	5:22.5	Andover	5:44.8	Andover	5:43.2	Exeter	5:51.2	Exeter 6	6:35.1
Andover	5:22.9	Exeter	5:53.5	Exeter	5:43.6	Andover	5:53.9	Exeter 5	6:47.5
Tabor	5:57.1	Tabor	6:21.2	Tabor	6:10.9	Tabor	6:08.8	Tabor	7:04.5
								Andover	7:30.5

Boys co-captain Ian Winthrop ‘08 said “All the way down the racecourse we got battered by waves and wind gusts–we might have a couple good strokes until the boat hit some rough water and we’d lose our momentum.” Despite the weather, Winthrop felt there were some bright spots to the race: “Before we hit the worst water, we managed to settle into a really solid rhythm right around the 300 [meter] mark, instead of the 900 where we really picked up speed in the first few races.” Though the first boat pulled a length ahead of Andover in the middle 500, Andover made an impressive move in the sprint. “They walked on us in the last stretch of the race, it was really close at the end,” Winthrop remarked. The first boat, which changed its lineup late this week due to an illness, is undefeated heading into its last dual race this weekend against St. Paul’s School.

Girls co-captain Allison Courtin ‘08 said “It was a hard race to tell how well we rowed. Any stroke where we had all eight blades catch at once was a small victory. We also had to abandon our race plan since the conditions were so unpredictable. Instead of longer power 10s and 20s, we did more bursts of power to keep focus in the boat.” This is the fourth consecutive sweep by girls first through fourth boats–an impressive feat that might be a first in the program’s history. They head into their last dual meet versus St. Paul’s School totally undefeated.

Next weekend, all twelve crews will travel to Concord, NH to race St. Paul’s School on their home racecourse. This will be the last race of the season for the 4th, 5th and 6th boats on both the girls and boys squads. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd boats will race for medals the following Saturday, May 24, at the New England Interscholastic Rowing Association (NEIRA) Championship Regatta in Worcester, MA.

Photos added, courtesy of Towny Manfull and Diana Davis.

Race Photos

B1

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